I received my M100 last week. So far, so great. It is replacing a VAC Avatar Super, so going from pure tubes to pretty much pure digital. The amp and streamer are outstanding with really good imaging and presence. I run a Thorens TD125 Mk II (Vinyl Nirvana modded with SME M2-9 tonearm and Ortofon 2M Black) into the phono. I can say the phono stage on the VAC was better, but the Micromega is very good. I’m going to try feeding a Parks Audio Puffin to see if I can warm it up a bit. I have the MARS and really like it. The difference on and off is not subtle and plan to leave it on auto (on). Other items are a Purepower 1050 power regenerator and the power to the M100 is via an Audience Powerchord. I haven’t compared to stock.
A couple other things, my Ethernet comes in from a Plume pod situated nearby (mesh Wi-Fi). And the iOS app is in pretty good shape. Also, so far I’m liking Roon for feeding it but Apple Airplay works pretty well too. JRiver is just too terrible an interface for me to want to use it.
"The amp and streamer are outstanding with really good imaging and presence."
benb: that's my experience too with the M-100, and it just keeps getting
better the more material I listen to (varying genres, recordings,
volume levels etc). No MARS, no power conditioning and a Cullen Cable
Crossover Series as power cable. Other than Audioquest Sydney rca from CDP (which I don't use much), no other fancy-pants
interconnects to speak of. For my money those aren't a good &
credible investment.
Like you I'm getting super-good imaging & stage, presence and drive. Totally stoked.
I did have a weird encounter during .flac playback via http over ethernet through the M-100 LAN input. I use the BubbleUPnP for DLNA/Chromecast android app as control point, with the M-100 as UPnP renderer via its LAN input. Btw the BubbleUPnP app is excellent: well-designed,
feature-wealthy, responsibly and frequently maintained, rock-solid
stable. Superb value, from the Google Play Store.
I
use the Micromega android app to control the M-100 hardware: volume,
input sources, etc. Sadly, that app is of entirely different caliber
than BubbleUPnP (see my earlier posts about that). No response from Micromega to my questions about that.
I
had just played back a single track from .flac, and selected another
single track in BubbleUPnP. I hit Play - and nothing happened. Tried
again: nothing. Rebooted the BubbleUPnP app - and it no longer found
the M-100 as a UPnP renderer on the LAN. Rescanned for devices in the
Micromega app, and it too no longer found the M-100. Restarted both
Micromega app and M-100: still no UPnP renderer. M-100 still had a valid IP, an active network connection and responded
to ping. All other M-100 functions and source inputs still worked fine, as
did the remote.
The
tl;dr: after hours of troubleshooting including router and network
debugging, and hw/sw isolation, I finally pulled the nuclear option and
reapplied the firmware update to the M-100 network module. That fixed
it: M-100 reappeared as UPnP renderer and playback via its LAN input works again.
A
cautionary tale but hopefully useful outcome if other owners have the
same problem (I didn't find any out on the interwebz). I think it's
highly unlikely the BubbleUPnP control app 'exploded' the UPnP interface
on the M-100 network module - for now I'm treating it as an isolated
"lost-its-mind" failure on Micromega's part.
Mine gets lost in internet space all the time. The android app can't even find it now, jriver loses it all the time I don't bother with it anymore I just use my cdp. I can ping it, I can get to it typing in it's ip address. I did all the recent updates. The MARS works bery well.
With MARS turned off my Paradigm 85f speakers are barely listenable so having that alone is worth it to me though I am thinking of upgrading my speakers. The M100 drives them very easy and even after 3 or 4 hours it never gets any warmer than any other a/b amp I have had. The compact size worried me a bit on heat. I use the stock power cord hooked to a panamax conditioner I have had for years, actually it's the oldest piece I have and have never had any problem with it. The network probkems while annoying don't bother me since I am looking to run a wireless streamer/server down the road.
Jriver did the same thing to mine as BubbleUPnP. I have to reflash the network firmware to get the M100 recogized whenever it gets lost. I would think it's a bug in the M100. If they get around to that as quick as the android app it might get fixed in a few more years.
I haven’t had any bugs on the Mac side of the world. A couple of 1-2 second dropouts where the WiFi wasn’t keeping up, but that’s all. I like the internet radio on the app. One other configuration for the record is I run Audience Au24 speaker cable to Silverline Sonatinas (v1) with separate wires going to the speaker input on my Adire Rava subwoofer so the speakers run full range. Good integration, especially with the MARS. Someday I’ll play with the sub out.
I would think it's a bug in the M100. If they get around to that as quick as the android app it might get fixed in a few more years.
djones51: yes agree it's likely a Micromega network module firmware bug, rather than the UPnP clients. That and the crappy android app is laziness on Micromega's part, if not mild sw development negligence.
I haven’t had any bugs on the Mac side...
benb: glad to hear that. wrt the internet radio feature, on what device are you running the Micromega app?
I got curious and looked up the app for the ipad/ iphone on my wife's ipad and found it has had a steady update path since the initial release in 2016 the last was in Feb 2018 making it compatible with the iphone X. The android app has never been updated since Dec 2016. I assume there aren't enough android users so they don't bother with it.
I know Paradigm isn't a well thought of speaker but I am sitting here listening to the Moody Blues and this is the best these speakers have ever sounded. The room correction on this thing is wonderful or these speakers are better than I remember. I had them stored away for about a year while I was downsizing. This punch and clarity of this amp is amazing for only 100 watts. The background is always dead silent.
I assume there aren’t enough android users so they don’t bother with it.
Maybe - but they did do an initial release on android, and it would reflect real well on company and developer/s skillset (and CV/s) if they’d stabilize the app and get it to parity with the iOS version.
And I think you answered my earlier question to benb about the internet radio feature: it isn't in the (abjectly outdated) android version of their mobile app : /
... punch and clarity of this amp is amazing for only 100 watts. The background is always dead silent.
I’m having a similar experience with my Nola Boxers - they’ve been transported to entirely different dimension by the M-100.
I’m using iPhone X and iPad Pro. Both work fine. But I think once the settings are dialed in, all of which can be done on the unit or the remote, there isn’t much need for the Micromega app. At least as I’m using Roon. Not sure if I’ll pony up the $$ for it though.
I wanted to see if there were any thoughts on best ways to feed the Micromega M100. I’m loving the Roon interface but from what I understand it feeds the M100 via Airplay which may not be giving the highest quality sound. I also have Audirvana+ latest version which seems to output UPnP to the M100 giving all the filtering options. Would adding a microRendu and feeding Ethernet into that and then USB into the M100 give even better sound? The microRendu is also Roon ready which I think would open up possibilities within Roon. Sorry for my limited knowledge on this part of computer audio.
Now ow what I can say is that the Micromega M100 sounds absolutely fabulous almost any way I feed it including straight Airplay from iTunes. It is making the best sound in my system ever. So alive with great presence. I would also say the mars is well worth the money. It’s like buying a new set of speakers so in that light it’s a bargain.
Thanks for any info info and hopefully this thread can keep expanding and become a good resource for owners.
"...any thoughts on best ways to feed the Micromega M100. I’m loving the Roon interface but from what I understand it feeds the M100 via Airplay which may not be giving the highest quality sound. I also have Audirvana+ latest version which seems to output UPnP to the M100 giving all the filtering options. Would adding a microRendu and feeding Ethernet into that and then USB into the M100 give even better sound? The microRendu is also Roon ready which I think would open up possibilities within Roon."
No devices output UPnP per se. Like Apple’s proprietary AirPlay it’s a set of protocols for devices to interact with each other on a IP network. UPnP is open-source, _not_ proprietary (lots of advantages to that), and there’s an entire subset of the standard dedicated to A/V applications. And where there’s UPnP, DLNA is often there too - at least on AV hardware from such manufacturers. Indeed, DLNA is a superset of the UPnP spec.
Of course, Apple’s OSX doesn’t support UPnP - that would be antithetical to their AirPlay machinations. Nor does Roon: like with Apple, I think that would erode or otherwise devalue their proprietary and competing spec, RAAT. Roon also wants to cater to (read: extract $$$ from) the semi-incumbent audiophile ’elite’ on Macs, so they support AirPlay too. Here and there you may find Roon reps doing some thinly-veiled sniping at UPnP.
Those fancy-pants, multi-thousands-of-dollars ’audiophile’ streamers/servers/players (eg Auralic, Aurender, Cary, Moon, Music Fidelity, and the’elite’ lines from Denon/Marantz/Onkyo/Sony etc) are basically all computers, running dedicated (and proprietary) OS’s, most if not all of them Linux variants. They too support UPnP/DLNA as a means to deliver a lot of their value.
It’s work to get learned-up on all this, but the computer audio future has been here since about 2000, and it’s only going to become more pervasive, disruptive and all-consuming. Among a handful of helpful resources for getting informed is Archimago’s blog - start with this article:
"... M100 sounds absolutely fabulous almost any way I feed it including straight Airplay from iTunes"
2nd that - like, I'm again at risk of gushing. My primary source is my LAN: .flac over UPnP/http from a Win7-64 Pro host (acting as the 'NAS' - Network Attached Storage), with the UPnP control point being the excellent BubbleUPnP android app on my phone, and the M-100 as the UPnP renderer. Transcendent sound quality out of the M-100 ... I could only be happier if Micromega fixed the android version of their mobile app ; )
"I could only be happier if Micromega fixed the android version of their mobile app ; )"
I contacted main distributor Audio Plus Services about the crappy Android version of the Micromega app. They passed on my inquiry to Micromega en Boissy-saint-Leger, et voila, Micromega ils ont répondu:
me: "...I’m using the Micromega for Android app with my M-100, and as you may know the app is outdated and not maintained (no updates since 2016). It is extremely unstable, crashes frequently and is missing features that are included in the iOS version (internet radio, maybe others are missing?). I inquired with Micromega weeks ago, but no reply from them. I’d like to hear whether they plan to address the problems with their Android app."
Micromega: "To answer your question, indeed we have decided to go straight [to] and finalize the iOS version before the Android version. But as the software is very demanding in terms of time, cost and development, [we] have decided to work with a new software company dedicated & specialized in Android development! On our agreement with them, it [is] shown that the entire development including Tidal, qobuz, deezer, web radio and the audio server has to be completed and done by December 31st 2018."
They are also also adding Roon to firmware hopefully by the end of the year, but that’s just for us “semi-incumbent audiophile “elite” on Macs” who like music more than equipment :)
Ok I got to finally play with my wife's work ipad not sure I can keep the app on it, anyway, yes this is what I thought this thing could do. It's an older version so it wouldn't put the latest app release on but it plays radio stations from all over the world as well as internet only stations. I don't need jriver or bubbleUPnP. any other third party media player just share a folder with your ripped music just make sure you have DLNA enabled on windows 10, or use a DLNA NAS and the amp finds it and plays. I think I might buy me a new ipad mini to get the latest app version.
Just FYI, Roon will also play internet radio. For the price of an iPad mini, you might be able to buy a lifetime subscription to Roon and that may have a better Android interface (I don’t have any to check but it should be easy enough to find out on the web). You can try a trial to see. I’ve become a big fan of the interface.
I suppose I could try Roon for a year but the iPad mini is $100 less than a lifetime Roon subscription. Besides the app on iOS does everything I need it to do and I can use the iPad for other things as well since my old table is getting pretty long in the tooth.
They are also also adding Roon to firmware hopefully by the end of the year
I don’t know Roon or Roon Labs much, but I do see they have Roon Remote app for Android. Not being a Roon Core owner, all I get is a "Looking for Roon Core" pulser in the UX. From what I could see it appears way, way more polished than the Micromega app for Android (no surprise).
The little I’ve read/seen about Roon Core suggests it has a slick UX, lots of tagging/cataloging/library features including access to a jumbo-size metadata collection, some nice integration with music services (esp. Tidal) and endpoints (amps/dacs/playback devices), the usual commodity streaming/playback features you’ll find on lots of other apps like this, and some ’trophy’ features like MQA transcoding, DSD support and maybe some others.
Best I can tell there’s no credible, empirical data or experiments in the literature that demonstrate Roon Core produces ’better’ output than any one of a number of other playback apps - including free ones. Whether it ’sounds’ better to someone, well, that by definition is subjective. $119/yr or $499/lifetime is a bit dear, given what one gets and what I value. Relative to the alternatives out there, both paid and free, I might consider it at half that price.
Djones51 - I’m always up for an excuse to buy a new toy. My wife loves her iPad mini and I use my iPad Pro all the time.
Usery - in my limited time playing with Roon, Audirvana, and iTunes as the means to get music to the M100, I would say they all sound mostly the same. Some of the fancy Izotope DSD filters in Audirvana can affect the sound but I’m not sure if I prefer or not.
Where im digging Roon is on the management of my music. I’ve got 1300 albums and over 17,000 tracks and it does a great job of suggesting and browsing. I’ve rediscovered a lot in my collection the last few weeks. I’m just about to the point where I feel it’s worth the lifetime subscription. But to each their own.
Benb at the moment i'm busy ripping and figuring out what I have but I have researched roon mostly for what you are saying the management aspect. That might be a toy I'll find an excuse for around xmas. The iOS app was enough to get me worked up after playing with the android mess which hopefully they will fix as usery said. My mini will be delivered Wed.
Djones it is very easy to stream a CD library directly to the M100 using Jriver works like a charm and you don't need a usb connection just as long as each device is on the network it sounds great.
Unfortunatly never tested any of our turntables with the M100 we do have a Rega RP8 with Alpheta 2 in the same room this is a fantastic turntable.
If you have any specific questions I would email either Micromega directly or their importer Audio Plus Services, talk to Micheal Russo in service.
If you have any additional questions we can answer please feel free to contact us.
"... is there no way to stream Tidal to the M100?"
vingard: if you’re on Android you’re in luck: BubbleUPnP for DLNA will totally stream Tidal to the M-100 (as UPnP/DLNA renderer). Integration is built right in.
I don't need jriver to sream my cd library the iOS app for the M100 finds my DLNA server and streams it direct. My router does DLNA I attach a usb drive to the router the M100 finds it, sounds great. That's what I like about the M100 I don't need a seperate streamer it is a streamer , I don't need jriver or any other third party media player. DLNA is built into windows I could simply share a folder on my computer and the M100 finds it, I have tried it works great as well. Now jriver or some of these other players can convert to higher rates and such but I have never noticed any improvement in SQ by doing that. A downloaded file already in a higher rate is different than upconversion which doesn't do much for me.
Besides if I wamt to convert I can use Foobar convert the files ,save to my hard drive and the M100 will play it. All the M100 needs is a NAS with DLNA or like I said an old windows computer with DLNA enabled and a shared drive or folder.
"I don't need jriver..." " All the M100 needs is a NAS with DLNA or like I said an old windows computer with DLNA enabled and a shared drive or folder."
djones51: right on ... am a big fan of simplifying and using what we already got and/or is freely available. The hype surrounding the playback performance of some of the pay-for apps is just that: hype.
I have the M-150 and have had it in my listening room for several months. I ignored the MARS (came stock) for about a month and then calibrated the room using the included microphone -- it made a tremendous difference as I have a challenging room full of concrete and glass... i know, i know... However, this is one of the main reasons I purchased this integrated and it's paying significant dividends.
I'll echo what's been said above that the streaming capabilities work very well and I typically run iTunes or Pandora via the airplay interface via the LAN input. I wouldn't say it sounds sublime, but it's the best I've heard considering the source material.
I use a Oppo 203 as a CD source, connected to the line input. I don't have fancy interconnects, but the CD sounds a little bright in general. Extremely detailed, however, and very enjoyable. I have also used the digital out of the Oppo connected to the optical input of the M-150 and this sounds much much smoother and refined. I have yet to explore further.
My turntable, a Linn LP-12, sounds tremendous via the MM input. Enough said there. I was skeptical, but it works. My only complaint is that volume levels need to near 45-60 for decent listening levels -- I'm not sure if that's normal for this amp or not and would be interested in others' perspectives. For the record (pun intended!), my cartridge is a Grado Silver2 and I believe the M-150 sensitivity for MM is 12 mvrms (1.2 mvrms for MC input). As an additional inquiry, if anyone knows, do I risk any damage to my phono stage or speakers if I plug into the MC stage? I have tried it and normal listening levels occur at 25 or so, which I rather like, but I'm not sure if there is any risk of damage to the system.
Happy to continue engaging in this thread, but these are some thoughts for now.
Can't say about the phono stage but my normal listening levels on M100 for cdp digital in or streaming from my server or radio stations is about 22- 25.
"...curious how many different music streaming programs or apps have you listened to on the Micromega or others?
benb: are you curious about observations on music "streaming" performance/features? That is, the 'transport' feature set that gets source material from point A to point B? Or something else?
Usery - I was interested in your statement “The hype surrounding the playback performance of some of the pay-for apps is just that: hype.” And whether you have upsampled to DSD or tried various filter settings that are features in the pay-for apps that I believe has a lot of potential. The “everything sounds the same” crowd, whether it is the resolving power of the system or the hearing, may dismiss, but changing pre-ring settings or some of the other filters in Audirvana result in real changes. And as I’ve said before, the interface and ability to dig into your music collection in Roon is worth money to me. Maybe I just come from the time when it was expected to pay for things related to music...
Totally agree with that. Let the spender of the money be the last word on what’s-worth-the-money.
"...upsampled to DSD or tried various filter settings that are features in the pay-for apps that I believe has a lot of potential?"
I haven’t tried any of that, but I’d like to. Have you tried such modded source material on the M-100? How would you describe the output from your speakers, compared to unmodified?
"...interface and ability to dig into your music collection in Roon is worth money..."
Yes that seems to be a Roon value-add that some people find worth the cost of the software.
"...the time when it was expected to pay for things related to music"
I think the institutionalized expectation of ’paying for things related to music’ has in large part created an industry where hype and ’manufacturing consent’ drive music-enjoyers to spend lots of money on products of dubious objective value. Whether there’s sufficient subjective value to the beholder, well, that returns us to let-the-money-spender be the last word.
I emailed Micromega and they said they were going to integrate Qobuz in their app hopefully by the end of the year. I guess about the same time Qobuz is suppose to be available in th US.
"...they said they were going to integrate Qobuz in their app hopefully by the end of the year"
Yup, that’s what they replied to me when I asked about the outdated Android app. Looks like Micromega has outsourced that development to a 3rd-party, and from the reply there might even be contractual obligation to finish the work by end of year - which includes Qobuz integration
on 9/6/2018 3:33 AM <Micromega> wrote : ... Indeed we decided to go straight to and finalize the iOS version before Android. But as the software is very demanding in term of time, cost and development, [we] decided to work with a new software company dedicated & specialized in the Android development! [In] our agreement with them, [the] entire development including Tidal, Qobuz, deezer, web radio and audio server has to be completed by December 31st 2018. ...
Cordialement, AUDIS / MICROMEGA 13-15 rue du 8 mai 1945 Parc d’activité de la Haie Griselle 94470 Boissy-saint-Leger
Just another informational update. I had originally had my subwoofer hooked up to the binding posts. I received clarification from Micromega on the sub out. It outputs 20 Hz to 400 Hz while the binding posts continue to output full range. So I hooked up an RCA cable from sub out to my subwoofers low level line in (with a y built into the RCA cable) and readjusted the sub controls since I get louder output this way. I re-ran mars calibration and the system is sounding great. Not necessarily better but a much cleaner wiring hookup and I’ve bumped the bass up a tad as part of the process and the whole system sounds fuller. every time I turn it on, I’m struck by how much presence the human voice has with the M100.
At first attempt the M-100 headphone-out circuit seems wimpy driving Sennheiser HD650's. Must pump volume all the way up to level 60 before it reaches dB levels I consider 'loud', and even then the HD650 characteristic 'dark veil' is present in the sound (indicating an under-powered source). By contrast my Creek 5350se drives the HD650's effortlessly and with buckets of dB's, lucidity, articulation, deep- and hi, blah blah quack quack, etc.
Maybe this is just the way M-100 is config'd from factory (ie really have to jack it with hi-impedance 'phones like the 300ohm HD650's)?
Or, the M-100 headphone-out is really anemic. I didn't find any specs for it in the docs (output impedance, power, etc).
I played around for a bit with my Sennheiser/Massdrop HD6xx both with and without binaural. For me loud is about 50 and I didn’t try to go up to 60. So far I think the circuit sounds a little dark and not too detailed, but I want to spend some more time with it. This is compared to my desktop Teac 501. The binaural light sounds pretty good but the medium and strong sound too processed. It would be nice to be able to add a little eq.
Can anyone report back on the fan noise? Is it bothersome and does it run a lot?
How about the temperature of the unit. Is it very high and something you worry about for longevity?
I was told recently that the Ethernet port will become an ROON end-point by the end of 2018. Does anyone have this feature implemented yet?
How do you guys compare the sound of the unit. Is it comparable to a highish end integrated such as the Mark Levinson 585 or Luxman 509x. Specifically with the layering of the sound and the air around instruments? The new Mark Levinson 5000 series is a cheaper alternative to the ML 585 and something that I am also looking at for a small room.
Can anyone report back on the fan noise? Is it bothersome and does it run a lot? How about the temperature of the unit. Is it very high and something you worry about for longevity?
I have the M-100. I've heard no fan noise. External temp of the case is at best warm at end of the day (~6-8hrs powered on, with a couple 2hr listening sessions). I don't worry about longevity.
... Ethernet port will become an ROON end-point by the end of 2018. Does anyone have this feature implemented yet?
I don't use Roon. For me open-source (free) alternatives + UPnP/DLNA are better value. DLNA already supported by the M-One's.
How do you guys compare the sound of the unit ... Specifically with the layering of the sound and the air around instruments?
If sounds-like-Rolling-Stones-playing-Hey Negrita-right-in-the-room-with-you is equivalent to "layering" and "air around instruments", then yes.
I measure the top it an IR thermometer at 95F and at the side where the “vent” is at 97F both at idle and running. Can occasionally hear the fan with my ear close by but certainly not at listening position with no music on. I switched from fairly high end tube integrated and think the M100 sounds fantastic. As for Roon endpoint, I doubt anyone has it yet since they haven’t released it, but an email from Micromega assured it’s coming. I’m looking forward to it since Roon has been one of the best stereo/music purchases I’ve made. The ability to explore my collection in new ways is so worth the price. For me, free doesn’t always equal value.
regarding temperature, this was an area I too was concerned. i was unsure what would be considered too warm/hot, and my only point of comparison was my prior integrated amp (A/B) which only ran slightly warm (but also had a massive case and plenty of airflow).
i measured the surface temperature to be ~78 degrees when off. this was similar to ambient temperature in the room, if maybe a few degrees warmer. when running, after about 20-30 minutes it gets up to max temperature, which i measured to be approximately 105-107 around all sides of the outer case. after 3-4 hours of simply keeping the amp "on" (no music), the temperature stayed the same.
i emailed Micromega tech support with my questions and information. tech support was extremely quick to respond that they keep the amp "on" for 6-7 days at a time, never turning it off, and occasionally turning it off over the weekend (at their shop). they measured their temperature to be 107 F, and indicated "it's completely normal. the fan comes on when needed, and doesn't interfere with sound quality."
i've now owned my amp for 3-4 months and i enjoy it on a daily basis.
on a separate note, i've used the headphone jack a few times, sparingly, and concur with others that it may be underpowered? i've only tried it with Grado SR-80, and I turn the volume to 50-60 to be fully immersed. for reference, these headphones' impedance is 32 ohm with 99.8 db sensitivity.
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