Any M1200 reviews due

Exactly. His own ideas and designs at Pass that were implemented into the Coda line up after leaving Pass… for greener pastures. I do understand he worked for Pass but at the same time he also designed circuits from his own mindset moving forward…Both men are brilliant in their own right!

So I went the other direction…decided to hold on the Coda for now and try the M1200 against my Wyred4Sound SX-1000R monos and do an apple-to-apples comparison. I figured I could do the 30-day evaluation and if they aren’t great and a noticeable step up from the W4S I’ll just send them back and move on to a Pass or Coda…or maybe even one of the new GaN amps If they are great…then I’m done! I really hope they’re better than the W4S as I like the size, cost and lack of heat! :slight_smile:

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Uh hu…sure…

:slight_smile:

I’m sure you have read it already several times on this forum but I mention it again. The M1200’s need a couple hundred hours minimum for burn in.

I plan on letting them run for 6 days while I’m gone to get a jump start on that.

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I think you are going to like them!

That’s great. After 6 days, those puppies will be sounding darn good!

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Trying to decide whether I should immediately out a set of Gold Lion AU7s in or see how the stock tubes sound. The GLs are said to be a noticeable improvement per one reviewer. Guess I’d like to get the max performance from the amps ASAP to do the comparison.

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I think the stock tubes do a great job in there, but certainly something you can play with.

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While I haven’t played with changing tubes in mine, I have to wonder if different tubes aren’t a lot like cables. Some tubes sound better in certain systems just like some cables play nice with certain systems.

You are correct. Tubes can vary and some sound better than others. In fact, some tubes can sound bad in one system and sound better in another. YMMV

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I’ve tried Brimar NOS and Golden Lion. I prefer the Golden Lion IMO a big improvement over the Psvanes!

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Time for an update. I let the new M1200s run almost continuously for more than 10 days. Used a combination of music shuffled from my audio player and white noise, about 85/15 mix. Sat down Saturday to do some comparisons to the SX-1000R. Used the same interconnect, power cord and speaker cable by physically moving all cables from one set of amps to the other, playing the same track. It was a bit of a tedious process but after a hour or so I came away with a clear POV on the differences.

I won’t write a diatribe on my findings but will instead condense it to a couple of key points.

  1. I always thought the bass on the Wyreds was quite good, especially so, controlling first my Revel Salon2s but now with my Magico A5s as well. The PSAs are better. It’s not that there is more of it, or tighter, or more impactful. On those fronts I’d say the two are equals. The difference is in the tone of the bass. The M1200 seems to produce a more ‘tuneful’ signature. There seems to be a greater range in the notes you hear. This one is hard to describe but its definitely there, albeit subtle.

  2. The Wyreds always produced a very wide soundstage and the PSAs seem to match it. But there is additional height in the soundstage through the PSAs. The music seems to go from floor to ceiling as well as wall to wall. I didn’t hear that same spaciousness with the Wyreds.

  3. Transparency and depth is quite amazing with the PSAs. The Wyreds are definitely a more forward presentation of the music whereas the PSAs seem a bit more open. It’s a bit like listening to music from speakers in front of you versus being inside the music in the room. The M1200s just seem to envelope you more in a bubble of sound.

  4. Midrange reproduction, especially male vocals is a key differentiator. The PSAs sound quite a bit more like the singer is in the room with you. There is more depth, texture and realism in the voice of male singers. Not that the Wyreds are bad or flat. Quite the opposite. They are quite good. It’s just that the M1200s give amore rounded and sweetness to the vocals. Maybe that’s from the tube input stage…I’m guessing it is.

Each one of these taken alone are rather small differences and in fact if the PSAs only excelled at one I’d say it isn’t worth the difference in cost. However, when you stack all the differences up, there is a clear preference in my mind for the M1200. If I would have paid full price for the M1200s I wouldn’t be keeping them as for that much incremental $ I’d want even more of a difference. But since I got them through the recent PSA special promotion, I’ve decided to keep them and let my SX-1000Rs go. IS this my end game set of amps? I’d say ‘no’. But they’re darn good for the $. At some point down the road I will look for another move up the ladder but I can be quite content now driving my A5s.

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Great review on the M1200’s! I posted before on this topic IMO the Gold Lions in the M1200’s took them up several notches over the stock tubes. The strength of the M1200’s other than the obvious 1200 watt module is definitely Darren’s tube input stage! For the money the Gold Lions make it better and it’s worth try!

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Whilst I have read most of this thread and I know this topic has been discussed many times before,I’m still going to ask !
To Pre Amp or not ?
I’m going through an audition for another DAC.
My current system has a Grimm MU1> DAC>Pre(Croft RSLS totally maxxed out)>M1200s>Harbeths.
I’ve recently auditioned the Mola Mola Tambaqui.As good as the Tambaqui>M1200s was , the inclusion of the Pre Amp sounded better(as it did with the old DAC).
Now I’m auditioning the Mola Mola Makua>M1200s but the Tambaqui has gone ,so I cannot do that comparison.Neither can I compare with the Makua with the Pre in the system.
I’m thinking the MU1>Tambaqui>Standalone Pre>M1200s is the way forward.
I would like to get a BHK Pre to compare with the Croft.
Any advice warmly accepted.Thanks

I’m going all PS Audio M1200s > BHK Pre > DS DAC > PST Transport and is simply fantastic, the BHK Pre between DAC and M1200s improve the sound quality so much so I consider it fundamental. Each M1200 powerd by a separate powerplant P12. SPP stellar Phono Pre complete the analogue rig, I’m enjoying so much music as never before. XLR connection all the system.

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I also have PST, DS, BHK pre, M1200 in chain connecting into a P15… but I added BHK pre the last and heard nice improvement. Although the newest Sunlight update in DS has narrowed the gap. I also added a Stealth Dream V10 power cable to the DS and it transformed the sound of DS so now I enjoy the system without pre too.

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Hi Luca
Did you try any other Pre?

Not with M1200s. My previous system was Roksan Pre Phono > CDPlayer > Integrated Caspian M2 and after that Roksan BLAK integrated and finally PS Audio all at once BHK Pre > M1200s. A few week DAC > M1200s directly due to a temporary fault board to change in the brand new BHK Preamp. So I consider the fundamental role of the BHK Pre.

Thanks for your thoughts regarding BHK Pre.I too am convinced that a Pre in the system works.
However,I’m just auditioning the Makua direct into the M1200s and find it amazingly impressive.
Not sure (at this time)if this says more about the Makua’s Pre verses the Tambqui to a ‘standalone’ Pre.
Then there’s the ‘tube’ thing.My Crofts use the 12BH7 input tube which I think is a better tube than the 12AU7.Then as you mention, the XLR v RCA cable thing ! questions,questions !!