UPDATE: Massdrop finally refunded my money. I have to say, the return process for Massdrop was easy, they even paid for return. The refund took longer than expected, but in the end, I'm happy with their customer service.
I did want to follow up on my thoughts on the M8 since I did get to spend quite a few hours comparing it to my Audio-GD NFB-12.1. I have to say, my first impressions were very positive for the M8 - until I started using my HD 800 headphones. I was using my Sennheiser HD 650's during my initial listening tests, which complimented the bright and 'airy' sound of the M8 quite nicely. The HD 800's were a different story altogether.
The M8 and HD 800's were awful together. The HD 650's are very warm and forgiving headphones, with a slightly rolled off high frequency that makes them a joy to listen to for long periods of time. The HD 800's are brutally honest and revealing of poor source material; garbage in, garbage out as they say. With the M8, the highs were exaggerated; the mids recessed and the bass had a bump around 80hz which made it sound artificially fuller - but there was no definition to the bass notes; they sounded muddy and blended together.
Spending time with the M8 really made me appreciate the NFB-12.1 and realize now just how good it is. From top to bottom, the NFB-12.1 sounds more refined, natural and balanced than the M8. The NFB-12.1 has deeper bass where each note is easily heard; the midrange is clean and balanced with no peaks or dips; the highs are natural without sounding artificial like the M8 sounded. The sound stage of the M8 was very closed in and narrow. It's wide, expansive and enveloping on the NFB-12.1. The best part of the NFB-12.1 is when I use my HD 800's is sounds lush and relaxing; so it must be doing something right.
DSD playback on the M8 was interesting. At first listen, it sounded very defined and 'high resolution'; but it still lacked weight and definition in the bass department, the mids were still recessed and the highs were thin and exaggerated.
What it boils down to is, I'm not a fan of the ESS Sabre 9018's 'sound', at least not how it was implemented in the M8. Maybe the Burson Conductor with the 9018 is better. But for now, I think I'll play it safe and stick with Burr Brown and Wolfson DAC's until I hear something better.
Final score:Looks: 5 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=5[/chart]
Build quality: 4 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=4[/chart] (One star off for being defective)
Features: 4 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=4[/chart]
Ease of Use: 4 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=4[/chart] (Once it's configured properly)
Bass: 3.5 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=3.5[/chart]
Mid range: 3 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=3[/chart]
Treble: 4 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=4[/chart]
Value vs price: 4.5 [chart layout=stars style=default max=5]x=4.5[/chart]
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