CEntrance Hifi-M8 V2 Review (DAC and headphone amplifier)

[Hemi-Demon]

But of course And thank you for connecting!

I think it's awesome when a mfr shows up and defends their designs. It is good for the consumer. I wish more members would adjust the tone a bit, to be more respectful. Creating a lions den isn't the best for communication and coordination. Hopefully Centrance you can just post their own measurements, especially in low gain, with say 16-32 ohm loads to mimic iems. Thanks for popping in

 

[radioman]

The man’s putting his butt on the line here

The man wouldn't have it any other way. We need clarity first. Then accolades (hopefully). Or oblivion (hopefully not)

 

[radioman]

No reason at all. That is what I meant anyway.

No issues sharing. Just don't have the plots yet - need to get from the engineers, and they don't work on weekends -- the pleasure is reserved for the lowly bottle washers like me

 

[YSC]

Something is wrong - performance is worse than their cheaper DACPort HD which @amirm measured...

Especially unbalanced power output.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rements-of-dacport-hd-and-dragonfly-red.5977/

Well that didn’t jam a lot of LED inside the cob so more space for sensible layout..

 

[amirm]

No issues sharing. Just don't have the plots yet - need to get from the engineers, and they don't work on weekends -- the pleasure is reserved for the lowly bottle washers like me

Good deal. Given your participation here, I can measure another unit if you like me to. Please start a conversation with me and we will take it from there.

 

[Music1969]

No issues sharing. Just don't have the plots yet - need to get from the engineers, and they don't work on weekends -- the pleasure is reserved for the lowly bottle washers like me

All good! Thanks!

Thanks for the pro-active attitude to look deeper for explanation/s !

 

[m8o]

I recall when 0.01% THD was exception performance. (ff to today, I have a Gustard X16 on order.)

 

[Doodski]

I recall when 0.01% THD was exception performance. (I have a Gustard X16 on order.)

I did a THD test the other day and could not hear less than 0.5% THD. I'm still very surprised. (Used headphones and my PC motherboard.)
https://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_thd.php

 

[bhat]

As an owner of both DACPortHD and DACPortable, I must admit I'm surprised and disappointed by the subpar performance from a 2020 product. I would have expected Centrance to beat 100db SINAD easily.

 

[radioman]

Good deal. Given your participation here, I can measure another unit if you like me to. Please start a conversation with me and we will take it from there.

Will do -- thanks! Planning to meet with the team on Monday and we will take it from there.

 

[raif71]

Don't want to start a fight, but if you happen to like something and someone tells you it's junk, do you have to immediately unlike it? Are you allowed to continue liking it or is that bad form?

Don't fret. What you prefer is yours. Measurement isn't everything.

 

[newworld666]

Unfortunately it was not tested In balance mode .. and no idea if the amp was tested in battery mode or not
Figures can be different in both cases.
So at this stage, I am still hoping for 1.4W per channel at 32 Ohms and some very good capacitors with a huge margin of peak voltage (20V ?). These figures are still more or less unique on the market and entrance ticket for difficult headphones to drive like Heddphone by Hedd.
Anyway unbalanced figures are far under my expectations, even If wonder who would buy such big portable DAC/AMP without balanced headphones. I am waiting for balanced figures in battery mode.

 

[304290]

I gotta respond. CEntrance isn’t some guy. CEntrance is an engineering-focused business with a long track record of well-received pro and consumer DACs, headphone amps, and mic preamps.

Years ago, I had brief discussions with Michael Goodman about becoming a reseller for CEntrance (which didn’t pan out due to a change in my business model). He was a gracious gentleman. Since then, I have been receiving regular emails from CEntrance about product development and I know that their development cycles are long and well thought out.

As discussed by others above, there were some production issues which led to a lengthened development cycle for this product. Maybe that’s what led to some of the performance failings. Or maybe the “kitchen sink” nature of the product created performance issues.

Finally, as noted by another person, the design language of the product is confusing and could lead to user error—and should be rethought, in my opinion.

But to damn the whole company because of one miss after a string of hits? That’s just wrong.

No, it's not. During whole ordeal with this, I was dealing with Michael directly. Not some guy. He was very, very active on headfi at the time. I didn't want call him out directly. All of my correspondence was with him and him alone because he was highly involved . He was the only spokesperson on headfi and claim he designed the product himself. Before you go on a rant, maybe you should try to reaching out to me directly before making ill informed comments. Also have no idea who or what the company is now, as this was many years ago. My comments were accurate and true!!

 

[AudioSceptic]

No issues sharing. Just don't have the plots yet - need to get from the engineers, and they don't work on weekends -- the pleasure is reserved for the lowly bottle washers like me

Are they "locked away" somewhere, or have they not been done yet? How often do you measure your products?

 

[AudioSceptic]

I recall when 0.01% THD was exception performance. (ff to today, I have a Gustard X16 on order.)

That would be pre-digital. 0.01% is -80 dB, which looks good until you compare with -96 dB (16-bit digital). 16-bit has now been around for nearly 40 years, so it should be easy enough to reach that standard, and many do, even $9 adapters.

 

[LTig]

We are kindly advised to stay at home, for your own safety, as long as the code red alert applies in our town. Its getting serious!

I know. That's why my wife and me work from home office since mid of March. With almost no moving during the work week we must go hiking on the weekend to stay healthy, and this is covered by the Covid rules. I even bought a local hiking guide to find out the recommended trips - and then to not hike these, but elsewhere with less traffic.

 

[PeteL]

Unfortunately it was not tested In balance mode .. and no idea if the amp was tested in battery mode or not
Figures can be different in both cases.
So at this stage, I am still hoping for 1.4W per channel at 32 Ohms and some very good capacitors with a huge margin of peak voltage (20V ?). These figures are still more or less unique on the market and entrance ticket for difficult headphones to drive like Heddphone by Hedd.
Anyway unbalanced figures are far under my expectations, even If wonder who would buy such big portable DAC/AMP without balanced headphones. I am waiting for balanced figures in battery mode.

Yes I certainly like "the Idea" of a product like this. I wish more features where tested, and there are certainly use cases where I could live with a 86 dB SINAD If it gets me enough drive. Not so sure you need 4 separate outs tough, should be probably possible to have a well implemented gain switch to cover a large range of headphones. I like the Idea of something portable that can drive anything, I would have like line ins and outs on top of this too actually. I still think that as is, a non audiophile product by some measurments, the price is a bit steep. But then again maybe I'm one of not many that have some use to drive full size cans on the go, I accept that it will always be very niche and the price reflect that.

 

[Nango]

- and then to not hike these, but elsewhere with less traffic.

Let's hope ONLY YOU were that smart to do so ;-) !!!

 

[newworld666]

Yes I certainly like "the Idea" of a product like this. I wish more features where tested, and there are certainly use cases where I could live with a 86 dB SINAD If it gets me enough drive. Not so sure you need 4 separate outs tough, should be probably possible to have a well implemented gain switch to cover a large range of headphones. I like the Idea of something portable that can drive anything, I would have like line ins and outs on top of this too actually. I still think that as is, a non audiophile product by some measurments, the price is a bit steep. But then again maybe I'm one of not many that have some use to drive full size cans on the go, I accept that it will always be very niche and the price reflect that.

I think, also I would surely trade 2 outputs (of the cold side) for two inputs (3.5mm and 4.4mm) and have pass-through the DAC part when needed.
Actually, I use a cheap xDuoo XD-05+ (which is not bad, but falling short often).
I still believe I have a good chance I will get better results in balance mode with the M8V2 when my order will arrive, than with the XD-05+.

 

[m8o]

That would be pre-digital. 0.01% is -80 ... dB

Glad you understood the implication of my post. Your add'l commentary of the response is 100%. But not my point; it was actually enjoyable at the time.