[Jonathon Janusz]

I took delivery of my new M901 at the end of last week, but hadn't had time to get it up and running until just now.  First, I'll post a quick look at where I'm at, then some first thoughts, and I'll leave some space for later updates.


The system, from speakers to source:

-Eminent Technology LFT8B hybrid planar mid/high cone woofer speakers, early model upgraded to -B revision with original solid-copper binding posts.

-DIY speaker cables, 2m each 12ga copper with gold plated banana plugs both ends.

-Virtue Sensation M901 - aviator aluminum all around, black buttons/dial, clear top with Virtue logo, aluminum remote, 130w AC power supply, full sonicap upgrade with platinum bypasses.

-monoprice 1m gold plated RCA cables.

-dB Labs Tranquility USB DAC.

-Radio Shack 0.5m gold plated USB cable.

-1.66GHz Intel Core duo Mac Mini, 2GB RAM, OS 10.4.11, itunes 9.2.1(4), no software or hardware tweaks/mods, music library stored as AIFF with error checking when ripped.

-0.5m generic firewire cable.

-external bus powered firewire hard drive.

-belkin surge protector on all equipment save for M901 - plugged direct to wall AC.

[Jonathon Janusz]

First Impressions:

The amp is very well packaged - double boxed with plenty of cushion.  Taking it out, I was surprised by how heavy it is, considering its heritage.  This really translates to me as heavy duty-overbuilt build quality and materials.  It doesn't need to be this substantial, but it is.  Which leads to. . .

The amp is a very handsome machine, and it shows that it is working hard to hit above its price point when it comes to looks.  All the milling is clean, and it just looks/feels like it is an upscale type product.  I'm glad I went with the aluminum volume knob as a last minute revision - the thing is heavy, and as heavy as it is, I would have been afraid to heft the chrome one!  The milling on the knob is awesome; it gives a great and intuitive feel to knowing how far up/down the volume is - and even more importantly you can see this quickly and easily from across the room.  All this and a very unique style - Virtue knocked this little detail out of the park!  One other finer detail.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but when I inspected the power/source buttons (as I was curious about this when I ordered), I discovered them to be aluminum along with the rest of the chassis.  Again, another little thing, but a very nice detail to see!

The clear top actually saved me a little early disappointment.  One internal ribbon cable wasn't connected (must have shook loose in shipping).  Two hex screws out the back and the top was off, problem solved, and back in business.  The clear top is expertly done and the logo clean and well presented - etched into the top, not a sticker/silkscreen - again, the little touches that say "high-end".

The aluminum remote.  On first picking it up, I thought I may need to register it with the sheriff's department - it is truly one hefty chunk of metal.  It has the same brushed finish as the main amp chassis and shares the logo badging as well.  Buttons are a little shallow, but have a solid feel/response to them.  I haven't taken the back cover off to load up some batteries in it yet.

The power supply.  I only dipped my toes in the water and went with the 130w "standard" power supply.  I was surprised at how big/heavy even this unit is - continuing to underscore how the whole amp as a package is pleasantly overbuilt, top to bottom.  I'm sure this supply will be plenty once I get my new speakers built, but I'm already thinking that if I were to keep my system as-is, I would be quickly looking at the bigger JT supply.  Note to all that my choice in power (as in lack of batteries) is a conscious one.  I understand what a battery supply can do for the amp/sound/system, but for now, for me, an old-fashioned, mindless to manage, plug-it-into-the-wall solution rings true to the KISS philosophy I've been evolving my system along lately.

Note that there are no initial listening impressions, as everyone seems to agree that this amp takes a good 100 hours or so to burn in.  That said, I'm just running it along during the day when I'm at work and will follow up after burn in with my impressions.  As a point of note, out of the box (and now with approximately 20 hours in), the sound is a little brittle and lacking in the solid lows that this amp has been applauded for.  Again, rather than condemning the amp, I see it as encouraging as these results are shared with that of others' reporting on how the sound started (and I presume will settle in as more hours are logged).

[will edit to add more later]

[Jonathon Janusz]

Reserved for future update.

[Jonathon Janusz]

. . . and one last Reserved space.

[mamba315]

The Tranquility DAC + M901 is a great match in my experience.  Be sure to reduce all extraneous background processes on your Mac Mini; that will give you a huge jump in sound quality.  Also, Pure Music is the best player I've tried, and will also give a large jump in sound quality.  It's been my experience that when the rest of the gear is this good, the transport could use some work.  If you've already done these things, then you're in for a real treat!

[jtwrace]

Be sure to reduce all extraneous background processes on your Mac Mini;

How?

[Jonathon Janusz]

mamba, I got in on the ground floor with the Tranquility, and it has been money very well spent.  Like it seems almost everyone else, I can give Eric and his DAC an excellent review and my recommendation.  To anyone still wondering about the Tranquility DAC, again as others have said, just forget everything you see or read about specs and stats.  This DAC just works and plays great music.

I'm glad you brought up tweaking the computer/system processes for sound quality, as I considered making a note in the big Tranquility thread about this.  I just never quite got around to it.  For me, the computer that is running my music system is also my primary entertainment machine (music, movies, internet) as well as the machine I use to do work on (personal work as well as my real day job).  That said, I can't be as aggressive with the tweaks as others using mac minis as dedicated music servers. 

Further, although I understand what all the tweaks I've read about do and can follow how they can improve the sound you get out of the computer, I really think it is important that folks REALLY understand exactly what all of these tweaks do to their computers - not just what the result to the sound is.  To cite specific example, the big one that worries me is folks talking about disabling journalling of their file systems.  Okay, if you have a totally stripped down, tuned and tweaked music server, and are fine with either your backup schedule or the possibility of what could happen should the system crash unexpectedly (as in the time it could take to reload the whole mess) - cool; wring that last .001% out of your sound (and I'll always be that .001% envious ).  For me, disabling one of the core and most basic pieces of fault tolerance and system stability to my file structure on what (for me) is a "mission critical" computer. . . that hasn't failed or had so much as a few hours of down time since install longer ago than I can remember. . . not so much.

Regarding itunes vs. Pure Music (or any other third party music software package), I'll leave that one for another time - there is some work I've been putting off that I really need to get done before I get to bed tonight.

Cheers!

[funkle]

Another vote for Pure Music here. I experimented with it, and Amarra Jr for about a month, and really gravitated towards the sound of PM. It is a pretty clear improvement over iTunes IMO and integrates with the itunes interface. Also, if using the mini for HT, you can assign a different converter to iTunes/PM, so that for instance, iTunes/PM would play through your 2 channel DAC, and other applications would play via optical output to your HT receiver. Give it a try, it's a free trial, then about $120 to purchase.