{"id":35950,"date":"2025-09-08T17:04:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T15:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/product\/musical-fidelity-m8x-dac-digital-to-analogue-converter\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:28:24","slug":"musical-fidelity-m8x-dac-digital-to-analogue-converter","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/toode\/musical-fidelity-m8x-dac-digital-to-analogue-converter\/","title":{"rendered":"Musical Fidelity M8x DAC Digital to Analogue Converter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Superlative Headphone Amplifier<\/h4>\n

The M8x DAC<\/strong> doesn\u2018t stops at DAC performance, it also boasts a high-end, ultra-powerful headphone amplifier capable of driving even the most demanding headphones with ease. Whether you\u2018re listening through speakers or headphones, experience the signature Musical Fidelity<\/strong> sound: soft yet powerful, clear, and effortlessly musical.<\/p>\n

Technical Talk<\/h4>\n

Building on Musical Fidelity\u2019s<\/strong> knowledge and experience with Sabre ESS chips, the M8x DAC<\/strong> uses 2x ES9038Q2M chips in dual differential mode for a pristine dual mono design. Thanks to these converters, it supports up to 768 kHz files in PCM and DSD256 via DoP and native DSD512 via USB, covering any digital file you can buy or stream. The SPDIF inputs are greatly improved as well, now supporting MQA (up to 384kHz) and DSD (DoP 64) as well!<\/p>\n

Digital Architecture<\/h4>\n

We utilize an extremely low-noise, low-dropout regulator designed specifically for high-performance audio systems and optimized for high-resolution audio thanks to its revolutionary dual-regulator architecture. The inclusion of a Time Domain Jitter Eliminator results in superb SNR and THD+N performance with unbelievably detailed transient response. Digital audio is the art of time, with Musical Fidelity\u2019s<\/strong> proprietary clock design Musical Fidelity<\/strong> have managed jitter rates of unrivalled and below 100 femtoseconds. This outperforms many renowned and respected audiophile clock generators! Other advances in the DAC section include optional upsampling and reclocking and an oversampling bypass mode. The 16-core XMOS and CPLD MAX II Altera processors ensure there is always enough headroom for these operations, the digital filters and the MQA processing. Compared to the M6x DAC<\/strong>, MQA processing is now possible on the USB and SPDIF inputs!<\/p>\n

Upsampling, Reclocking and Digital Filters<\/h4>\n

The CPLD MAX II (Complex Programmable Logic Device) Altera is used for re-clocking, which together with the XMOS microcontroller brings high-quality processing of both PCM, DSD and MQA technology. Upsampling and reclocking can be individually turned on and off for PCM signals. DSD and MQA use their own format specific settings and filters. For PCM signals, the M8x DAC<\/strong> has eight selectable digital filters.<\/p>\n

Oversampling Bypass<\/h4>\n

For ultra-high-res audio Musical Fidelity<\/strong> have gone the extra step and created Musical Fidelity\u2019s<\/strong> oversampling bypass mode. This mode can be accessed by selecting filter 8 and is by default selected when the M8x DAC<\/strong> is first turned on after unpacking. In this mode the DAC\u2019s oversampling FIR filters are disabled, and source data is upsampled to 352,8kHz or 384kHz, respectively.<\/p>\n

Going even one step further, ultra-high sample rates of 705,6k and 768kHz enter the DAC block directly. Effectively, this turns off all remaining filtering, improving audio parameters and the frequency spectrum by yet another step. The oversampling filter is the largest single digital section \u201cblock\u201d on the ESS DAC chip by silicon area. By powering this filter block down, Musical Fidelity<\/strong> reduce the on-chip PSU \/ ground noise and consequently lower signal correlated clock modulation on the ESS DAC\u2019s silicon die.<\/p>\n

Discrete and Fully Balanced Output<\/h4>\n

The M8x DAC<\/strong> bolsters a massively improved discrete output stage. Immediately noticeable by the enormous space requirements on the PCB \u2013 owing not only to the fact that it is fully discrete but also fully balanced \u2013 it is a major evolution compared to the M6x DAC\u2019s<\/strong> counterpart that was built using integrated circuits (=chips). This design also makes the M8x DAC<\/strong> truly fully balanced from beginning to end. Not only is this benefitting sound characteristics, but also longevity and sustainability. The M8x DAC<\/strong> remains easy to maintain and repair as chips go eventually out of production and might not be replaceable many years later. But discrete components will always be built and can always be serviced.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The M8x DAC<\/strong> proudly continues Musical Fidelity\u2018s<\/strong> legacy of pioneering world-class DAC technology. Back in the early 90s, Musical Fidelity<\/strong> revolutionized audio performance by being one of the first to develop separate DACs to enhance CD player sound quality. Today, in a world dominated by digital sources like PC audio and streamers \u2013 often built by software companies lacking hardware expertise \u2013 Musical Fidelity<\/strong> leads the way with its superior ability to transform digital signals into breathtaking analogue sound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35952,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[768],"product_cat":[320],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35950","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_brand-musical-fidelity","7":"product_cat-dacs-digital-to-analog-converters","9":"first","10":"instock","11":"taxable","12":"shipping-taxable","13":"purchasable","14":"product-type-variable"},"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/35950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/35950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48816,"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/35950\/revisions\/48816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=35950"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=35950"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hifimarket.ee\/et\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=35950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}