bj10au

After readings comments on M2Tech hiFace on another forum, I purchased one and received it about 3 weeks ago. The Mac driver wasn't available then, and I set up on my Mac using Windows 7 under a Boot Camp partition on my MacBook Pro and using FooBar as the server software. I was initially very impressed with the sound quality. Then the Mac OS driver Version 1.03 became available and I started using it with iTunes. I'm very impressed with the sound quality and I can control all my music through my iPhone using the Apple Remote application. My DAC is the one built into the NaimUniti which I purchased earlier this year. Using this DAC, I've compared both CD quality and HD music on the hiFace with music directly into the NaimUniti network connection, music played through AppleTV, and have also compared CD quality with the Naim CD player. The hiFace is far better than the AppleTV connect to the NaimUniti with toslink and as good as or better than the other two methods. The sort of differences I notice are the space around the instruments, the wide soundstage and the particularly the timing and low level detail ... and this applies to HD and CD quality music. Those who know Naim equipment will know it is great at conveying the timing of rhythms and this is not diminished at all by the hiFace, which seems to substantiate the claims made about the reduction of jitter. I've been an analogue lover for years. I've had a Linn LP12 turntable since the 1980s. The hiFace is one the few pieces of equipment which has really allowed me to really warm to digital recordings and just enjoy the music without any feeling that I need to adjust the volume. It just sounds "right". What I always liked about good vinyl was I would get so engrossed in the music I would not feel a need to make any adjustments. The hiFace has gone a long way to doing that for me with digital recordings and I have all the added convenience that I can control my music using my iPhone as a remote. I've never heard my iTunes music sounding so good. I save all my music in iTunes as WAV files for the greatest compatibility and sound quality and store them on an Iomega Home Media Network Storage drive. Postscript: I've just noticed that the Australian Distributor for this device has included a link to my comment here on their website. Perhaps it's only a coincidence, but they have also increased the price of the M2Tech hiFace from the A$179 that I paid for it, to A$199. It's still great value, and maybe I'm just a little cynical, but the way the Aussie dollar is going against the Euro, I don't think they hiFace would be costing them any more, just more in demand.

When I first used HiFace driver 1.0.2 for Windows with FooBar under Boot Camp I did notice some strange pops & pauses at times. However, since the Mac drivers came out (now v 1.0.3.2) and I've been using iTunes I have not had any problems except a short pause in the music on two occasions in hours of listening. Those pauses were most likely due to other traffic on the home network. I have a current model 15" Macbook Pro 2.53 GHz with OS X 10.6.2. I have had a mini-toslink connector in the audio out all the time I have been using the HiFace, but today I took that out just to see whether it made any difference. The only suggestions I can give is that may be there is some other background process on your Mac that is causing the sounds, or possibly a faulty HiFace unit. Also I would disconnect any other USB devices just to make sure they are not causing the problem. I have my HiFace connected directly to one of the 2 MacBook Pro USB sockets. It is a tight squeeze, but I'm using a powered Logitech USB hub on the other socket and that doesn't seem to cause any problems. That is one thing I really like about the HiFace is that it is plugs directly into the USB sockets, so USB cables don't play a part. In my earlier post I failed to mention that I have compared the HiFace with digital out from the MacBook Pro to my NaimUnity DAC using a mini-toslink to toslink adapter. The HiFace is far superior, with much more space around the instruments. Everything sounds more real. Another thing I really like about the HiFace with the Mac is that it works for all programs. For example, I can use it for EyeTV sound. My limited experience with the HiFace under Windows 7/Boot Camp was that I could only get it working when playing tracks with FooBar, and that was a bit "patchy". The interface with the Mac seems much better … just select the device under sound output preferences.