Have you by any chance tried the mysphere (I’m assuming 3.2) on that thing? Would be curious what you think of the pairing if so
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HifiRose RS150B. It’s like a swiss army knife streamer, DDC, source, DAC with an absolutely gorgeous display. But it doesn’t sound as good as the Rossini’s built-in streamer and the TotalDAC D-1 DDC also outperformed it in my system. So not sure what I’m going to do with it or if I’m going to keep it.
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I haven’t yet. @Draaly just left his set with me so I’m planning on playing around with that in the next couple weeks.
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Also heard similar on the hifirose stuff in general, looks neat and has all the features but sq isn’t up to snuff for the money
Will be curious what you think of the playback vs dcs. Make sure to give the playback a run with native dsd/sacd if you can, that’s really where it shines imo
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Just a note, this is with my d1-digital mk1, not even the mk2 or new sublime. Tbh I was kinda surprised by that given it’s like a 2011 design and I don’t even have live power
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You use two DACs for this?
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Yeah. The HifiRose seems perfect for a Home Theater setup with a more than decent DAC and all the features/inputs/outputs to perform whatever myriad duties are needed there. But definitely becomes the weak link in more serious audio chains.
And I’m definitely going to put the MPD to the test with native DSD and play around with HQP DSD upsampling as well.
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I also had one for a hot minute. It is certainly a great all-in-one box. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to someone that is beginning and wants a neat solution that brings everything together, especially to bring a TV into the mix. It’s a superb “good enough” solution, but anyone that has an enthusiast DAC or streamer/server will definitely surpass it. It’s definitely fun. It just had too many overlaps for my use case.
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Yeah. I have my audio chain which currently has a non-APEX Rossini into the HM-1 via XLR.
My computing audio is done through an RME Babyface Pro FS that I use for my mic pre and DAC which is connected to source B of the HM-1 via XLR.
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Will also be handy once the MPD-8 arrives to do some fun rapid A/B between the two DACs.
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Okay that’s a major league rationalization cause ratchet ass Wasapi will do the same thing fo’ free. 
I recently got rid of a dCS network bridge and very much enjoyed it but it didn’t play nice with my DAC for some bizarre reason no on could figure out so I had to move pass it on. It’s the same bridge streamer in the Rossini so no question about the quality of it.
Looking forward to hearing about the Rossini and how it plays with the Zahl.
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Not if you’re streaming
Not sure how highlighting a feature I use often is a rationalization? I bought the amp because it sounds fantastic with Susvara. The extra features are just a bonus.
Also, I don’t think Wasapi even supports native DSD. So not ideal with the Playback Designs.
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I’m not pooping on the wonderful gear! I can’t work and critically listen at the same time, and no support in Wasapi for native DSD but then again, what do you expect fo’ free?
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All good. I use the feature way more than I thought I would.
I also don’t critically listen when working, but I do like to have music playing when I’m writing or not in meetings. Also nice when multitasking on the computer on the weekends. Can mix the music in the background on the rare occasion I play a video game or something.
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NGL. If they had a pre with just the mixing feature and super good quality like it is on the amp, I would pay a serious chunk of change for the ability to stay bit perfect and not have to fuck with pausing roon, switching sources, or anything like that just to take a quick call or listen to a voice chat. The convenience factor is quite hight.
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“We will not be able to deliver the first units until August and the last units until end of year.”
This sucks but I definitely prefer higher quality over earlier shipping.
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“…this might just be the most expensive headphone amp on the planet.” Passion for Sound, 2023
Oh, you sweet summer child. 
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I’ve had the HM1 on loan for a week now and here are my impressions.
Setup is Meitner MA3 → HM1. Other setups for comparison are MA3 → Mjolnir 3, MA3 → Serene → Tyrs, and MA3 → Serene → Firstwatt SIT-3. Headphones I’ve used the most have been ETA O2, Diana V2, Utopia OG, and Aurorus Australis.
This is the best headphone amp I’ve heard. Maybe not quite to the same level as the WA33 Elite I used to own but versus other solid state headphone amps, I haven’t heard a better one. In the past I’ve used / owned the following, Rebel Amp, Flux FA-12, Flux Volot, Formula S and Powerman, and Mjolnir 3. It’s impressive all that the HM1 accomplishes in such a small form factor, it also makes it very easy to compare two sources and has EQ-like knobs that adjust the bass, treble, stage, and balance. I don’t use these much but it can be fun to try. For example I felt like the treble knob helped fix the overally dark treble on the ZMF Atrium.
The build is very good too. Everything feels solid and all the external panels are thick. There’s nothing flimsy about the construction. The knobs on the front are all knurled and easy to use but sometimes I find the volume ones to be a bit too stiff making volume matching between two sources difficult at times.
The sound is clear but not boring, it has a good amount of tonal density. The stage is medium sized but has excellent imaging and layering capabilities. It sounds fast and detailed but for me lacks a bit of slam. Of the amps I’ve owned in the past it reminds me the most of the Flux Volot although that amp had much more slam at the expense of some tonal density. It also bordered on being a bit too lean with some headphones.
I have a couple issues with this amp, that being the price and the performance compared to speaker amps that cost less then half as much as the HM1. Speaker amps require a preamp and take up a lot more space and produce a lot of heat but I’ve been using speaker amps for about a year now so that’s my main point of reference for headphone listening. I have two speaker amps in my setup, the Schiit Tyr monoblocks, and the Firstwatt SIT-3. Both of which I preferred to the HM1. The SIT-3 is just a little bit better but might lose out on a bit of detail and separation especially in the top end. However it stages larger and has more slam and bass quantity along with more tonal density. The Tyrs are a couple steps above the SIT-3 and the HM1 for me. They have a huge sound stage in width and depth, slam very hard, and are fast and detailed. The one complaint I have with them is the lack of bass quantity. It’s about the same as HM1 but lacking next to the SIT-3 so I have to be careful with the headphones I pair with it. For example I didn’t find it to be the best match with the Susvara, I preferred the SIT-3 for that headphone. Next to the Tyrs, the HM1 sounds closed in and soft overall. It’s not a bad sounding amp but I just don’t see the value in it when the cost of Tyrs + preamp is still less then the cost of the HM1. However the performance the HM1 packs into such a small space can’t be beat out of what I’ve tried so far.
The most interesting comparison I’ve done might be the Mjolnir 3 though. That amp competes quite well with the HM1. It stages larger but lacks depth and precise imaging, is warmer but lacks some tonal density, and has more bass and impact. And it’s 1/6 of the cost or so. Out of all the amps I have I’d rank it as Tyr > SIT-3 >= HM1 >= MJ3.
This isn’t my HM1 so I’m glad I didn’t buy one but they are still holding their value quite well on the used market and I’ve seen some sell for more then msrp. I could also see this amp being worth it for those that will use all of it’s features like a reviewer. Personally I’d probably use the HM1 as a preamp over as a headphone amp.
TLDR is it’s a good amp but priced way too high. I think it would be more competitive priced around 4-6k. Incredible performance for the small form factor but is easily beaten by speaker amps and almost matched by the mjolnir 3.
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