Daniel Hertz Maria 350 Integrated Amplifier Review Part 1
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 12 янв 2024
- Mark Levinson's newest company is Daniel Hertz. And here's Adrian's full, detailed impressions and opinions on the Maria 350 Integrated Amplifier. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
#highendaudio #hifi #audiophile
Where to buy/hear Daniel Hertz: www.audioexcellence.ca/pages/...
Daniel Hertz Website: danielhertz.com/
Book an appointment with us to listen via either email or phone:
info@audioexcellence.ca
(905)881-7109
Social Media:
linktr.ee/audio_excellence
If you are interested in our playlists, here is how to get them:
Donate to your charity of choice and email the receipt to info@audioexcellence.ca, Adrian's playlist is $10.
We match and donate all the funds we receive from RUclips for the videos, so please support us by watching, subscribing and liking them. Thank you very much for your support.
As always, we would love to hear from you, so please if you have any questions about hifi/audiophile or anything audio-related, leave your comments and feedback below. If you have suggestions for future topics, please let us know.
Audio Excellence Inc. is a high-end audio/video store in Markham, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. We've been in business since 1991.
Check out our interviews with designers and audio luminaries like Daryl Wilson of Wilson Audio, Paul McGowan of PS Audio, Paolo Tezzon of Sonus Faber, Wendell Diller of Magnepan, John Atkinson of Stereophile, Dan D'Agostino of D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, Nelson Pass of Pass Labs and others.
Contacts:
Adrian@audioexcellence.ca
Mike@audioexcellence.ca
Lewis@audioexcellence.ca
Info@audioexcellence.ca
Audioexcellenceca@gmail.com
Edited by: Alison@audioexcellence.ca 
Развлечения
Was waiting for your review of the DH. Worth the wait! Thanks for your honesty on the system.
Thanks
Adrian - Great video and you are right about its magic! Can't wait for your comrade to get one to review!
Adrian, I really enjoy your reviews and the observations relative the sound. Multiple comparisons would be welcomed!
stay tuned!
I’m really excited for the DH lineup. Mark Levinson is amazing and truly someone who loves audio.
He loves money more and his prices are ridiculous too rich for my blood.
@@erics9754 You never met the man. Yes his prices are definitely out of your league. I suggest most non audiophile stick to Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer, and Yamaha. You get value there.
Exactly@@erics9754
That is a Beautiful machine. I LOVE the power specs. I also love that Stradivari Gen 2 right behind you! 😎
Thanks for awesome reviews... out of my reach but I'm learning alot...
There is nothing wrong with class D amps these days. The ones which have pre-built modules are good in their price range and the quality of the sound keeps improving. In my tests the latest Hypex easily keeps up with Bryston, Cary Audio etc. level of amps and even outperforms some of them.
Custom class D could be another league. The problem is that manufacturers like D'Augustino don't come up with new designs because it takes tens of years to build something new and they don't want to spend that time. Instead they just reuse same schematic with minimal changes and better parts since parts do get better.
Therefore anything which has a brand new ideas in design should be respected and given a chance to be auditioned.
Adrian, are you going to compare build in DAC with your MSB? I borrowed once your lower level MSB DAC and still on the hook for its sound...
Great review Adrian.
imagine it will be even more stunning when you tuned the maria to each individual speakers used in the review.
also i read in a few forums that best audio is achieved when using the original DH speaker cable, can you please confirm that when you do part II of this review.
Thanks
Can't wait to hear one of these DH systems.
Would love to know your feedback when you do
I look forward to your follow up and also the Amber speaker review. Thank you Adrian.
Thanks
It doesn't have any pre-out, for me that is a deal breaker. Not even a pair of outs to control subs.
Mate, thank you for turning me on to that Al Di Meola album. I don't think I'd have stumbled across that one on my own.
Great video ❤
I can sense your excitement and love for this product. You said it can be “tuned” to a particular speaker system? This is intriguing. I don’t expect a precise answer on RUclips, but they will tune it to say, my B&W 705s? I also have a sub with a very low crossover point. I cannot imagine how they would do this. This is a very tempting amplifier. I have a Hegel h190 now, so it is more neutral as well.
Great review, Adrian. I love your honesty and candour. They're a breath of fresh air. I can't believe the number of SIGNIFICANT challenges you encounter with so many of these ultra-high-end brands you carry! Any money you make off any of the products you carry is VERY well deserved. You haven't chosen an easy business to run and profit from - far from it! Rather, it just seems like one challenge after another after another. Certainly, it's more than I could cope with as a business owner. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that every product you receive from Daniel Hertz/Mark Levinson in the future arrives shiny and completely unscathed!
FedEx sux
@@JingoLoBa57 fedex is the best carrier
Fair and honest review. If I am not mistaken there are very few integrated amplifiers out there that can be tuned to match speakers....DH Maria is quite unique in this area.
Technics has at least 1 integrated that does it. And the Lyngdorf TDAI 1120 (probably the higher end TDAI too) can be tuned to their speakers, not sure about other brands though. And I swear I remember seeing one other.
But the way DH is doing it. Is different than the others. So yes it’s a very unique feature. This amp is really a great unit IMO. And even though I can’t afford one. I still consider it the best deal in audio right now. ✌️
Love your videos. Thank You
Many thanks
@@adrianlow2114❤❤❤❤ you are the best Adrien really are such an interesting man and a humanitarian👍👍🙏🙏
Hello Fellow Audiophiles And Friends: Thank you Adrian for this video on the Daniel Hertz amplifier. One thing that really astounded me was the use of a 6 Layer PC board. In this day & age I really didn't think that any Civilian device would use such an amazing & costly component. Back in the 80's when I was building missiles and guidance systems they were a common place with as much as 10 + layers but the failure rates were very high. Nice in depth review. I very much look forward to your final opinions. God Bless & be safe, TMP from N.J.
Wow! You were in that industry! Yes DH uses some very high tech stuff
My amplifier has 8 layer circuit board :) But yes, it is rare to see those these days, they get very expensive with each layer added.
@@akosinskiy Well sir you have one of the great ones. Yes I'm very familiar with the construction + the complexities that goes along with it. Heat is the killer of that multi layer design. Please be certain that you have more than adequate air flow on that unit or it gets real expensive very quickly. Thank you for your input. TMP from N.J.
Hi Adrian, yeah, like other commenters, I'm a little worried about how it looks. But excited to hear it given how well you've reviewed its sound.
I love the way it looks. Certainly unconventional ie not using aluminum chassis, but there isn't the same heat as traditional amps so aluminum is not needed. And I do love the understated elegance
@adrianlow2114 Yes, fair points you make, but I think it will fingerprint easily. I guess I'm going to need to see one in the flesh. I'm hoping I can get one for review on my channel at some point. It was possibly an unfair criticism of me before I've actually physically seen one.
Another great review Adrian. I predict we're looking at the winner when the comparison to the Hegel and McIntosh lands. These Daniel Hertz amps and speakers have really intrigued me and the glowing reviews just make me lust more for them. Now all you've got to do is convince Mark to add a remote! Keep up the good work.
Forgot to add Accuphase too in the comparison.
Mark Levinson said the volume control will degrade the sound too much so he won’t do it. Mark thought that you could use the volume control that might be on your streamer unit or whatever source you might use or just get up and turn the volume knob. I’ve read a few of his interviews.
@@peterw2714 this is pure bs, he just too lazy to add a remote for unit with that kind of price
@@MasterofPlay7 while entitled to your opinion, I don’t think the volume control would be difficult to add compared to designing the whole unit. As compact, powerful, and as good as this sounds, I would tend to believe him.
I enjoy your content and your humble demeanor. I worked in NYC for a very well known high end store where the owner was an arrogant little tyrant. Mark L. would stop by quite often as would many of the other big guys in the industry and I wasn't referring to Sandy Gross' physique.
Thanks. I think I can guess who it was
Hello! Please make a review about the headphone amplifier output! There is no information to be found anywhere in the reviews ! what are the parameters of the output voltage , is the sound quality comparable to the main output ?????
Adrian, first I have to say that you are a "natural" in front of the camera :-) A RUclips presentation and production at the level that YOU do it at is not something that is as easy as you make it look due to your skills in getting your thoughts across in such a pleasant and entertaining manner. Second, thanks for such great and thorough review of the amp I've been so curious about since the moment I learned that you were going to carry it. I'm aiming at getting one ASAP once my finances allow :-) Third, and believe me, NO disrespect to Mark WHATSOEVER but wouldn't it be SO much simpler for him and or Daniel to just REPLACE the unit that was damaged in transit? As a customer, I wouldn't want to accept a damaged unit. And OH ! BTW I don't have ANY affiliation with DHL but in any dealings I've had with them re stuff shipped from Europe and the UK, I've had nothing but the best and secure service with no B.S with customs etc.. Mark might like to look into that for future shipping! Just saying !
Mark is sending Daniel with a replacement Maria and other components. This is much more than I would expect, and his service has been far beyond what I've ever experienced. The reason he could not replace them immediately was that he had run out of stock at that time.
@@adrianlow2114 Thank you for the info, Adrian . . . since you ARE a dealer, I would think that Mark would want to resolve the issue to your satisfaction ASAP - it shows good faith and good business savvy which you could then pass on to a Maria customer. Thanks again for the Maria review - looking forward to your follow up. If you see this, if you could address whether the Maria would be a good match with ESL's, that would be very helpful and interesting indeed. CHEERS!
Thanks for sharing. That's quite a few ads though.
Ads are from RUclips's alogrithm unfortunately
No XLR inputs?
Is optimizing the Maria for a certain speakers a separate tuning from the C Wave processing end of things for the DAC?
Is there no optical input on the built-in Dac?
Great video! Which Eversolo streamer has the bad volume control - the DMP-A6 or DMP-A8?
DMP-A6
How does the Maria Amp's compare to Aavik amps?
also did you tune the maria specifically for each speaker? I think this will improve the over all sound presentation.
No, I kept the Maria flat to keep things consistent. This way the changes I heard were due to the Maria. But you are correct that if the Maria was tuned for each speaker, the sound would have likely been even better
I do find the Maria amp plus the eva Speakers so henticing , so tempting, I do have a small room , and think that system would be perfect there , despite the fact that i have a very good little monitor ( harbeth p3esr) but the eva, with that bass response.....huuummmmmm. Have to confess that what i am saying is difficult for me to accept ,....... I like big tube amps and big loudspeakers (full range in special ) my dream systems would be synthesis nyc200i with harbeth 40.2 or 40.3xd , or voxativ 9.87 with audio note toonmeister 300b , or ongaku :) .......if i had that kind of money. So for me the Maria amp looks a bit wimpy ,.... :) , but i guess it a question of getting used to, i do think the savings in consuming , the low maintenance being a digital amp, the low weight ....and the fabulous chip inside ,...are all plus points hard to ignore,
only......the lack of remote.......man oh man,.....i love laziness and music , they go so well together...... in a more serious way , yes the Maria amp is a very good proposition when i have the money for it.
Curious to know what happened during shipment, and if the carrier offered reimbursement for the damage.
Daniel Hertz is looking after the claims as they are the shipper
FedEx never pays for damage and deny all insurance claims, as a practice.
Daniel hertz systems also come with cables, maybe it would be interesting to test them against the other cables, and in the process see if theres some kind of special synergy with the Maria amp
They do sound best with the copper speaker cables that it comes with
@@colekyler002 not sure about this but I THINK that the cables that are included are the SPEAKER cables and not the amp's power cable which is pretty generic if I understand Steve Huff's review. correctly
Correct, they are speaker cables only, I use the Verastarr top of the line silver PC to connect the Maria to my conditioner
@@colekyler002 Thank you for your reply :-) Care to share your experience with your Maria and how it sounds with your speakers ? This is amp is seriously interesting from so many points of view :-) Cheers!
Where to start................ I watched Steve Huff's videos and was very curious to see if the Maria would be able to better my Audionet Max monos and Pre G2 preamp (along w/ the Denafrips Terminator +) I purchased one from Lone Crowe Audio in CA (AMAZING guys over there!) but had an issue since it didn't ship with bot sets of speaker cables. I hooked up my Fidelium cables instead and it sounds VERY disjointed. I quickly took the Maria out of the system and put the Audionet/Denafrips separates back in. Once I got the DH speaker cables (about a week later) I hooked it back up and WOW, if you could believe it, the bass was deeper than the Audionet Max monos, which is crazy due to its damping factor being one of the highest and able to control my Alta Celeste speakers like (I thought) nothing else! Not only was the bass better, but the midrange is just "magical" - the tone of the instruments is just very "real" sounding. I wound up upgrading to the higher level Maria (800) with active crossovers and bought the demo pair of Chiaras from Lone Crow. Totally different level now with the clarity, detail and extension (While Altas have "more" bass, not as refined as what I have now in the Chiaras) I would highly suggest trying one out. With the fact that you no longer need any expensive interconnects (of course still have the USB/ethernet cables for Innuous/Nucleus, etc) and speaker cables and the fact that it is very light, no need to deal with big/heavy boxes any longer.............. As far as I am concerned, I am done with buying/selling amps, dacs, etc. - This is truly end-game stuff - IMHO!!
Hi Adrian, have you ever listened to the Mark Levinson No.32 Reference Pre-amp and No.33 Reference Monoblocks?
Yes, had both many years ago, but it's been a very long time
The Maria and it's technology sound like a great amplifier "simulator" Nothing inherently wrong with that and hat's off to the engineers. Comes at a price though, but the size and tune ability can be a strong selling point.
I think the tune ability is a super strong point. this integrated amp is already competing with stand alone amps twice the price then you factor in the ability to be able to tune your specific speaker . Then you’re getting a world-class dac with c-wave. When this amp first dropped the asking price was 10,000-12,000 mow 17,000. At the end of the day I don’t have the money to afford it
@@ericelmore887 lol you like tune ability? you can easily get preamp which you can tune the sound
Adrian, how easy is it to tune the amp to any given speaker a customer might already own? By the Dealer or only by DH?
Daniel, Mark's right hand man is coming on Sunday to hand deliver some replacements for the damaged items. I believe he will be training me on how to tune. However, Mark Levinson and his team will also be available to do the tuning with you through Team Viewer.
💯
How has Fedex responded to your claim which I assume you made? It would be very helpful to know how Fedex handles/resolves damage to such pricey items. Whether it be for D Hertz or another manufacturer … would be consumers could greatly benefit if they knew how you, the manufacturer and Fedex resolve such issues. What do you recommend as best practices for consumers to follow in such a scenario especially for international shipments? This would be a great episode topic; I doubt this damaged shipment is an isolated incident.
At least they didn’t throw it over the fence? These couriers are such a-holes.
Daniel Hertz is looking after the claim. When we ship and experience damages, we have to file the claim, assuming that you bought insurance, which we always do. It can be a long process, and tedious unfortunately
@@adrianlow2114 I’m so glad Levinson’s team were attentive to the situation. I had a SGI Octane and Indy system shipped in the 90’s with damage. It was a nightmare… the Octane workstation was $90K alone.
FedEx has an established reputation as the worst couriers, routinely damaging goods, and failing to take responsibility for. Their employee engagement and org culture is so poor they bring that attitude to their work and package handling.
What if you change speakers or have two sets of speakers of very different types?
You don't need to tune the Maria. It is an option. However, once the tuning file has been created, you download the file to your computer. This way you can load the file for the specific speaker anytime you want to change speakers
a Smoot upper cut? ;)
What about saterday night …
I think this is a true digital amplifier, meaning the DAC is the amplifier. Can you confirm this Adrian?
If you read the description of C-Wave and the Mighty CAT chip used on the Daniel Hertz Website, yes I conclude that the Amp is the DAC (similar to Peachtree Gan 1) actually a DACless design.
I believe there is some truth to this, though I don't have all the details
No, Maria is a monolithic head unit and an amp module. The magic is the front end of the unit.
why does it need to warm up? It's a class d amp...
Adrian said amp was unplugged, not on standby.
@@HudyGamer14 class d should be plugged and play, even class a/b is plugged and play especially with that price tag....
$12000 and no balanced input. which dac chip is integrated ? there is really no info about the hardware.
Based on the reviews, I would trade my 20K setup for Daniel Hertz Eva System in a heartbeat
I just can’t get over how cheap it looks
Agree crazy expensive and plastic that shows dust and every fingerprint. Metal baby! For that kind of money I want Ironman.
Toy story Amp.. 😳
And costs like 30+ k lol
Looks like a cheap plastic amp from Amazon
I believe there is a good reason that the Maria's innards are not inserted into a metal box which inherently has a negative impact on the electronics inside. I think that you can trust that a good engineer like Mark Levinson knows the advantages of the special material used here. And as far as dust and fingerprint issues go, just keep your damn PAWS OFF IT LOL - no, really, that is simply NO reason to dismiss an outstanding piece of gear if indeed that is the ONLY thing of concern!
Every time this needs to warm up? I thought only tube equipment has that drawback, not class D.
I think Adrian had it unplugged. I keep mine plugged in, but on standby when not in use and don't hear any difference when first on, versus on for say a 1/2 hour or so
@@colekyler002 yes that's right. The Maria was off for at least 2 days
This is gigantic because it's DSP, and it works it seems. Works at providing an experience. Thus it is a sort of fundamental split from the quest for originality or purity or pick your adjective which is a foundation of HiFi philosophy. Well I'm not saying it right, because it's too big. Anyway however it does it it's mindboggling great for $15K? Not $40K or $165K? Hard to believe.
The black box aspect is going to be a big deal. I gather they are licensing parts of the design.
How about dragging people off the street and have them listen. People totally disinterested in HiFi and see if they, get it.
Probably Infineon chip inside branded cat, the cost to build it is almost nothing besides the case.
Hi, It's not Infineon. And have you factored in the cost of designing the chip, the engineering and design of the programs etc? What do you think a top level computer programmer charges? The chip and the software took years to develop, and for a small audio company, that's a very very high cost
@@adrianlow2114 no I haven't. I now for sure spec has used Infineon in some products that have a high retail price. The amp is probably really good but seems kinda expensive.
Does it sound better than Steve Huffs old radio that he uses to talk to the dead? 😂
Hahaha
@@JingoLoBa57
Seriously have you seen Steve Huffs paranormal channel?
The guy is either completely off his head
Or
He's the biggest charlatan in the audio world.
Or
Both
LoL haha
@@crazyprayingmantis5596 The owner of HHR Exotics (modern Ohm Walsh Speakers) appeared on Coast-2-Coast once to discuss that he is from the Pleiades. His speakers are good, maybe out of this world?
I think you forgot John McLaughlin
Apparently McLaughlin did not play on Mediterranean, but I could be wrong
@@adrianlow2114 Correct. PDL on the left channel, ADM on the right.
For the peopke concerned regarding the looks of this product, it sure looks fancier than any upscale Hegel product.🤔🤫🙄
Always the same story.... once warmed up it is fabulous.
In this case, it was
Well, sometimes that is a true statement. Some systems need to be warmed up that’s a matter of fact
SO easy and inexpensive to leave a system on standby . . . I just unplug it if I'm away because if there is a thunder storm . . .
Who cares about audio equipment? According to Wikipedia: Mark Levinson and the actress Kim Cattrall [of "Sex in the City"] were married from 1998 to 2004. The couple co-wrote the book "Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm" (2002).
Sorry but you had to start the video with “there is no remote”.
After this sentence everything is irrelevant.
I’d rather have a great sound with no remote than a mediocre system with a remote😮
@@stephencosta6814
There are plenty that offer both remote control and good sound.
For 17k, remote is not a big thing to ask.
Looks super cheap and the actual case material is just a fancy plastic type. No remote explained by promoting walking more is total bs. I hope this all work for ML, but let the metal come to us Mark.
How is this a review? You're a dealer for this product. This is nothing more than a sales pitch.
such over the top rave reviews are rising suspicion on your financial interests, but also your capacity to objectively assess and compare HIFI products.
Another shi*******ty Class D amplifier .
You shouldn’t say that unless you listen to it, you’re judging a book by its cover😮
No no... its the best dac/preamp ever on a regular class D amp... period end of story
Adrian I am canceling my subscription. Your service reviews were far more accurate and informative when you were accompanied. The equipment you review is LA-LA land for 90% of consumers of hifi hobbiests (sp). I get it your customer’s willingness to pay is higher then most of us. Nonetheless your reviews and marketing information is most deficient.
Another ripoff scam from Mark. He sells his garbage, goes out of business, then leaves his customers with no support. Think Cello and red rose music.
DH has been in business for over a decade now sir, just not here in the US - it is NOT a scam and instead of trying to tear down, why don't you listen for yourself!
I don’t know… have to wait and see. It is not for me, doesn’t matter how hard they try to shove class D down our throats. To Adrian, being too friendly with a designer/builder does not help being objective. Still, love your channel but I miss the other guys (and doll) as well.
@@colekyler002...don't bother, he's just repeating what he heard from another utube channel. I saw that video also...rubbish from another utuber that thinks he knows everything 🙄
@@nirodha35Thanks for the feedback. Like you, I have not been a big fan of Class D. Somehow, this is different. Maybe it is because of C-Wave. Or a confluence of all the factors. As far as being friendly with Mark, I am also friendly with all the other companies we represent, other than the folks at Accuphase who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting.
@@adrianlow2114Adrian, the civility which I continue to see in your replies is commendable; I wish I could maintain such comportment in many of my real life engagements.
Not surprisingly many of us could share war stores of shipping / loading damage.