$4,194.00
or pay $699.00/month for 6 months* with the Providence Synchrony Card
The m905 is Grace Design’s second generation stereo monitor controller, engineered from the ground up to provide unrivaled sonic purity with a comprehensive and powerful feature set.
The m905 represents a new benchmark for audio playback quality. DAC performance is on par with the finest esoteric mastering equipment available. Grace Design’s redesigned s-Lock™ PLL ensures ultra-low jitter clock regeneration. An asynchronous USB class 2 interface allows the m905 to act as the master clock of the computer’s USB audio buss, effectively eliminating interface-induced jitter for computer audio playback. And finally, meticulous analog circuitry measures with outstanding numbers in dynamic range, distortion, and noise performance, ensuring bracingly open, detailed, and musical playback of any input source.
All main audio and power supply circuitry is housed in a 2U rack mount mainframe, while system control is managed by a sleek, ergonomic remote control unit. This new RCU is a combination of dedicated hardware and a color graphical LCD display. All primary monitoring features are accessed via hardware switches and a rotary encoder, while all system information is presented by the graphic LCD and illuminated switches. This hybrid design allows for the solid feel and function of traditional hardware with the added power and functionality of a graphical user interface.
This is the world’s finest stereo monitor controller, with built-in mastering quality Digital to Analog Converters, audiophile-grade headphone amplifier, and unrivaled system configuration tools. For hardworking audio professionals and studios that demand the very best playback available.
Now supported is DSD 128x (5.6448MHz) via DoP v1.1 (DSD over PCM frames). DSD audio can be sourced from the AES3, S/PDIF, or USB digital inputs. While still a niche playback format, DSD has held its ground over the years, and now more and more content is available via download. And playback is now supported by a number of players. DSD sounds stunningly natural, especially rendered through the rest of the playback circuitry of the m905. So if you’re the type to seek out this kind of fidelity, the m905 is a great way to enjoy it.
The GUI is designed so that any engineer unfamiliar with the m905 can use the system immediately and confidently. Then with a minimal time investment, advanced functions can be accessed and controlled with ease. Additional features include: naming individual inputs and speaker outputs, calibrating level offsets of any input and output, setting preset levels, and much more. The setup menus only ever drill down one level, so the main operating screen is always one button away. And when returning to any previously visited setup menu, its previous edit status is remembered, keeping redundant navigation and editing to a minimum.
The m905 offers the ability to transfer up to 10 channels of digital audio (8-channels of ADAT and two of AES3, or S/PDIF or TOSLINK) over USB to a computer, making the m905 capable of operating as a standalone USB audio interface. This is an advanced feature as there are clock issues to be aware of, but it works and is documented in the owner’s manual.
With stunning sonic performance and timeless design, the m905 is a mark of genuine progress in the pursuit of high-quality audio production. Intuitive, reliable, and beautiful, it is the perfect studio centerpiece – home base for your ears, eyes, and hands.
The asynchronous mode USB converter in the m905 represents a significant improvement over any previous type of USB DAC. Previously, a USB DAC worked under standard adaptive mode USB audio, which means the DAC’s clock would have to sync to the non-audio related computer USB buss master clock. As you can imagine, the computer has a lot else to do, so the incoming clock signal to which the DAC’s clock would have to sync was not ideal and would result in unwanted jitter.
With asynchronous mode USB, the m905’s USB DAC becomes the master to which the computer’s USB buss gets synced. So the computer is now synced to a crystal-based audio clock signal and the systems work with dramatically lower jitter. No phase-lock loop or sample rate conversion is necessary, which means bit-perfect playback from a computer with zero interface-induced jitter.
Regardless of the type of computer you will use to playback audio from, it must have at least one available USB port. The m905 ships with a standard USB type A to type B cable. The type A connector plugs into the computer and the type B connector to the USB m905 input.
The m905’s asynchronous mode USB DAC supports standard driverless operation on MAC to 192kHz and on PC to 96kHz. For sampling rates above 96kHz, PC users will need to download and install a free driver on their computer. This driver can be found on Grace Design’s website – http://www.gracedesign.com/support/support.htm
Driverless operation basically means ‘plug and play’. The m905 will automatically show up in your computer’s list of supported audio devices as ‘Grace Audio Device’. In most cases, simply choose that as your audio playback device and the system will work.
Different operating systems may pose their own set of complications in setting up the m905 as the audio playback device. In the event that ‘plug and play’ operation does not occur, you will need to look at some specific setup variables for your OS. In this case, Grace Design will direct you to a very well-written and comprehensive document by our friend and colleague Charlie Hanson from Ayre Acoustics. http://www.ayre.com/USB.htm. This is an invaluable resource for computer/USB audio setup information for most all current operating systems, and Grace Design strongly urges you to familiarize yourself with the information pertaining to your specific OS.
Another excellent resource is Wavelength Audio’s website: http://www.USBdacs.com
In the event that you have any setup issues which aren’t addressed by these resources, feel from to contact Grace Design directly at 303.443.7454 Monday through Friday 9 – 5, MST.
With the extremely high quality audio playback achieved with this USB interface, the m905 can be a great option as a stereo output device directly from your digital audio workstation. For playback only, this will work very well. However, using it in conjunction with other USB audio devices connected to your workstation computer’s USB will require some adjustments to your computer’s audio settings and for best results, some external clock routing between audio devices.
For Mac OS X, this is achieved by setting up the m905 in an ‘aggregate audio device’ setup, with the m905 as the output device. For Win 98 – Win 7, you must use ‘asio4all’ drivers- http://www.asio4all.com/. There is currently no support yet for Windows 8.
With both of these setups, if you are using multiple I/O devices, you will need to pay careful attention to clocking. In Mac / Core audio aggregate setups, you are able to set which device is the clock master. However, this means that other devices will be sample rate converted, which Grace Design does not recommend.
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Interested in this piece of gear? Due to its size and weight, special shipping arrangements may be required. Fill out the form below and our team will provide you with a custom shipping quote and delivery details.
