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F5D · 16th June 2006

I got an M-Patch 2 today and I've been testing it for 2 hours now. It seems to be well built. I opened it to find out what's inside:

Closer picture of the potentiometers can be found here
They are labeled H.T A5K HT.

Ok, all I can say that the sound quality increased dramatically after connecting this thing to my system!

My monitoring system now consists of a MOTU 828 mk2 -> M-Patch 2 -> Rotel RB-980BX amp -> Dynaudio BM15. Without the M-Patch 2 I had to control the volume with 828 which ruined the sound digitally.

Finally I can use the full resolution of the converters. I hear alot more dynamics, deeper and punchier bass, clearer and more transparent highs and even wider and deeper stereo sound field. The difference in sound quality is dramatic. And the D/A-converter noise when listening at low levels is gone too. Altough some people don't like MOTU's converters, connecting the mpatch2 to the system was like switching the D/A-converters or even more for me. I wonder how the system would sound with even better converters...

The M-Patch 2 feels solid and very good for the price. The pots have a nice feel when turning and the big knob really helps adjusting the volume. At the beginning of the turn the sound comes first from the left speaker but you don't have to turn the knob much to get balanced levels so that's not an issue. I haven't tried the headphone amp yet because my main interest was using the passive attenuation. I don't have the power supply connected at all. The stereo/mono switch also works with monitor outs.

All I can say now that everybody should use a passive volume controller.

Btw, does anybody know should I use the full output volume with my 828 mk2... (0 dB) or -0.1, -0.2, -0.3, -1 dB ? I am now using the 0dB setting and sometimes the level meters jump to red. Does this mean that the signal is clipping?

16th June 2006	#21
F5D Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Finland Posts: 714	I got an M-Patch 2 today and I've been testing it for 2 hours now. It seems to be well built. I opened it to find out what's inside: Closer picture of the potentiometers can be found here They are labeled H.T A5K HT. Ok, all I can say that the sound quality increased dramatically after connecting this thing to my system! My monitoring system now consists of a MOTU 828 mk2 -> M-Patch 2 -> Rotel RB-980BX amp -> Dynaudio BM15. Without the M-Patch 2 I had to control the volume with 828 which ruined the sound digitally. Finally I can use the full resolution of the converters. I hear alot more dynamics, deeper and punchier bass, clearer and more transparent highs and even wider and deeper stereo sound field. The difference in sound quality is dramatic. And the D/A-converter noise when listening at low levels is gone too. Altough some people don't like MOTU's converters, connecting the mpatch2 to the system was like switching the D/A-converters or even more for me. I wonder how the system would sound with even better converters... The M-Patch 2 feels solid and very good for the price. The pots have a nice feel when turning and the big knob really helps adjusting the volume. At the beginning of the turn the sound comes first from the left speaker but you don't have to turn the knob much to get balanced levels so that's not an issue. I haven't tried the headphone amp yet because my main interest was using the passive attenuation. I don't have the power supply connected at all. The stereo/mono switch also works with monitor outs. All I can say now that everybody should use a passive volume controller. Btw, does anybody know should I use the full output volume with my 828 mk2... (0 dB) or -0.1, -0.2, -0.3, -1 dB ? I am now using the 0dB setting and sometimes the level meters jump to red. Does this mean that the signal is clipping?