MEGA 6 (User Review)

  

SINE Mega6 Mini-Review



Objective
The intent of this mini-review is to share my impression of the above mentioned product when in comparison to my 1-month old Oyaide MTS-6 (with 1 R1 receptacle). Why Oyaide? I know a lot of bros here are also using Oyaide MTS-6 and would like to know the “Fight” against the SINE Mega6. Not to mention, I only have the Oyaide MTS-6 for comparison. Hahah.
At the same time, for owners of SINE products to share their impressions.

Intro
Anyone who is into audio long enough will know the theory of “rubbish-in, rubbish-out”. I am one that never really believes in all this when I first venture into this audio journey 2 years ago into head-fi. To me, it is just AC power. What can it possibly help in the audio reproduction just by changing the AC receptacles, powercords, power distributor? I did my research and found lots of discussion and I am convinced that these are just “snake-oil”.

Cut to the chase – my view totally changed when I had my first taste of powercord upgrade. And soon enough, the rest (i.e. power distributor) “kicked in”. These things really do work!
I would urge all audio enthusiasts to have an open-mind and judge with your ears. :) Listening is believing!

The Poison
Last week, a friend of mine bought the Mega6 distributor from the Hifi show and agreed to loan it to me for a week (for audition). How generous! “Thanks” dhan! <- Notice the quotes? :P 

Build Quality
This thing is build like a tank! Very heavy and no screw is used! This helps to prevent any vibration caused by screw loose, therefore improving audio performance. Last week during the Hifi show, I am still very skeptical about the performance of SINE receptacles and asked the SINE folks about changing them to Oyaide R1. (The answer is NO. This tank cannot be dismantled). But after several days of running-in…. I don’t think that is really necessary.


The “Fight”

My Oyaide MTS-6 is installed with 1 R1 receptacle


In comparison, the Oyaide MTS-6 is much lighter

My Humble Setup
Personally, I am never a fan of Silver stuff. Hence, I always like to choose Copper-related products.

Source: Marantz Ki-Pearl
Amp: Densen DM20/30
Speaker: B&W 805N
Speaker cable: Telos Gold
Powercord: Telos Gold, Acrolink 4030II, Shunyata Venom3
Interconnect: Audio-Gd cables

CDs used for this mini-review

Day 1 - Initial impression (Sunday, 04 Dec 11)
Initial listen was bad (overwhelming, uncontrolled bass).... but just only after 7 hours of run-in....the entire impression changed.....it totally pwned my MTS-6 (with one R1 receptacle).

Piano, cymbals and drums become much more accurate. The soundstage widen and deepen. When i try it with some classical music, only one word can describe it. SHIOK.

As for vocal, it seems like the singer's voice has raised (to standing position - very real life!). Will further confirm my findings with this beast running in (dont know whether it is due to placebo because of new-toy excitement symptom).


Day 2 (Monday, 05 Dec 11)

As the initial listen was pretty impressive, I was thinking of “upgrading” my distributor. Hence, I invited friend A (head-fi) over for a listen. We did a ABA comparison.
The sound signature of Mega6 has changed 180 degree. It becomes:
-   Very boomy
-   Lacking in mid/high bass (Punch not there)
-   warm (thick sounding vocal)
-   Clarity not there (sounds congested)

Nonetheless, clapping sound, piano and cymbals still sounded ok. The bass extension is much lower when compared to my Oyaide MTS-6. In comparison, it seems like the Oyaide MTS-6’s bass extension rolled-off pretty early but it does provide better clarity and punch.

Winner – Oyaide MTS-6 (Friend A and myself both preferred the Oyaide)


Day 3 (Tuesday, 06 Dec 11)

Today, the Mega6 distributor sounded even worse! It became very very warm and the tonality is totally off. Music is unlistenable!
I was wondering – how can a piece of gear sounded so bad after some 2 days of burn in? Jia liat, this piece of gear cannot buy, I better stick to my beloved Oyaide MTS-6.

Winner – Oyaide MTS-6


Day 4 (Wednesday, 07 Dec 11)

Today, I invited friend B (just a layman) over for a listen and note his observation. As he is a layman, I had to do AB multiple times (3 times in fact!) for him to note the differences and convey how he feels about the entire music presentation.

In most of the tests (90%), he preferred Mega6 indicating that it can magically create a presence (airy feel) about the music. He even highlighted that he can hear more details when compared to Oyaide-6. He reckoned that Mega6 is better as it provides a more complete presentation of the music (good high and low extension)

As for my own observation, Mega6 has become less warm, airy (creation of ambience), tighter bass control, good details, but still, music is still not as clear/sharp when compared to Oyaide MTS-6. 

Winner – Mega6


Day 5 (Thurday, 08 Dec 11)

No time for audition. Went for Chris Botti’s concert. :)


Day 6 (Friday, 09 Dec 11)

Friend A popped by again to audition Mega6. After several listens of the same audition songs, he commented “wow, is this the same distributor that day? Now the presentation is very musically, good controlled bass and good clarity. Now, your Oyaide MTS-6 sounded bright in comparison. Mega6 is more real-life like!” 

Mega6 is no longer warm and is now able to achieve what the Oyaide MTS-6 can achieve. Amazing!

Side note: After Friend A left, I got my sister to test her CDs (her favorite Korean OSTs. E.g. Secret garden). She gave me a thumb-ups.

Winner – Mega6


Conclusion

On Day 7, this morning, I reconfirmed my findings. I play the usual audition songs and I can hear that the sound is refining.

In short, Mega6 provides (when compared with MTS-6):
•   Wider and deeper soundstage
•   Better imaging
•   Lower bass extension
•   Airy (creation of ambience/presense)
•   Detailed
•   More musical presentation
•   Laid-back (MTS-6 is more forward)
•   Attack is a tiny little bit slower

One thing to note from my initial impression: Singer’s voice did not "rise" (after several days of burn in – could be placebo).


SINE Mega6 is a “mystical beast”. It has refused to perform at its best for the first few days.  But if you allow it to run-in, it will then show you its magic. :D 
What mesmerises me the most is the sound of piano and the low bass extension which MTS-6 is unable to satisfy me. IMO, this is one worthy distributor to consider, (it’s a steal).

Like I said, “Be warned, there’s no turning back once you listen to it”. :D

Now, the one week loan is up and I have to return the distributor to my friend.  :'(
Do share your own impression about SINE product if any. I am curious about their interconnects and powercords too.

Enjoy da the music, my friends!  ;D
Cheers

Note: These are just my personal observations/experiences. I understand that there are better distributors out there and will always keep an open-mind to watch out those within my budget. :) Also, do pardon me for my limited audio-vocab :)

 

 
 
 
"You are absolutely right, I was skeptical before, after trying MEGA 6, there is just no turning back. The music just sound so right. And yes, it is as the slogan puts it (power makes the difference). "
 
"Overall I would fully recommend the Mega 6 distributor if ones wants a good value for money power distributors."
 
"Basically there is more depth to the music and it is more coherent. Personally i think music comes into life with Mega 6. Initially I thought the MTB-6 R1 is already very very good but I heard something much better. To me the difference is quite significant. I dont really know about the internal structure of the 2 distributors but comparatively Mega 6 has a much better overall build. I'm now waiting for my Sine to be shipped over."
 
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