SILENT ANGEL MUNICH M1 & FORESTER F1 - REVIEW
SILENT ANGEL MUNICH M1 & forester f1 - REVIEW
I have often spoken and written about the times in which we live in terms of the wealth of music and our access to it, 24/7/365 or 31,536,000 seconds over the course of each and every year. How glorious is this? Unprecedented. I refer to this as the Golden Age of Music Access (GAMA).
Though when you contemplate roughly the number of albums, tracks, songs, movements, etc., accessible across the planet, the fact is clear: we simply do not have enough time to listen to and discover the universe of music that is available to us. This is the tragedy/comedy of unfathomable musical wealth and no time to enjoy it all. It reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode—“Time Enough at Last”—and Henry Bemis’s predicament with books. Hmmm.
On my part, I give it my best shot each and every day. And yes, it’s what I do now for a living, which makes things a good deal easier as my musical libraries swell daily with wonderful new finds.
How do you find the best, most efficient, most satisfying way to not only listen to your music but find it? The second question is easy and getting easier as the music houses—Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon, Audirvãna, etc.—appear to flower all over the world. As to the first question, technology is also doing a bit of flowering as well, all over the world. This burgeoning symbiotic combination clearly sets us in the time of GAMA.
I’ve recently come across a company that has fully engaged in making GAMA more accessible to us all from the perspective of technology, high fidelity, and toward the discovery and enjoyment of that universe of music. That company is called Silent Angel, which seems a most appropriate moniker for the task it now undertakes.
To date, I have reviewed their stellar Rhein Z1 streamer and Forester F2 Linear Power Supply, which together rose to the level of our GoldKeyNote Award, no small feat. Today I review its younger siblings, its baby brothers—Silent Angel Munich M1 and Forester F1—which resemble Tiny Tots in relative size. But how do these Tiny Tots sound?
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start, below, with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Terminator, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Queen’s Gambit, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
The Sound
As I mentioned in the write-up of the HeadAmp GS-X Mini relative to its “older”sibling—Blue Hawaii Special Edition E/HPA—“The beautifully constructed ‘apple’ does not, apparently, fall far from its technological tree.”
The overall sound of the Munich M1 mirrors this in many ways and embodies good transparency and resolution and detail, especially so for the price. This too was a trademark of its siblings. However, the M1 was not quite able to broach the exceptional in terms of sound. One imagines at its construction/price point that that was not its purpose. Once the Munich M1 was coupled to the Forester F1 Linear Power Supply (combined pricing: $2,049), however, the duo’s collective abilities rose very very nicely and led to many enjoyable and engaging listening sessions.
The Silent Angel Munich M1 and Forester F1 volumetric cube—their soundstage—or how they recreate the original venue of a given package of information—track, song, album, etc.—is quite good and very musical. Staging—positioning, spacing, layering,—is also quite good or rather exemplary for an entry-level product. And everything, and I mean everything, improved once the Forester F1 power supply was linked to the Munich M1.
The Silent Angel Munich M1 ($1,199) and Forester F1 ($850) were paired for review with the Border Patrol SE-i and the DENAFRIPS Pontus II DACs. The headphone amps employed were the Aurorasound HEADA and the HeadAmp GS-X Mini. Headphones used were the Abyss AB1266 Phi TC, the ZMF Atrium, the ZMF Vérité, and the Meze LIRIC. Audience Front Row wires and AntiCable and RSX power cables connected the system. The TORUS RM 20 provided service as the power conditioner.
BASS
I repeat one of the bass tracks that was used with the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo— Mercedes Sosa’s, Misa Criolla (Universal Music Argentina S.A.). The playback via the Munich M1 alone is good, yet the weight of the prior and more expensive Silent Angel combo is far greater, the bass better resolved, the staging exceptional, as the choir fell in powerfully behind Ms. Sosa. The Munich M1 gives a good approximation of that, though much of the weight does not translate and the choir is more ephemeral from the perspective of weight.
Connecting the Forester F1, however, provides greater bass weight that is now tighter, better resolved, and better defined. The soundstage has deepened and there is much greater clarity, which in turn provides more immediacy. And the choir has again become a rather potent part of the mix, as aligned behind Ms. Sosa. That the tiny Forester F1 power supply brings so much to Munich M1’s table in regard to high fidelity and musicality is impressive and speaks to its absolute necessity, in my opinion.
MIDRANGE
Patricia Barber’s “The Moon” (Verse, Koch Records) plays and there is a good bit of sibilance apparent across the track, one of the reasons it is a midrange test track. The Silent Angel Munich M1 handles this fairly well. There is good resolution, good staging; bass, however, is only reasonably proficient but not as properly defined as I am used to hearing and there is a lack of intimacy.
Once again, with the addition of the Forester F1 the overall volume of the soundstage expands, with greater clarity and immediacy. Bass is tighter, better resolved, and well defined. And importantly, sibilance is dramatically reduced, tone, timbre, and texture are all more apparent and there is more air and more intimacy. It is, again, a marked improvement over the Munich M1 alone. Truthfully, the price to performance/improvement ratio is both interesting and compelling.
TREBLE+
Lara St. John’s “Gypsy Nocturne” (Gypsy, Ancalagon) opens now via the Munich M1 and the notes of Laura’s violin make their skyward climb, but it lacks the power, confidence, or resolve of its much more expensive brethren. That is, of course, to be expected. The piece is still handled well, and those who are not aware of the Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 may well be quite pleased. It is a good performance, actually quite good, not great.
With the Forester F1 again in the mix, high fidelity reproduction and musicality rise and the violin’s climb to the stratosphere again takes on good speed, is less hampered, better resolved, and with more gravitas—weight. There is also a good measure of delicacy, nuance, and sweetness that have returned via the F1, and now it approaches a great performance. I shake my head at the simple connection of the umbilical cord between the two Silent Angel products and the immediate improvement.
THE WRAPPINGS AND ACCESSORIES
The Silent Angel Munich M1 and Forester F1 both came in nicely proportioned boxes made of stiff cardboard, black matte, and clean of ostentation or embellishment. There is simply the Silent Angel logo atop their boxes.
Their internals are formed of foamed sarcophagi that are neatly sectioned to accommodate the component and its various accessories. Instructions lie atop each foam sarcophagus. The accessories included:
Munich M1/Forester F1:
Power adapter/cord
USB cable
Instructions
Warranty
Overall, the packages were clean, minimalist, efficient, and very well designed and executed.
DESIGN—LOOK, FEEL, AND TECHNOLOGY
Very compact. Clean. The small square, black metal body of the Silent Angel will fit in the palm of one’s hand (my hand, anyway). I can’t think of a small desk that the Munich M1 and the Forester F1 wouldn’t fit easily upon. So if space is an issue, look no further and their musical bona fides will speak for themselves.
The Silent Angel Munich M1’s front panel bears a 6.3mm headphone output on its far right side, the Silent Angel logo is centered, and the product’s name—Munich—is on the far left. And that’s it, folks.
The Munich M1’s rear panel sports across its bottom, from left to right, digital outputs—AES/EBU, I2S, and a Coaxial—RCA analog outputs, DC input, and an On/Off switch. Across the top are two multi-pin links purposed for future firmware upgrades, a mix of USB inputs for a DAC and storage, and an ethernet port.
The Silent Angel Forester F1, with its tiny self, bears a smooth front face with the product name on the far left. The back panel sports, from left to right, an IEC socket, an On/Off switch, and on the far right, two 5V current outputs. Simple.
They are far more minimalist than their big brothers, very nicely executed, and teeny tiny in comparison, which will find them well suited for countless households, dorm rooms, and teeny tiny bedrooms nestled under the stairs.
FUNCTIONALITY
The Silent Angel Munich M1 is ROON Ready, handles MQA, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, Airplay, Amazon Music, and DLNA. The M1 will play up to DSD256 and DoP to DSD128. In short, it will handle the great majority of your music, and handle it well. The Forester F1’s role, again, is to provide a “stable linear power supply” and “low noise” to bring your music to life.
The Munich M1, as enabled by its proprietary VitOS operating software, allows for its lickety-split recognition and “ready-go” by your system and/or Roon. Again, like its siblings, it took minutes to plug the ethernet cable, the USB cable, and then power the Munich M1 via its 5V power supply. Through the VitOS system I selected the Roon core as a streaming engine and it became immediately available for streaming.
The Silent Angel Forester F1 Linear Power Supply is simple—it provides a clean, stable, continuous flow of power to all tethered devices of 5V needs, which facilitates “extremely accurate operations,” allows for “network data packets to be transmitted at precise timing,” while reducing both jitter and any latency issues.”
CONCLUSION
The Silent Angel Munich M1 and Forester F1, the Tiny Tots, while quite small, represent an ideal entry-level streamer, linear power supply duo. The value to cost ratio is very good at a combined price for the Tots of $2,049. The Munich M1 will easily compete with your computer, but it will need the Forester F1 LPS to bring things to equal with the Roon Nucleus Plus, though it will surpass the Nucleus Plus as a duo with regard to musicality and naturalness and ambiance. In short, the Silent Angel Munich M1 and Forester F1s provide a great deal of music and technical/high fidelity skills for a relatively low cost.
The Silent Angel Munich M1 and Forester F1 are highly recommended for those who are brand spanking new to streaming or those who are looking for a better, more immersive streaming experience or more bang for their buck in relation to their current system, which just might be more expensive.
Pros: Very good price to performance ratio, compact, easily transportable, teeny tiny.
Cons: None
THE SYSTEMS
1.
DENAFRIPS Pontus II DAC
Aurorasound HEADA HPA
ZMF Atrium
Meze Empyrean Elite
Meze Empyrean
Dan Clark STEALTH
Audience Front Row USB Cable, Interconnects (XLR, RCA)
RSX MAX Power Cords
TORUS POWER conditioner
2.
Border Patrol SE-1 DAC
HeadAmp GS-X MkII HPA
ZMF Atrium
Dan Clark STEALTH
Meze LYRIC
AntiCable Wires and Cables
WireWorld Ethernet
TORUS POWER conditioner
THE COMPANY
Thunder Data Co., Ltd.
Silent Angel Munich M1 $1,199
Silent Angel Forester F1 $850
www.silent-angel-audio.com