Silent Angel Munich M1 Network Music Streamer Review

I have been hearing for years how “dirty” the power coming into my home can be. Many listeners simply cannot hear or distinguish whether that was so. We were and still are, offered solutions like upgraded power cords and power conditioners. In extreme cases, someone might replace the main electrical panel for their home entirely! That controversy will continue until another topic grabs the attention of the audio community. That time has come with the introduction of outside sources playing into your audio system.

Streaming services dominate our audio listening and have for some time. How we receive those signals, process, store, and play them back is the discussion at hand. Wi-Fi now dominates our audio systems but with potentially 10s and even hundreds of devices vying for space and time on your network, (at last count I have almost 40 devices in our home) there is bound to be some interference, crosstalk, and drops. Has to be?!

Isolating your digital audio system from the rest of the house’s consumption makes sense. And if it allows Audiophiles to buy more gear, bonus! Just like cleaning the power in your system reduces unwanted noise, the objective is to lower the noise floor, and increase dynamics.

Enter Silent Angel, self-declared “Hi-Fi Streaming Experts.” Dedicated to, “pursue the purist sound quality.” Silent Angel makes products specifically to connect your streaming and stored music to your audio system with “audiophile” quality products. They start with how your audio system receives the signal with a network switch and feeds it to a streamer and by isolating the power supply of both those components.

The three components here can be used independently, Silent Angel sent along both the Bonn N8 Pro network switch and the Munich M1 Streamer. I also briefly had them connected to the Silent Angel Forester F2 power supply. However, the main component for review is the Munich M1 Network Music Streamer.

The Munich M1 is actually quite small, about 6 inches wide, and weighing a couple of pounds. The black brushed metal faceplate gives it an upscale look and feel. Other than the logo, the front sports a ¼” headphone jack.

The Munich M1 is available as a transport in the M1T which basically removes the internal DAC and headphone amplifier, but otherwise, the M1 can take your digital sources directly to your amplifier having preamp functions like volume control. The other option might be to connect directly to powered speakers. The probable setup, however, as is in my case, would be to your systems’ preamplifier.

On the rear, the M1 has digital outputs for: AES/EBU, I2S, Coaxial, and 100mA USB Audio. Analog outputs via RCA jacks. The inputs include a 1000Mbps ethernet connection for a NAS drive or other USB 3.0 storage.

The internal DAC is capable of providing the conversion for all your sources, it is predominately meant to handle the headphone needs.

The Munich M1 is Roon-ready, and also able to manage most of the common, hi-res streaming services. By providing their own control app called VitOS Orbiter, Silent Angel can organize your entire digital library.

I was intrigued by this review for several reasons but the main one was getting the most from my digital sources, or better yet, “separating” the streaming that has become 75% of my music listening. My current system is anchored by a NAD C658 Network Streaming DAC. Using the Wi-Fi capability of this unit, I am able to use the BluOS app similar to the Silent Angel proprietary VitOS.

This review inspired me to bring another DAC into the fold. Based on the price point of the Silent Angel gear, I was intrigued by the Topping D90SE DAC at $900 that Secrets have reviewed and awarded. Read Carlo’s thorough review here.

With several choices to feed digitally to the Topping DAC from the Silent Angel, my preference was the USB audio connection. It passes the highest sampling rates and also allows the Topping D90SE to identify and unpack the MQA feed. Given that the Munich M1 is MQA compatible, it made sense. I also listened via the I2S (using an HDMI cable), for comparison but settled on the USB audio connection. If MQA is important to you then you have no choice but to use the USB Audio connection.

Firstly, I do not store scads of hi-res files on a separate drive, although I may finally become organized having the Munich M1. To be fair, however, the NAD C658 could do the same. It’s just me.

So, with the newly run Cat 5 line to the Bonn N8 Pro switch, my incoming digital audio is essentially isolated from the house Wi-Fi. A bit about the Bonn N8 pro. It has eight gold-plated Ethernet ports which are spread across the back avoiding signal interference between jacks. With the promise of an external clock coming from Silent Angel, it is fitted with a connection. This device is the separating component. As an integral part of the system, I did not listen to the Munich M1 without it so I offer no sonic differences from the Munich with or without the Bonn N8.

As mentioned, I did for a short period of time connect both the network switch and the streamer to the accompanying Forester F2 power supply. To be frank, I strained to hear much of a difference with the power supply installed. But what I will say is the trio did deliver a quieter environment. If I were to make this investment, I would probably include the power source.

This is the time to talk about the very nicely designed VitOS app. The one glitch I had that I could not solve was that my new iPhone 14 Pro could not connect to the M1 with the app setup properly. I could not figure out the issue, but I believe it was a setting on my phone. Once I connected to it with my tablet, however, it worked perfectly.

I configured the M1 using some of the audio settings from the app although there are but a few choices. The specific feature of interest is you must choose whether you’ve connected the Munich M1 via USB audio. All the other connections are lumped together, so you do have to find this one menu.

Otherwise, the app is easy to navigate and connect with all my sources: I did manage to spend time with Tidal, Spotify, Airplay, internet radio, stored digital files (in all formats, I use FLAC and WAV files mostly), and on and on. They do offer a free month of Qobuz if you sign up.

My general statement would be that this combination immediately felt “more stable” in that I had no dropouts, lags, or glitches specifically in the sound. I never got static (I do get that now and then on my network), and the noise floor had definitely dropped.
Did that translate into hearing or feeling more dynamics? Indeed, I found the sound cleaner, and clearer. Let’s not forget this is still digital sound – some recordings are better than others, and some files are richer and more articulate than others. But the Silent Angel Munich M1 gave me the best of each.

Vocals especially sounded convincing, recently discovering a beautiful voice in Spanish Island singer Concha Buika. I found that the Munich did a wonderful job on her voice with songs of varying genres, like flamenco in the tune, “No habra nadie en el Mundo” from her all-Spanish, 2008 album release, “Nina de Fuego”. With the melding of guitars, earthly percussions, and her rich, throaty voice, the MQA digital file sounds downright warm.

Give the Munich M1 credit also for men’s voices, Johnny Hartman’s baritone voice, ideally suited for romantic ballads, again I found his voice rich and deep. His tone is downright gorgeous. His album with John Coltrane is a must for any jazz aficionado. The dialogue with Coltrane’s warm sax playing is seductive. This older recording sounded exceptionally clean, and dynamic through the Silent Angel trio.

I rediscovered, Hilary Hahn plays Bach recorded back in 1997. Her playing reminded me how delicate she can sound, the highs from her violin pronounced and vibrant. The recording feels (sounds) pristine! Her violin sounds forward and well-positioned on the soundstage. Again, the quietness of the Munich/Bonn N8 combination allows us to hear deeper into the music.

Yet, does it matter really if you enjoy what you listen to? I do not find this equipment so expensive that it makes it onto the snake oil list. Did it revolutionize my system? No. But music listeners will tell you every incremental difference is important. The Munich M1 is recommended by me.

I will speak plainly saying the separated system impressed me. I wasn’t really sure what to expect; I will hear the argument that a sub $100 switcher will do the same thing this “audiophile” grade network switcher will do. Ones and Zeros works or doesn’t work, and all that jazz. I guarantee none of those critics have given a serious listen to the difference between high-grade and run-of-the-mill quality gear. How about after 6 months, a year, or two years? Is there degradation?