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I've also owned the hifime 9018D which has the ES9018K2M chip and it was also "bright". Sounded similar to the M8A in my memory though less "perfect" perhaps. These are both ESS mobile DAC chips.
I've also owned the Yulong D200 (I think, keep forgetting the model number) which has an ES9016 chip (full version not mobile) and the Melokin DA9.1 which has the ES9038PRO (full version not mobile) and both these DACs did not sound bright to me at all. Though implementation matters a lot of course.
Perhaps part of the bright sound has to do with the upsampling/resampling taking place in the DACs? My upsampling listening experience seems to suggest this. And perhaps the upsampling / resampling in the DACs is different for the mobile versions than the full versions? Perhaps someone here knows?
All I know is many refer to this brightness effect, many of these DAC's are loved by their owners, get great reviews, and manufacturers of audiophile gear are showing a definite preference for ESS chips as compared to their direct competitors. Sorry, I don''t know the answer. I don't know why Schiit has so many fan boys when their gear measures poorly and has all sorts of issues. Amir says they are great at marketing, which is a useful skill indeed. The only thing I know is instrumented tests don't lie. Perhaps these anomalies are urban legends or memes...