I had the Havana and Bryston in my system side by side for quite a while and I thought the Bryston was better and have that as my DAC in my main system right now. I also have the Paradisea which I replaced a 3500 Wavelength Cosecant a few years ago with (I thought the Paradisea sounded better) even thought the Cosecant was 5X the price. I still think the Paradisea is really nice sounding and I ended up keeping that for my bedroom system. I just bought a Benchmark DAC for my shop system that I am upgrading so that should be a sharp contrast to either the Bryston or Paradisea. I think both the MHDT DACs are the kind where when you back and forth vs a more resolving DAC you are thinking ohhh the reverb trails aren't as long or I can hear the triangle way in the back but the thing is they seem to just flow better and make music good to listen to when you are not worrying about resolving every little nook and cranny or being in that kind of critical mode. If you like the listen ultra critical maybe some of the others are better but for just great musical flow the MHDTs are pretty great especially for the money I think.
Former MHDT Havana Lovers: What did you move onto?
I have owned and loved this DAC for the past year, but speaker and amp upgrades along with moving to a bigger room have started to flesh out it's weaknesses, namely lack of fine inner details and congestion with complex passages, particularly orchestral. What can give me the same kind of lovely organic timbre with more clarity and detail and perhaps deeper soundstage? I just picked up the Bel Canto DAC2.5 and while definitely more detailed, it just doesn't have that natural and organic sound and is ultimately a little too clinical and fatiguing to my ears (Benchmark wo uld probably make my head explode).
Yes, I have rolled NOS tubes - Bendix 2c51, WE396A/2c51, Tungsol 2c51, but that can only do so much. I do have V-Cap OIMP caps that I'm going have installed so that should help, but to what degree remains to be seen.
I am considering trying the Bryston BDA-1 and Ayre QB-9. Tranquility SE looks interesting but relatively high output impedance and not particularly high voltage will probably not work too well with my Placette Passive Linestage. Suggestions under $2k used or new appreciated.
Thanks!
Yes, I have rolled NOS tubes - Bendix 2c51, WE396A/2c51, Tungsol 2c51, but that can only do so much. I do have V-Cap OIMP caps that I'm going have installed so that should help, but to what degree remains to be seen.
I am considering trying the Bryston BDA-1 and Ayre QB-9. Tranquility SE looks interesting but relatively high output impedance and not particularly high voltage will probably not work too well with my Placette Passive Linestage. Suggestions under $2k used or new appreciated.
Thanks!