MHDT Havana and Eastern Electric Minimax

No, but I have mhdt Paradisea tube DAC and would point out that if Havana is similar, tube rolling can make a HUGE difference in the sound.

My Havana with NOS Tung Sol tube is absolutely sublime! Same DAC with stock GE tube provided is lower bandwidth and much rougher around the edges. I do not see how one could go wrong with the Havana. Not familiar with the EEM, so cannot compare, but tube used may make all the difference. Tubes are a lot cheaper to roll than whole DACs....

"My Havana with NOS Tung Sol tube is absolutely sublime!"

That should read "Paradisea", not "Havana".

"The Havana is not as detailed but more fleshed out and much more enjoyable and engaging without any fatigue factor."

Both my SS mhdt Constantine (used in my main full range system) and tube mhdt Paradisea (used in my second system) share these traits, so it does seem common to all mhdt DACS mentioned.

Unless one is looking for a more euphonic tubey sound, I would seek out a Constantine first. IT is least expensive and might be the last DAC you ever need. The tube DACs are better for tweaking sound via tube rolling, if desired, but the Constantine is the most rock solid in all aspects out of the box. My Paradisea with the NOS Tung Sol tube comes close to the COnstantine sound. Both in this case are excellent at large and small scale, electronic and acoustic music. Paradisea with stock RCA tube has its charms with small scale and acoustic music but cannot achieve the same results with electronic and large scale works.

TubeG,

Which mhdt and other DACs of relevance in this thread use the SAbre ESS 9018 32 bit chip you mention?

Here is a quite excellent and detailed review of both mhdt Paradisea and Constantine DACs that covers those two quite well and lead me to try both specifically. Lots of similar musical note ratings for both, and in fact lots of similarities in sound (with a relatively inexpensive tube upgrade as mentioned).

It indicates these two mhdt DACS use a 16 bit Philips chip that may be more relevant to their similar inherent sound than coming from the same maker alone. I think Havana and other newer mhdt DACs use different chips, but not certain, so I would not necessarily expect those to sound the same, but maybe they do to a good extent.

Thanks.

I use a set of 4 older adjustable turn table feet under my constantine, which sits on my arc preamp. Dont know if feet affects the sound, but the sound is rock solid, detailed but no fatugue... Fabulous. Original ge tube in paradisea produces minor fatigue in my second system at higher volume, nad pre to tad monoblocks to triangle titus xs. Nos tung sol tube cleans that right up and is a high performer as described.