@melm thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences regarding the anticipated reliability of LKS / Musetec DACs. I am still shocked and amazed at how good redbook cd sounds coming from an old Meridian CD player used as a transport and limping along the way into the DA-005. I can only imagine the step up in sound using a contemporary dedicated transport which I am likely to purchase later this year. The big challenge at the moment is getting commensurate sound quality from streaming. I currently use a MacBook Pro running Audirvana into an Uptone IsoRegen. Files stored on the Mac sound very good but streaming can be a bit disappointing so I'm watching what others are doing in this regard i.e. bridge, switch, etc. A dedicated streamer is priority unless the Meridian takes a nose dive. Your point that the DA-005 is yet to be found as a limiting factor is also very encouraging!
Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC
Meanwhile, during the 4 years after release of the MH-DA004, LKS (now Musetec) worked on the new MH-DA005 design, also with a pair of ES9038pro chips. This time he used more of the best components available. One torroidal transformer has silver plated copper. Also banks of super capacitors that act like batteries, solid silver hookup wire, 4 femtoclocks each costing multiples of the Crysteks, a revised Amanero board, more of the best European caps and a new partitioned case. I can't say cost NO object, but costs well beyond. A higher price, of course. Details at http://www.mu-sound.com/DA005-detail.html
The question, surely, is: How does it sound? I'm only going to answer indirectly for the moment. I thought that the MH-DA004 was to be my last DAC, or at least for a very long time. I was persuaded to part with my $$ by research, and by satisfaction with the MH-DA004. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the improvement; just didn't think it was possible. Fluidity, clarity, bass extension. A post to another board summed it up better than I can after listening to piano trios: "I have probably attended hundreds of classical concerts (both orchestral and chamber) in my life. I know what live sounds like in a good and bad seat and in a good and mediocre hall. All I can say is HOLY CRAP, this sounds like the real thing from a good seat in a good hall. Not an approximation of reality, but reality."
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@jc4659 As for what others are doing, here’s my own streaming set-up. I have made a relatively inexpensive (compared to others I read of) system providing vey good SQ. Music files are on a 4TB NAS running to an SOtM sMS-200ultra neo (used) as a digital bridge to the DAC. I have a small laptop running Jriver and one of its remote apps used either on my phone or on an Android pad. The beauty (to me) of the bridge is that the computer directs the music from the server to the bridge to the DAC without going through the computer. So no computer noise, I think. I don’t use a decrapifier, though some with a system like mine do. Jriver brings a lot of conveniences. The NAS and Jriver are accessible to a desk top and by wifi anywhere else in the house. |
For those interested in a possible purchase of this dac, there is now a US dealer-Midwest Audio in Mishawaka, Indiana. Midwestaudiophile.com. I became aware of them from an add at USaudiomart.com I ordered a dac from them a couple of weeks ago for $3199. The dac was shipped from Shanghai and received by me in 9 days. I believe when I ordered they had a silver unit in Indiana inventory, but I wanted a black unit so it was shipped from China. I have no affiliation with the seller. I am currently burning in the dac, so I will defer comments about its performance until it is fully burned in. The sound is changing considerably as it burns in. I do have a few questions: How long will full burn in take? After it is fully burned in, should standby mode be used when not in use, or should it be powered down? Is the USB input the best choice vs aes or something else? Do most find the slow filter preferable? I can upsample with my streamer, a Lumin U1. Have you found that upsampling produced improved quality, or is native resolution the way to go? |
Thanks for the info about the US dealer and congrats on your purchase. As for break-in, I responded to someone else: In his first post after receiving the Musetec, @pt999 compared it to his fully broken in May Holo KTE DAC. After one week of break-in he decided to return the unit. He preferred the May, apparently by a good margin. In his second post, written after 16 days and 350 hours* of break-in he changed his mind and decided not to return it. He writes that, "The 2 DACs sound very similar." You can do a search for his full post in this thread. As for stand-by mode, the factory says it doesn’t matter. As I have tubes in my amp and pre, I go to standby and turn it on when I turn my tubes on. I used slow because sns said it’s better and have never looked back. I experimented with upsampling and did not find it useful so I’m at native. Again, others may chime in |
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