I have been using roon for a couple of years as a digital file reader and I guarantee you that it is the best product on the market ... I have tried them all ...!
I have the ability to generate temporary licenses for friends, if you want I can create one for you and share it so you can try it out!
Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC
Some history: I was the OP on a four year old thread about the Chinese LKS MH-DA004 DAC. It achieved an underground buzz. The open architecture of its predecessor MH-DA003 made it the object of a lot of user mods, usually to its analog section, rolling op amps or replacing with discrete. The MH-DA004 with its new ESS chips and JFET analog section was called better then the modified older units. It has two ES9038pro DAC chips deliberately run warm, massive power supply, powered Amanero USB board, JFET section, 3 Crystek femtosecond clocks, Mundorf caps, Cardas connectors, etc., for about $1500. For this vinyl guy any reservation about ESS chips was resolved by the LKS implimentaion, but their revelation of detail was preserved, something that a listener to classic music especially appreciated. I made a list of DACs (many far more expensive) it was compared favorably to in forums. Modifications continued, now to clocks and caps. Components built to a price can be improved by costlier parts and the modifiers wrote glowingly of the SQ they achieved.
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 $$ by research, and by satisfaction with the MH-DA004. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the improvement; just didn't think it was possible. Fluidity, clarity, bass extension. A post to another board summed it up better than I can after listening to piano trios: "I have probably attended hundreds of classical concerts (both orchestral and chamber) in my life. I know what live sounds like in a good and bad seat and in a good and mediocre hall. All I can say is HOLY CRAP, this sounds like the real thing from a good seat in a good hall. Not an approximation of reality, but reality."
Meanwhile, during the 4 years after release of the MH-DA004, LKS (now Musetec) worked on the new MH-DA005 design, also with a pair of ES9038pro chips. This time he used more of the best components available. One torroidal transformer has silver plated copper. Also banks of super capacitors that act like batteries, solid silver hookup wire, 4 femtoclocks each costing multiples of the Crysteks, a revised Amanero board, more of the best European caps and a new partitioned case. I can't say cost NO object, but costs well beyond. A higher price, of course. Details at http://www.mu-sound.com/DA005-detail.html
The question, surely, is: How does it sound? I'm only going to answer indirectly for the moment. I thought that the MH-DA004 was to be my last DAC, or at least for a very long time. I was persuaded to part with my $$ 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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Thanks, but I’m very happy with what I have. I have a lot of music on a NAS and control it all with JRiver on a small laptop. I use either my phone or an Android pad to run it all. What I see on the screen are album covers arranged alphabetically by composer, each with a 2 line description. When I want to stream I use BubbleUPnP again either from phone or Pad. I’m very happy with the set-up and just a one time small fee to JRiver a long time ago. As I listen mostly to classical music I can use the pad and the entire internet to read what I might want to read about what I’m hearing. I can even easily bring up full scores of what I am hearing. I’m sure there’s stuff I don’t know, but I’ve never seen an advantage of Roon--for me. |
@dbb I don't think its that the wrong things being measured, rather they don't have the tools and/or measuring protocol to replicate the complexity of human hearing and individual perceptions of what we hear. In regard to 005, I still question whether 005 would sound better with lower jitter and better SINAD? Jitter was major issue with early digital, people weren't aware of this until they learned to measure and apply fixes, lowering jitter was important for improving digital sound quality. Perhaps 005 would be even more relaxed analog like with lowered jitter. If sound quality not improved, does that mean there is some threshold of jitter beyond which it doesn't matter for perceived sound quality?
Its kind of like my experience when I added audiophile switch, adding clock and galvanic isolation from my router should have resulted in lowered noise/better sound, not the case. There is now new thread up in regard to poster getting similar poorer quality sound with newly added Phoenix USB, same issue I had? Is this mismatched clocks or a result of excessive clocking within streaming chain? Perhaps better measurements may in fact lead to poorer sound quality. Or is adding the device resulting in better measurements only exposing defect in other part of system? So much still to be discovered.
@americanspirit Melm condensed issue of general service computer in streaming setup very well. In regard to Nucleus, pretty nice for Roon, only issue with those is you'll need usb decrapifier/streamer/Roon endpoint for absolute best usb connection to 005. To get beyond need for the decrapifier/streamer/endpoint would require much greater expenditure to top line servers with built in optimized usb. In the end, Nucleus with quality linear power supply is about as good as it gets below $10k. The Nucleus alone will be nice upgrade over your present server, you can always get the add ons later. |
Ok let's lighten things up a bit and enjoy the music.....hey why not? Here's 3 tests for streaming/server or whatever, they are not easy to produce perfectly digitally so give them a try. 1. Carpenters, Ticket to Ride at 30s single cymbal hit, can you hear it? 2. Manfred Mann, Blinded by the Light at 2m20s does it sound really congested? 3. The Rolling Stones, Indian Girl intro quite complicated , can you hear everything? |
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