@mitch2 Just checking to see if you have had any DAC changes. Have you talked to Ben at Mojo Audio about the new DAC? Also I am very interested in the new Audio Mirror WAVE DAC. I have seen the internals and it is well built with nice parts. I would love to hear your opinion on that compared to the Mojo Audio DAC's and the Helene. Vlad says it competes with 50K DAC's. If anyone reading has had chance to compare this DAC to any of the other mentioned chime in an tell us about your experience.
Six DAC Comparison
I am in the middle of comparing the sound of six different DACs in my system. I own them all (I know weird) but one of them is still within a trial/return timeframe.
Not to share specific comparisons today, but a couple of observations so far are that first, they all definitely sound different from each other. On one hand, they all sound pretty good and play what is fed to them without significant flaws but on the other hand there are definite sonic differences that make it easy to understand how a person might like the sound of some of them while not liking others.
Second, raises the observation that most of them must be doing something to shape the sound in the manner the designer intended since one of the DACs, a Benchmark DAC3 HGA, was described by John Atkinson of Stereophile as providing "state-of-the-art measured performance." In the review, JA closed the measurements section by writing, "All I can say is "Wow!" I have also owned the Tambaqui (not in my current comparison), which also measured well ("The Mola Mola Tambaqui offers state-of-the-digital-art measured performance." - JA). The Benchmark reminds me sonically of the Tambaqui, both of which are excellent sounding DACs.
My point is that if the Benchmark is providing "state-of-the-art measured performance," then one could reasonably presume that the other five DACs, which sound different from the Benchmark, do not share similar ’state-of-the-art" measurements and are doing something to subtly or not so subtly alter the sound. Whether a person likes what they hear is a different issue.
- ...
- 524 posts total
I'm looking forward to reading about @mitch2 experiences if he gets a chance to directly compare the Z/SE/Helene. I'm still really enjoying my Mojo Mistique X-24AM dac. I'll try and post a video of the Branford Marsalis Trio from my listening session tonight. These guys really know how to play! As a reminder, listening thru a decent set of headphones or speakers vs cellphone/laptop speakers can really make a meaningful difference in sound. Best wishes, Don |
Great thread, thank you to everyone who posted valuable feedback here. I've been using the Mojo Mystique X SE for a few years and love it. I'm a sucker for the rich full-bodied tone it produces, and a lot of other great DACs I've tried can't capture that in the same way. Looking for a potential upgrade in the near future and wondering if anyone has made the jump specifically from Mystique X SE to something they found similar but better. It's not a super common DAC so hard to find people in my same boat. It might be obvious to stick with Mojo but I wouldn't mind something else, especially if it has a nicer looking enclosure (which is my one complaint about Mojo, maybe petty but whatever). |
I also look forward to the opportunity to hear the new Mystique Z and compare it to the other two but it is my understanding that we are still at least a few weeks out on production of the Z. It seems the DAC is complete except that the chassis is close but not quite across the finish line. I have had fun comparing the X SE NCZ with the Helene. They are both R2R DACs using Analog Devices chipsets so there are sonic similarities. However, the tubed output stage of the Helene likely influences what I am hearing compared to the solid state output stage of the Mystique X SE, and I am sure there are other design/construction differences that affect how they each sound. I plan to post a more detailed summary of what I am hearing but, in short, I like the same things about both of them and I find them to both to be good examples well-designed and constructed R2R DACs. |
@mitch2 Have you ever listened to any of the ANK DAC kits. I have always been curious about those. A bunch of people have taken them and made some changes here and there. The upper models are loaded with transformers and chokes. |
- 524 posts total