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840C and MHDT Havana

Hi all. I wanted to ask if anyone has had experience with both the Cambridge Audio 840C and the MHDT Havana DAC. I will primarily be using these playing lossless files through my Macbook, and using a fairly warm but dynamic OTL tube amp. I can get these for around the same price (Havana new, 840C used).

I am particularly sensitive in the HF region so am a little weary of comments I have read about the 840C's "digital sheen" / brightness; though some have said that 200h+ helps smooth that out (not sure to what extent and if the brighness is an inherent trait). The NOS, filterless, opampless design of the Havana appeals to me to from a purist and musicality perspective. I wonder if these two essentially play in the same sonic league, albeit with very different presentations.

Cheers,
X
xenithon
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
Just as a corollary to that question, any Havana owners find it to be too soft and lacking dynamics/punch?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,226 posts
 
"I suppose it is all about attaining the right balance between dynamic, punch, sparkle etc. and smoothness/musicality."

Yes.

The Paradisea ain't bad with the former either IMHO, in particular with the Tung Sol tube replacement.

The stock GE tube does "sparkle" more though.
timnaim
24 posts
 
Mapman,
Sorry I misunderstood.

The Reimyo betters all over, Bass, mids, treble, sound stage, harmonics, inner detail, imaging you name it. Above all it really makes the whole music come into play (no pun intended...)

When you compare it to LP played on TW Acustics Raven AC, fitted with Phantom toenarm, Lyra Skala, Nagra VPS then the Reimyo sounds as if it is missing out on something, and I guess that if one day I hear my current TT fitted with a better cartridge I would then say that the Lyra Skala is missing something. I've been on the HiFi ladder for 25+ years and ever step has bought its worth of extra insight into music; that is what its all about.

I used the Havana in a very high end system that is very balanced; the Havana did very well.

If I did not have the the Reimyo and say a <5000$ CD player I would guess that the Havana would equal or better. It is a fine piece of kit.

As I stated I use it in my Home Cinema installation from digital source and its is really great for that. Would I use it for music only? Yes and I truly recommend the Havana.

Tim
rad21
15 posts
 
X, I just sold my Havana here on Audiogon. I owned it for 2 months and while it sounded good (especially with better tubes)compared to my Rega Apollo, I did not hear enough difference to justify the $800. Keep in mind that I use a tube integrated amp and I do hear differences when I "roll" tubes and I hear differences when I change my phono cartridges and phono preamp- so I am not a "they all sound the same" kind of guy but the Havana just didn't blow away my Apollo.
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
Thanks for that feedback Rad21. What I have been reading up about quite a lot is the burn-in factor for the 840C....a lot of guys even saying they never believed in burn in until the 840C. From my understanding, quite a few people got the 840C new from shops (online or bricks and mortar) and only have 20-30 hours to form an opinion.

There seems to be quite a lot of consensus on the Cambridge requiring a good 150-200hrs of run in, after which the initial dryness/glare/sheen subsides. Has anyone had this experience? Did you find, as some have reported, that the brightness and harshness is reduces substantially (but the detail and dynamics remain)?

Cheers
X
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