Museatex Bitstream vs Bidat

I asked the orginal question, AFTER mods how close is it?

John just emailed me, he said he's working on a brand new DAC, totally designed by himself from the ground up. No idea when he's releasing it, but he did suggest any bitstream user should wait if they are considering an upgrade to a modded Bidat.

I just received my newly built Bit-stream this evening which was built from the ground up and was finished in the beginning of March. W-O-W...the first note, the tone, the human voice is...beyond my expectation.

Two things I've noticed but it's early. Gain of this DAC is WAAAY up in comparison to other DAC's and CD drives I've used. Also, the bass can sound boomy at times. But that magical mid-range. It reminds me of a Ayon CD-2, just so clear yet so organic. Loving it. I've been without a Museatex DAC for well over a year...this kicks it up a notch over what I've had in the past. Wish I had my old Bitstream so I could do a direct comparison. First piece of digital equipment I've had in my setup where I could tell improvements were made on the first note. It was that night and day...

Hey Vhiner,

I got my old Moray cable from my Uncle who took it along with my original Museatex Bitstream well over 18months ago. The Stereovox cable I was using was about the same as the older Moray on the older Museatex Bitstream however I haven't done an A/B on the new Bitstream. I'm not sure I'm in a hurry though, once the original modded Bitstream left my place I really began to 'lose it' with regards to putting together a system. I was going through sources, amplifiers and even considered a speaker change. Now that I have the new Museatex I'm going back to what my true passion is...finding new music.

I've come to realize that while the Bitstream might have flaws exposed over time (what component doesn't) I'm more afraid of the damage that can be done by removing it then the sound improvement that can happen replacing it. I once thought of purchasing a friends Ayon CD 1 MK II, then heard his newer CD 2 and I have to tell you...that little cheap modded DAC smokes it lol...it truly is a revelation that one must experience in order to appreciate it.

Hey Dark,

My understanding is that John stumbled across a way to radically improve the power supply. As the story goes he actually did it too one Bitstream but didn't write it down and had forgotten what he had actually done. That Bitstream was incredible...he finally figured out what he had done and is now offering it on all Bitstreams...the difference is more of everything the Bitstreams give you.

Bigkidz,

My uncle is good friends with John, I've actually had dinner with the gentlemen. My uncle had my old Bitstream and was able to do a direct A/B vs my new Bitstream. These are the impressions sent to John:

"At first and on newer, or well made recordings the differences were minimal. After awhile and especially on older recordings (The Essential Leonard Cohen by Columbia), the newer dac was more detailed, smoother and had an even greater ease. Sibilants disappeared. Just a more refined sound overall. Nice work once again. Congratulations."

I haven't done a direct A/B because I don't have my old DAC on hand. However I don't blame you if you don't want to upgrade your DAC, I wouldn't want to. I simply had an opportunity to get a Bitstream back and I took the opportunity as I had cursed the day I had originally traded for a Benchmark of all things. I can honestly say that out of all of this I've learned an important lesson. Don't replace Bitstream because you might gain in one area but lose in many others. The new Bitstream is as analog sounding (or more so) as I had remembered with my old one. Again merely working off memory.