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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."

melm
debjit_g
280 posts
 

as for the standard or the lack of it, it has evolved into couple different ones - PS Audio, Rockna, Gustard. Most manufacturers are following PS audio and some, like Denafrips has configurable pins assignments.

Funny thing I still remember when I owned the PS Audio DS dac a while back (bought the DS from PS Audio when it was first released), I bought a Gustard DDC to use with it and which was following its own standard. It wasn't reconfigurable to PS Audio pin-out. I needed a custom hdmi cable to make them work together but no one would build me one. I finally had to DIY'ed my own cable but it did sound a little better and cleaner than the usb input but honestly at that time my diy server wasn't as optimized as it is now. It could have been a totally different outcome if I had experimented it today.

 

Here is the database of i2s devices 

 

 

 

lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

@willywonka Hi, With all respect to you, Mojo Audio doesn't believe in DSD. They promote DOP over DSD. He's FOS. He's a Luddite.

PS Audio have a much better grasp of I2s.

 

lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

@debjit_g Yes I agree I will experiment with different HDMI cables and different lengths but I'm enjoying the break-in so much at the moment to change anything.

I've got a 0.35m Oyaide CAT 7 RJ45 Ethernet cable which I will try next. I've got a feeling that RJ45 cables are going to be better than HDMI because the wires are sightly larger but we'll need to wait and see.

sns
3,232 posts
 

@lordmelton I'm rather suspect in regard to usb implementation on N20, not much info on that in their literature. I suspect coming directly off motherboard with some unclear optimization. Also, what usb cables did you use?

 

Also, its been my experience divorcing server from streamer has been most effective for usb.  Servers are rather noisy environments, total galvanic isolation post server critical. My streamers have allowed both galvanic isolation and usb rendering, reclocking to provide best possible usb implementation. Network improvements closest to dac are most effective.

 

While server manufacturers rarely if ever speak directly to above issue, their product offerings make it clear they know its a real issue. Take the Innuous Zenith servers, perhaps most popular server out there, why do they offer Phoenix usb?

melm OP
1,078 posts
 

@lordmelton @debjit_g 

I am not here to doubt the perceptions of others.  Nonetheless it is a strain on my own understanding of how things work to believe that the 10 year old separate LKS USB to I2S device can outperform that very same function within the Musetec.  The Musetec does it with an updated circuit board, more and better clocks and a more advanced power supply.  But in audio, it seems, everything is possible.

As for the general issue of I2S, since there are now many DACs with I2S inputs, I wonder whether the topic with all its complications and wire configurations and associated difficulties deserves broader exposure with a thread of its own.

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