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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
melm OP
1,082 posts
 

@kishan 
What you write makes us all the more interested in hearing your impressions of this DAC.  Just give it a reasonable break-in time.

Earlier in this DAC's career the orders were probably flowing in more regularly and they usually had some complete ones in stock.  When I contacted the factory for my own, it went out the same day.  It's a modular assembly and if the circuit boards are available it can be assembled and tested easily.  This clear modular assembly seems to be the practice with many quality Chinese DACS.  It results in, perhaps, a very slightly larger case, but would have benefits if something went wrong; you just send in or replace a board.  Happy to report though, that no one has yet written of the need for any repair of the Musetec.

metaldetektor
160 posts
 

A lot of used Musetecs have shown up on the usual websites, in the past couple of months, if anybody is still curious to try one. I was quoted $1750 on a used one, if anybody wants an idea on pricing.

balja
5 posts
 

I was inspired by the previous posts and lately I've been testing different DIY USB cables (D+ , D- , GND, without power wire + / like RG316 ). I connect DIY cables between SMS200 and DA007. The results are better than with the original USB cable from Musetec, which I already put away. What is the difference? In general, the sound is cleaner, more detailed, more precise and more dynamic, e.g. the reverberation is longer, more details when the fingers move on the strings, the onset of the instrument is more vigorous, with the characteristics of silver wires, etc. Unfortunately, I don't have the possibility to compare with expensive USB cables. Can someone describe your experience comparing the original USB cable from Musetec vs. any premium from the store? The improvement is not as drastic as, for example, when inserting a power line filter into the DA007 power supply.

kishan
8 posts
 

Dear all 

I'm writing to update the forum on my experience and contact with the factory in China, related to the purchase of my Musetec MH-DA 005.

I had very direct and quick email exchanges with Mr Li Jinbo on email address bleerock@126.com as indicated on the manufacturer website address.

I provided an order number through my business and received an invoice, we made the payment and as soon as funds were confirmed in his account, I received the FEDEX shipping tracking number. Within three days I received notification on customs duty payable in South Africa, we made that payment and within 5 days the unit arrived at my door. 

I am sharing this because I need to provide assurance that the system of purchase through the factory is quick and straightforward.

Now the actual unit and packaging....

The unit was wrapped in a corrugated container which contained within another outer corrugated container, both these packaging specifications were in my opinion (I am a Certified Packaging Professional) extremely adequate to handle extreme supply chain rigours. And within the inner container was high quality cushioning material that restricted any movement at all. A pair of immaculate white gloves is provided to setup the unit without leaving any oily residue on the unit.

We hooked the unit to my existing system (just replaced the existing Bryston DAC (over 12 years old technology) using a decent 75 ohm digital cable to the 005 from my Bluesound Node and returned the converted signal via a pair of Orchid interconnects to my preamp.

All I can say is that the comments from many of you that inspired me to make the purchase are spot on.

I am not qualified to talk of the quality of this DAC, because I have just spent 3 hours with it yesterday when it arrived, but I am in absolute awe. 

It is incredible.

Let me leave the discussion on the DAC performance here.

I shall surely share some emotions on this DAC after a few weeks.

For USD 3299 it's a no brainer. Tremendous value and it deserves direct marketing by owners.

Kudos to Chinese engineering, I am grateful that we can enjoy such high end audio without paying for excessive branding and marketing.

This is not a comparison between Bryston and Musetec, I enjoyed the Bryston DAC for more than 12 years, and it has not aged at all.

So this is really bowing to newer technology within Musetec.

 

Kishan  

 

 

 

 

 

 

yyzsantabarbara
4,825 posts
 

@kishan Congrats. That is great to hear you are happy with the 005. One suggestion to take it up a notch is to use a fibre optic streamer. I have 3 of them now and I cannot tolerate any other streaming method now.

  • Lumin X1 (rare DAC with built-in fibre input)
  • Sonore OpticalRendu for DACs with USB, like the 005
  • PlayBack Designs Plink

I used the X1 and the Sonore OpticalRendu with the 005 and it was the best way to stream.

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