Too bad no American dealers. 250 to ship back to China. I bought a 005 and unfortunately did not work in my system where a Bricasti M3 played much better. Learned the hard way when returning the unit.
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 $$ by research, and by satisfaction with the MH-DA004. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the improvement; just didn't think it was possible. Fluidity, clarity, bass extension. A post to another board summed it up better than I can after listening to piano trios: "I have probably attended hundreds of classical concerts (both orchestral and chamber) in my life. I know what live sounds like in a good and bad seat and in a good and mediocre hall. All I can say is HOLY CRAP, this sounds like the real thing from a good seat in a good hall. Not an approximation of reality, but reality."
Meanwhile, during the 4 years after release of the MH-DA004, LKS (now Musetec) worked on the new MH-DA005 design, also with a pair of ES9038pro chips. This time he used more of the best components available. One torroidal transformer has silver plated copper. Also banks of super capacitors that act like batteries, solid silver hookup wire, 4 femtoclocks each costing multiples of the Crysteks, a revised Amanero board, more of the best European caps and a new partitioned case. I can't say cost NO object, but costs well beyond. A higher price, of course. Details at http://www.mu-sound.com/DA005-detail.html
The question, surely, is: How does it sound? I'm only going to answer indirectly for the moment. I thought that the MH-DA004 was to be my last DAC, or at least for a very long time. I was persuaded to part with my $$ 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."
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You were among the first to go the 005 route and you were an accurate reporter. If you go the 006 route we’ll be eager to hear what you hear. There is a Musetec US dealer. He is Midwest Audio, midwestaudiophile.com |
Count me in as another very happy 005 owner who will seriously look at the 006.. Please keep us posted with your thoughts, impressions, and additional information. Speaking of... I would like to pass on a bit of information from my experience. I had swapped out a good number of power cords on the 005, and of course all sounded fine and some sounded better than fine. And recently, I was playing around and experimenting a little, and put in a full silver power cord from the old company called Tek Line. HOLY SHI-ITE ! Everything jumped up and flexed and I don’t mean slightly. Snap, focus, resolution, soundstage depth, ’all the things’. :) |
Quick tip: a guy over on USAM ha(d) 4 ’vintage’ Tek Line AG 10 cords. Talk about serendipity/timing. These things are probably 20 years old (same time frame as some of my Bob Crump TG Audio cords if memory serves). He is asking $60 each. I picked up 2 just because .. my name is Keith and I’m an audio addict.. Anybody else that has a Musetec be advised - these should be a required upgrade. And for $60? That’s half the price of an aftermarket fuse(!). BONUS! I would have bought all 4 of them but I didn’t want to be greedy. And I view tips and recommendations as kinda paying it forward - especially for my Musetec|audio brothers. No affiliation with the seller whatsoever. Peace. |
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