Six DAC Comparison

We certainly could add $1,000 to our MSRP and create an internal clock that will rival (I said "rival" not "beat") the ones in a Jay’s CDT-3 MkIII or the dCS network bridge...but why would we do that when those products already have exceptional clocks inside of them which in effect act like a master clock with our DACs? 

And we could add $1,000 to our MSRP to include an I2S input that would perform as close as possible to our existing inputs.

But since over 80% of the streamers and servers on the market exclusively use USB or consider USB to be equal to or better than their other outputs.

And since 100% of the CD transports and many servers and streamers have an AES approved balanced and/or coaxial output.

Why would we want to raise the price of our products so that we could interface with some fringe technology like I2S that less than 10% of our customers are actually using?

@fuzzbutt17 excellent points. From someone who uses an Antipodes K50 into a Weiss 501 via AES, which sounds better than its USB output, it makes me wonder why a high-end DAC manufacturer doesn’t provide a converter option which simply forgoes an internal clock altogether at a cost savings to the consumer.

Thankfully, like you, neither manufacturer is considering adding the I2S connection and raising the cost of the end products. It is worth mentioning that it was only last year Antipodes developed a USB output they considered worthy of using and sonically comparable to the AES input. 

Thanks for your logical insights and input in this thread, It only increases awareness and success of your products IMO. 

After my experience with a Benchmark DAC years ago that got rave reviews but for which I hated the sound (ear-bleeding highs), I learned something.

There is sound.  But there is also music.  They are not necessarily the same thing...

You ain't said nothing but the truth.

@fuzzbutt17 Will the new Mystique Z have a TOSLINK input?  

@brbrock  – over on the “What does your DAC sound like” thread, you asked:

"Although you said that the Helene is better can you tell me if the Mystique X SE sounds similar?"

Sorry for the late response, but it has been a busy time for me between trying to put some miles on my bicycle while also dealing with a new (to us) one year-old husky-shepherd puppy.  We have owned 6 huskies over the years, so this is not our first rodeo, but she is a rescue dog and has incredible energy while also requiring a lot of time for acclimation and discipline.

I haven’t posted too much about the Helene yet because I want to be as accurate as possible, and particularly when making any comparisons between it and the Mystique X SE NCZ, which I still own.  However, since you asked, I decided to post my answer here on this thread, where I will be posting further thoughts about the Helene when I am able.

I was not thrilled to have tubes in my system again as I have enjoyed the simplicity of leaving my system powered up all the time, which best matches my sporadic listening schedule.  It also seems that invariably, the best sounding tubes are expensive, hard-to-find, NOS types. I currently have three DACs connected through my Singxer SU6 DDC so I sometimes listen to one of the SS DACs when the Helene is still warming up, which doesn’t take too long.  It took me a while to dial-in different aspects of the Helene, including supports/damping, the specific tubes (the Helene can use multiple tube types), and the tube bias which is user-adjustable and affects the sonic presentation. However, the efforts to get it sounding right are worth it.

In addition to the issues related to having tubes in my system again, there are a couple of ergonomic things I don’t like about the Helene.  The only power switch is located on the back of the DAC, which seems a bit dumb for a DAC that needs to be powered up and down every day.  There is a convenient switch on the top front corner of the DAC that selects optional double reclocking of the digital S/PDIF and AES inputs using the internal Super Clocks of the converter, so it should have been easy to include a conveniently accessible power switch at the same location.  The other thing I don’t understand is the need for the Helene to invert phase, which makes DAC comparisons more time-consuming since the speaker cables must be reversed at the amps when comparing the Helene with phase-correct DACs.  In fairness, once a user settles in with the Helene as their sole DAC, the phase inversion will not be an issue.

Finally, I was a bit side-tracked when I recently purchased Monarchy 22B DAC on a whim to use in my outdoor system.  The Monarchy 22B is a true balanced ladder DAC using a pair of Burr Brown PCM63P-K grade DAC chips.  In my main system, I was floored by how good it sounds, compared to DACs I have here at any price, even though I only paid a few hundred dollars for the Monarchy.  The tone, macro-dynamics, and bass are so good, I am considering performing a major upgrade to hopefully close the gap on the higher level of refinement I hear from both the Mystique X SE and the Helene.  I have enjoyed having it in my main system so much that it may not ever see the outdoor system.

As a brief insight into what I am hearing from the dialed-in Helene, IMO, it just sounds like beautiful music in pretty much every way we want our systems to sound, tone, dynamics, sound staging, clarity, bass impact, texture, and more.  In my system, it does this on all types of music from hard rockers to softer instrumentals, and all types of vocals.   I am not saying it is perfect, or that it would be an end-game DAC for everyone, or even for me, but, in my system it may very well reach a level of performance that begins to eclipse what my other components and room can keep pace with.  I still like the sound provided by my Mystique X SE NCZ and, for those who don’t want tubes, that DAC remains a very nice SS option.  I also very much look forward to hearing Benjamin’s Mystique Z, which he is designing around BB PCM58 DAC chips.  I will post more about the Helene and my comparative thoughts after I can spend more quality time with it.