Brooklyn DAC+ Anyone?

Robert,

How is your DAC+ doing?  Any updates for us?  Thx.

Allan

Hey Folks,

The DAC+ is doing well and is wonderful.

I am spinning vinyl through it as I write this.  It sounds surprisingly good.  I am not sure what caused the constricted sound the first time I tried the MC phono input (analog input set to MC Phone) but I am not hearing it now.  This the second time trying it and I warmed it up with the first two sides of a recent re-release of The Koln Concert.  The piano was full bodied and Keith's moans were clearly audible.

Currently listening to my original Decca pressing of Who's Next.  It sounds very good.  It is an above average recording/mastering/pressing for an early 70's rock record.  Unfortunatley it was not as well take care of by yours truly as some of my other LPs, but it is playable.  I need to run it through the RCM.  As far as negatives, doubled voices aren't as good as my JC3+ but then I would not expect that.  Also, with my ear close to a speaker I am hearing some noise and a whine when the music is not playing.  That could be my less than ideal cable routing. Not much else to complain about, especially for a phone section that is included in a DAC.

On the minus side,  I did have an issue a week or so ago when I tried the headphone output.  I was playing a non MQA source with MQA enabled and there was some kind of nastiness to the highs.  I heard it a little through the speakers as well.  I am not too worried about it as I believe it was some weird interaction between the non MQA source and the MQA filter.  I will test further.

I hope your folks are well and good,
Robert

Hey Bondmanp,

I too now have an equalizer.  I bought the Loki from Schiit and put it in the tape monitor loop so it can be completely out of the path.  I use it when background listening at low volume.  Inexpensive and works well although I would like it to be parametric.  Perhaps they will do a higher priced one with more controls.

I will try it sometime, but I am not sure taking the CP-500 out of the path would be any better.  Since my amp is also a Classe Delta series(CA-2200) of the same vintage as the preamp they work well together.

Take it EZ,
Robert

I have been enjoying the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ for about a month now, and it ultimately came to replace my much-loved Bel Canto DAC 3.7. 

For some time now, I have been streaming MQA files from Tidal via a Bluesound Node 2 which can perform the first MQA "unfolding." I found this to provide a marked improvement in sound quality over both undecoded MQA FLAC files as well as regular 16/44.1 FLAC files. This in turn made me curious about what a full MQA DAC could do, first into the DAC 3.7's analog input, and then as a standalone DAC/Pre.

I auditioned a well broken-in demo unit of the DAC+ (which I ultimately purchased). With the DAC+ doing the full MQA decode, the sound quality was clearly improved over the Bel Canto on its own. Perhaps due to Mytek's pro audio roots, the DAC+'s fixed output voltage was too hot for the 3.7's analog input, so I had to use the Mytek's analog attenuator to cut its output voltage by -6dB (also achievable via placing jumpers inside the DAC+).

Playing Tidal files via the Node 2, the Mytek's strengths as a DAC were easily heard. It is extremely open, coherent, detailed, pure, punchy, and highly transparent, projecting a huge and well-ordered sound stage. These characteristics were also on display when streaming AIFF files from an SSD via a Bryston BDP-2 into the Mytek's AES/EBU input, though with greater weight and authority over the much more modest but still satisfying and easy to use Node 2.

It should be noted that the Bel Canto 3.7 runs its analog inputs through an ADC as volume control is only performed in the digital domain. As good as the sound quality of this setup was, I was thinking it a bit silly to go from D to A, back to D and again to A, so I ran the DAC+ directly into my amplifiers. The sonic characteristics I described above were maintained with an added dose of transparency and fine detail due to the more direct connection, although the 3.7 is no slouch to be sure.

Many people have touted the benefits of using an LPS to bypass the stock switching power supply in the DAC+. After a few weeks of happy listening, I added an Uptone Audio JS-2 linear power supply into the mix to power the DAC+. The JS-2 brought a still lower noise floor, better dynamics and imaging, deeper bass and a richer overall tonality. Despite its cost, I believe the performance of the combo justifies the added expense.

I should also note that the provided Apple remote provides easy access to all day-to-day functions including standby/on, volume, source and display wake+mode. A recent firmware update allows the DAC+ to "remember" the volume level set for each input, fixing my only quibble with its functionality.

All in all, the Mytek DAC+ packs a great deal of performance into a tiny package. I find myself listening longer and more often.