Review of Mojo Audio Mystique V3 DAC

Hey celtic66 -
Hope you’re still enjoying your Mystique!

I picked mine up personally from Ben last week as I happened to be in New Mexico at the time. Loved chatting with him. I had ordered the demo single ended version, but it wasn’t ready - it was the one he used at Axpona - so he upgraded me to the balanced version at no extra cost. Very cool of him to do that, as I can use the extra output into my digital recorder if I want.

Anyways, after a week of owning this thing, I gotta say I’m impressed. It is replacing a Benchmark DAC3L in my system.

The Mystique fills in the space between the speakers much better than the DAC3L. Improvements are across the board in scale, weight, tone, and naturalness. Detail and presence are about the same, it’s just a different soundstage presentation between the two dacs. The Mystique is not as crystalline sounding as the Benchmark, but the heightened sense of blackness between the performers that the Benchmark presents just seems unnatural to me. It is not what I would hear in a live performance. The Mystique just sounds more like real music to my ears, perhaps because of its richness and fullness, and the way it captures the harmonics. I’m glad I bought it.

Review of Mojo Audio Mystique V3 DAC

Purchased the Mystique V3 DAC months ago to replace a Naim DAC V-1. Okay, the Naim certainly is not in the same league

Your comparing two different conversion techniques, the Mojo Mystic V3 is an R2R ladder Multibit dac. While the Naim V1 is a Delta Sigma dac.

For converting 16/44, 24/96, Redbook, PCM, DXD I’d back a well implemented R2R dac over a well implemented Delta Sigma any day.

Cheers George

thaluza,

Yes, still enjoying immensely and even more so as I've really ramped up the power clean up.  Added the Decware ZLC power conditioner and Perfect Path Technologies' The Gate.  Odd how long I've been in this game and not paid enough attention to truly clean power.

The Mystique seems to benefit terrifically from all of this.  It's one of my benchmarks regarding equipment.  If with each improvement a piece keeps up with it and performs better, I consider that a keeper.

Georgehifi,

Didn't really consider the technology differences, but appreciate the observation.  I simply recognize improvement, or not, with changes to components.  I expected a fairly large leap in resolution, impact and imaging with the upgrade and that is exactly what I received.  Thanks.

Didn’t really consider the technology differences, but appreciate the observation.

Basically Delta Sigma (single bit dsd) is good for DSD or SACD, but can only give a "facsimile" of PCM (redbook, CD, dxd, 16/44 24/96)

R2R Multibit gives "bit prefect" conversion of PCM (redbook, CD, dxd, 16/44 24/96).

From Mojo Music:

When a PCM file is played on a native DSD single-bit converter, the single-bit DAC chip has to convert the PCM to DSD in real-time. This is one of the major reasons people claim DSD sounds better than PCM, when in fact, it is just that the chip in most modern single-bit DACs do a poor job of decoding PCM.

Cheers George

I have had the Mystique V3 and the Deja Vu server for a couple years.  I have had the server for 4 years, or at least I keep upgrading the original I got from him.  Maybe even longer.

I'm very happy with what Mojo products.  I hear some great digital out there, but I find mine more real and natural than pretty much anything else I hear in the $10K to $30K.  In my setup, I feel I have a more natural and real recreation of music than pretty much all the setup I hear at friends houses.  Some friends have more punch with the Wilson / Dagostino setup, but I have better tone.

I recently had a friend bring some Add Power devices to my house.  An Electraclear and a Symphony.  He installed them and I did not let him take them home. $450 total.  They will bring even a greater sense of truth and realism to your system.  Really made my digital stand out as unmistakably close to being there .

FYI, all my router, modem, switches are on LPS.  The Switch is a Linear Solution switch.  All Cat 6 is Blue Jeans.  All power is from a 10 AWG ofc cord from my panel to a custom distribution strip I built with Porter Ports.  I am pulling away from the receptacles and now bolting the power cables together in the power strip.  I have all my gear on the same CB in my panel.  I find the power supply to equipment to be critical in getting the best from my system.

The rest of my stuff is PAP Trio 15 horn, Ampsandsound Casablanca monoblocks, First Sound Audio Paramount upgraded with all current technology.  I have some analog,  Allnic and a pretty custom TT.  My digital is much nicer and more natural, real and just alive than vinyl.  FWIW