Okay...
My intent was to listen to a less than $1000 DAC to see if that could make me happy. I found the Soekris DAC 1421 to be an improvement from my Theta ProBasic III as I have shared in earlier posts.
However...I had been reading about the Mojo Audio Mystique V3 along with other roughly $5,000 DACs. With all the recent press about the new EVO version from Mojo Audio, a couple of V3's have come on the used market. I pulled the trigger on one last week even though it was like four times the price of the Soekris. This is a lot of money so it was not a decision I made lightly.
My early listening results are astounding me. While I could debate how much better the Soekris was to the Theta, there is no doubt about the Mystique being substantially better sounding than the Soekris in my system.
The bass is better and I can hear the 25 HZ test sound on the Stereophile Test CD - 2. Instruments and vocals are more fleshed out combined with a much better sense of ambient space. Imaging is improved such that I can look directly at a speaker and "see" instruments in front of the speaker. That has never happened before.
Its like my Thiel CS5i speakers have come alive. They have sparkle and are not so polite. You may have noticed that I have been active on a couple of speaker threads as I was/am contemplating a move to higher efficiency speakers and tube amps. That is now officially on hold for at least a while.
Now, I have to admit that I have been playing with speaker placement, including toe in and distance. I will be reinserting the Theta in my system to hear what happens but am finding it hard to accept that speaker adjustments are making such a difference. I am pretty sure it is the Mystique...
More to come and your thoughts and ideas are welcomed.
Thanks for listening,
Dsper
