Not specific to this DAC, but in general digital volume controls can cause issues with data flag recognition (i.e. PCM, DoP, or native DSD) since the digital data is modified which may impact the selected format identification.
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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In Audirvana there is a "Native DSD Streaming Method" setting. You can choose from the following 3 choices (in my set up): 1) None: convert to PCM, 2) DSD over PCM 1.0, 3) DSD over PCM 1.1 What do you have that set to? If you have chosen "None: convert to PCM" then you are asked "DSD convert to PCM with boost of" and your choices are 0dB to +6dB in 1dB increments. If you chose either of the other two DoP settings then the volume boost is not an option. Under the Upsampling category, what do you have the "Safe volume reduction before DSD upsampling" set to? Choices are None thru -6dB in 1dB increments. Under the Audio Volume category, I chose "No leveling" and software volume control turned to "Off" |
In my setup I don’t have DoP 1.1 so I choose DoP 1.0 (my audirvana is old 1.5.x and my mac for audio is an old mini 09 running snow leopard). I upsample pcm only by 2^x factors. (My audirvana seems to recognize the dac’s max sample rate as 768k, I don’t know why, maybe because the former dac’s max was 768k? So I use the custom upsample rates option.) When I used ADI-2 pro I prefered converting to pcm and using audirvana(izotope)’s software volume than feeding dsd to dac via DoP (I think that was because ADI-2 pro itself converted DSD to pcm internally). And at that time I prefered 0db boost and turning up the main volume. But that’s another story... I'll wait for your impression and operation result, thank you! @bill_k You’re right. The problem comes from that I prefer izotope’s noise shaped volume over 005’s internal volume for pcm, while I prefer 005’s native dsd (DoP for mac) playing over converting to pcm regarding dsd. Analog volume control might be the solution... |
I received my Musetec DA-005 today less than 2 weeks from ordering and installation was straightforward. I changed my Audirvana settings to straight PCM with no upsampling and listened via usb from a MacBook Pro running Audirvana Plus and optical from a Meridian CD player. Obviously the new DAC has a ways to go but I am hearing more precise localization of instruments, wider soundstage, more realistic sounding - less hifi, great bottom end, yet still some fuzziness in the upper frequencies which was expected in the first few hours of burn in. I suspect this DAC will really open up when fully burned in. In many ways it already exceeds my expectations. I look forward to playing around with the settings. |
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