Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

@arafiq 

I don't know anything about a Tekton thread.  But please, no false analogies.  At one point I wrote to you, "Which you prefer is a matter of taste, and no one can substitute their judgment on that for your own."  Is that the sort of post on the Tekton thread?

Just a bit of context about this thread.   It's kind of old, had a short spurt and then died in favor of the much more important one that is @dbb's comparison review with the Holo May.   That one encouraged a couple of people to actually try the DAC and who chose to report that here, and this thread took off.  As the OP it is my email that rings with each post. So I try to help when I can. 

You write of how criticism of the brand is treated.  Fact is, there has been no criticism of the brand.  The worst thing said about it here is that a person prefers his broken-in Holo May to the not-yet-broken-in Musetec.    And the response to that was exactly, "I respect the fact that pt999 might prefer the May over the Musetec and would be willing to pay the difference. One cannot argue taste."

Next you write about @metaldetektor, agreeing completely with his assessment.  But there has been no assessment; he has only pontificated, BSd and insulted.   He has not written here of experience in audio, only that he had multi kilobuck DACs at his place to evaluate.  According to him he bought one DAC, but it was gone by the end of the month.  Oh yes, he wrote, "I'm happy to write about your Musetec vs. the various 10k DACs I've owned/home-auditioned. Send it to me . . "  Can you believe it?  So which of his "assessments" do you agree with?  I have not seen any.

Then you say, we have not addressed the "concerns (email) that pt999 raised."  Did you not see the suggestions of contacting his bank and seeking a credit card charge-back and even reporting this to the FTC?  I did express skepticism regarding his "purchase" for it seems odd.   If we expect ethics on the part of merchants we should act ethically ourselves.  Ordering when a return is really contemplated is not ethical IMO.  He didn't even let the Musetec break-in. I remain skeptical; though that has nothing to do with DACs.  BUT, he is still entitled to his refund.

Finally, no one here has taken Shenzhen's side so I don't understand your final rant on the issue.  In a day or two I may have something to say about alternative sources.

In any event you say you are no longer interested in the Musetec (even if you remain interested in this thread).  That's fine.  I'm not on commission.😉

The cable has an RCA termination on one end that goes into the DAC.  The other end is plugged into the wall.  Assuming that you have the rack space, it is extremely easy to set up.  My experience mirrored the reviews on it.

@arafiq 

I have to agree. I was interested in this dac too. But not anymore. Certain things raised doubts in my mind.

Some folks are debating with others as if they own the Mustec firm OR have some sort of arrangement with them. And I observe the same - a handful of folks defending their territory that too so voraciously - on this and other forums. Next - if a person does not like Musetec's sound OR the return policy, so be it. Don't really have to be upset if your enthusiasm about the product did not meet someone's expectations.

And bingo on the Tekton thread.

BTW, I just want to make sure that my criticism was not directed toward the DAC itself. There are a few people whose opinions and feedback matters to me greatly, and @yyzsantabarbara is certainly one of them. If he is going to put his stamp of approval on the dac, I have no doubt it is a very good component for the money. He is one of the few members who actually buys these components before giving his feedback.

My issue was with the way pt999 was treated. As far as I know, he was doing a service to other members by highlighting issues with Shenzen’s practices. He simply shared his feedback and stated his preference. I always get uneasy when fanboys tend to shoot the messenger. And I’m sorry, claiming that he was ’feigning expertise’ is a loaded statement and the insinuation is not hard to miss.

Ordering when a return is really contemplated is not ethical IMO.

Let’s not get into ethical dilemmas. With the demise of brick and mortar dealer stores, this is the only way for people to audition gear. Lots of companies offer no-hassle return policies, and everyone understands that the reason they exist is to let people try out the products before forking thousands of dollars on something that might not work for them. This is not about ethics. It is simply another attempt to tarnish someone’s (pt999 in this case) character by bringing their ethics into the equation.

On the subject of improved SQ when a preamp is used with the DA005, has anyone tried with a passive preamp?

This would of course only affect the output aspect presented at the interface to the amp, and would not provide any gain. Does any one know whether gain specifically has a beneficial effect?

The reason that I ask is that I don’t (yet?) own a DA005, and happen to have a passive preamp (Saga+) not currently in use which I understand provides an output impedance of 180 ohms in the tube mode. I’m wondering whether that would be helpful, or whether a preamp with gain is needed to get the SQ benefits some have mentioned?

Please, I suggest that we don’t get (further :-) into the ’just buy it and try it’ discussion for now :-). Has anyone tried the DA005 with a passive preamp, or is familiar enough with the DA005 interface to know whether the the improvements come from impedance matching, signal level, or a combination of both?