Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

@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?

Edit: The second para should read:

"This would of course only affect the output _impedance_ aspect presented at the interface to the amp, and would not provide any gain...."

@arafiq

You wrote, "Let’s not get into ethical dilemmas."

Why not? Taking advantage of return policies is a reasonable way to audition gear when you might actually buy the stuff. It’s not OK IMO when you just want to hear stuff that you have no intention of keeping. Especially when you’re talking about around the world shipping. What the motivation is for that, except building some sort of experience/expertise, is something you can ask those of who do it. If we abuse these relatively easy returns, they push prices up for everyone and will not continue on the same terms.