I've been reading with pleasure about your CD experience on the Pro-Ject thread. Looks like you're having a good time. I write in response to your venture into CD burning. I think you'll find that a very interesting voyage. I wrote earlier that ripping CDs and playing them from a hard disk to be a great convenience. I also found that it improved SQ in a clearly discernable way. But I was starting from an Oppo 105. You are starting from the Pro-Ject. So it will be very interesting to see what can be acomplished. Which Aurender will you be using? USB or spdif to the DAC? In my case it's USB to the DAC and when you do that it's, agan, a bit like analog where a lot of very little things can make a difference. And, oh yes, Happy New Year.
Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC
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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@melm -Happy New Year! Since I have a MacBook Air, I will be burning CDs via an Apple USB Superdrive, using dBpoweramp CD Ripper because there is no version of Exact Audio Copy that is Mac compatible. I have an Aurender N100H with an Ethernet Gigaport and 2 USB 2.0 data ports. I have a USB connection between the Aurender and the 005, which sounds awesome, btw. |
I'm about 40 hours in. Just to add my two cents in case it's helpful ... Yep, the sound changes quite a bit during the initial hours to my ears also. Listening every 4 hours or so, just for fun. It has sounded really good at times, and at one point I literally thought 'wtf?'? that sounds totally different - and not good', took the headphones off and set it back to cook some more. As far as the sound character goes, I think that @melm summed it up very well when he wrote "Fluidity, clarity, bass extension". Maybe I'd describe it further as clarity first and foremost (at the 40 hour point), with a good measure of fluidity and natural sound, plenty of PRaT, pace and control, including bass. Overall at this point it seems to be settling in, and sounds really good. So far in character it reminds me a bit of the Benchmark DAC3, but better, perhaps a bit more fluid and natural. As far as whether there is a tendency toward relentless or hyper analytical sound, I I can see where that impression comes from. I'd describe it (as some others have) as not kind to aggressive sounding recordings. For example, listening to some Mike Dawes acoustic guitar (Somebody I Used to Know, Boogie Slam, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Superstition, etc.) which are pretty 'hot' sounding recordings. Sounds great, but the sound as captured on the recordings can be a bit relentless. With the DA005 the character of these recordings comes through crystal clear. At this point, it seems to me like a totally honest view into the recording and source. Unforgiving, perhaps, but I'm thinking that's as it should be - no editorializing or 'beauty filter' smoothing is applied to the sound at all. To be clear, I don't find it dry or harsh at all - just totally clear, in a good way. Yeah, I understand that the sound should stabilize and continue to get better as I get to try it with more recordings, so consider these preliminary impressions of course, fwiw. Cheers. |
@fl_guy 005 not forgiving, yet is NOT UNFORGIVING. This is kind of hard thing to wrap one's head around. Sometimes we think of equipment that is not forgiving as having to be unforgiving. 005 is rare beast in that it toes a very delicate line between the two.
005 is not editorializing in any way I can perceive in over year of ownership. I've changed out tubes, resistors, capacitors in various equipment, three amps (two SET, one push pull tubes), two linestages, various network changes for streaming, different power cords, and 005 just kind of keeps chugging on. It illuminates every change, yet never goes off in some unintended flavor direction. It is rather like an unchanging reference point for all other changes to system. System went off in analytical direction once with addition of audiophile switch, otherwise has always remained NEUTRAL.
I just have a hard time ascribing some sort of over arching flavor or characteristic to 005. What color is neutral? Can't recall another piece of equipment in over thirty years as audiophile that I couldn't adequately describe with some color or temperature characteristic. Color is like invisible and temp. is exactly between hot and cold, warm and cool.
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hi @sns, thanks for your comments. I think that I get the distinction/point that you're trying to make (and my impressions so far agree btw). It seems to me that we're reporting very similar impressions in slightly different ways. I'm glad to hear that only more good things are in store for the longer term sound once the DA005 has fully stabilized!
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