Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

@melm Well I’m finally onboard after Christmas Customs delays and an eventful experience dealing with Shenzhen Audio. I won’t berate them except to say you’ll be much better off phoning them and giving your shipping instructions, waybill information etc. instead of emailing them and leaving them to their own devices, but it was well worth it all in the end!

So I’ve had the 005 for 3 days now and run it almost constantly for 72 hours. Straight out of the box the soundstage was big, did a few cable swaps until I got a good match, it’s very cable sensitive, good sign.

DSD sounds absolutely wonderful almost hypnotic, you have to put down what you’re doing and LISTEN! Another good sign..lol.

Unfortunately no DSD over AES/EBU or SPDIF only DOP which is more dynamic than the USB but lacks the magic.

Redbook CDs sound better over AES/EBU but still undecided on AES/EBU or USB for Hi-Rez PCM, they both sound excellent.

Out of the box the 005 oozes class, it’s silky smooth, black version. The LEDs are a beautiful shade of turquoise, one I’ve never seen before - stunning. How often would anyone remark on the LEDs?

15 DPLL settings No.1 is recommended for PCM and 6 for DSD I found these settings worked the best and they stay in memory. Switching inputs is a breeze on the front panel or remote.

Fast and slow filters fast is way better.

Phase swap for DSD because sometimes DSD channels get swapped over by software. PCM not able to swap.

Listening via an Aurender N20 with a 10 Mhz master clock a 15 year old Virtual Dynamics custom XLR IC into a SMC Audio VRE-1 Pre-Amp.

HiDiamond AES/EBU Reference and HiDiamond Standard USB $89.00!

Will report back after I’ve put a few more miles on it.

Thanks sincerely to everyone who recommended the 005.

Congratulations! Where does it say dpll 6 best setting for DSD?

While the Hidiamond usb may be great at that price, you can do better, it will pay off. I've used Supra, Cardas, Wireworld, settled on AQ Diamond, you will definitely hear difference with your nice setup.

By the way, I just purchased Sonore opticalrendu, this will replace one fmc, lps and Sotm sms200 neo. We were speaking of clocks, this has two femto clocks, based on reviews should be definite step up from Sotm. Also likely to go to Sonore optical module to replace tp link fmc, again, this has femto clock. Also, considering Small Green Computer sonicorbiter I9 server vs diy, one of the few servers with optical out.

All this relates to getting more of the potential out of 005. Nearly all my network upgrades help to make 005 more analog sounding, along with resolution improvements. For all the people streaming, optical is way important. My goal is to eventually be all optical from modem  onward.

@sns Hi and thanks. The online manual recommends to use the lowest DPLL settings for the best SQ.

PCM BW01-BW03

DSD BW06-BW10

Obviously these will get tweaked over time and fine tuned, lower the setting more detail, take it up a notch or two to smooth it out.

Not streaming only using my ripped files, most of what I want to hear I've bought over the years. Maybe in a few months I'll add streaming but as you say that's another investment.

Yes my digital cables will get upgraded but the HiDiamond USB is great value. The 005 is starting to reveal fault in the HiDiamond AES/EBU and push me more towards using the USB output and I'm a great fan of AES/EBU!

After the 005 is fully burned in I'll be looking at a USB to I2S converter re-clocker but it's wonderful as of now.

@lordmelton 

Congratulations and thanks for the kind words.  Based on your last post I expected to hear from you by now, but with about a month of breaking-in.  Sorry the DAC took so long to get to you.  Others wrote that they were getting their Musetecs about 10 or so days after ordering.  Snafus happen, I guess.

Nice that it's giving some pleasure right out of the box, but the best is yet to come.  If you haven't seen it I wrote about break-in just 3 days ago.  You're surrounding the DAC with some really nice components so it's especially good to know that it is meeting expectations.

As many have written, this DAC is really optimized for USB so that's the route to work on IMO.

You write that you'll be, "looking at a USB to I2S converter re-clocker."  However, that's exactly what the upgraded Amanero board does inside the DAC with a better power supply and better clocks than you're likely to find in a separate unit.  So I fail to see the advantage.  A positive move in that direction (at least in theory) might be an ethernet to I2S device bypassing any USB entirely.  Whether such a unit can outperform the USB on the Musetec may still be a question.  Beekhuyzen tested such a device and found it not to perform better than the inexpensive USB combo he was using.

Looking forward to that post you promised after a month of break-in.

@melm Thanks again. I agree the USB input is just wonderful and just keeps getting better. I’m at the stage now where I believe everything sounds better through USB!

This is a first for me because I’ve always had better sound with AES/EBU, that’s not saying it’s bad but it’s ever so slightly harder and a micron less involving, sort of 99% as good as USB.

If anyone is on the fence regarding the Musetec 005 take the plunge you won’t regret it. It’s an accurate and natural sounding DAC that reproduces music truthfully.