I neglected to say that the "digital bridge" in my description is a DNLA bridge.
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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For those interested in a possible purchase of this dac, there is now a US dealer-Midwest Audio in Mishawaka, Indiana. Midwestaudiophile.com. I became aware of them from an add at USaudiomart.com I ordered a dac from them a couple of weeks ago for $3199. The dac was shipped from Shanghai and received by me in 9 days. I believe when I ordered they had a silver unit in Indiana inventory, but I wanted a black unit so it was shipped from China. I have no affiliation with the seller. I am currently burning in the dac, so I will defer comments about its performance until it is fully burned in. The sound is changing considerably as it burns in. I do have a few questions: How long will full burn in take? After it is fully burned in, should standby mode be used when not in use, or should it be powered down? Is the USB input the best choice vs aes or something else? Do most find the slow filter preferable? I can upsample with my streamer, a Lumin U1. Have you found that upsampling produced improved quality, or is native resolution the way to go? |
Thanks for the info about the US dealer and congrats on your purchase. As for break-in, I responded to someone else: In his first post after receiving the Musetec, @pt999 compared it to his fully broken in May Holo KTE DAC. After one week of break-in he decided to return the unit. He preferred the May, apparently by a good margin. In his second post, written after 16 days and 350 hours* of break-in he changed his mind and decided not to return it. He writes that, "The 2 DACs sound very similar." You can do a search for his full post in this thread. As for stand-by mode, the factory says it doesn’t matter. As I have tubes in my amp and pre, I go to standby and turn it on when I turn my tubes on. I used slow because sns said it’s better and have never looked back. I experimented with upsampling and did not find it useful so I’m at native. Again, others may chime in |
@blang I saw that ad in USaudiomart as well, thought it may have been a dealer demo, seems I was incorrect. Apos audio used to carry 005, where I purchased mine, don't know why they discontinued carrying it.
Some report up to 400 hours, I didn't do any serious listening until I had somewhere around 100. Standby is proper, suspect more wear and tear on power supply if constantly powering down. 005 USB state of art, I've never felt the need to try i2s which I have available setup for. I prefer slow filter, although I don't hear major difference between the two.
As far as upsampling, never felt the need, YMMV. Try both and see what you prefer. |
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