I placed an order for a silver colored one today with Midwest Audio in Indiana. After reading this thread and the one on Headfi I decided to pull the trigger. I'm currently using the internal DAC card in my Aesthetix Mimas integrated amp. It sounds pretty good, but I was curious or wanted to see how a top of the line separate DAC would perform in my system.
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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@sirnui Regarding USB into the 005 from your Grimm you'll probably find that the AES/EBU and USB will be very close. Not so with non-Amanero DACs, AES will be superior. Maybe you will even prefer one for different tracks. USB will be the only choice for Native DSD. My Aurender can convert DSD to DOP and I've found letting the Aurender convert to DOP and then switch on DOP in the 005 brings the best results. That's if you decided to forego USB. I'm very familiar with the Ediscreation and it's a great product but I would really like to know if the ENO has any effect after you install the Edis. Thx. |
@lordmelton I'm really looking forward to this weekend when I get more time to try USB with the 005. I've made so many changes to the system that the music feels unfamiliar (and awesome) but comparing USB versus AES will help me get a certain grasp of what the system is and perhaps where I want to go from here. I can't seem to stop tweaking. When I get the Fiber Box II, I will at some point test the system without the ENO and without the switch and whatever other combo that is of interest to me. |
The QSA Yellow fuse came in today. I bought it from the dealer used and I’m not sure of the level of breakin. What’s certain this first night is that the sound is different than the stock fuse. The Yellow fuse has an arrow on its side and I’ve tried it with the arrow pointing left and then right as one faces the DAC. With the arrow facing left, the sound was a little off and a little more dull than the stock fuse. With the arrow facing right, the music was much livelier and the sound level was louder than stock. This loudness sounded good at times and at other times it made me lower the volume on the amp which is not a good thing. The music sounded more cleaned up and there was definitley more emphasis in the mids. However, the music lost some low end oomph and overall fullness that I enjoyed. I will reserve final jugement until I get more time to listen but on this first night I preferred the stock fuse, then Yellow arrow facing right, then Yellow arrow facing left. The stock fuse has one end painted red and currently I have this red end toward the right. I wonder what’s the original configuration from the factory. YMMV and I expect them to vary because every system is different. This is why I demo. |
Today I tested the USB input versus the AES input of the 005. First I need to share the equipment involved and the setups because that is important. In both the AES setup and the USB setup, the Grimm MU1 is the Roon server and endpoint. I only stream Tidal redbook tracks with the MU1. I use to stream Tidal "Hi-Res" but I found that the up-sampling done by the MU1 lessens the need for "Hi-Res" streaming. AES Setup: (Grimm MU1; Shunyata Omega AES cable into the 005). With this setup, the Grimm up-samples all redbook tracks to 176.4KHz/192Khz 24bit and I can verify the up-sample on the display of the 005. The AES output of the MU1 is advertised to have "ultra low clock jitter". USB Setup: (Grimm MU1; Schitt PYST USB cable > Uptone ISO Regen > Cardas Clear USB cable into the 005; ISO Regen is powered by a DXP-1A5DSC power supply which itself is powered by an iFi Elite power supply which is connected to the Shunyata Everest power distributor with a Shunyata Venom V14 Digital cable). With USB, there is no up-sample and again I can verify this on the display of the 005. Critical listening is done with the Sennheiser IE900 driven by the Benchmark HPA4 headphone amp. The stock fuse was used in the 005. The 005 and the HPA are connected to the Everest via Zavfino Silver Dart Graphene power cables. The same model Zavfino XLRs connect 005 to HPA4. I'm going to get straight to the point regarding the results. The AES Setup wins hands down! Based on my musical preferences, I don't believe I will prefer any track that is not played from the AES output of the MU1. And I have to emphasize this is NOT a knock on the USB input of the 005. I just prefer the AES optimized output of the MU1 and it has convinced me on three highly regarded DACs now that "AES" can be better than "USB" if the right streamer is utilized. The MU1 is one of a kind in what it does so I don't expect anyone to understand exactly what I'm saying and hearing until they try it in their own system. The musical difference: I know it's cliche but with MU1 AES, there is a veil or two that is lifted from the presentation. The details are easier to hear and there is more clarity. There is a sense of better "sound separation" and I can hear sound nuances easier. The music sounded slightly louder in a good way. A component change can cause music to sound louder if it's amplifying perceived noise/distortion and this is not good. But I get the sense the MU1 AES is helping amplify the music itself so it's desired greater loudness. One of the best things I loved to hear with the 005 was the way percussive sounds or stick type hits would present themselves. These types of sounds were crisp and strong and had great texture and pop. Doing this experiment, I realized how much the MU1 AES actually played a role in making this sound. That is to say with the USB setup, this characteristic was lessened. Based on past similar experiments involving the MU1, I knew this was not a fair test for USB and today's experiment just reaffirms why I moved on from my USB optimized chain. I'm not saying USB is bad because it is definitely not but the MU1 AES is just better in my experience.
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