Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

I posted a month or so ago that I had ordered a L.K.S. USB to I2s converter. Well Shenzhen Audio said I had to wait because they were out of stock but at only $206.00 it wasn't worth complaining.

It was just a curious experiment to finally find out what I2s sounded like and at 200 bucks, well? I had previously almost bought the GD-Audio version which is more expensive at around $1200 plus shipping and custom cable and weighs 5kgs, it's serious kit. Additionally there's the Sonore ultraDigital at $499.00 plus shipping but it is universal, so no custom I2s cable required.

So I wasn't expecting any great shakes for 200 bucks. Received it last week but was in no hurry to set it up. Borrowed about $1500 worth of 5v LPS and power cable from my dealer and fired it up 5hrs ago with a recently purchased Furutech 8k HDMI cable. BTW you can run it from a USB charger with the included 2.1mm USB DC cable.

Man was I WRONG! This thing is amazing, it puts you at front row centre. I know it's not broken in yet and neither is my HDMI input on the 005 but it sounds huge. Detail by the boatload and I was getting plenty before. I can just switch between HDMI and Digital XLR on the fly and it just destroys XLR.

Once it's fully broken in I'll test the difference between HDMI and RJ45 inputs.

The 005 has brought us an amazing product at a fraction of what it's really worth. Honestly this unit takes it to another level. No it doesn't sound analogue or like vinyl. It sounds REAL! As it should.

Great that @benzman  settled in with a DAC he really prefers and that seems to integrate well with the rest of his system.  And kudos to him for getting that fine DAC at an advantageous price.  No one has ever claimed the Musetec was the best DAC ever  and in all situations.  That being said, the Musetec used was not broken in fully and not used through its most advantageous input, USB.  But his money, his choice.  Now just to relax with the music.  Just a final word putting the return cost in some context.  Return privileges are all over the place.  The cost to return a Schiit Yggdrasil to California, for example, can be $148 plus transportation both ways.  The cost of returning a Wyred 4 Sound DAC within 30 days could be $675 plus shipping to California.

@sns uses a tube system that he says creates even number harmonic distortion that may account for differences in perception of a DAC as compared to benzman's solid state one.  Mine is also a tube based system, Rogue, but it is definitely known for NOT being "tubey" while still providing tube benefits.  As some of us, committed to the sound of acoustic instruments in real space have noted, our search is NOT for our taste in musical reproduction. We do not seek a DAC that sounds good.  A DAC is not a musical instrument.  Neither is an amplifier or a speaker.   We look for components that recreate our experience with unamplified music as closely as possible.  There are well known components DESIGNED to sound inaccurate and euphonic, certain British speakers being notable examples.  

@lordmelton, Very interesting.  If I understand you correctly, you're comparing the AES/EBU input port on the Musetec to the the spdif input and hdmi output of the USB to I2s converter into the hdmi input of the Musetec.  Is that right?  If so, what is the source that is outputting either the AES/EBU or the spdif?  Also, have you considered the LKS power supply made for the unit?  It costs a lot less than $1500 as would an excellent SBooster, for example. 

I had just sold my Rogue RP7 with NOS tubes prior to getting the 005

I miss it already. My Dac was my only source so it didn’t make sense to me to use a 5k linestage for one source. Maybe a tube buffer down the road  

I have a bunch of higher end cables coming in this week to hopefully fine tune the system  

@melm Hi, From my Aurender N20 I am feeding Digital XLR direct to my 005 and USB to the L.K.S. converter then I2s HDMI to the 005.

This enables me to switch on the fly between I2s and XLR using the 005 remote.

Yes I could have got the L.K.S. LPS but I really wasn’t expecting much here. So I borrowed what I needed. I’ll probably go for a three way DC LPS to save money on power cables because I want an LPS for my router and TV box too.

You don’t need any I2s cables for this setup just ordinary unmodified HDMI or Ethernet cables.

It’s like a component upgrade. I’s not subtle.

All my gear is solid state.

As some of you know, I had Singxer SU6, while lordmelton may be getting fine sound quality from I2s, I never felt a single urge to try I2s as I simply couldn't imagine I2s giving me anymore than what I had, have since sold SU6.

Adding the I2s to my system at the time meant giving up the SOTM SMS200Neo I was running as streamer at the time, powered by Uptone JS2, and AQ Diamond USB for the SU6 and it's inferior (to JS2) power supply, and inferior I2S cable, made no sense to even try.

Also, I never want to give up two computer and/or separate server/streamer solution with Roon. I find Roon to sound much better when separating core from endpoint. My next player experiments planned will involve Audirvana Studio, AudioLinux and Euphony Stylus. Each will be run on it's own PCIe SSD, comparisons will be easy since I have simple access to SSD in server. After recent conversation with Alex Crespi of Uptone Audio, I learned very worthwhile to experience different players and computer OS.

As regards flavor and/or getting full potential of 005, I know this has been mentioned previously, active preamp is a must, the higher quality the better. Pre's likely have more influence on sound quality of source components than any other component or wire in system. The gain function of 005 is essentially worthless due to bit stripping, may be ok at 90% of full volume, but anything lower and bit stripping will intrude. Even more important, pre's will definitely color source to some extent, the reason I suggest tubes here for the neutral to analytical inherent color of 005.