Thanks for the information sns
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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- 1534 posts total
update after 100 hours of Burn-In Once the listening commenced, it was immediately apparent that the MH-DA005 was different from any other DAC I’ve heard. The sound had the remarkable quality of appearing from nowhere, completely untethered to the speakers. This characteristic was certainly related to the MH-DA005 completely silent background as well as its stunning spatial presentation, with wide staging and continuousness of imaging. But the MH-DA005 disappearing act went beyond these usual tropes. The impression of hearing music rather than a hi-fi system was profound. The MH-DA005 is so transparent to the music that I had the odd sensation of the speakers not being the source of the sound. Opening my eyes at the end of a piece of music, I was sometimes momentarily startled to see this pair of B&W standing in front of me. In the ability to resolve very fine detail, the MH-DA005 is, again, phenomenally great. I heard things in familiar recordings that were startling. The track “I Love Being Here with You” from Diana Krall’s Live in Paris (a terrific record, by the way), is a good example. During the piano solo, I heard, for the first time, some very quiet vocalizing underneath the music. This element added more life to the music, accentuating the live nature of the performance. But beyond this element of arcane audiophile interest, the song simply brimmed with the excitement of a first-rate band kicking into gear in front of an audience. All the performances took on a heightened sense of urgency, energy, and spontaneous music-making in a way that was absolutely thrilling. Overall, I have to say that the MH-DA005 is the best-sounding DAC I’ve heard. It represents the ultimate realization of the accumulated knowledge and sophisticated technologies MUSETEC has developed over the past 10 years, along with some remarkable innovations that push the MH-DA005 performance to an unprecedented level. At the proposed price it is a real bargain, in fact it can compete with DACs that cost at least ten times more. I would like to congratulate the designer for what he has managed to achieve, it is a DAC that should be exhibited at the MOMA in New York as a real artistic masterpiece. At this point I can only define the ASR tests as garbage that has nothing to do with science
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@americanspirit Very nice! You're hearing exactly what we hear, 005 has ability to present music and/or live performers in room without artifice.
You're assumption it may compete with dacs ten times its price may be correct. Since adding the FMC prior to server I've reconsidered my priorities as to next possible upgrade, top tier server, a la $10k and above now rises above $15K+ dac. With the added refinement I'm hearing now, this dac has no discernible weakness in my setup. |
@americanspirit Thank you for your positive comments, but you have only got a taste of what the 005 is capable of. It'll most likely start sounding really bad then good then bad until it finally fully breaks in. Switch the 005 completely off and unplug it every few days to drain the capacitors, this will help the break-in. As you and sns said this DAC is way out there in the value stakes, I really don't know what to compare it to. |
@americanspirit - Nice review. I agree, this DAC is amazing! Out of curiosity, what B&W's are you using in your system? |
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