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Has the ASR review/hatchet job on the Musetec MH-DA005 Changed Anyone's Mind?

A little over a year ago, after seeing so many glowing reviews of the 005 on this and other fora, I bought the DAC and thought it made a great improvement over my Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ (which I now use on my #2 system). Recently, I came across the ASR review, which concludes that the 005 is a piece of crap. I know that ASR has a dubious (at best) reputation in this forum, but I wonder if its review has caused anyone to have second thoughts about the Musetec. I confess I was initially concerned by questions like, why hasn't Musetec responded to the horrible ASR review, if it is inaccurate? But, then, every time I listen to my system with the 005 DAC in it, it sounds glorious. Obviously, the guidance, "trust what your hear" is important, but I'm not sure I'd be as trustful of my ears if the negative technical review came from, say, John Atkinson, who has far more professional legitimacy in measuring equipment. I confess I have one more than one occasion refrained from buying a certain item because of his test results. (Where I live, it is not feasible to listen to amps in stores before buying, and one quickly grows weary of buying and returning expensive equipment on line, especially equipment that does not have stellar subjective and objective accolades).  

audio-satisficer
lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

The Musetec 005 is a fantastic DAC and tremendous value for it's price, $3k.

I have been an extremely satisfied owner of the 005 for almost one year now and have been very pleased with the huge soundstage, realistic and uncoloured presentation this DAC provides.

In this hobby you will not get very far if you can't be prepared to trust your own hearing. I don't give reviewers or influencers my trust because they all get paid one way or another. Even posters on this Forum have their own agendas that fly in the face of facts.

The 005 will not be found lacking in any system you put it in, regardless of value.

So my answer is no, ASR failed miserably to discredit a wonderful DAC.

 

 

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,819 posts
 

Your title calls the review a "hatchet job." Anyone who found themselves convinced by the ASR review would have to out themselves as someone gullible enough to be convinced by a hatchet job.

In other words, you seem to be fishing for a particular set of answers by your framing of the question. Someone "hatchet-like" itself, no?

thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 

A strategy that never failed me: avoid like a plague what ASR recommends. And, put in your “watch lists” for auditions what ASR bashes. It works like a charm. Every single time.

soix
8,773 posts
 

If your ears are happy, what does Asinine Science Review have to do with that?  They’d have you think a $100 Topping DAC is superior to Musetec, Denafrips, etc. based solely on measurements.  They don’t trust their own ears so they have to resort to what measurements tell them what should sound good.  Sad.  Just sad.  Go with your own ears and reviewers you’ve come to trust and you’ll be just fine.  Numbers have a place, but they sure as hell ain’t everything.  

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