Forgot, but Coincident pre now also suspended same setup as 005, effective here as well, only slightly less than 005 suspended. 300B amps now on Stillpoints vs Aurios, more improvement here. I'll add Stillpoints Ultra SS are nice footers for 005 if staying with footers, more natural presentation, transparency, resolution, sound staging and imaging all improved, much more engaging overall sound quality with the Stillpoints! Stillpoints on 3" maple block in birch ply sandbox was very, very nice.
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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@sns I agree regarding the 005. I am beyond satisfied with this DAC and it responds so well to tweaks done around it. I no longer have my superb USB chain that included an Innuos Phoenix USB and an opticalRendu but I'm sure it would've been amazing with the 005. That would've been a nice comparison between that USB chain and the current USB/I2S chain I'm using now. Better yet, it would be even more interesting to test extending my old USB chain with the current I2S chain. There are just so many possibilities and not enough time and money :) For anyone with cash burning through their wallet and who wants to experiment with I2S, I highly recommend trying the LKS USB-100, the LKS LPS, and a short Wireworld Platinum Starlight 48 HDMI cable. For me, they too are the real deal. |
Going back to what I’m hearing with the LKS USB-100, for critical listening, I use my headphone system because it offers much more transparency than my 2-channel. It makes discerning differences and nuances easier. I use Sennheiser IE900 IEMs so the only "room acoustics" is inside my ear canal. Not even my outer ear is allowed to cause acoustic interference. I want to really stress that when I’m reporting hearing more nuances, I’m using these highly transparent IEMs that allow the tiniest of nuances to come through easily. The IE900s contain a single dynamic driver and they are able to play bass with force that would put some full sized headphones to shame. My current speakers are the Zu Audio Soul 6’s and they too display the same types of improvements with the LKS USB-100. Amp for IEMs and speakers: Enleum AMP-23R Ethernet/USB/I2S chain: Ediscreation Fiber Box II > Intel NUC > ISO Regen > LKS USB-100 (Fiberbox II and ISO Regen galvanically isolates the NUC from the system; NUC power is from the wall and not from the inverter/battery system) Digital cables: Straightwire and Cardas Clear USB cables around ISO Regen, Wireworld Platinum Starlight 48 HDMI into 005 AC Conditioning: Giandel 5000W Inverter and LiFePO4 battery, Puritan PSM 136 Power cables: Furutech DPS4.1 with FI 52 NCF connector between inverter and PSM 136, Zavfino Silver Darts into LKS LPS/005/AMP-23R (all Silver Dart PCs powered by PSM 136), Shunyata V14 Digital into Fiberbox II and ISO Regen SMPS Interconnects: Zavfino Silver Dart RCAs Side Note: the 005 is a match with the Enleum AMP-23R and high sensitivity headphones ONLY if line level attenuators are used between the 005 and AMP-23R. Without the attenuators, the signal for the IEMs was too hot and the gain/volume selector on the AMP-23R was too sensitive.
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- 1535 posts total