oh yes, it is the fuse... propels components up up up the ladder of excellence!! don't miss out!! 😂🤣
sorry, couldn't resist... please don't let me deter you...
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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@budkine Don't listen to the cloth eared old bat, he's been on the turps again, the Purple makes a great improvement. The original fuse is T(Slow Blow) 3.15A, you should replace it with a T4A Purple. The original fuse is a semi-boutique fuse you can use in another piece of equipment. |
@earthbound @mboldda1 jjss49 has probably given a pretty good comparison of the Sonnet Morpheus and the Musetec. It comports somewhat with how Stereophile described the Morpheus saying it had limited dynamics and bass and attributed that to limitations of its power supply. I go to classical concerts a good deal and so my standard is fidelity to real instruments. Like jjss49 I am sensitive to excess treble (which IMO pervades digital components), though it can sometimes provide pleasant hi fi spatial effects. Made in Holland and offered at about the same price as the Musetec, the Morpheus it is very different inside. It is a discrete R2R DAC that is expensive to manufacture. It compensates, it would seem, in its power supply and in the use of chip op amps for its analog output stages. There are those who think that the D to A conversion is paramount. Others, me included, think it is secondary to things like power supply and analog sections. jjss49, by the way, has gone on to the $10,000 Weiss that uses the same D to A chip as the Musetec.. |
haha - this is what is referred to as ’the pot calling the kettle black’ -- don’t want to get into a pissing match on expensive boutique fuses here so let me just say this... use your brain, think about it, if it were so easy and effective, wouldn’t the manufacturers do this for the ’huge improvement’ gained? -- a company like musetec or sonnet cares much more about the sound of their product than a user does... advice - buy on fully refundable basis, set up a true blind a/b with the help of a partner/friend (yes you need TWO of the same component to do this, or a clever/diy circuit switcher), and be honest on what you hear |
Thanks Melm. I like the Lumin also due to its recent release. Streamers seem to be improving drastically very quickly. The guy from Vinshine said that a DDC wasn’t needed for Lumin/Venus 2 combo due to the very low jitter produced by the Lumin and he sells the DDC’s. A good endorsement. I’m also looking at the Auralic Aries g1.1. A little more reading and I will pick one of these two. Not looking for features just sound quality. So, if anyone can provide any imput regarding these 2 units it would be greatly appreciated. |
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