First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

@sns  Thanks for the kind words.

I should add that on two occasions I had brief playing disruptions when listening through my streamer, an Ultrarendu.  They were cured by rebooting and reloading the 006 driver and checking and re- entering the streamer settings. I corresponded with Mustec and they were quite responsive. Still the cause is unknown, except it seems certain that it is a settings and software issue. This type of issue is common in my experience. If it repeats, I suspect a driver update will do the trick. Also, I use JRIVER to play files through the streamer. Adjustments there may be in order.

@jc4659  Your experience doesn't surprise me. I would think the first place to go to increase dynamics would be the preamp and amp. Who knew so much could be accomplished through the dac.

I've used 005 sans pre, and with Pass XP-22 and modded Coincident Statement pre's, somewhat threadbare with no pre. 005 easily exposed differences between the Pass and Coincident, and easily exposes differences with virtually every change I make in system. Newer Sabre chips have typical high resolving/transparency of Sabre chip dacs with more natural presentation, need to research differences between the 9038pro in 005 vs. 9039pro in 006.

I'd also expect continued change, albeit more subtle post 400 hours, Dueland caps, silver wire improve with more time.

@dbb 

Thank you for your review of the 006 done in your usual comprehensive style.  I'll have to go back and listen to Gilbert's Mahler 7.  

As others are finding, notably in this thread @jc4659, the 005 responds beautifully to improvements in the overall system.  In stages I have improved my speakers, my amplifier and my AC conditioning, straining my audio budget.  Clearly the 005 is not the limiting factor for me and for others and I am enjoying it even more.  But your review is tempting me.

Once again Musetec has filled its new DAC with some of the best interior components availble from around the world and, unlike many other manufacturers, is proud to tell you exactly what's inside.  The designer, who is a music lover, tests each new part by ear.  In years past we lauded such designers, by name, who mixed technology and art so well.  

Thanks for the review! It certainly looks like a step up in design and engineering from the 005. I’ll be curious to see if the ASR guys test the new unit in comparison to the older one.