First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

Great, the added ease and refinement you're hearing is a function of both 006 and and the I2S conversion via Gaia and Tubulus cable.  While resolution/transparency is improved slightly with the I2S setup, I never experienced the vinyl like presentation prior to Gaia.

I felt 006 break in pretty much attained at around 350-375 hours, my Gaia and Tubulus lkely less than fully burned at something between 275-350 hours.. I've been hearing very consistent sound quality for over a month, surmise there won't be much change here on out.

Gentlefolk,

First post here - Happy (late) New Year to all!

A couple of questions if I may - particularly to @car123 @sns ​​​​@dbb as you have first-hand experience of the Musetec 006, but input from others is more than welcome.

CONTEXT:

I have to replace my lovely and long-serving LFD Dac III (bought new 1996), as it has developed a strange form of electromagnetic allergy to the pre-amp (even longer serving Stax CA-X, dated 1978).

The rest of the system is equally vintage: Stax DA-80 power amp (1978), Audiomeca Mephisto CD transport (1993; re-clocked) and Sonus Faber Electa Amator speakers (1995). There is a Behringer Ultramatch used as a DDC/upsampler between the transport and the DAC, as it seems to sound better. Richard Sachek silver cables throughout, except for digital cables which are a mix of Audioquest and home-made high quality but not esoteric stuff.

Not streaming anything at the moment, but I may start doing so, and mainly listening to classical (90%) and jazz (10%).

A 'good' system in my book provides both analytical and synthetic abilities: I want to be able to hear individual instruments or voices _if I want to,_ but I also need to hear the overall musical piece and how it hangs together. For 30 years, the old dinosaurs have delivered that to me.

QUESTIONS:

1) I am seriously considering the Musetec 006, largely on the basis of the strengths illustrated in this thread, which is about 95% of all the information I can find on the internet. Budget is fine - but am I deluding myself that the rest of the system will actually use it? Or should I set my sights on something significantly cheaper? (The DAC 3 had a great reputation 30 years ago, to the point that it is still saleable for >$1000, at least in the UK).

2) To Gaia or not to Gaia? At some point in the next year or so, I will begin transferring my ~2000 CDs onto some sort of music server, and I will start purchasing hi-res tracks as it's often cheaper to buy those than new CDs. Considering this, is it worth investing in a 'universal' bridge like the Gaia now - as it seems to benefit the sound regardless of the need for a DDC (lower jitter? I²S format?) or should I rather wait and see what my server and streaming infrastructure looks like?

Apologies for the long post, and thanks in advance for your wisdom!

@dlevi67 
Welcome to the forum.

Based on the sound you are looking for (“. . . both analytical and synthetic abilities: I want to be able to hear individual instruments or voices _if I want to,_ but I also need to hear the overall musical piece and how it hangs together.”), I would say the 006 would fit your taste beautifully. But, as you suggest, you can’t fully appreciate a near state of the art DAC with dinosaur equipment. My opinion is if you have no plans to modernize your system go with a cheaper DAC. I see no reason to consider the Gaia for the same reason.

@dbb Thanks for the welcome, and for the opinion.

The little upgraditis devil that has returned to sit on my shoulder after many year says "yes, but... what if you took this as an opportunity to get the rest up to scratch?" And TBH it sounds very good - I went for a listening session of a Chord Hugo TT2 carrying pre and speakers, and was not convinced by the Chord - on the other hand, the dealer was impressed by the sound of 30-45 year old stuff.

Perhaps look at a used 005 if you don't plan to upgrade the rest of the system.  The 006 (and the 005) definitely benefit from superb associated equipment.    But you can get a used 005 for quite a bit less than a new 006.  And, you might not hear the differential gains of the 006 vs the 005 given the rest of the system.

I agree with dbb re the gaia.