First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

@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.  

@car123 Thanks!

If you want an 005, you could contact Jason Walker in Indiana, the US dealer.  He has a couple used 005s, including my old black one.  It's a great DAC.