Six DAC Comparison

One more thing...

Single-ended vs balanced outputs is quite system dependent. 

Our balanced output is an additional stage following the single-ended output, so all things being equal, the single-ended output should sound better.

But when are all things ever equal?!?!?!?

As it states in our user manual, we suggest that you try both outputs in your system and decide for yourself. 

Generally speaking, our single-ended output will sound sweeter, will have better musical flow, better harmonic coherency, and have more emotional content. 

Generally speaking, our balanced output will have more intensity, dynamics, and gestalt.  

But as I mentioned, that is VERY system dependent. 

We have quite a few customers with fully balanced amplification who prefer our single-ended output and others who tell us our single-ended output sounds too soft and vague. 

In my personal experience some balanced amps don't do single-ended as well as balanced.

@fuzzbutt17 Are you stepping away from the R2R DAC's with the PCM58 DAC chip.  This is a Delta Sigma chip correct?  How many PCM58 DAC chips are you going to use in the new Z DAC?  I am excited to see what you have.

@brbrock Read this on line…“The PCM58 DAC chip is a true multi-bit R2R (Resistor Ladder) DAC and not a Delta-Sigma DAC”

@brbrock 

We're never switching from R-2R to Delta Sigma.

(I think I threw up a little in my mouth).

The PCM58 is a 40-year-old Burr-Brown 18-bit R-2R DAC chip that was marketed as a direct competitor to the Analog Devices AD1865.

It sounds and looks almost identical to the famous 20-bit PCM63.

Both the PCM58 and PCM63 are about 4X the size of the AD1862 which I assume accounts for their higher level of performance. 

Not only are they significantly larger and sound slightly better than the Analog Devices DAC chips, the PCM58 potentially has 4X the number of linearity/distortion fine-tune adjustments. 

Where as the AD1862 and AD1865 each have one adjustment for the MSB (most significant bit) to optimize linearity and minimize distortion for each channel, the PCM58 has an adjustment for MSB, 2nd bit, 3rd bit, and 4th bit.

No small difference. 

We've had quite a number of PCM58 and PCM63 DAC chips stashed away for over a decade.

The reason we haven't designed a DAC with them is that in order to fine-tune linearity and minimize distortion you need to use a very sensitive and very expensive distortion analyzer which we didn't have at the time. 

We've even had our friend Brial Lowe, the genius behind Belleson regulators, design a custom low-noise amplifier and notch filter for us to assure that even the most subtle noise that could get through to the distortion analyzer from AC mains and RF would be eliminated allowing us to truly optimize these DAC chips to 20-bits of resolution.

Here's the kicker..

Among other differences, the entry-level Mystique Z DAC will have only the fine-tune adjustment for the MSB, the middle-level Mystique Z will have the MSB and 2nd bit fine-tuned, and our top-of-the-line Mystique Z will have MSB, 2nd bit, 3rd bit, and 4th bit all fine-tuned.

So rather than expecting that Mojo Audio is switching from R-2R to Delta-Sigma expect a level of R-2R performance from our Mystique Z unlike any company has ever offered.

And expect a new version of our famous EVO DAC for around $17,000 to be released in 2027 built around Burr-Brown's famous PCM63 DAC chip.

I look forward to hearing the Mystique Z with the PCM58 DAC chips based on my fond memories of the sound of a Lector CDP-7T/Mk II that I owned.  The Mk II used BB PCM63 DAC chips while the CDP-7T/Mk III that I upgraded to used BB PCM1704 DAC chips.  I posted this way back in 2008:

"The only difference from MkII to MkIII was changing the DAC board to accomodate the BB PCM-1704 24-bit chipset instead of the PCM-63 20-bit chipset. I have been told by two people who should have pretty good ears that they believe the MkII sounds better than the MkIII. I have been told by more people that the MkIII sounds better. HP from TAS implied the MkIII sounded better to him. My ears tell me they both sound great, and not so different from each other. The MkII projects a "creamier" slightly richer, fuller sound. The MkIII has better resolution and also falls on the rich, full side of the sonic scale compared to many others, but slightly less so compared to the MkII. I believe the bass is tighter with the MkIII, and also just as deep and powerful." 

If you remember, many of us were chasing resolution back in those days, which is probably why I stupidly upgraded from the Mk II to the Mk III.  I remember the guy who purchased my Mk II was an experienced audiophile and I believe an industry insider.  He was thrilled to get the Mk II with its PCM 63 chips.  I remember thinking that he may know something I didn't, and I was right!

While I look forward to hearing the Mystique Z, the one I am most interested in hearing is the EVO DAC with the PCM63 DAC chips that Benjamin has proposed to release in 2027.  I suspect that could be the one that will make me forget about my EVO Pro.