First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

Oh, and I forgot about Evo version of my JCAT XE Netcard, even further behind the curve! Like I keep on saying, streaming is evolving fast and furious, kind of fun, interesting, but frustrating at the same time.

@debjit_g Check with @audioman58 , I purchased Gaia from Paul, he may be able to set you up with something, also got  some consideration on the Tubulus I2S cable.

I just got notification on the Laiv, unfortunately only Femto clock, still could be good value if implemented well.

@melm Its a crystal oscillator enclosed in an oven which makes it an OXCO. Both quality of XO and the quality of the power supply for the oven are critical for highest performance. The exact implementation within Gaia is only possible by reverse engineering, manufacturers don't want to reveal all. In any case sound quality is always my final arbiter of quality, Gaia transforms 006 into an even better dac vs using usb input.

I've been experimenting using Gaia clock vs 006 internal clock, Gaia clock exposes 006 as an inherent limitation of this dac whether using usb or I2S inputs. Going usb even more of a limitation in that Gaia exposes it as inferior even when using 006 internal clock via I2S. So two benefits of Gaia, inherent superiority of I2S and superior OXCO clock.

Using Gaia's clock vs internal clock. Easily and immediately heard expansion of sound stage, images more dimensional and greater density, great sense of reach out touch performers. Gaia using 006 internal clock, flatter perspective, sound stage shrinkage, sense of less resolution as images congeal and sound stage shrinks. 006 via usb, further shrinkage of ss and images, less analog presentation.

@melm First off, as I mentioned previously reverse engineering required to determine quality of these clocks and power supplies, manufacturers rightly don't advertise their schematics and all part numbers.

As for usb vs I2S I've never stated all I2S implementations will beat all usb implementations, my previous experience with SU 6 and 005 being inferior to ubs proves this out. Golden Sound replicates ASR in that measurements tell all. I presume all 005 owners understand the fallacy of this what with it's poor performance over at ASR. More proof of this folly is my experience with Okto Stereo dac which at one point was SNR champ at ASR, jitter right up there as well. So, Okto vs 005 which measures poorly. Sold the Okto, kept the 005, amazing how a dac with lousy SNR was more highly resolving than top rated Okto. My point is one should pick the Singxer SU6 over the Gaia if measurements are your final arbiter for equipment purchases. I've had both in house, Gaia wins on build quality, design and sound quality. As for the Audio GD, I can only speculate as to it's performance, I chose the Gaia, happy with the purchase, especially with the Tubulus cable.

 @catastrofe I understand the theoretically inferiority of external clocks via I2S interface. Well usb is also a very flawed interface, never designed for the purpose it's used for in dacs. Think about all the complexity of usb boards within dacs, lots of technology required to clean up this flawed interface. Back to I2S, well Gaia external clock beats out 006 internal clock, and not by just a bit, so much for theoreticals. Still, I'd advise sticking to 1/2 M or less for I2S cables.

Bottom line, I agree we should be concerned with design, parts, build quality, and measurements. After decades spent in audio, I treat measurements as perhaps the least important aspect for end users. Measurements are of critical importance for designers/engineers, not so much for us. Musetec, in their own statements admits their final designs based on listening vs measurements. I presume many other manufacturers do exactly the same.

I'm not stating an overarching disparagement of usb, in many cases usb may outperform I2S, I keep on reiterating my experience with Singxer SU6 vs usb. I will continue to affirm what I believe to be inherent advantage of dedicated lines for data and clock, and no need to convert from usb to native I2S within dac. Does it seem reasonable to believe extracting data and clock streams from one cable is an advantage, same with detour through usb boards. With I2S one is simply supplying isolated and dedicated clock and data streams directly into native I2S path of dac.

 Now I agree the downside of I2S is the cable, however, I'm reasoning the superiority of the clock in Gaia over 006 clock supersedes or overrides the downside of clock being further away and having to travel through short cable to I2S stream inside dac. Superior sound quality I'm getting via I2S is provides evidence for this.

As for choices made by manufacturers in regard to interfaces, plenty of dacs provide I2S inputs including Rockna, Mola Mola Tambaqui, PS Audio, most of the Chifi, and some others I've seen listed on forum. More at issue here is the failure of streamer manufacturers to provide I2S outputs. With so few streamers offering this output easy to understand why dacs wouldn't provide for it. Now, as to why streamers don't offer it, here is how I see it. Virtually all off the shelf computer motherboards (which is what all streamers are) have usb capability on board. These boards were originally developed for general purpose, only in relatively recent years have they become optimized solely for audio. We also have follow the leader syndrome, usb became the de facto interface because it was no hassle   to integrate, integrating I2S requires more work, another signal path, clock and power supply. I also agree it can sound fine since so many years and so many manufacturers working on optimizing it. I've used many usb optimizing solutions over the years, each subsequent solution bettering the previous. If I hadn't purchased  Laiv Harmony with the specific intention of trying I2S with it I wouldn't have even bothered with I2S to 006.

As to doing away with a DDC altogether, I have option of installing Pink Faun I2S board in my custom build streamer, I'd power via my Uptone JS 2 choke based lps. In going this direction I'd completely eliminate my Sonore OpticalModule, OpticalRendu (no more optical network conversion and total elimination of usb, AQ Diamond usb cable, lps, AC cables, DC cables). Question becomes does less become more?

Finally, based on reviews of the world class streamers and dacs, I have no doubt the proprietary interfaces they use are superior to both usb and I2S. Still, the native signal path within dacs remains I2S so the ultimate solution is to provide a superior clock and power supply for that clock within the dac. As for the streamer I haven't researched these proprietary interfaces enough to know exactly what they do, however, it seems reasonable to believe they provide dedicated runs for clock and data, I can't imagine mixing up data and clock on a single cable is the optimal solution.

Almost forgot. Experiential evidence is an extremely valid form of evidence. For those disparaging I2S via DDC don't just assume or presume this is inferior interface, provide some real world experience via comparative analysis of optimized I2S vs whatever usb setup you're presently using. I'm simply reporting on what I hear in my setup, not trying to sell anyone on anything, I have no skin in this game.

@catastrofe I agree my experience is only anecdotal evidence, but then there are many others who assert I2S superiority. Others claim usb superior.

Personally, I tend to put far more value on comparative reviews, and those comparisons should be fair. And so we often make equipment purchases based on other's reviews because we judged those opinions as factual or honest. Which brings us to our own subjective analysis of what we hear when inserting that equipment into our systems. I've long researched both usb and I2S interfaces, know all about the pluses and minuses,  I felt the need to come to my own conclusions, not rely on others. I've now heard both and have come to my own conclusions, whether someone wants to believe me is totally up to them.

By the way, meant to say empirical evidence rather than experiential. And since this is thread devoted to Musetec 006 my direct claim is full potential of 006 will not be unlocked using usb input or some other DDC of unknown or dubious quality (compared to Gaia). My contention is internal I2S clock is what's holding that performance back. I'll further make this statement conditional on running an optimized usb into the DDC such as I have. Making the presumption everything in chain is critical, running a less than optimal usb into this or any ddc will affect quality of it's output which will impact sound quality.

@melm The Okto dac I purchased some years ago was the streaming version, that streamer being a Raspberry Pi, never really experimented much using as streamer since I had the Sonore at the time, assumed it superior.

After some time reflecting on specific sound qualities I'm hearing with 006 via usb, vs I2S using 006 internal clock vs I2S using Gaia clock it occurred to me some could possibly prefer the presentation of usb and/or I2S/internal clock. Specifically, both these outputs provide what I'd call a more intimate presentation, I could also describe it as more neat and tidy. The more expansive sound stage using Gaia tends to blend individual images in that image outlines more diffuse, the other outputs present more tightly drawn images. I'd describe the more diffuse image presentation more along the lines of a live acoustic band, very little sound reinforcement, the other presentation more like what you'd hear with live or studio recording taking feed off soundboard. Another issue a more expansive, more diffuse sound stage could offer is it could excite certain listening room anomalies, for example reflective areas in room could emphasize certain frequencies which could be heard as extra harshness. One easily heard effect of the more expansive sound stage with Gaia clock is the sense of sound being freed from the front speaker plane or baffle, this presents not only a more upfront presentation, but also may more highly excite reflective surfaces close to speaker (this could affect surfaces further away as well). Perhaps I'm different in that I seek performers in room perspective, others may prefer being transported to recording venue. One is a more upfront presentation, the other more distant, no doubt the Gaia presents the more upfront presentation. I should add I spent many years experimenting with many types of room treatments and placement of them. Much listening time used visualizing sound waves of various frequencies and how they intersected with room boundaries. Reflection, diffusion, absorption all need to be in balance. My specific room dimensions (30 foot length, speakers fire down length) also provide a natural venue for my preferred sound staging  I can envision a room in which Gaia presentation could be less preferred.

In thinking back to when I added an audiophile switch, I recall hearing this exact same more tightly drawn imaging, neat and tidy sound staging. I very much disliked the presentation and sold the switch, never understood some people's preference for them ever since. For me the Gaia presentation is more like a natural acoustic, vs the other presentation being more hifi.

Another thing that brought this whole sound staging preference to mind is a recent thread in which I participated where individual specifically mentioned he didn't like the exact presentation I prefer.

Finally, going in another direction, not unusual for lower noise floors/greater resolution to be less preferable for some people and some systems. I equate what many describe as musical is in fact a lower level of resolution that doesn't expose lesser recordings and/or certain defects or anomalies in audio systems. With the Gaia I certainly hear more into all recordings, along with the good comes the bad. Being a seeker of high resolution I've come to accept the bad along with the good. There are times when I may play several poorer quality recordings in succession when it gets to me, I will then specifically seek out higher quality recordings which remind me of the great benefits of a highly resolving system.

@brbrock I've not heard the Mojo.

@car123 Good for you, I purchased my Gaia from @audioman58, great price and fast delivery. Paul also gave me the heads up on the Tubulus I2S cable. I'll be interested in hearing your take on 006 with Gaia after spending some time with.

@car123 I see you're already aware of burn in issues. So my experience with burn in has been at least 400 hours on 006 although it will sound good right out of the box. I found micro dynamics the last thing to settle in, 005 bettered 006 until around 350 hours. Gaia and I2S cables kind of the same thing, ok right out of the box, Now just over 300 hours on both, around 250 hours when I began to hear an even more relaxed presentation, trailing edges began to catch up to attack, this added to what was already a nice flow or analog presentation.

Not sure I've fully explained what I've been calling flow in regard to analog sound vs digital. Digital presentations in my experience have nearly universally provided a more precise sound, where performers are more individualized, less part of a whole. I preferred the Harmony dac in early stages since it provided  more of this sense of a group of musicians playing in 'harmony' for lack of a better word, another word would be holistic. Digital, especially highly resolving digital such as 006 may have tendency to emphasize or spotlight these individual performers, or performance in general, result is listener tends to focus on sound quality vs music, the typical analytical perspective. I think this why some prefer R2R dacs in general to chip and some FPGA dacs.

The other thing I've heard that consistently differs between vinyl and digital presentations is what I"ve called flow. Timing errors or jitter can present as an impediment to flow, an almost imperceptible sense of 'nervousness' may be instilled in listener, this may cause a touch of exhaustion or tiredness in which listening sessions may be cut short. Based on my own experience and nearly universal reviews digital has greatly improved in this aspect, especially in recent years, severe digititus seems to be a thing of the past. In spite of this improvement I was still getting just the slightest bit of this presentation with 006 prior to insertion of Gaia and sync to Gaia clock. The improvement in flow this provided  I now attribute to the silences between notes, something the musician John Cale has long spoken on. The idea is the silence between notes is as important to the music as the notes themselves. With further banishment of timing errors the almost imperceptible silences become far more meaningful, its as if time has slowed down, digital no longer feels rushed, I relax into the presentation. This was long the difference between my vinyl and digital setups, with vinyl I've always had this sense of relaxation, even luxuriousness during listening sessions, very soothing in a way digital could never quite match.

I've kept an audio journal for nearly thirty years, keeping notes with every listening session. Critical analysis led to many changes over the years, some were retrograde, some lateral, over the long term improvements were made. For the past two months the only thing written in regard to my digital listening sessions, "best sound quality ever."

@wynnytsky I have the latest or 12th series Gaia, can't imagine why you'd not find this possible. 

So, on Harmony screen, I2S clock setting are you getting message, "no compatible I2S clock available?"  When using Gaia clock you should see I2S at top left of display. I can find no evidence earlier Gaia's cannot support choice of using it's internal clock.

I'll reiterate the entire streaming chain needs to be optimized in order to extract full potential of 006. I used to run SOTM usb solution, found the Sonore products superior, specifically the OpticaModule and OpticalRendu, best lps one can afford for these Don't forget the Denafrips DDC also offers further usb opimization via it's STM32F446 Advanced AMR based MCU interface.

@dbb Unfortunate you didn't find the Statement to be your cup of tea.

@car123 Obviously you can change or conform modes on either the Gaia or 006. At present I'm running mode 0 on Gaia which conforms to code M1-D, M2-A, M3-D, M4-A, M5 is for DSD. I believe Mode 0 on Gaia is the PS Audio standard which many products conform to. You can use any variety of codes pairing Gaia and 006 together, just make sure you have left and right clocks and data runs matched, easy to get this mixed up and still have sound.

@car123 Your pin settings are correct for both configurations, you should not  be inverting channels. Are you sure your pre doesn't invert channels, some do. In any case I doubt the inverted channels should be introducing any extra timing errors.

You need full burn in to properly evaluate which you seem to be aware of. 006 is easily more refined and musical vs 005 in my setup, I now consider 005 as slightly more on analytical side of neutral. Involvement with 006 was also slightly down on 005 for me until micro dynamics began to kick in sometime after 300 hours. Gaia kicked in nicely after around 200 hours, same with Tubulus cable. The 2M HDMI cable is likely producing needless timing errors, you're on right track with 1/2M, full silver wire I2S cable, no need to spend for the  extra silver wire in an HDMI cable.

Keep us posted as sound develops.

Misspoke, meant to say phase, memory of that issue came from my Joule. Back in that period of time was using highly modded Merlin VSM, Bobby and Judd's creations were very sympatico.

If this messing with timing I'd expect you'd hear the difference when changing pin configuration.

Cool, running Joule Electra. I ran LA-100 MKIII some years ago, swapped all the stock Solen caps for Jantzen Z Superior coppers on signal board, Jantzen's really upped the game. RIP Judd.

Seems to me issue you're having most likely pin wiring issue within Gaia or 006, suspect this to be non issue in regard to sound quality. May want to try another example of Gaia or 006 if it remains bothersome.

What Tubulus model did you order? Patience was key, but didn't feel exactly deprived with the previous $70 I2S cable. Not to say the Tubulus wasn't an easily heard upgrade.

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.

Why I agree with the reasons given to purchase the 005 vs 006, the advantage of purchasing the 006 now is future upgrades would likely reveal the greater potential of 006. While you'd not likely hear the greater resolving/transparency of 006 in the near term its likely you would in longer term. The other major benefit of 006 vs 005 for me is the more analog like presentation, its simply a more forgiving dac even while providing greater resolution/transparency, and this even via usb. I've owned 004,005,006 and each was successively superior in this regard to the previous.

If I were in your shoes I'd not purchase the Gaia yet, Gaia is for a very mature streaming setup, like icing on the cake.  I very well remember the Audiomecca equipment, that cd transport was right at the top of the list when I did an upgrade back in the day, ended up with Mark Levinson No. 37. Took quite some time for my streaming setup to beat out playing cd's via the Levinson. Amazed your transport has survived this long, it was a sad day when ML died, never could replicate it's sound with any subsequent transports, expedited my move into streaming.

As for streamers, good luck. With so many people advocating for so many choices I'd be totally confused if I were a newbie. I'm one who advocates for every to crossed, i dotted so its been mostly diy route for me. Personally, when I was looking at off the shelf servers, Antipodes was at the top of the list, pretty costly though. Lots of people like Aurrender, others Innuos. I also like Small Green Computer, I use some of Sonore equipment, they have a pretty nice server as well. At a more reasonable price the EverSolo seem to be getting pretty good reviews.

Rather than ripping your cd's to internal drive on streamer, consider NAS, I run a Synology for my over 3k rips. This will open you up to a lot more choices in streamers, many don't provide for internal storage. Good luck.

@car123 I haven't been keeping close track to hours recently but somewhere around 350 for Gaia and 250 for Tubulus and sound continues to evolve. Mostly gains in harmonic structure and more natural attack and decay. Mostly what I love with my present setup is the honesty of how it portrays each and every recording. Sometimes I can perceive my setup as sounding just a bit darkish, but then I play a recording with more air up top and that perception disappears. Same with all other parameters of sound quality, recordings should be presented in the exact manner they were recorded.

Very interested in hearing your perceptions of Tubulus cable, some claim they don't hear differences with I2S cables, I easily heard difference from my initial I2S cable.

When I first installed Gaia was using an inferior power cord and sitting on stock feet. Added one of my diy power cords (these replaced pc's up to $7k throughout system) and placed on Stillpoints, easily heard improvement.

I wish everyone with Musetec or Laiv Harmony dac could hear these dacs with Gaia via I2S, extracting max potential from these dacs is well worth it!

@wombat79 Comparisons are always informative, 006 does reach far above it's cost.

@car123 Nice vinyl setup, I've heard most of your equipment at shows. Says a lot that you feel Musetec competes or surpasses it. Same vs my vinyl setup consisting  of completely restored Technics SP10MkII in 100lb custom plinth, Jelco TK-3850L tonearm, Korf headshell Audio Technica AT-Art9XA, Zavfino Gold Rush cable, Thoress phonostage. Always thought I'd have to pay more than 006 cost for digital to surpass my vinyl. With Tubulus cable you're in for icing on the cake. Y

You can further upgrade the Sonore optical with Finisar SFP1475 transceivers, further lowering of noise floor meaning greater resolution/transparency, good bang for the buck with these.

@brbrock While I haven't heard the May KTE or Mystique X I've closely watched reviews over the years. I've seen a number of KTE comparisons to my Laiv Harmony, seem to have similar performance, preference  varies between the two. So, if this true 006 will outperform both with higher resolution, presentation certainly can't be faulted with Harmony or 006. I suspect top of the line Mystique X SE would provide superior resolution to Harmony and KTE with similar presentation. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of these dacs. While I don't need two dacs and find 006 slightly superior I can't bring myself to sell Harmony, its that good. For me 006 only reaches it's full potential with i2S via Gaia and Tubulus cable. Via usb I slightly preferred Harmony presentation to 006, so for me I2S necessary for 006.

@brbrock In case you haven't seen tech and specs, http://www.mu-sound.com/DA006_detail.html Based on internal photos and sound quality/performance I'd suggest 006 isn't lacking in this respect. Resolution and dynamics, both micro and macro are top notch. Beyond that capacitance is only one aspect of dac performance, 006 reaches far above it's cost in overall tech and quality of parts. I've seen far more expensive dacs with less tech.

@car123 What I find most enlightening is we both have very nice vinyl setups and our nearly exact same digital setups are competing very favorably with those vinyl setups, goes to show how far digital and/or streaming has come.

Now, one thing I've been meaning to ask. Have you compared internal clock in 006 to Gaia clock (sync vs async), and what are your findings?

Sound quality still evolving for me, somewhere between 300 and 400 for both Gaia and Tubulus, I decided to just listen to burn in sometime back. Decay's and harmonic development are most noticeable changes. With both decay and attack coming into equilibrium along with more colorful harmonics presentation is even more analog like. Last night I was envisioning  an analog waveform and how digital tries to recreate this via sampling and interpolation, Gaia clocking and inherent qualities of 006 combining to make a much more believable clone of that waveform, not so much chopped up and individual samples, rather a continuous and uninterupted wave.

@car123 Same with me, tried async a couple times early on. The difference easily heard within seconds/minutes, smaller sound stage, less spaciousness, this to the point I've never bothered to explore further.

@brbrock Noticed thread you started where you mentioned 006 might be too fatiguing. Where did you get this impression? I can't imagine a highly resolving dac being less analytical, more forgiving.  @dbb  had issues early on, don't know where he's at with 006 today. Don't recall seeing a single review anywhere on interweb stating 006 fatiguing. Some may project certain sound qualities on Sabre chip dacs, implementation is key. I did same projection on R2R prior to my Laiv Harmony, lower resolution, laid back, no excitement, this not true. 

The Innuos usb module uses OXCO clock, I2S two Femto clocks, who can say which is better. I can only tell you I prefer I2S input on 006, this with Denafrips Gaia and Tubulus cable. Without direct experience with your intended setup how can I or anyone tell you which is preferable. I'd suggest you try to audition both modules, based on your expenditure the dealer should be amenable.

DHT's are my favorite tubes and topology, both my amps and pre use them. Pretty interesting integrating class D with DHT.

Your choice to go with I2S should be fine match with 006.

@dlevi67 Give it some time, keep us appraised.

006 continues to evolve as my system evolves. Recently installed Western Electric 300B in my monoblocks replacing Psvane Acme. Suffered an initial loss of vacuum in one tube, finally have both up and working fine. So the WE's greater transparency, resolution, more harmonically development meaning even more natural timbre. 006 exposes all, like a chameleon it will change with the system it's partnered with, can be considered a reference piece. Don't blame the 006 for sound quality deficiencies, it's both highly resolving/ transparent and forgiving, can't think of a better combo.

As @melm  mentioned modular aspect of build important for ease of repair, same as my Laiv Harmony, DIY for some.

The lack of pro reviews is the one thing I absolutely don't get about Musetec. Laiv flooded youtube and other reviewers with demo Harmony dacs, result much hype and sales. I've seen the same thing with Holo, Gustard, SMSL, etc. seems many ascribe great authority to 'professional' reviewers.

Pro reviewers should be taken with a large grain of salt, negative reviews ensure manufacturers won't send you equipment and alienate fan boys. Danny at GR Research has many enemies what with his critiques of loudspeakers. Another outspoken one is Mike Powell, OCD HifFi Guy. These guys may or may not be correct in their criticisms and/or solutions but the point is they come under attack for negative reviews. Pro reviewers want to be liked, brings in more subscribers. Musetec doesn't play the game so its left to owners to spread the word, I can see why some skeptical with this, owners of equipment often morph into fan boys.

@noelpastor Midwest Audio out of I believe Indiana also dealer for Musetec.

I'd find it hard to believe reviewers praising $1-2K Chinese dacs would find fault with Musetec's, sound quality, perhaps some would claim they heard no difference vs those dac's, therefore, Musetec over priced. Issue of production capabilities may be valid, perhaps they're already maxed out, we don't have any idea of sales numbers in China.

I continually see these threads where some claim streamers make no difference in sound quality, this may be the most preposterous claim I've ever heard in the audio realm. i easily heard changes with streamers in my earliest days of streaming. Those early streamers being laptops, then a variety of stock and modified Mac Minis, Auralic Vega dac in those days.

Point being even relatively low life streamers should be differentiated in an otherwise high end system. Also, mini's can be pretty good  with dedicated linear power supplies replacing stock switching PS, RAM upgrades, extensive OS modifications, eliminating all unneeded functions, good learning experience for whats important for streamer sound quality. Not a fine wine, but far better than wine in a box, may not be a final destination, but not offensive to the palette.

Should add, same xlr vs rca out issue with 005 and 006, I posit XLR superior.

@car123 Congratulations, you're in exact same boat as I with streaming setup, in fact I feel the same way about my entire system.

So even with things seemingly 'perfect', I still reflexively seek change or to be more concise, change seems to seek me out. So saw Western Electric 300B tubes on sale over holidays, purchase as comparisons to Psvane Acme, result greater transparency, resolution, sweeter/greater harmonic development.

Salient point with this is now my streaming setup and 006 now that much better, I could describe the 006 as one sweetheart of a dac where as when initially inserted and using same setup as previous 005 thought it only marginally better than 005, and perhaps lesser than my Laiv Harmony. Adding the Gaia, I2S and WE tubes has extracted more of the potential of 006. And this is the universal case for every component we bring into our systems, how can we know when we are extracting max potential from any component?

@vinylvalet Yep, go to the RCA outs, I believe half the voltage of XLR. Now the issue is I posit the XLR outs in 006 may be superior to RCA as this is balanced design. I run a Coincident Statement preamp with dual transformer based volume control so no remote volume control, my solution (this with XLR) is running volume on Coincident such that I'm running 006 digital volume at close to 100% at virtually all my normal listening volume. I've found that bit striping isn't a consideration if 006 is running at somewhere between -5, -6db up. And this way I have at least some  fine remote volume control without having to get up and turn two manual volume controls all the time.

@shmeet Dac and streamers don't require high current, some cable manufacturers sell high current PC for amps and such, lower for sources. No issues using the high current on sources or any component, but as to whether that cable best in that particular position open question.

@shmeet So I'm assuming you have pin out configured properly, 006 outputting music?  Also assume you've followed directions for configuring I2S from 006 owners manual. If all this correct in settings you should have choice of sync or async in I2S H mode. You want sync for using Pulsar's clock. Can't imagine a scenario in which 006 and Pulsar wouldn't provide for this. I2S cable issue?

I suspect something in earc cable configuration is issue, this is dedicated home theater cable, optimized for video.

I'd bet on your pin configuration not being exactly matched. All eight pins must be exact match, M1-PCM Data + and - need to be exact match, same for M2-PCM-BCLK + and -, M3-PCM-LRCLK + and -,M4-MCLK + and -.

@balos Sounds like your enjoying your system as is. The one thing I'd suggest first is try I2S with 005, this will require some outlay of cash, especially if you went with high end DDC and I2S cable, still there may be benefits with lesser DDC and cable. Upgrading cabling always a good thing in my book but you're ok for time being, hospital grade isolation transformer could be hindrance, I also use isolation transformer but ti uses transformer specifically made for audio use, this modified BPT 3.5 Signature, you can read about specialized audio use transformers in review articles, unfortunately BPT out of business today but there are other firms offering specialized transformers in their power conditioners.

LKS  doesn't  need driver, it will work with SMS-200 . Issue I see with LKS is non-configurable pin assignments on I2S, but this need not be and issue if dac has configurable pin assignment. I assume having ability for pin configuration not an issue for LKS and 005 since are same manufacturer. As to what ddc to purchase, I'd try to go for a better unit than LKS. don't believe clock in that unit superior to 005 clock. Laiv just came out with DDC, reasonable price, should be superior to LKS. If you were willing to go higher price, Denafrips Gaia, which I use, their Hermes DDC also nice. All those mentioned have configurable pin assignment in which case they will work with 005.