First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

@gavin1977  Yes. It has a digital volume control. Like the 005, probably the best sound will be with a preamp.

After putting on over 400 hours breaking in the new MH-DA006, I listened for the purpose of comparing it to its predecessor. The 005 received thorough review, comparison, and comment in two threads in this forum. In summary, many felt, at a price of around $3,000, it was equal to or better than dacs costing $5,000 or much more. For those with both curiosity and stamina the links to those very long threads are:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-holo-may-l2-dac-and-the-musetec-audio-lks-audio-mh-da005-da

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/musetec-lks-mh-da005-dac?highlight=MH-DA005%2BDAC

I said something like this before, but it’s worth repeating. I will try to describe my impressions with reference to my memory of the sound of live non-amplified music in a real venue. I think a comparison that uses this less subjective base line is more useful than reporting simply on what sounds I like. I don’t care for the dichotomy of analog or digital as a reference standard. I wouldn’t pay over $200 a ticket to go to a concert hall to hear the world’s best dac or turntable. I would pay that much to hear a live orchestra in a good seat at a venue with good acoustics. Even if you never go to a live concert, that standard should still be useful. In the end it’s what ever gives you pleasure. Some conclusions are cliches because they are true. The idea that aesthetic values are personal and relative is one.

I’m going to give you my conclusion first. The 006 does come a step closer to the sound of live music than its predecessor. It is exceptionally outstanding in the reproduction of dynamics, sound stage, and imaging. It has apparent greater resolution than the 005.

First I would say that the overall voicing in terms of tonal balance (frequency response) of the 006 is similar but not identical to the 005. They both can be described as neutral. These next impressions on the differences in tonal balance between the two are subtle and subject to the effects of system differences. To my ear on my system the 005 sounded a touch warmer in some recordings than the 006 in the upper bass/lower mid-range region roughly around 60hz to 75hz. Thus a very narrow range of lower piano notes, lower cello notes, etc. were very slightly less rich on the 006. Also, on certain recordings I noticed on the 006 an occasional incisiveness on higher violin notes and the upper register on female voices. To some, but probably not all, these changes might be welcomed as being more tonally accurate. Others might prefer the very slightly warmer lower mid-range and smoother upper frequency sound of the 005. Again, these are subtle changes.

The 006 exceeds the 005 in reproducing life like dynamics and transient response. There is no issue here as to whether the change is different and maybe better. It is dramatically better.

In 2016, I had the good fortune to attend a concert by the New York Philharmonic lead by Alan Gilbert in a performance of Mahler’s 7th Symphony which was recorded. In my opinion, it was a wonderful performance. In 2017, it was released and available as a hi rez download from various sources. I downloaded it and was pleased to conclude that it is of very high quality. I listened to the 006 first playing this recording and then compared it to the 005.

On recordings containing sharp transients, percussion, pizzicatos, and sudden brass fortes etc., like Mahler’s Symphony number 7, natural pop, feel, and rhythm is more life like than anything I have heard coming from a home stereo. The result is natural 3-d relief and an improved sense of life (more energy) and sound stage depth. Brass and percussion are almost as impactful as what you would hear live. The 006 pushes air in a blow from a kettle drum and solid crisp and tight bass abounds. Familiar music to me, like Beethoven's late quartets, have new intensity. In audiophile speak the 006 delivers near astounding reproduction of micro and macro dynamics. On the right recording, music becomes more intense and imparts more emotion and foot taping. Rock and Roll fans take note. You may find yourself dancing.

Resolution on the 006 was marginally better than the 005 which is a hard act to follow. Like the 005 you could "Feel the air" in a large venue recording in a way that the r2r Holo May couldn’t deliver as previously described in my prior review. I heard more subtle details on the 006 than the 005 on some recordings. This occasionally perceived increase in beautiful orchestral detail may have been created by the superb improvement in dynamics rather than fine resolving power per se. In other words, softer transients may have been pushed forward to become more audible in a realistic way.

With respect to sound stage width and depth and imaging, the 006 is capable of delivering noticeably more than than 005 when the recording contained such information. As an example, I listened to a recording of the Stravinsky Violin Concerto. The width and the depth of the sound stage was dramatically real. Location of the violin and other orchestra instruments was vivid. Better than the 005. The 006 is the best I have ever heard in this department, but the most expensive dac I have ever heard is the $5,000 Holo May.

@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.

@melm 

Good to hear from you. I expected that improvements in my 005 dac would not be a path to improving my system since I perceived the 005 as the strongest link in the chain. When the 006 became available I couldn’t resist buying it. I am also curious about Musetec's preamp.

I like the Gilbert Mahler 7 because I was there, and it was a very good performance If you're new to the Mahler 7th, Bernstein's first performance, in the 60s I think, is considered by some to be one of the very best musically and sonically. I think the one by Horenstein is the best musically but is poor sonically. Just my 2 cents.

@yakbob 

I feel ASR's approach is not useful.

From the Musetec website on the 006:

The design of all functions of the DA006 only takes up one-fifth of the entire design period, or even less. A lot of time is spent on the selection of components and the design of the circuit form. The criterion for judging yes or no is based on the actual listening experience, and the test data of the instrument is only used as a reference. An easily verifiable fact is that when we use different capacitors or resistors with the same paper parameters in the circuit and perform comparison tests through an audio analyzer, we cannot see the difference in test results due to the change of these parts, but the change in the listening experience is huge. Therefore, we always believe that some of the data that can be analyzed by the existing audio analyzers can only quantify certain characteristics of the sound signal to a small extent, and the human listening experience is very complex. The limited data that the instrument pays attention to cannot determine the human listening experience. We must spend a lot of time carefully selecting parts. This is also the reason why it takes us a lot of time to make this DAC.

I must modify my conclusion on tonal balance. I changed streamers to the ifi Zen Streamer. The lower mid- range and upper bass are back to being warm and rich. The highs are still more forward than the 005. It seems, as stated by @sns that the dac will clearly reveal the sound of each component in your system. My conclusions must be seen subject the sound of my components (and yours if you buy it).

@sns I discovered the slight excess in the highs I was hearing on the 006 went away when I connected the 006 directly to the power amp. Of course the great dynamics then dissappeared. Best remedy then seems to be a different pre. I plan to experiment with preamps. I am getting a used Coincident Statement  Mk II. I'll report back.

@sns  Thanks for the tips on tubes.I ordered direct from Musetec.  It took about 4 days to ship.

@stuartk I don't know.  I think he has a US representative in Indiana. 

@v-fi  I feel I am still offering my initial impressions, not final conclusions. I had another episode of software instability tonight. Did some reloading of streamer settings and rebooting then all was well. I assume a driver update will take care of this. I'm also getting some high frequency excess on a familiar recording that has caused me to question my preamp. My instinct tells me with the right adjustments in my system this dac will be phenomenonal. I'm not there yet. I need more time.

@sns Send an email to bleerockat126dotcom. He may have a better price.

@sns You have ordered both I assume.  Can't wait to read your conclusions. It would be interesting to throw the new Gustard x30 into the mix too.

@sns

My personal take on a bottom line difference between the sound of the r2r approach, as implemented in the Holo May, and the Sabre dac chip, as implemented in the 005, was that neither was inherently superior. But my preference was the Sabre dac aproach which prioritizes resolution.

The Holo May sounded to me like it took a picture of reality and then added some embellishment as an artist might use charcoal to add depth to a sketch or adjust the light to make the scene softer or more appealing. The background blackness in the May was appealing but, to me, not particularly realistic. In contrast the 005 delivered, in my opinion ,something closer to true resolution based on how the music would most likely sound in real life. For instance you can often hear an ambient noise floor in a hall before the music even starts. That sound is truly natural and is my preference.

I think Sandu Vitalie of Soundnews agrees on the paramount importance of resolution. He calls it “Biggity Big deal” in his comparison of the Gustard with the Harmony.

He said this in his comparison of the Gustard X30 to the Harmony DAC on his web page review: I can’t differentiate it [Gustard X30] from my $18.000 Wavedream Signature or $14.000 Chord DAVE in terms of how much nuance there is. Is it as resolving, clean, and transparent? Yes! And this is a Biggity Big deal. In this regard, X30 pulls ahead and outperforms both the X26 PRO and the Harmony DAC and as much as I like the LAiV for its particular skill set, it’s in the last place when it comes to resolution.

@sns I appreciate your knowledge and insights. My experience now with the 006 confirms what you are saying on exposing the rest of the system. My Hegel P30 preamp may be too bright for the 006.  I will be experimenting with power cords too. It might have been just luck, but the 005 was just drop in. No system changes needed.

@sns It sounds like the Laiv is on it’s way to becoming at least as good as the 005, but with a different personality. It was a nice analysis.

I look forward to your breaking in the 006 and reporting back. I will soon be using a silver power cable and the Coincident Statement Line Stage. I’m hoping that will take it to where I want it.

@sns ​@debjit_g I have been away for about 10 days visiting family so I have not had a chance to listen or come to a final conclusion yet. I’ll be home tomorrow. My listening will continue.

Before I left I came to two conclusions. The first was that the 006 is spectacularlly good in the ways I have described and clearly a step closer to the sound of live music.

The second was that my system had been disrupted in a negative way. I was disappointed that after 400 plus hours I was sometimes not satisfied with certain high frequency sounds. Later at night say, after 8:00 p.m., the problem was minimal or gone. In the daytime certain orchestral crescendoes involving strings and percussion, and sometimes solo violin sounded harsh and congested, but not exactly bright. This mostly went away in the evening. I presumed the 006 was more sensitive to noise on my power line which quieted down at night. No such noticable issue with the 005. I do use a Niagra 1200 filter and surge supressor. When I removed my Hegel P30 from the system the harshness smoothed out but dynamics were gone as I would expect. I then did some research and discovered a good deal on a Coincident Statement Line Stage Mk II, (highly recommended by sns) with remote volume control, which I ordered. I asked to have the shipping delayed until this week because I was not home.

I also asked Jinbo at Musetec, who I believe is the main designer and a principle owner, about my experience. He suggested using a silver power cord on the 006. I have a pair of old HGA Silver Lace interconnect 99.9 pure silver cables which I will convert to a power cord and try it out.

I would not say the sound of the 006 overall is harsh, bright, or unmusical. In fact when it is sounding good, I would give it an A+ on musicality.  It just seems that it has given my system some sporadic indigestion. I have not yet found the medicine to cure it. If the change in preamp and power cord do not fix the issue, I will re-evaluate. My goal was not to rebuild my entire system around the 006. On the other hand changing my components to maximize the potential of the 006 could be the best route to an end game system. I will then stop posting and just listen to music. To be continued. . .

@debjit_g  He recommended a Chinese brand CMAudio reference silver cable. Price in USD would be $710. It doesn't seem to be readily available in the US market.

Here is my conclusion on the 006. It most of all provides outstanding dynamics which goes a long way to putting energy and life into the music as if you were hearing a live performance. As I said earlier, this in itself creates the feel of more resolution, especially in orchestral transients and chamber music. I heard beautiful details in familiar recordings that I never noticed before. This sounds like an audiophile cliche but it is not meant in the usual way as if your hearing just got better.and you heard more. You hear more because this DAC punches hard when taut crisp transients are in the music like in real life. If the music has punch you will feel it. It is the most live sounding DAC I have heard. This makes it, in my opinion, better than the 005. It is not harsh per se, but it could be challenging when it comes to system matching. It was for me. Some recordings sounded better than ever, and a few became edgy.

Over the years I have balanced the sound of my system by choosing a smooth and slightly warm amp, a McIntosh Mc402, with a detailed, clear neutral and dynamic preamp, a Hegel P30, and neutral and highly resolving speakers with metal drivers, the Kef Referance 1s. I also use three subwoofers. The 006 made me chase perfection by causing me to try another preamp, a Coincident Statement Line Stage. Ninty percent of my recordings sound better than ever. Ten percent don’t. Neither preamp quite gets me where I want to be, yet a look at the potential of the 006 makes me wan to keep trying. How ya goin’ to keep’em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree.

@debjit_g ​@sns  I agree with you on the importance of a well set up streamer. I have made some progress in this area, using a switch and fiber optic cables before my ultrarendu. 

Also, I have no complaints about the Coincident Statement preamp. It turns out it does not have a remote and does have the Psvane tubes. It is as good as you said.

It might be that when you get to a certain high level some old favorite recordings are exposed as not sounding as good as they did in a previous set up that was at a lower level. I guess I don't want to make any sacrifices. I don't want to chase rainbows either.

@sns I agree with you on the importance of the streamer generally, but not necessarily on the use of a switch or fiber optic cable with the Ultrarendu. I don't want to get too off topic on streamers. It is possible that the best streamer would not correct the issues I have. It's also possible I will decide that the 006 is worth keeping because of the amazing job it does with 90% of my music.

Anyway, I look forward to your take on the sound of the 006. 

@sns I didn’t mean to prejudice you on the quality of the 006. It is one of the best dacs if not the best dac I have ever heard. It is my audiophile neurosis that prevents me from being accepting of favorite recordings sounding slightly different than what I want. It is a finicky streak and often involves the sound of the violin.

len067 Yes. It was a difficult decision, but I felt the effort in terms of system changes to get it exactly where I wanted it was not for me. I may regret it. I think I explained it above.

@sns  My first reactions to the 006 were much like yours. I was practically having orgasms. The nit picks didn't crop up until later.

Because I highly respect your opinion, I've marked my ad off. I will give it more time.

@brbrock  I listened to it direct for about an hour or so using the digital volume control in the dac.  It was clear and smooth, but, as I have always experienced, a loss of some dynamic punch and texture occurs after removing the preamp.  I imagine better results could be obtained with  a passive preamplifier that matched well with the amp.

Dear friends, I offer a mea culpa. I have gotten to the bottom of my complaint that some higher frequency sounds seemed “off” with the 006. The conclusion is not what I would have guessed. After doing near obsessive listening and swapping of streamers, and spending several thousand dollars for a used highly regarded tube preamp, I have concluded that the problem is not the equipment but my hearing. At the age of 75 I have developed some mild loss in my ability to accurately hear some higher frequencies. I will spare you the long version of the story. Please consider my critical comments on the highs sometimes being off as withdrawn. 

@darcman I just turned the volume up all the way to 0.0db. I don't think there is a fixed setting. 

@sns  My take on the 006 after maybe as much as 450 hours of break in is still evolving. I keep feeling that I may have made a mistake in reporting provisional and what I thought were final conclusions as it still, surprisingly,  may be breaking in. At first, I was ecstatic over everything I was hearing (dynamics, imaging, sound stage, resolution). Next I became frustrated with software hiccups where my streamers suddenly lost volume on three occasions. After that I started to hear some sporadic congestion usually involving high frequencies. Some of those anomalies were on favorite recordings. In a brief intemperate fit lasting a day, I decided to sell the 006 even though it was performing brilliantly on 90% of my recordings. I wanted 100%. After I heard sns’ first impressions, I changed my mind about selling it. Soon after that I thought that the fault was not in the equipment but in my own very limited but real high frequency hearing loss. (I’m 75 years old) After that, the anomalies I heard faded. All recordings were 100% listenable again. Maybe it wasn’t my hearing. It did seem to get darker for a while. Over the last three or four days the sound seems to have stabilized. I have not had any problems. It is the best DAC I have heard. But please do not take this latest report as my offering final conclusions. I have to put more time in to be sure. Sorry for the suspense.

I had a long listening session this evening with the 006. At this point it has been over 500 hours. My first conclusion is that it has finally stabilized. No more high frequency congestion. The wait tried my patience.  I was once skeptical that any piece of electronics really needed 500 or more hours to be fully broken in. I’m a believer now.

From a music lover’s perspective, which it what we audiophiles claim to be, this machine is a friend of the heart. It does not sound analog or digital per se but like live music which can lift your mood and elevate your spirit.

If asked my opinion on how it sounds from a critical listening audiophile perspective, it is all the good things that I have reported. Near astounding natural resolution, dynamics, soundstaging, and imaging. Not a trace of glare or harshness. The texture of the sound almost rejects common audiophile adjectives like smooth, thin, thick, etc. The words that I think are appropriate are real and palpable. I would still say it has neutral tonal balance with a slight tilt to the warm side much like the 005. Where it is beyond anything I have heard is that I am able to close my eyes during certain orchestral passages and hear so clearly various string sections entering and exiting, accent details like subtle bass and cello pizzicatos appearing and disappearing as if heard live. Some chamber music sounds so real it is spooky. Audiophiles call this resolution, but I don’t think the word does justice to the experience.

@sns I feel your description perfectly captures what I am hearing. We’ll said. I am curious if you will find even further improvements as you reach 500 hours.

It does take a leap of faith to buy the 006 when it is not promoted or professionally reviewed. Still the 005 did get some traction eventually. It seems from the forums and the for sale ads that those who took the leap with the 005 were glad they did. Maybe the same will happen with the 006.

I would suggest potential purchasers contact the company directly to see if a discount is offered. In the past the factory direct price on the 005 was discounted. I've seen some discounted prices on ebay too, but know nothing of those vendors. 

@brbrock  @sns is in the process of evaluating the Laiv Harmony and the 006.

@sns  It would be great to hear from your 006 correspcorrespondent on his sound quality impressions and use of I2S. Is his unit broken in?

@melm  Can you explain in more detail what you are experimenting with. It sounds interesting. Are you building a network bridge/streamer that converts an ethernet signal to I2S?

@sns  First, thank you for the time and effort. I think it is clear that your evaluation of the Harmony versus the 006 has had some dramatic ups and downs on the way to deciding which you find superior. Can you say a little more specifically why your final conclusion is you prefer the 006 over the Harmony when used with the Gaia. I ask because the Gaia/006 combination is slightly more expensive than the Gaia/Harmony combination. Some might wonder if the added expense of the 006/Gaia is worth it.

Also, just for the convenience of the future readers, I have cut and pasted here some of your comments on the 006 with the Gaia. If I omitted anything significant please comment. Here’s my cut and paste summary of you impressions: 

For now, suffice to say what I'm hearing with Gaia/006 combo is totally freaking amazing! . . .

And then we have the rare [non-incremental] change so profound it  imposes an entirely fresh perspective. Adding the Gaia [to feed I2S to the 006] has been one of these rare changes that results in new insights.

The first thing I'll mention is the sheer resolving power of what I'm hearing, a noise floor that seems to subside into infinity or the blackest of black holes. I now hear the slightest inflections of voice, the touch of strings and the movement of the bow across those strings, with woodwinds the slightest intonation of breath. The result is a newfound intimacy with performers which brings about greater emotional involvement with the music.  Allied to that is a more expansive sound stage with these fully developed dimensional ethereal images. Hate to use this word, but organic is what comes to mind. The illusion of live performers in my room comes so easily, no need for trickery of the mind to get here.

[N]ow we have 006/Gaia combo beats out the Laiv/Gaia. The most noticeable thing here is newfound sense of ease and refinement, music seems to just flow. I'm now into full analog mode with this, I could fool myself into believing I was listening to vinyl minus the surface noise. Allied to this is more natural timbre, especially noticeable with both individual  and massed violins. I've long thought digital really misses out to vinyl with violins, digital processing these into homogenized blobs, same with trumpets. Now I hear  newfound texture and harmonic development that both individualizes and more naturally presents these instruments.

. . .  I still have my 005 and Harmony, both will go out the door, I foresee 006/Gaia combo being my reference for the next several years. And between the Harmony and 005, I'd pick the Harmony with quality I2S interface all day over 005 via usb. 005/Gaia is not something I've tried and not really interested in trying since its leaving me, could be quite nice, however. I can only say really love the Harmony/Gaia solution, I could live with that a good long time 
 

In case anyone is looking for a sale on the 006, it is now on sale for $3,315.00 at Shenzhenaudio. 

@wynnytsky  Thanks for your suggestion. I went through a lot of ups and downs over the first five weeks of break-in. Some were no doubt due to changes in sound. Others due to my own impatience and moods during listening. After about five weeks both my listening brain and the the 006 stabilized. I have been happy with the end result and have taken a vacation from obsessive critical lisitening. I have concluded for now that I am getting the best sound from a DAC that I have experienced and am trying to just enjoy the music. Of course the urge to tweak will return, but I am trying to resist for now. In the future, I may try USB line treatment or experiment with streamer upgrades. This hobby presents opportunities for endless experiment. 

During the break-in I did buy and sell a Coincident Statement Line Stage. It had a beautiful tube presentation but I still preferred the Hegel P30. So, for the record I am more than satisfied with the sound I am getting from the 006.

@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.

@brbrock couldn't find it on the website either. You could email Jinbo at Musetec:  bleerock@126.com.

@brbrock  I have not seen your thread where you said the 006 might be fatiguing, but just to be clear, I briefly was bothered by certain high frequency sounds like violins during break-in being harsh. This passed. My final conclusion is that I have never heard better sound coming out of my system. I have used a lot of space describing how wonderful the 006 sounds. I am in agreement with @sns and @car123  on the astounding quality of the 006.

@shmeet As @sns  suggested, you should ask if they will send both and allow you to return one. 

@shmeet  I understand you bought the Musetec preamp. Can you describe it's sound and how it effects the 006 presentation?

@noelpastor I’m in south Florida in the winter where I have the 006. If you're nearby, I suggest buying the X-30 on Amazon, breaking it in, and bring it over to my house to compare. If the x30 lost the competition, you could return it within 30 days.

I can also offer you this (tortured)reasoning. I extensively compared the Holo May to the 005. I concluded they were similar and in the same class. The 006 more resolving and closer to live music, the May more vinyl like and sweeter. The 006 is better than the 005. Therefore, if the May is equal to the x30, the the 006 should be better.

@shmeet It will be interesting to see if the Musetec preamp MH-SA001 has a special synergy with the 006 when both are fully broken in. Please keep us posted.

I would write to Musetec at bleerock@126.com with this question. I assume you are using RCA outputs which should have lower voltage than the XLRs.