First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship
I have received the 006 almost a week ago and have been breaking it in. The price at Shenzhenaudio is $3,900.00 USD, $600 more than the 005. The ad copy states:
"DA006 is a new generation of flagship DAC developed by Musetec over three years and launched in 2024. During this period, it has undergone more than ten revisions and adjustments.
Compared to the previous DA005, the listening experience of DA006 has been improved in all aspects. DA006 has clearer and richer details, a stronger sense of texture, a more stable sound base, better detail control, a wider soundstage, fuller and more powerful, smoother and more natural. . ."
Some brief listening during break in has been very very positive. I will report back when it has run at least 300 hours.
The 006 has a galvanic high speed usb isolator chip and the whole purpose of it is to make the usb input agnostic of the source. However, in reality, the better the source, the better the sound. Many say that I2S sounds better when they introduce a DDC in between but the fact is they have a poor/weak USB source. In my case with 005, a DDC deteriorates the sound since my source’s usb implementation is a lot better. There is no black and white answer to your question since, unlike analog, there are too many variables (power supply, noise, jitter, network) in digital that can affect the sound. Since you already have the Phoenix USB, try with and without and let your ears decide which sounds better. On a separate note, the Phoenix USB chip is pretty ordinary and nothing fancy, it’s the power supply that makes it better than many, if not all, music server’s USB output. |
Ya I was just wondering if anybody might have happened to try the 006 with a Phoenix. Of course if I bought a 006 why wouldnt I try it. If the Phoenix didnt make much of a difference with a 006 and if I ended up selling it, that would be a good chunk of the 006 cost. My server is a home brew all solid state NUC12i7 in a fanless case with a linear ps. My DAC is Gustard A26. For the most part I am pretty happy, but you know how it goes. An upgrade DAC list of mine would be Musetec MH-DA006 or maybe a Gustard X30. The X30 with the quad ES9039 looks cool, but the 006 looks to be built to a higher standard??? |
@darcman the Phoenix USB reclocker would be beneficial, but you’ll need good power and USB cables in and out of it. I used to have a similar setup to you (au now have a DIY ‘Faiko’, Taiko extreme) - it still needs a good USB out of DDC. So sorry but everything matters - you should keep it in the chain, it’s a great piece. |
