First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

@car123 I'd estimate this review is as much about the Gaia as it is about 006. I'd expect a lesser DDC or less optimized I2S interface to bring less to the table so in my mind the Gaia is an absolute necessity to extract maximum potential from 006. For those who may not have or want to spend the kind of money Gaia requires I believe the Denafrips Hermes would give you a large measure of Gaia performance at a savings of around $700. You also don't need to spend crazy money like I did on I2S cable, the $70 cheapo I'm using presently is at least a decent short term solution.

@aw118 I've been through 004-006, 004 was only fodder for modifications for me, I was going to go through the entire regimen of mods over on the Headfi forum thread. Then the 005 came out, forget the 004 mods, 005 was akin to a modded 004 in my mind. The 005 proved to be a keeper, at least as resolving/transparent as 004, and more importantly far more musical. I was never unhappy with 005, never heard a single sin of commission over the years. At issue with me is, historically I live with dacs for perhaps up to three, four years, then get the itch to try something new. My plans were to get the Mola Mola then I believe it was @dbb who first mentioned the 006, went over the tech, no brainer purchase. If I were to offer advice on staying within Musetec family it would be to scrimp and save for the 006 if at all possible, gulf between 006 and 005 greater than 004 to 005.

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

@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 
 

FWIW, I am trying the Singer UIP-1 PRO Usb isolator high speed processor in between my MacBook pro and DA-005.  On first listen using the stock power supply I thought it sounded bright and edgy. I switched to the Uptone audio LPS 1.2 power supply and it sounded subdued and warm.  I switched back to the stock power supply but have it plugged into an isolation transformer and now it sounds quite good.  More detail and transparency without the edge. I did not expect an improvement since the usb implementation within the DA-005 is supposed to already be optimized.  Again, these are initial observations.  Just wanted to report what I am hearing and in no way wish to derail this thread but I figure there are many DA-005 users here.

Correction:  Singxer UIP-1 PRO

@dbb That's fine to use quotes.

 As to why I'm choosing 006 over Harmony. Two overarching reasons. First is 006 simply more resolving than Harmony, the added resolution makes all the difference in the world for me. This added resolution wasn't simply perceived as mere information or detail, rather it brought performers/performances to life, I had much greater sense of actual living breathing humans making music. As I stated in prior post, with 006 I hear the slightest inflections in voices, the slightest changes in touch and breath with instruments, these are all things that make recordings, performers and performances unique and individual, and because they become unique and individual they reach into my emotions and/or soul and move me. I'll have to admit some special recordings brought a tear to my eyes, others were chilling what with the immense pleasure and joy they brought. I simply bought into what the performers and performances brought to my listening room, recordings I've listened for for decades became fresh and new. I could go on and on, listening to my system has become an anticipated event, something I've not experienced since early years as an audiophile when large changes came easy. My experience has been that as my system has incrementally improved over many years, consequential change harder to come by. In earlier days when I was exploring and experimenting with  a far wider array of equipment I was more easily moved when changing out a piece. For instance, one peak experience was when I replaced a litany of solid state amps with tube Conrad Johnson MV-55 amp,simply awestruck. Many other experiences of this sort over the years. 006 via usb was  incremental upgrade, Harmony via usb very similar, unique presentations had me wanting to keep both. At this point I could have lived with both as my reference dacs, but having long heard about ladder dac being extremely sensitive to inputs, I knew I was going to get another ddc in order to try I2S. (prior attempt with Singxer SU6 and 005 half hearted as I had other things on my plate at that time), so I went deep with Gaia. Harmony/Gaia combo rose above 006, similar level of resolution as 006, superior ladder dac presentation. Then 006/Gaia combo brought that extra measure of magical resolving power. So then we finally come to second reason to make 006 my reference dac, this being how  the Gaia brought Harmony presentation to 006, the 006 now sounds much like the Harmony, sublime, refinement, ease, very holistic presentation.  My digital now easily exceeds my vinyl setup, very similar presentation only with higher resolution. Haven't said much about transparency since this has long been  excellent, even 005 excellent in this regard.

  As for financials and evaluations of worth, you can likely get used 005 for something around $1700, used Harmony going for around $2400, new $2700, 006 around $3900. Going with usb and something less than high to highest system resolving powers, 005 and Harmony would be relatively close in resolution/transparency, Harmony more holistic presentation, extra resolution of 006 won't be fully realized. With I2S equation changes, 005 goes bye bye, extra money Harmony costs worth it, we're now above 006 via usb level, Harmony is your reference dac and can remain reference dac as you build up rest of system. The HarmonyGaia combo is one great digital source! So now lets say your system high resolving and have I2S solution, 006 your dac all day long. Invest more in first class i2S such as Gaia, Hermes may do, now you may have your dream dac! I'd also add any weak links in your entire streaming setup will take away from reaching full potential of 006, this means everything from modem to dac needs to be looked at and optimized. 006 capabilities are high, no sabre chip or any chip dac liabilities I can hear, Harmony in NOS mode is well respected ladder dac with ladder dac  presentation, if 00t6 doesn't have this level presentation blame something other than 006. Add amazing level of resolution and you may have your dream dac. No sins of commission or omission I can detect. Only thing missing in estimation of 006 worth is long term listening impressions, sorry  I still haven't learned time travel.

@jc4659 005 is a fine dac, it can serve as reference dac in many systems. I have a very mature system, every i dotted, t crossed and I didn't feel like 005 was a liability. My next dac was going to be Mola Mola Tambaqui, also had long term itch to try R2R dac.