First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

What a coincidence LAIV just came out and said they are releasing a DDC.

@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.

@sns

"unfortunately only Femto clock"

It seems that some of the best (and uber-expensive) clocks available for audio call themselves, or are called, femto clocks. For my I2S streamer I’m considering the purchase of 2 sc-cut crystal clocks described as femto clocks and considered bargains at $340 for the pair. Of course at $849 the Laiv is not going to have clocks like those. But "unfortunately only"?

Inside the "oven" of a Gaia OCXO there is an XO, or crystal oscillator clock. Do you know anthing about it or its performance? Could it be, in fact, a femto clock, which I assume describes the bounds of an aspect of its performance? There are OCXOs in some pretty low cost devices.

@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.

@sns But what is engineering? What is marketing? The bottom line is that we don’t know anything about the clocks inside the Gaia except that they are OCXOs. As I said earlier, inside the OC there is an XO clock whose properties seem a mystery. I take what you wrote to mean that the Gaia’s USB output can can outperform the Amanero board within the 006 using LKS clocks, though better performance is by I2S out. Whether that is due to the clocks or some other factor within the Gaia, including the possibility of a better PS to the clocks (which I have proven to myself really helps) may be a question.

Goldensound, who is a very serious guy, has reviewed the Gaia. In the review he says among other things, "Overall, the Gaia is an excellently performing DDC.  It falls ever so slightly behind some other choices like the [Audio GD] DI20HE and [Singxer] SU6 in performance" It turns out that the D120HE uses Accusilicon clocks like the ones I am using in a new streamer; the SU6 uses Crystek clocks. These are unfortunately only Femto clocks. The clocks inside the 006 are (perhaps) LKS optimized Crystek clocks that are available from Asian sources. For all of these clocks, and for any that I have seen (including the expensive clocks that are on my shopping list) there are specification sheets available so one may compare some, if not all, of what they do. But not for the Gaia OCXOs. The bottom line, of course, is the ear.