First impressions of new MH-DA006, Musetec flagship

@sns good feedback so far on what seems atypical of the burning process. keep us updated. I am still not sure if I want to upgrade to 006 - so many DACs available at this price range. On one side I kept thinking of trying a non-Sabre DAC - AKM, R2R, Fpga, Hybrids, but then the Musetec 005 also sounds very musical in my setup. Not sure what to do - a problem with too many choices :-)

@melm nice summarizing all the types of DDCs.

There is one DDC that called my attention - its a Audiobyte Super Hub. Its expensive compared to others but I have heard good things about it.

https://www.audiobyte.net/products/superhub

With my experience with digital and a lot of DIY along the way, it extremely difficult to pick a winner. There are so many factors with digital that affects the sound, it is hard to say in advance what will work in one’s system. One really got to try it out. However, one thing that I can say confidently and which has worked in every situation is the better and more stable a power supply, the better the sound in digital.

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.