Has the ASR review/hatchet job on the Musetec MH-DA005 Changed Anyone's Mind?

I have 2 of the Musetec 005 units. Though 1 is back in storage waiting another day and another system. The 005 is a smooth DAC and that is one attribute (of many) that draws people to it and sometimes people away from it.

I love the 005 with my Benchmark LA4 preamp and AHB2 monos. The BM gear are or were the kings of the hill at ASR for specs, though I bought them way before ASR ever heard of them. Rory at Benchmark suggested to me by email, that I try the then brand new AHB2. which he thought would be a revolutionary product. With the LA4 + AHB2 combo, that tiny bit of smoothness of the 005 is better than the harder edged Benchmark DAC3B because the DAC3B is a little strong on top and the AHB2 will let you hear everything. Both DACs maybe a little deficient in this regards, maybe error on smoothness on the 005 and error on being a little hot for the DAC3B,

I also tried the Musetec 005 and CODA 07x preamp and it was nice but a little too smooth combo for me. So I sold the 07x and kept the 005. I also kept the more neutral Benchmark LA4 preamp over the CODA 07x preamp (YMMV). The Musetec 005 + LA4 + CODA # 8 (sold) | KRELL DUO 175XD (sold) | Benchmark AHB2 were all amongst the best combos I have had in the house and the 005 was the source to all of them. So a lot of credit to it.

Now, when did the 005 smoothness draw me away from the 005 to something else? It was using it with maybe the worlds best headphone amp, the RAAL VM-1a and SR1a and CA-1a phones. The smoothness of the 005 and the 7 tubes on the VM-1a did not play nice. I had the owner of RAAL also listen to my 005 and his SR1a/CA-1a + VM-1a for 1 month at his shop and he also did not like it. It was too lifeless or smooth. He is a tube guy and his listening skills are likely legendary given that 6Moons wrote a complete page about that. So when he confirmed my feelings I realized the 005 is not what I will use on the VM-1a. I use the DAC3B on it for now. I am enjoying the heck out of it but looking for maybe an upgrade to the DAC3B for the VM-1a (maybe a Briscati). However, I do not plan on selling the 2 005s and when the stored 005 comes back to life it should shine nicely in the second system I am raising cash for now.

The volume control of the LA4 is maybe the best I have heard. It does click so that is a no go for many but I look at it as a feature and not a bug. The quietness of the LA4 is what separates the LA4 from the 07x. The Benchmark DAC3 HSC (a preamp + DAC) sounded better connected to the quieter LA4 preamp. I sold the DAC3 HSC when I was on that merry-go-round.

The gain on the individual LA4 inputs can be set separately for each input. That feature is referred to as BOOST on the menu.

I was considering buying the HOLO Audio Serene preamp for my second system. It measures a little better than the LA4 and is slightly warmer. There is a review comparing both and also a forum thread about it on Computer Audiophile. However, I decided to stick with a second LA4 because I know it works the way I like and the form factor is also better than the Serene for my needs.

I plan on a $2.5K LA4 preamp + $2.5K used Musetec 005 + $36.5K KRELL KSA i400 amp to drive KEF BLADE 2 Meta. This system will be amazing to my ears, since I have owned this before with the lower end KRELL and KEF LS50 Meta.

BTW - that push button feature of the 07x volume control was a bit of a pain because my wife’s dog liked to hang with in my office late at night, and he would bump into that volume and change the way the volume worked.