Mojo Audio Mystique EVO

For all the Evo owners, what previously DACs did the Evo replace and best? How would you compare the sound quality?

@divertiti - I will be getting my Evo in 2-3 weeks if all goes well.  I currently have a Mojo Audio Mystique v.3 which has been a mainstay in my system for the past 2 years.

I was able to do an extensive comparison of the Mystique v.3 to some other dacs that I owned at the time: a Benchmark DAC 3L, a PS Audio DirectStream DAC, and a Border Patrol DAC SE.

Also, when I bought the Border Patrol dac, I was able to compare it to two other dacs that I owned: a Yamamoto YDA-01 with an Empirical Audio spdif to usb converter, and a Teac UDH-501.

I will post my comparisons on this thread of all of these dacs after my Evo arrives. The Mystique v.3 is my reigning champ and, to be frank, my expectations for the Evo are a bit low because it is hard for me to imagine it being that much better than the v.3. 

Pretty much the same deal here as with @thaluza except I am not sure where I am in the queue.   My Mystique v3 is also going in on trade but continues to impress until the EVO gets here.

My EVO replaced an Aqua Acoustic LaVoce S3. I'd day that sound stage width of both DACs are relatively equal. Beyond that , music through the EVO has more body and weight, its is presented with more micro detail, it is more liquid, and it  is overall more engaging.  The LaVoce left me wanting during extended listening sessions.

Relative to my Modwright Elyse tube DAC that is in my 2nd system, to my ears they are equally musically engaging, while the EVO has a little more separation between musicians and a slightly broader sound stage width

My EVO replaced an Aqua Acoustic LaVoce S3. I'd day that sound stage width of both DACs are relatively equal. Beyond that , music through the EVO has more body and weight, its is presented with more micro detail, it is more liquid, and it is overall more engaging. The LaVoce left me wanting during extended listening sessions. @facten 

To be fair the EVO Dac is $3400 more expensive (EVO $7700/ La Voce $4300), a closer comparison would be the Aqua La Scala (same price). 

"To be fair" the EVO wasn’t $7K when I bought it, and isn’t the 2021 model. That said, the question was asked what it replaced and I offered the information. As you are likely aware, there’s any number of folks that tout lower cost models of amps, sources, speakers, etc. that are/claimed to be superior to higher cost components; the person asking can use the info I provided as he/she wants.

I had the Aqua La Scala (not Optologic) here for a couple of weeks and IMO once you reach a certain performance level, the equipment is mostly good, but there are sonic differences and trade-offs.  There is no universally "best" DAC because like art, bourbon, and your choice of spouse, taste is personal.  In my system, I enjoyed the La Scala, the Metrum Pavane and Adagio, and also my current Mojo Mystique v3.  However, to my ears and preferences, the Mystique provides a sense of musicality and muscular dense tone that the other two just didn't have. 

Thanks all for your input, especially interesting hearing impressions against the Aqua dacs which is also highly regarded. Looking forward to your impressions as you receive your Evos.

I got my Evo B4B21 last week. I have over 100 hours on it. It must still be breaking in. I am using a Laufer Teknik Memory Player with Roon streaming ripped cd files, Quoboz, and Tidal. At first, there were a lot of ticks and pops. It was kind of like listening to a record. Not sure what was going on, but the last couple of days have been better, with only a couple of very light tick sounds over several hours of listening. I’m thinking maybe it’s my usb cable. I have a few others I could try, but the sound has been so good that I haven’t been motivated to swap cables yet. Maybe my Roon settings are not optimized. I will need to investigate more.

Despite this relatively minor issue, I am finding that there is much less distortion when playing back my favorite music. One strategy that I use is that I listen to poor sounding recordings when auditioning new gear. I am finding that the Evo is making some of my "modern" recordings that are compressed sound more tolerable. Bad recordings sound better. One example is Nathan Rateliff’s self titled album. This is a recording that was intolerable when I had my Benchmark Dac 3L. The Dac 3L is supposed to have near perfect measurements but it made certain recordings unlistenable. I don’t know how the Evo measures, but Rateliff’s album now sounds quite good in my room, especially the song "SOB." I even made it all the way through the dreadfully recorded Oasis album "(What’s the Story) Morning Glory" which is a first for me. I can now make more sense of the fuzzed out, distorted guitar playing and cymbal crashes that are on Champagne Supernova. I have always felt very uncomfortable listening to this album, but now it is border line acceptable, if not great. Jazz recordings are wonderful. The cohesiveness and naturalness of my Mystique V.3 has been retained but now there is more incite into the recording. Also, there is more bass heft. For example, McCartney’s bass guitar playing in "Silly Love Songs" is more prominent. My speakers have an adjustable bass output knob so I can dial it down if I feel it’s going to be an issue, but I’m actually enjoying the extra weight. I think I am hearing more like what a live bass guitar is supposed to sound - and feel - like.

@thaluza , congrats on receiving your EVO, and I am glad you like the sound. Keep sharing what you are hearing. I am still looking forward to seeing my unit get here. I understand they have had some parts delays. I hope the popping sound from your unit resolves. That would be unacceptable for gear at this level. I have never heard anything like that from my Mystic v3 so I hope you figure out it is something other than the DAC.
I have been looking at servers to update my Antipodes DX3 and Mojo’s Deja Vu EVO is for sure on my list but I am going to wait until my DAC gets here before I start down that road.

Thanks mitch2. Tonight, my EVO is presenting an even more holographic soundstage. I am really enjoying it. I think I found the problem with the pops and ticks. My usb cable is heavy and somewhat inflexible. It was not making a good connection with the "floating" usb connector on the back of the EVO. I tried another cable and it seems all is well. Hope you get your EVO soon.. 

My EVO B4B is en route from Mojo Audio right now.  I had the opamps upgraded from Sparkos to the current Staccatos they use today in the '21 version. I'll post my impressions soon.

FWIW, I feed the EVO from a DCS Network Bridge using AES - BlackCat Digit 110 cable.

I have 150+ hours on my B4B now, upgrades included the class A output and SPDIF analog section upgrade (both standard on B4B21).  I'm comparing it to a Luxman D08u, streaming through a Lumin U1.  The Luxman is a very smooth and 'analogue' CD player (and DAC) but also great detail with refined highs.  Out of the box they were pretty close, which surprised me, having tried the Mystique V2x last year, which was muddy initially and took a week or so break-in for the treble detail to catch up to the Luxman.  After 150 hours now the Mojo has more saturated colors than the Luxman and a bit more 3D soundstage.  More musical and dynamic overall, and I'd say the sound is sweeter than the Lux.  I see what some have said about being able to turn it up, it is smooth but not lacking in detail at the same time.  I'm looking forward to what further break-in may bring.  System is Luxman separates and Harbeth 40.2 with Nordost cabling.

Looking at the website I'm finding it impossible to tell the difference between the levels. I believe that should be better clarified, or even explained to those of us who aren't engineers of any kind what some of these upgrades really mean ...

Also, and this is not too shocking though, the price has been going up dramatically. Less than a year ago EVO B4B was 8 grand. Now it's $9777...V3 was like half that...I'm glad the dac is evolving, but makes you wonder what the prices are going to be 5-10 years from now, and this is without a dealer distribution.

$1000 in new opamps I'm sure.  Can't blame someone for charging what people will pay, but yes, I've been monitoring this unit for over a year and the prices just keep moving up, always with some included upgrades, but still...

The things I typically look at when judging value of this stuff include:

• Is the sonic performance well-respected by both reviewers and owners
• Is the build quality substantial for the price being charged (i.e., quality parts, solid power supply, quality casing and connectors)
• Do I like how it sounds
• Does it meet my needs and desires for connectivity and appearance 
• Does it compare favorably to similar-priced competitors

Of course I am not thrilled the price went up but, based on the build quality and sound of the Mystique v3 I have here, I believe the EVO B4B21 is still reasonably priced given its comparison to the above criteria.  I am also not thrilled at what it may cost to upgrade/replace my server, which will apparently be at least as much as the cost of the EVO.

@mitch2 Totally agreed, despite the above criticism.

Can't say I love the business model, but obviously what they're doing works and is allowing them to create a wonderful sounding product.  And certainly you can find higher priced gear that sounds worse.

Input source (’streamer’) quality really matters - no skimping here. I believe Ben has said somewhere in these forums to get the best out of the Mystique you have to have a comparable quality streamer otherwise you may be wasting your money. I found between my Lumin U1 and Luxman CD player the CD player through spdif coax was best, at least for 16/44.1 obviously. For kicks I tried an Oppo as a transport and it was terrible - so bad that you could barely tell the Oppo from the Mojo playing the same CD; thin and harsh sounding. I pulled out my cheap Roon laptop server from the closet and plugged it in directly to the Mystique via USB and it was so much better than the Oppo. And then the Lumin of course was that much better via any connection. I think something like the Aurender N series or above with their attention to spdif quality is in order -especially if using spdif connections.

How about just using computer and usb into the dac?

@jimmy2615 Interesting. Many years ago I bought an oppo for the same purpose. Ended up returning it during the demo period for the same reason you cite. I bought a macmini instead and it was much better.  I now have a dedicated steamer.

Branislav, that's what I meant when I said I plugged in my cheap laptop that I normally use as a Roon core/server hidden away in a closet.  It sounded better than the Oppo. 

I agree the streamer/server does make a difference.  I have been thinking about upgrading an older but still very functional and good-sounding Antipodes DX3 server that I use to run Roon/Tidal and store/play a small/moderate sized CD collection.  I am wondering how much better things can sound.  Are any of you EVO DAC owners using Benjamin's  Deja Vu EVO server?

My EVO has about 500 hours now and I'm really enjoying it.  I'm very impressed with its overall balance and coherency.  I can't find anything wrong with its sound at this point (some DACs are too bright, hard, or muffled; or have a strange tonality to them, lack of bass, etc., etc.).  I've been listening to some older CDs of un-amplified classical music that I like the music on but otherwise in the past have been somewhat 'blah' - with the EVO I feel like I am hearing the music more 'live', as in at the recording session.  The venue of the recording, space and timing is better represented.  I would call this DAC detailed - normally when I think detail (especially with digital) I think about hearing details I have not heard before (like someone breathing or a chair creaking in the background) or perhaps some higher level treble information that offers more of the recording.  While some of that is there too, I think the Mojo is resolving in that I am hearing beautiful tone and instrument timbre presented in a natural way (as part of the larger recording) that just sounds real, organic and very musical. But it's not coloration, it's detail in the recording.  Excellent !

Just got my EVO back from Mojo Audio.  I had the the Sparkos opamps changed to the Staccato's Ben is now using in the '21 version.

It's an improvement to my ears.  Not a change in character, but a small but noticeable refinement in detail and coherence.  Recommended.

@grannyring , do you have the Staccato opamps in your EVO?

Yes I do.   I put those in per Ben’s recommendation. 

@grannyring have you played enough with the different chokes to have an idea of the difference in sound?  I read somewhere the Lundahl amorphous core might present a little more detail but the regular ones are rounder sounding.  Also is the choke upgrade in the digital path a worthy upgrade?

My Mystique EVO B4B 21 continues to sound very good here and what I consider incrementally better than the v3, although not a night and day change.  To be clear, to my ears, the v3 and B4B 21 share a "house sound" that is organic, natural, fleshed-out, and robust, while the B4B 21 adds a bit of clarity, nuance, and realism, while maintaining the sound I enjoyed so much from the v3.  Both make it fun to listen to a wide range of music.

BTW, are any of you using the EVO Media Server yet?

I've had an Audionote 3.1, (which I loved) a Mystique V2, Mystique V3, and now the EVO for almost a year.  Each Dac has been very enjoyable but the EVO is wonderful!  I've read some posts here that it's not a night and day difference in the V3; I respectfully disagree.  What I hear with the EVO is a multitude of improvements each can be small individually but collectively they bring realism, refinement, and musicality which is truly joyful.  Listen to an EVO for a few months and then listen to your mystique V3 again and you will know what I'm talking about.  The V3, which is a great DAC, sounds lifeless only compared to the EVO's ability to produce sound true that's natural to the instrument, with real space.  That's when you know how good the EVO is.  I went for the analog choke upgrade LL AM's it lets you hear just more of the good stuff! You hear more wood in a double bass, the background gets even more black and empty.  As you can tell, I'm a fan!  Enjoy

Does anyone know if the Evo sounds better through AES or USB? Which input is engineered better on it?

Benjamin would be best person to answer your question, depending on your specific EVO.  When I spoke with him about my EVO B4B unit, he replied that in his opinion, USB was pretty much as good as it gets or, at least as good as the other options.  That made my decision easy, even though I am not in general a huge USB fan.

@mitch2 Thanks, does yours have the Lundahl amorphous core for the Spidif inputs?

@divertiti - I had to go back to some email to try and figure it out and the answer is, I believe so based on what I could find from Benjamin...

Lundahl amorphous core, Vishay Nude, Furutech S/PDIF signal path upgrade, 

On the other end, in my Deja Vu EVO Server, he gave me the really good JCAT XE OCXO USB Card so I really don't have a good reason to try anything but USB.  Someday, I might do some listening comparisons but pretty happy with the sound through USB for now.

For those interested in a used  Mojo Audio Mystique V3, I noticed there is one that just popped up on US Audio Mart.

A new review is out in Head-Fi:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/mojo-mystique-evo-pro-d-a-converter.25088/
Just in case you’re wondering Taylor02, we’ve replace quite a few Bricasti DACs.

IMO there is no comparison between Delta-Sigma and R-2R.
The question is: would you like the the flavor of sugar added to all your food? Well, Delta-Sigma is digital sugar.

Delta-Sigma is based on error correcting algorithms that always assume there is an error. And those algorithms can’t tell the difference between a bit read error and emotional content in the music. To my ear all Delta-Sigma DACs sound pasteurized, homogenized, and overly refined.
Nothing wrong with that...some people love that sound...that’s why Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors, right?
On the other hand, R-2R will give you whatever is on the recording, good, bad, or otherwise.
Your best recordings will sound better than ever but your bad recordings will sound worse than ever. That’s the price you pay for accurate digital reproduction.

Have a Mystique v2x (upgraded) that will soon be shipped.
Excited to receive. New Linux based i5 NUC.
It is Christmas in May.

I have been using the Coax input on my base model EVO since I purchased it but decided that I wanted to try out the AES input to see if there would be a SQ improvement. In order to do so I ordered a Mojo Audio digital AES cable that Ben listed as a demo on his website. I received it this afternoon, put some Furutech nano enhancer on the cable and DAC AES pins, hooked it up, ran a system tune up disc for an hour or so, and am now listening to the Roman Street Amore cd. My initial impression is that the AES connection is a positive sq step above the very enjoyable Coax which itself I would not hesitate recommending. The Mojo AES cable is very well made , provides a black background , allows all of the detail and texture of the recording to flow through. YMMV

I received my Mojo EVO 2021 B4B about 2 weeks ago and thought I would share some initial thoughts (actually I posted some of the below in another thread, but thought I would re-post some of it here since couple of posters on this thread have asked for EVO owners’ impressions of the DAC).

The EVO 2021 has been a wonderful DAC and the first component change that has totally transformed my system. And it continues to amaze me as I continue to "burn it in". When I added the First Watt Sit-3 into my audio set up, I was happy you could get some of that SET magic/tone from a solid state amp, and then when I introduced the Shindo Masseto preamp into the setup, I got more of that 3D dimensional body and meat on the bones in the music. When I added the EVO into the setup, I (finally) started to enjoy and listen and move to the music, and stopped thinking about and analyzing the sound. With prior DACs in my system (Borderpatrol SE-i, TotalDAC D1-core), I was always analyzing soundstage width/depth, instrument separation, tonality etc. Although these previous DAC’s had moments of "pop" and "excitement", but in the back of mind, those moments always felt exaggerated. To be clear, I am not trying to disparage these other DACs, they are very good DACs at their price points. And given the subjectiveness of audio perception, these "exaggerations" could be another person’s musical bliss. Pick your own poison as they say....

One of the pieces of music that I use as a litmus test is a Chesky recording of Earl Wild (pianist) playing with a full orchestra. Supposedly a very good recording, but it was probably the piece that I skipped past the most when i played that album. The piano tonality was off and just sounded flat, and overall it was like hearing the piano "versus" the orchestra. With the EVO, the piano came alive, and I could finally hear and enjoy Earl Wild’s masterful and nuanced articulation, and, Earl Wild and the orchestra "playing together" and "having a high energy conversation". Quite frankly, I continued to play that piece (even though i didn’t enjoy it that much) each time I introduce a new component into my system because, subconsciously, I guess I was hoping to see which component change would stop me in my tracks to have a second listen. Every CD I have put on since the EVO 2021 arrived, the immediate reaction has not been "wow, I am hearing this new detail or that new detail" (though this is true), but I am just smiling and enjoying the music immensely. The recorded trumpet has always been a tough instrument for me to appreciate because it sounded harsh and lacked richness, but all that changed with the EVO. I actually started to like listening to the trumpet, and I am developing a new found appreciation for Miles Davis.

Hope this was helpful to some. Enjoy the music!

Benjamin from Mojo Audio here.

I just wanted to let you all know that my current reference digital source is a modified Jay’s Audio CD transport.

The time, tune, and harmonic coherency is like nothing I’ve ever heard. And I’ve owned some pretty exotic CD transports.

Don’t ask me to explain why, but the best computer audio won’t hold a candle to a proper CD transport. Even those new JCAT XE OCXO clocked USB cards, which has the same type of OCXO clock as the Jay’s CD transport, is not even close.

When I played this for some local audiophiles all their jaws dropped. The sound was so much better than any digital music they ever heard no one ever asked to go back to computer audio for a comparison.

I now consider the best computer audio as background music. The timing and tune are totally messed up. Streaming is worse, but even music played from your music library on an internal SSD is off time and tune.

Seriously. Once you hear it you can’t unhear it. The sound those of you who are real music lovers have been waiting for.

I removed all computers from my main system. If I’m going to warm up my tube amp, I’m going to change CDs from now on.

Because a CD transport is my current reference digital source, the new Mystique X is getting some pretty serious S/PDIF upgrades. I’m even putting a power cut off switch for the USB input which will remove all clocking from inside the DAC chassis and lower the noise floor even further.

For those of you with one of our 2019-2021 EVOs you will be able to get this S/PDIF upgrade by the spring of 2022. We’re also going to offer a PCM63 DAC chip upgrade.

Interesting. I purchased the very good PS Audio PWT transport two weeks ago because I have been hearing folks say what Benjamin just posted. Ben shared this with me recently. So I have a very nice Hijiri Nogami power cord on the transport and the top of the line Hijiri Million Dollar digital cable. I have been comparing the sound to my Innuos Zenith 3 server. I had to find out for myself if CD spinning is still that far ahead.

The answer is not universal or easy. It depends and that is now clear to me. My Innuos Zenith is fed by a Network Acoustics ENO filter, two ENO ethernet cables, an English Electric Switch 8 powered by a top notch LPS and a modem/router powered my a top notch LPS. I have a Tchernov Reference USB cable between the Mojo Evo and Zenith.

I have been conducting listening tests carefully listening for differences and preferences. Here is my conclusion based on my system as outlined above.
- CD spinning sounds very, very similar to CDs ripped and played off the Zenith. Very close. I would give a slight edge in dimension to the CD spinner. Very slight.
- Streaming Qobuz from Roon did not sound as good as the CD spinner. It depended on the Qobuz file quality however. Non - HD Qobuz files sounded the worst. HD Qobuz sounded much better, but still about 85% as good as the CD spinner. It sounded flat compared to CD spinning.
- Using the new Innuos Sense instead of Roon makes things much closer to CD spinning. Roon does not sound as good as the new Sense software from Innuos. Frankly, Sense is much better sounding at the date of this posting. So streaming HD Qobuz files through Innuos Sense is damn close to the CD spinner. Within 5%.

Innuos Sense is coming out with an update next week that is said to sound some 10% better according to beta testers. This will put HD Qobuz files and CD rips on par with CD spinning in my rig. What’s important to remember here is everything matters when it comes to streaming and playing files off a server. Everything matters! The music playback software used is also critical. Roon is no match to Sense sonically as of today. However, Roon continues to improve their sound quality as does Sense. This space is moving fast folks with sound quality improvements coming monthly! Network Acoustics has some new ethernet filters and switches coming that will improve streaming sound quality even more.

No easy or general answer to the question of does CD spinning or streaming/server sound better. Cannot make any broad brush conclusions as it just depends. Too many options, products and variables are at play. In addition, the streaming/server improvements are coming at a very fast rate. Innuos Sense is just one example. Going from Roon to Sense has been a sonic revelation for many of us. Both continue to improve sound quality and that is great news for sure.

Depending on how your system’s digital front end is set up CD spinning may sound much better than a server or it may not. The only way to know is to compare for yourself in your own system. Just FAR too many variables at play for the one simple answer.

For those of you with one of our 2019-2021 EVOs you will be able to get this S/PDIF upgrade by the spring of 2022. We’re also going to offer a PCM63 DAC chip upgrade.

Hey Benjamin, if you want to hit it out of the park, make those upgrades user-installable!

Interesting that the subject of cd transports came up in this thread, as after 9 months of ownership of my EVO, I recently decided to experiment with listening to the EVO through my disc player as a transport. Last night was mesmerizing. I am using an Esoteric UX3-pi into the EVO spdif input. EVO/UX3-pi breathes life into the music, whereas the UX-3pi alone sounds flat and uninvolving in comparison. Might have to try a Jay’s or Pro-Ject transport one day.

The reason it took so long to try the spdif input is that the EVO simply sounds fantastic with my Laufer Teknik Memory Player streaming to the EVO. Matt Clott also used a Memory Player in his positive review of the EVO in the Absolute Sound. In my system, it is hard to say which is better, EVO/Memory Player or EVO/Esoteric. I will say that the EVO/Memory Player combo seems to have a knack of making compressed recordings sound more palatable to my ears, and recordings that already have good dynamic range are simply wonderful.

I use Roon, but @grannyring as usual is ahead of the curve and I will have to try some of the things that he has done that has improved the sound of his system. I appreciate that @grannyring is sharing his endeavors and results with the rest of us.

Benjamin’s description of the sound of the EVO is spot on, as it should be. I bought and tried 5-6 dac’s and chose Mojo Mystique v.3 (since upgraded to EVO) because of how it blends the musicians coherently together in a way that makes it seem that there is a live performance in front of me (in a “you are there” manner), instead of sounding like people are in a recording studio in separate sound booths. Benchmark DAC3 was like the latter. Border Patrol DAC SE came closest to sounding like the Mystique, in my system. I also had PS Audio DirectStream, which was around the same price as the Mystique, but the obviously smaller image size and flatter sound staging of the DirectStream (relative to the Mojo) made it an easy decision to go with Mojo.

Anyways, hope everyone is enjoying their EVO as much as I am.

Extremely problematic to make blanket statement about superiority of streaming vs. cd transports. Optimizing streaming is likely the most complex undertaking in audio, I doubt there are any two optimized streaming setups exactly the same. So many variables, and every single little thing matters.
In any case my original streaming setup was bettered by my PS Audio PWT, eventually with upgrades to streaming setup, streams and rips better than transport. Took many upgrades to turn the tables here. And I preferred my Mark Levinson No.37 transport (Phillips pro, much attention to mounting to chassis, less vibration) which unfortunately died some months prior. I'm quite sure I would have still preferred streaming vs the 37 ultimately, as I've since optimized streaming further from the point I preferred streaming vs PS transport. Almost forgot, I had modded my PS PWT, can't recall everything, remember using much better caps in critical areas. Anyway mods improved the transport, still not up to ML.

Also, keep in mind, dac inputs optimized differently. I have no doubt transports or streaming may be best, depending on situation. I also assume we'll see further developments in streaming, really in it's infancy. For me, streaming is the most exciting thing to come along in audio for ages. For content alone, even the largest cd or album collection can't beat it.

Still its good to continue to develop cd playback, my only concern is how much longer cd's will continue to be offered. Many releases are already streams only.
As for Mystique, Mojo dacs always been on my short list of dacs to upgrade if I ever felt the need. I like Benjamin's designs and implementation, he also understands the improvements boutique parts can make.

I took Ben's advice not long after I purchased my EVO to upgrade my cd transport from a Cambridge CXC . I decided at the time to go with a Simaudio 260D, it was a definite improvement in my system. I don't stream so I have no comparison to offer

I’ve owned the whose who in CD transports: CEC, Teac VRDS, even an old all metal CDM-1 in a 50 pound Sony deck.

Not one of those sounded even close to the first prototype MacMini music server I built back in 2009 with a linear power supply I made from spare parts laying around my shop.

That’s why I got into computer audio. None of those CD transports held a candle to even the most basic of computer audio.

Earlier this past year I auditioned a McIntosh MCT500: a $5K, very heavy, dual laser, metal disk tray, advanced clocking, CD transport with a USB port.

It was no comparison to my computer audio system. I couldn’t listen to that MCT500 for very long before it fatigued me.

So don’t get me wrong: all CD transports are not better than computer audio. So far the only one I’ve found is the Jay’s transport which sells for about HALF the price of the McIntosh.

There are comparisons between the Jay’s and the CEC and the PWT online. Most people pick the Jay’s transport hands down and find those other transports sound softer, slower, and off time and tune.

Apparently most of the hard core CD spinners these days are going for the top loaders, like the Jay’s, Denefrips, and Pro-Ject.

Yes, the transport matters. But the digital cable and power cord also matters in terms of the sound output of the transport. The footers matter also. The fuse matters. Oh my. Very important really. So much matters.
I have the some of the best ancillaries on the PWT and do feel it is a good comparison to the Jay’s or any great spinner. Hijiri cabling, QSA fuse, Townshend footers etc….

Must hear the sonic differences or lack of them in your own system. For me spinning vs server is very close. I owned a tricked out Mini, LPS and all the software upgrades, and moving to my current server front end was a substantial sonic upgrade. At least for me in my system.

I would love to try a Jay’s or Pro-Ject transport in my rig with my cabling and footers. I would need it as a trial purchase for comparison purposes.  If it is significantly better, to my ear, than the PWT I would buy it. Better for me is not a matter of more detail or crisper leading edges, but more a matter of natural tone and fluidity. 

Photos of our new 100% machined chassis are now up on our website:

https://www.mojo-audio.com/mystique-evo-pro-21-d-a-converter/

Our next gen EVO63 will use a similar chassis.

Hi All,

Bear with me, I will get to the point😊!

I have thoroughly enjoyed my used Theta DS ProBasic III DAC that was probably  $2,500 when new. It is teamed with a PWT. This was after a succession of delta sigma DACS that always left me gritting my teeth as they all sounded too edgy in the treble.

The upgrade bug bit. As a first step, I purchased a Soekris 1421 in order to understand what a positively rated "less than $1000" DAC could sound like.To my ear, the Soekris had more detail but was also more sterile compared to to the Theta.

Based on what I read on this thread, amoung others, I purchased a used Mystique V3 about a year ago. I really enjoyed the V3 and felt I had made a great decision.It sounded similar to the Theta but with more detail. It gave me a relaxed and organic sound in my system.

Of course, I could not leave well enough alone.

FINALLY here is the point. Again, this thread was persuasive and my new EVO B4B was delivered yesterday. After only one day I am impressed. The B4B provides more detail, which seems to be translating into a deeper and wider soundstage, more ambience, and better separation between voices and instruments.

And it is not even broken in yet!

I am probably speaking to the choir here so thanks for listening!

Dsper