Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

Lordmelton  I have never ever done any review of any hifi piece of equipment ever. Your mean spirited comment towards me is totally unwarranted. How many times do I have to state that I like my lks 004 thus my reasoning for purchasing the 005. The fact that the unit sent to Amir did not meet spec and that jason would accept the return show good business sense and proper customer care. I have not said anything disparaging about you or musetec. Your comment to me was totally classless.  I’m sorry that someone rained on your favorite dac but it wasn’t me. Why don’t u send your dac off to an independent person that could run test on your dac. I’m kinda done here. It’s people like you and your unwarranted put downs that can give forums like this a bad name.

Kairosman. Thank you.   Some people need to get a life!  If lordmelton is pissed about asr review his anger should be directed not at me but the person who originally posted the 005 specs, which the unit I was sold did not meet. I’m sure the 005 is a good dac if not a great sounding dac. I have been into audio since the early 80’s an own a lot of top shelf gear. Been a member of audiogon since 2003.  I rarely post because of the keyboard warriors who can have some not rational responses.  Again thanks for the support.

Jeez can u people read!   I bought the dac because I own the earlier iteration the lks 004. Which I like very much. I bought the dac because I like his work. I like my lks more than my holo spring v1 kte.  I am not trying to slam or put down musetec.  I’m sorry some of u are not happy with an outside independent review. I would love for one of you audiogon members to send your 005 dac to a different person that could conduct independent testing. I hope jinbo can correct this anomaly or someone can show that Amir’s measurements are a one off. I think jinbo will correct the dac and fix the issue. I know he takes pride in his work.  Who knows this whole episode could be a win win for everyone. I certainly hope so. Any anger directed at me is misguided. I have stated more than once  how good jason and Midwest audio have been. Just put on some good music and relax.  

Ouch, that hurt.  Some troubling measurements.

No I get it. I have the lks 004 an preferred it over my holo spring kte dac. Amir favorably reviewed the spring. I was pretty sure since my previous experience with lks was and is positive I would very much enjoy the musetec. His results were very surprising an fairly different from stated specs. Will be curious to see if Jimbo responds to these measurements. I have been an audiogon member for over 20 years an have learned a lot from the community over the years. I also have learned a lot from ASR an respect a lot of the knowledge there. In my view there is room for the objective an the subjective viewpoint. This anti ASR thinking I find almost humorous. No one forces anyone to believe anything. We are all free to decide what we believe and I believe there is room for both camps.  I have reached out to Jason at Midwest audio to let him know about the asr review. Hopefully he will get jimbo to respond.  

Having been an owner of the lks 004 since 2018 and the owner of a Holo Spring kte3 dac also I’ve decided to get the 005. Mine is on order from Jason at midwestern audio and I will have it in about 3 weeks I hope. I traded in my holo for the 005. So that should tell you that I’m a bigger fan of the lks/musetec sound. I had the spring connected to an aurender x100 in my main system an the lks in my headphone rig. About 6 weeks ago I put the lks in my main rig and was immediately impressed with the improvement in overall sound quality. This peaked my interest in the musetec especially with all the positive feedback here and on head fi. So I jumped in. I know some of u guys are gonna go nuts when you read this but I’m having it sent to Amir at ASR for review. Let the bashing begin 😂. He was very much interested in this dac. Gonna keep my fingers crossed that it measures well which Im pretty confident it will. So keep your eyes open for his review.. looking forward to putting it in my system.

I know u don’t get a lot of subjective opinion at ASR but there is a lot of good info to be had over there just like here. I like both places by the way. I bought the musetec cause I really like my lks and I was ready for an upgrade.

I want to give a shout out to Jason at Midwest audio regarding my purchase of the musetec dac that was sent to Amir for review. Having owned the lks 004 and liking it very much I ordered the 005 and had it sent to Amir, Jason was fully aware that it was going to asr for review. He and I were both disappointed in some measurements that obviously did not meet the published specs. According to jinbo he is going to look into the issue. Jason has kindly accepted the return of the unit and has promised a refund. Neither of us expected the review results. The only reason I returned the unit is because the unit shipped may have a problem or may not. Not willing at this point to gamble knowing it did not meet spec. I appreciate very much Jason’s help and he has been a stand up guy in this whole mess. I hope jinbo will address the issue and be forthcoming with more information down the road. For all of the people bent about the asr review take a chill. I’m sure the dac sounds great as witnessed by all of you all that own it. I’m no electronic engineer but i know in a digital source that jitter an the dreaded ess hump are issues that should not be present in a $3000 dac.  Again thanks to Jason. I never intended to creat such a s**tshow about dac. The review could have a negative effect on his business and jinbo’s business. That was not the outcome we expected. So I hope jinbo can successfully address the spec issues.  I find no problem existing in the audiogon world and the asr world at the same time. Again we all enjoy our music and that’s the point of both worlds. Carry on and bash me if u want to, I could care less.

I accused no one of anything. No I did not listen to the dac. An independent review brought out a different set of specs other than was published . Again I very much enjoy my lks dac.  Jason an jinbo have been upfront an admirable. Why do u people keep piling on. Did not meet published specs.  They honored my return an they gained respect in my eyes. I hope if u guys bought a $3000 piece of equipment that the seller would be as upstanding as Jason.  I’m done with this. It seems the only peeps upset are the ones who don’t like the outcome of Amir’s measurements. Prove him wrong please. 

Melm thank you for a reasoned post. I have already told Jason that I would entertain auditioning 005 after jinbo addresses the spec issue. After all this vitriol I’m done for a while. I’m sure jinbo will address the issues. At this point it-was just easier to return unit since Jason an jinbo agreed.  Again those guys have been great about this whole mess.  I do not feel cheated in any way.  Sometimes things don’t just turn out the way u want them. It seems that me the guy that started this whole s**tstorm is the only one who is completely happy how that seller an mnfcter handled the issue.  Everyone be happy listening to their music an gear.  

Thank you kairosman, amreicanspirit, and batvac 2. For all you people telling me I should have put into my system an listen I never had physical possession of dac. The unit was shipped from China to the west coast for the review. I live on the east coast. For all parties involved it was decided to ship the unit to Jason at Midwest instead of to me for audition. The shipping of the unit back and forth was gonna start getting kind of expensive so we all decided that our solution to the problem best served everyone. Again jason an jinbo have acted professionally.  The ess hump as stated earlier has been addressed an solved by many dac manufacturers. The jitter issue an the spec issues need to be addressed by jinbo, which he has stated he will correct. I’m no shill for anyone. Again I find this asr acrimony almost humorous. I certainly do not have a problem enjoying the content of audiogon and asr. There are a lot of knowledge and kind people on both sites that are always willing to help other music lovers enjoy their hobby. There are also some peeps that are louder than they are smarter. Everyone just enjoy your music.

As always a reasoned post by melm. I  for one have learned a valuable lesson. I do not feel bad for having given the dac to asr for review, Jason had no problem with sending to asr. I was not trying to pull a fast one and ambush musetec, Jason and I both assumed it would pass with flying colors. Oops it had some issues, ones I’m sure that will be addressed. If I ever do this again I would remain anonymous. I,ve been into audio for over 40 years and have bought owned and sold enough gear to last 2 lifetimes. It’s just stereo equipment people. I’m not a shill for anyone. I for the life of me can’t figure some peoples reaction to the review.  I’m glad Jason and jinbo were stand up guys and I would not hesitate to deal with him again. By the way Lordmelton I really liked my holo audio spring kte. I traded it in for the 005 and kept the 004 .I think Jason is gonna send it back to me. So back to were I started from. I would love to have someone send their 005 off to be tasted by someone else. That would make for some interesting reading, here and at asr.  Play some good music people and relax.

Dbb. Since the dac was on the other side of the country auditioning dac presented some logistical issues that I nor Jason wanted to deal with. At that point we all decided that returning the dac to us based seller was the easiest path for everyone’s satisfaction. Would I have liked to have listened to it in my system? Yes I would have but after all the commotion we all felt this was the best path. We were all ready to put an end to the contentious chatter.  Please everyone enjoy what they have.  I do.

Thank you Yage. By the way I have Revel Ultima salon 2’s as my main speakers powered by a Bryston 14bsst amp thru a Coda 07x pre.  Decent gear for any good dac.