Some history: I was the OP on a four year old thread about the Chinese LKS MH-DA004 DAC. It achieved an underground buzz. The open architecture of its predecessor MH-DA003 made it the object of a lot of user mods, usually to its analog section, rolling op amps or replacing with discrete. The MH-DA004 with its new ESS chips and JFET analog section was called better then the modified older units. It has two ES9038pro DAC chips deliberately run warm, massive power supply, powered Amanero USB board, JFET section, 3 Crystek femtosecond clocks, Mundorf caps, Cardas connectors, etc., for about $1500. For this vinyl guy any reservation about ESS chips was resolved by the LKS implimentaion, but their revelation of detail was preserved, something that a listener to classic music especially appreciated. I made a list of DACs (many far more expensive) it was compared favorably to in forums. Modifications continued, now to clocks and caps. Components built to a price can be improved by costlier parts and the modifiers wrote glowingly of the SQ they achieved.
Meanwhile, during the 4 years after release of the MH-DA004, LKS (now Musetec) worked on the new MH-DA005 design, also with a pair of ES9038pro chips. This time he used more of the best components available. One torroidal transformer has silver plated copper. Also banks of super capacitors that act like batteries, solid silver hookup wire, 4 femtoclocks each costing multiples of the Crysteks, a revised Amanero board, more of the best European caps and a new partitioned case. I can't say cost NO object, but costs well beyond. A higher price, of course. Details at http://www.mu-sound.com/DA005-detail.html
The question, surely, is: How does it sound? I'm only going to answer indirectly for the moment. I thought that the MH-DA004 was to be my last DAC, or at least for a very long time. I was persuaded to part with my $$ by research, and by satisfaction with the MH-DA004. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the improvement; just didn't think it was possible. Fluidity, clarity, bass extension. A post to another board summed it up better than I can after listening to piano trios: "I have probably attended hundreds of classical concerts (both orchestral and chamber) in my life. I know what live sounds like in a good and bad seat and in a good and mediocre hall. All I can say is HOLY CRAP, this sounds like the real thing from a good seat in a good hall. Not an approximation of reality, but reality."
@debjit_gVery interesting! I've not felt the need to even try the USB cards as I'm so enthralled with using new streamer as server only, Sonore OpticalModule and OR doing rendering duties, thus far beats several permutations via motherboard usb out. Thanks for the input!
Still, at some point my intention is to try one computer setup, there are some Euphony OS permutations that may allow for better SQ vs two computer setup. Less complex setup may also provide for better SQ, in any case I have so many options to choose from with new streamer, have this need to explore all, just not motivated at present. I totally agree on network optimization and quality power supplies, optimal streaming requires all i's dotted and t's crossed!
In my server the JCAT XE USB card adds only 10% of the improvement that can be had from the server when powering from the mother power. Another 10% improvement when powering it with a high quality LPS. The majority comes from the s/w & network optimization and a high power power for the server itself. I could still live with the motherboard USB port if I didn’t want to spend money on the JCAT. The motherboard USB sounds as musical, just not as much details I get from JCAT.
I can’t stress enough the importance of a good power supply for any digital components and the Musetec 005, or for that matter most of today’s DAC, will scale very nicely when fed with quality signal and it doesn’t have to be SPDIF. A good USB implementation can work wonders. Apart from the power supply, the two other things that will do the most for any streaming system is by taking great care of s/w and network optimization.
I had Shunyata Anaconda and Python in my system for years, still use a Python VX on lps for NAS.
Critical thing in consideration of inputs on dac is quality of rendering in streamer. The quality Amanero usb board in 005 absolutely requires the best quality rendering from streamer. Far too many usb ports on dedicated streamers come directly off motherboard, motherboard directly transfer any noise on them to that port. Optimized usb ports on streamers must be treated exactly like optimized ports like Amanero usb in005. This means having it's own dedicated board with power supply and femto or OXCO clock, even more optimization can be obtained if this board can be powered via external lps. You will only see this level of optimization with Taiko Extreme, Wadax level streamers, Aurender W20SE has next best optimization I've seen via off the shelf combo server/streamer or one computer setups. For me this rendering deficiency is the greatest liability of nearly all off the shelf streamers, a real shame they charge so much and then have this glaring mistake, charge me the extra $1-2K, but don't leave out a critical function! They do good job with minimizing noise, optimizing software and simplifying user interface, providing nice looking enclosure, but skimp here. Some understand what they're leaving out offering external lps and usb, Innuos being but one example, others don't even have these options, ridiculous.
With my new streamer I have choice between the absolute best usb optimization via drop in PCIe card, in this case JCAT or Pink Faun usb cards, both include all the optimizations I listed above, and with the capability of being powered via external lps, no power off motherboard power supply.
The other option for optimized usb rendering is via dedicated streamers such as SOTM, the Holo mentioned above, Sonore, and others. The good dedicated streamers do all the optimizations listed above. and the SOTM and Sonore OpticalRendu I'm using at present which I've directly compared to usb out of my previous streamers and present new streamer, which has only somewhat optimized usb are far superior in sound quality.
So, bottom line, you are not hearing full potential with your 005 unless your taking equal care with usb out of streamer. This is not a small upgrade assuming your system is resolving/transparent enough! Get optimized rendering via usb and I guarantee you it will beat any other input on 005, to repeat Amanero board is optimal input with 005, designed to specifically use it. The I2S or other inputs may bypass certain functions within 005, but simpler doesn't always mean better. Also, ask yourself is bypassing this function within 005 really worth the effort of adding more complexity with whatever optimized I2S rendering device one is using. This was my calculation when I decided to not even bother trying I2S with my Singxer SU-6, reportedly one of best I2S renderers out there. Power supply and clock on Amanero board superior to that on SU-6. This became even more clear to me when I observed various experienced users having to modify these I2S devices to overcome sound quality limitations they heard.
@car123The way you describe 005 is exactly how I hear it, no softening or hiding anything, simply getting the real thing, more live sounding than any other digital I've ever heard in my system or any other system. I'd not even trade better jitter measurement if it took away any of this sense of liveliness. The greatest thing is the more I expose the 005 the better it gets, no hidden flaws with this dac.
As for battery power vs AC :PC. Symetrical sine waves are one thing nearly all these portable power supplies supply. how that is achieved is another. I and others have heard the liabilities of inferior inverters. I presume there is reason the Stromtanks so costly, superior sound quality vs other battery supplies is that reason. I'm sure there are various levels of sound quality vs various other battery supplies, my motivation isn't high to experiment at this point since I'm so enamored of present sound quality, remains in revelatory territory since new streamer and footer/isolation solutions. Towards that end, just added suspended solution for signal enclosure of Coincident Statement, power supply enclosure continues to use Aurios Pro to diy sandbox. Expect this to be another upgrade vs Stillpoints to maple cutting board sitting in diy sandbox coupled via amp stand to fireplace hearth which is sitting on suspended floor sitting on floor jacks. All my suspended supports sit on this fireplace hearth. If this works out well, new Thoress phono stage will also be suspended. All components are being compared to either Aurios or Stillpoints Ultra SS in diy sandboxes with either Birch ply or 1/2" aluminum top plates with integrated vibration planes in diy sandboxes. Already wrote off a multitude of other type footers used over the years, these two are last standing. Aurios can add hard edge, some state metallic sound, but damn things are spacious,open, transparent. Stillpoints keep most of the open, spacious, transparent sound, add greater stability to images within sound stage, mitigate the hard edge. No footers retain all the good things of both, no colorations of any kind, why I maintain no footer is best footer. So far I only maintain this for source components, other components may benefit from being mass loaded and anchored to something solid.
A lot of great suggestions in the last few posts. I will try the no footer test on the 005. It's potentially a free upgrade.
I'm no stranger to AC conditioners and power cables. For me it has mostly been Shunyata gear. Over the years, I have gone through about 10 Shunyata conditioners and many more Shunyata power cables. Each generation was leaps and bounds better than the prior. I'm heavily biased toward this company. They make my favorite digital cables as well.
I took the plunge and ordered the HoloAudio Red streamer. It supports Roon and it also supports Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect. My old streamer never had the last two features. Red also has a plethora of digital outputs I can play with. It's going to be a fun winter for me.
I’m using an lks 100 and lks power supply between my aurender a10 and my 005 using i2s output. I find it provides a slighter sense of ease to the music than usb. I just tried straight usb again—not 5 minutes ago— and went back to the lks ddc. Ymmv. This is all system, room and taste dependent.
I recently listened to my brother’s system on Kauai. It is similar to mine in that he uses a joule la300 preamp, quintessence speakers (although mine are further down the evolutionary path), and a joule vzn80 amp. I have a similar amp in my closet; I currently am using a first watt sit-3, ooh la la what a great little amp.
Back to my point; based on my rave recommendation, my brother bought an 005 and quickly switched to a very expensive EMM streamer/DAC combo. He loves it and describes it as more analog than the 005. His system is wonderful and perhaps softens the leading edge of notes ever so slightly in comparison to my system. But I prefer my system. It seems a bit more detailed and real to me.
I was happy returning home and sitting in my listening chair. I was also very happy I didn’t need to start shopping for some EMM gear!
This hobby is very individualistic. I’ve learned long ago that I listen with my own ears and they are the ultimate determinator of what’s best for me.
I’ve got Tim o brien another day playing and when I close my eyes he is in my room with me.
the product that I have proposed is not a simple distributor, but an efficient current conditioner. at its output it supplies alternating current with a perfectly sinusoidal constant voltage and frequency.
@americanspiritLooks like contender, but what I'm really after is more diy solution. I want all components and parts to be top grade, audiophile grade, batteries alone over $500 for what I've been looking at. We have audiophile grade off the shelf already with this, http://s1000 Problem is I'm not spending $15k and up!
since I love you, since I've done 6 months of testing on the MUSETEC, since I'm lucky enough to have a premium hifi dealer friend, I want to offer you the best advice regarding power supply.
with an expense close to 1000$ it is possible to buy one of the best mains conditioners on the market (German product for hospital use) which you can also find on Amazon.
the product in question is called XANTO and is available for different potencies.
@sirnuiI went through a period of auditioning power conditioners a few years ago, Shunyata, PSAudio, Audience, some others forgetting at this point. I settled on transformer based solution, self modified BPT 3.5 Signature.
Power amps should go direct into wall, every single PC I tried diminished transients to some degree. I like your idea of the Giandel inverter, have been following the battery thread here. I did try battery pack power at one time for Auralic Vega dac, interesting results, went back to BPT for power. Higher quality inverter should help, I'll get around to it some day. Quality batteries would also be important if I end up trying it.
I also went through years of auditioning cabling of all types some years ago, power cables are easily most important.
Footers for the 005 also have fairly large impact on SQ, as they are for all components. I've gone no footer route with 005, no footer is best footer, more natural SQ vs stock, various Aurios, Finite Elemente, any soft footer, BDR cones, Stillpoints Ultra SS with and without UltraBases. Really amazing sound from my system at this point, 005 not going away any time soon.
Yes, I am no longer using the LKS 100 although I expect to revisit it later. I used it to great effect for many months but I decided to re-try the USB with some different cables. Some were much more expensive than a solid silver cable, but that's what broke in the Amanero board.
My 005 is fully broken in now and will be one year old next month. I have heard many DACs in the meantime and I can honestly say I absolutely no desire to change it.
The 005 uses ESS 9038 Pro chips, some cheap Chinese DACs are already implementing the latest ESS 9039 Pro chips. I look forward to Musetec implementing this chip which will provide full MQA unfolding.
I can confidently promise that there isn't a better DAC unless you start getting into stupid money.
@americanspiritI will see/hear if the LKS DDC is better or worse. If I've learned anything in this hobby it is to take everything reported online with a grain of salt and reserve my own judgement until I demo the gear in my own system against my own musical preferences. For this reason, I have a constant monthly flow of new gear/ideas coming in and out. My wife can attest to this.
It was indeed @lordmelton who had great results with the LKS DDC. At the time he first reported his good results, I was using the MU1 streamer which I was very happy with so I stayed put. Now that the MU1 is gone, this is a good opportunity to demo the LKS DDC. I will report back what I find.
Speaking of new gear, I also bought a Shunyata Typhon T2 power conditioner and it should be leaving the factory this week. I'm hoping I can get back the resolution and low level details I lost after selling my Shunyata Everest with Omega XC cable. I plan to test the Typhon T2 connected to my Puritan PSM 136 conditioner via the umbilical cable. The Typhon T2 has two AC outlets itself so I will try putting the 005 and other components into the Typhon T2 directly and also into Puritan PSM 136. For anyone that cares, I can report back the results. But I doubt anyone else plans to use a Giandel 5000 inverter with battery feeding a Typhon T2 feeding a Puritan power conditioner. This is the kind of journey I'm on...
Amir's tests leave the time they find, they are not science, they are baseless tests performed by a child who bought a signal analyzer and uses it as a toy.
metaphorically it is as if Galileo, having his telescope of the time at his disposal, had stated that there are no distant planets because his instrument does not allow him to see them...
I'm tired of talking about it again, they are bogus tests built ad hoc to sell low-level Chinese products.
the MUSETEC MH-DA005 is perfect as it comes from the factory, all you need is a little care about the cables to be used and the quality of the power supply that is supplied to it.
Amir's tests leave the time they find, they are not science, they are baseless tests performed by a child who bought a signal analyzer and uses it as a toy.
metaphorically it is as if Galileo, having his telescope of the time at his disposal, had stated that there are no distant planets because his instrument does not allow him to see them...
I'm tired of talking about it again, they are bogus tests built ad hoc to sell low-level Chinese products.
the MUSETEC MH-DA005 is perfect as it comes from the factory, all you need is a little care about the cables to be used and the quality of the power supply that is supplied to it.
@melmI believe it was Lordmelton who tried the conversion? I also believe I recall him or whoever it was went back to using usb.
With recent thread about measurements and how they affect both digital and analog sound quality, ASR measurements of 005 were recalled. The SNR measurements relatively unimportant, but I feel the somewhat poor jitter measurements may be impacting 005 sound quality. If I have a single nit with 005 it would be the slightest tilt toward precision vs. forgiveness. With insertion of new streamer and it's microscopic attention to minimizing jitter I'm hearing much greater flow, relaxation, much more analog like presentation. It would be interesting to hear a 005 with improved jitter measurements, something the engineers could implement mid model. I suspect this 005 would retain all it's goodness while adding more analog like presentation.
I confirm that the cable that carries the +5v you have to unsolder it from both connectors (both type a and type b) otherwise it can work as an antenna and make the situation worse.
further advice, you can connect the unsoldered cable to both the shield and the ground.
if you have problems making the cable, I can do it for you for free
@americanspirit
I agree with you that the USB to I2S conversion is best made within the Musetec DAC. There it will find SOTA conversion and about as good a power supply as can be (and unique to this DAC), using a bank of super capacitors for the digital side. Logic should point in that direction and I have written so here. However, at least one contributor to this thread wrote of his satisfaction using the separate, and quite old, LKS DDC. Audio sometimes gives strange results and that is where we are.
You also write of removing the +5V pin (pin 1) from the USB cable. Did you remove it from the Type A connector or the Type B connector or from both? In the past I have blocked pin 1 of the A connector without discernible results. But my system has improved since and I will try again.
AFAIK, the 005 is not a NOS dac and has an in-built SRC which can't be bypassed. All external s/w based conversion may either be not beneficial or might have a -ive impact on the SQ or you may not see any difference depending on the bit rate and rest of the system.
I'm sorry that there are those who are not able to understand the AMANERO board that is inside the DA005 with the upgrades made by the MUSETEC designer, it is superior to any other USB interface on the market.
the same AMANERO is used in all DACs produced by AUDIOGD designed by the legendary KINGWA.
as I have already written, to have the best possible USB connection it is necessary to remove the +5V PIN from the cable.
I ASK ALL DA005 OWNERS TO TRY THIS MODIFICATION, YOU WILL THANK ME FOR THE RESULT OBTAINED
I have ability to use a variety of music players and configurations with new streamer. I've tried both Roon and HQPlayer embedded within Roon with up and oversampling, HQPlayer far superior to Roon here. Thus far greatest resolution I've experienced has been HQPlayer sending 32/768khz to 005, not sure I prefer to Roon doing minimal processing, no dsp. HQPlayer with dsp activated somehow sounds more artificial less analog like vs Roon with no dsp, still experimenting so haven't made final decision. By the way, for anyone using dsp, 32bit is correct setting for ESS Sabre chips.
@americanspiritI was arguing this very thing with some poster here claiming usb sucks. 005 does have everything needed for top tier usb rendering, the Amanero board is nice board, feed it top quality usb rendering via streamer for top tier sound.
I sold my Grimm MU1 streamer for funds and now I'm using parts of my old USB chain to feed the 005. My NUC running Roon ROCK feeds the Uptone ISO Regen which connects to the 005 via a Cardas Clear USB cable. The NUC is using it's standard SMPS and the ISO Regen is fed power using daisy chained ultra low noise linear regulators. Is the music now just as good as when I had the MU1? No, but the music is still very enjoyable, almost surprisingly so. But I am also being very strategic with how I'm putting my system together and it's still changing. The point here is one doesn't need to spend megabucks on any part of an 005 based the system to immensely enjoy the music and it helps to be strategic with where the money can be spent to maximize the system.
One function the MU1 did was upsample my Tidal streamed 16bit 44.1/48KHz files to 24bit 176.4/192KHz. I always thought this helped the 005 perform better so tonight I configured Sample Rate Conversion in Roon and now the Tidal streams are coming in at 32bit 176.4/192KHz. I prefer Roon upsampling than without it and I also have Headroom Management turned on. I also tried conversion to 24bit but I slightly prefer 32bit.
On yet another note, I recently bought an LKS USB-100 DDC and the LKS LPS-25-USB power supply to power it. They should be arriving in the days and weeks ahead. I've already bought a 0.5m Wireworld Platinum Starlight Ethernet cable and a Wireworld Platinum Starlight 48 HDMI cable so I'm ready to experiment with I2S when the LKS devices arrive. I also have my eye on the new HoloAudio Red streamer and the Pi2 Design Mercury V2 streamer that both output I2S but if these LKS devices hit it out of the park, then I will stay put.
Wyred4Sound SE version was on my short list of dacs at one point, same 9038 Sabre chip as 005 and Vishay Z foil resistors, never heard one.
I'd expect you'll still undergo some time with burn in on usb input, both power supply and clock on usb board need time.
I'm finding 005 resolving/transparency potential seemingly bottomless with my new setup, every listening session a revelatory experience with nearly 100 hours listening time, and some components still going through burn in transition.
@sns - thanks, yes I have it hooked up and have the transport playing on repeat.. My transport does not ouput usb however, for which I understand the 005 is optimized. Looking at upgraded streaming options. Out of the box and cold the 005 already handily bests my previous Wyred4Sound Dac2DSD.
@westbornCongrats on purchase. Don't know if you believe you're burning in using in this manner, but you need to connect and send signal through via whatever input and outputs you're using for burn in.
@westborn
Congratulations on your purchase. Please share your impressions of the DAC after a few days of listening. Be prepared though for the DAC to improve over the next few weeks as it breaks in fully.
I took the plunge last night and bought a new Musetec MH-DA005 in silver.
I wanted to take advantage of the $2,800 Black Friday price, and I liked the added security of the 30 day no reason return, the 180 day quality of exchange or refund, and the 2 year warranty (which is transferable I was told-when linked to my email).
There was another (used) one on ebay for cheaper, but for the above reasons, I decided to purchase new.
The unit has already shipped, and I should have it delivered by DHL by Dec. 5th.
Server/streamer upgrade is next. 😋 Really looking forward to the new DAC !
Sorry for the delay in replying, but I have yet to recover from the numerous auditory orgasms of listening to our MUSETEC with the Premium USB cable with the +5V PIN removed.
I've tried them all, I strongly advise all DAC owners to make the same modification and evaluate the results themselves.
I can confirm that the difference is substantial even using a ridiculous printer cable.
the MUSETEC expresses maximum performance if connected directly via unpowered USB and when the temperature of the entire chassis exceeds 43°C
seeing is believing!
my DAC reaches that temperature after about 6 hours of use
I haven't given up on any country's audio offerings, my system built with Asian, European and North American components. Seems South America missing in action with audio?
Gave up on PRC DACS a few years ago. Went Canadian (COO means nothing really) with Simaudio, Swiss with Mearson and now found my happy place with LessLoss (Lithuanian). May give the Canor or Limpazator a demo one day.
Thing I like about the LessLoss R2R is the direct path, no chips or caps. No hard edges.
Now we need some reviews. Always curious about Chinese dacs, some pretty nice ones out there. Assuming Chinese dacs offer great value, would expect big things at this price.
As with any highly resolving/transparent dac with excellent usb implementation usb cables will make substantial difference. Having said that I've not heard major differences with taping off power pins. I only continue doing it in order to cross all T's and dot all I's.
In regard to my new custom streamer, now have had a chance to get well acquainted with sound quality with various configurations, I have multiple choices with Roon, HQPlayer and Stylus proprietary music players. At this point favorite is new streamer acting as dedicated server going to Sonore OpticalModule (LPS power) to OpticalRendu (Uptone JS-2) to 005 usb. Just absolutely fabulous, more than marginal gains in resolving/transparency, but sense of ease, refinement is revelatory! My greatest doubt with 005 has long been just the slightest hint of an overbearing digital sound quality, I've long stated this sense as being neutral. With new streamer with it's extreme attention to lowest possible latency, jitter has been diminished such that 005 now sounds far more analog like than previous. I'm sure adding the OpticalModule with it's superior clocking and improved internal power supply vs. genric FMC has bearing on this as well.
Also, have been experimenting with footers for 005. Previously used stock, Herbies devices, Aurios. Recently tried Stillpoints Ultra SS both with and without Ultra bases. The Stillpoints with ultra feet overbearing, didn't care much for this, Stillpoints minus bases, wow, an already increased soundstage size and image dimensionality due to new steaming setup was further increased in both of these, also image stability much improved, images locked in to unbelievable degree. The Stillpoints also split the difference between soft and metal ball bearing footers in tonality/timbre. Soft footers always make sound soft for lack of better term, Aurios always supply much greater spaciousness, open qualities, extension in HF, tighter bass. Stillpoints kept all the good aspects of Aurios while providing much more natural tonality/timbre. Aurios can impart a hard or metallic sound quality, the Stillpoints eliminate this, more natural. Comparison of Aurios vs. Stillpoints done post new streamer.
With recent focus on footers, recollections of hanging past cd players from ceiling via fish line were reanimated. So I will experiment this weekend with hanging 005 via high capacity monofilament fish line from industrial modular shelf system base I picked up from Grainger. Shelf system has 7500lbs load capacity, legs can be filled with sand/lead shot/kitty litter, placing this on fireplace hearth which my system sits on. Hanging cd players and dacs from ceiling always impressive outcomes in past, best footer is no footer. We shall see how this works vs very nice Stillpoints solution.
Finally, since new streaming setup I've been on buying spree, nearly $30k in vinyl and general system upgrades, yet the $3k 005 remains! I could have purchased any number of well regarded dacs with these funds, yet I kept the 005, should speak volumes about my regard for 005. Based on tons of research the only replacement dac I desire is Playback Designs MPD8, FPGA dac from perhaps best digital designer on planet, unfortunately $24K and going up, too rich for me.
Yesterday I modified a ridiculously expensive USB cable (it's the cable I used for the printer) by eliminating the power cord.
I used it as a link from the iMac (with ROON) to the MUSETEC.
I was amazed by the improvement made to the dynamics and clarity of the sound, I can perceive very clearly the differences between this cable and more 200 Euro USB cables with the +5V PIN present.
I'll be modifying a premium USB cable tonight, I expect amazing results.
I advise everyone to experiment with this modification, I await feedback and measures 😁😁😁
I have used several different USB cables. Most contain all four wires but one was made without No.1, carrying the 5 Volts. On occasion I have blocked the 5 Volt wire. Blocked or not there is no current in the wire when connected to the Musetec. I have never noticed any difference by blocking the wire. As always YMMV. I agree that wire No. 4, the ground should be connected. It is necessary for the "handshake." There are purists that have a switch to disconnect No. 4 after the connection is made for it is no longer necessary. Some others put a resistor on No. 4.
It is, I think, always preferable as here for the USB function within the DAC to have its own internal source of good power. Besides its dependable power source, it can give the user an extra degree of freedom in selecting a USB cable, in that the cable is freed of the powering function which is sometimes thought to compromise digital performance. Hence all the workarounds keeping the 5V line separate from the others.
From the experience gained with the Audio GD dacs we have developed a very special USB cable that does not carry the 5 Volt power supply so as not to disturb the internal power supply of the Amanero USB acquisition module.
has anyone experimented with this solution on the MUSETEC?
@balja
I do not recall any such talk. It was the position of the maker that if a component improved the sound it would be incorporated into the DAC even at the expense of measurements. This was followed by a good deal of discussion here about sound vs. measurements. The consensus IIRC was that the only thing that mattered was the sound. This was the same with tubes and vinyl, for example that could sound better notwithstanding better measurements from solid state and digital. There are many examples of components that measure very well but have sound that is sterile and uninvolving. The only adjustment, I think, was a refund from the American retailer to the customer who, by the way, never took possession of the DAC or listened to it.
In any event you wrote of your pleasure with the DAC over several months. Eventually you came to replace the Furutech IEC with a Schaffner FN 9260-1-06 IEC which includes a filter. You wrote that it added some holographic effect. Some of us use tubes in the other parts of our systems to get that. I assume you're on 220 volts; is that right? Are you still using the filter? Any other tips?
After the publication of information that some of the parameters stated by the manufacturer for the MH DA005 do not match the measurements, there was talk of possible compensation from the manufacturer.It pleased me at the time, is there anything new?Was this information true?Alternatively, what is the manufacturer's current official position on this inconvenience?
Since the reviewer says he bought the review DAC the real "bargain" comes a few months down the road when it is up for sale at about $27,000 if he follows the road of so many reviewers. So you’ll probably have another chance. He’d clear about $7K.
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