Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

TAS is where I go for bargains.

We haven’t seen much ESS Saber bashing on this thread lately. An interesting fact, though, is that the $34,000 Ideon Absolute DAC uses a single ES9038PRO chip. Its advertising stresses its power supply and analog circuit. Where have I heard that before? TAS says, "this is a world-class digital-to-analog converter, and even something of a bargain"

@melm , @bill_k correct, I think most everything there. The one issue with custom build like this is the bespoke nature of the total build including power supply. Vast majority of this not applicable to most if not all members here. To try to put this build in some perspective, last comparison prior to original builder selling, preferred this  to Aurender W20SE, a subjective opinion, but there it is. This comparison at time when build was in earlier configuration, lesser processor and power supply much less quality than my JCAT Optimo. Original builder/owner only sold after comparing to Taiko Extreme, $35k, which he ended up purchasing.

So, based on this and a handful of other builders with similar or exact same build and their estimations of sound quality, this custom build right up there with best. If anyone interested, the long and winding road covering this build and others can be found at Audiophilestyle forum, one thread is 765 pages or so at last count, so pretty dense reading.

At this point, I have yet to try vast majority of possible combos of music players and end points, choices include all Roon, Roon with embedded HQPlayer, Roon with embedded Stylus EP (Euphony's proprietary music player), all HQPlayer with Roon endpoint, all Stylus, Stylus with Roon endpoint. Entire custom build runs on Euphony operating system, this is proprietary OS based off Linux running on Windows ATX motherboard, generally running at less than 1% of available processing power which means this operating system has only the most essential processes running, means low noise, higher resolution.

At this point I can only say the resolution of this setup is incredible! I've been experiencing sensation of live performers in room for a few years now, but the added detail of this streamer has heightened this sensation. The noise floor has dropped down to the extent I now hear the lowest level details, voices are just amazingly lifelike, the smallest inflections and breath now heard. And all performers and instruments are increasingly in their own place on soundstage, individualized to the extent of much more replicating what one hears at live performance. And then also much more relaxed, sense of ease, more analog like presentation, which tells me jitter level much lower. One of the major design principles of this streamer build was paying great attention to latency which results in much lower jitter. As mentioned above I have yet to try most combos of music players, saving optimal music player combo for last! Also, still not close to optimizing usb as I'm using motherboard usb vs. JCAT USB board I plan on purchasing.

As for how all this applicable to 005, none of this wonderful performance would be possible without it! I still hear no sins of commission or omission. 005 not suffering a single bit with being more exposed, sometimes components suffer with greater exposure, defects previously unheard become heard, 005 has only increasingly excelled.

The fact is I'm so entirely happy with my digital setup, I'm finished, not worrying about $3k dac not being expensive enough. I've now turned my attention to the vinyl setup, already have some items on order, going to be major undertaking to get this up to digital.

@melm - Details of the custom build streamer that @sns referenced can be found in the comments of his system page: https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8606

@sns 

Always in a learning mode, I'd love to hear more about the "custom build streamer" that you're using.  It's great to know that as you've gone higher and higher in the streaming realm, the 005 can keep up.

The SOTM is nice streamer at it's price, was surpassed in my setup by Sonore OpticalRendu, but then talking aprox twice the price. Both need nice linear power supply to perform optimally.

Now using custom build streamer, sound quality incredible! 005 compatible and not out of place with best streamers out there. This dac not only great value, but simply excellent at any price and in any system. I'd have to say 005 is both best value and objectively high performing component I've experienced in thirty years as audiophile.

@americanspirit 

There's been such an explosion in "interfaces" as you call them that asking for a low cost option is like asking for a low cost DAC.  You'll get a boatload of suggestions, basically as what various people have settled on.  The Musetec is good enough to warrant something very good up front.  You might also look on the threads here focusing just on that.

My own experience is that I was using a laptop running JRiver and its remote app Eos  directly into the DAC by USB.  That was enough to impress everyone at my house that I could run music from my phone or pad.  Quite by accident I discovered that my Oppo 105 could be used (with some limitations) as a DLNA interface with its coax out to the DAC.  That made a significant SQ improvement.  Getting the computer out of the direct path yields real benefits.  Based on that experience I think any reputable interface that gets the computer out of the way either by going directly or by DLNA will give you a worthwhile result.  

I next tried an SOtM SMS-200 with its wall wart also running as a DLNA interface.  Surprisingly, that didn't do much better than the Oppo, though it might have improved with a better power supply.  I finally wound up with an SOtM sMS-200ultra Neo that I found on the used market.  I power it with an  Sbooster power supply.  That was a very substantial upgrade in sound and I am very happy with the results.  I run my own files using the JRiver Eos program on phone or pad and do streaming of Qobuz or Tidal, also through the SOtM, simply by opening BubbleUPnP on the same phone or pad.  

I've never seen the usefulness of Roon for my own listening.

@boxer12 

liquid music means all music transmitted by files, eg. FLAC, DSD, ...
i also have ROON installed on my workstation ...

@americanspirit I'm not sure what you mean with "Liquid Music" so this post may be meaningless. However, I have Roon on my PC which controls the iFi Zen Stream going into the Musetec. It sounds great!

dear friends, as a next upgrade I would like to improve the interface via pc as a source for liquid music.

I would like to start with a low cost solution, such as an iFi Zen Stream between the PC and the MUSETEC.

have you tested this solution? do you have any low cost optional tips?

@charles1dad We both did!

.@sns

I too am not impressed with Mac, middling sound for the cost.

Not an uncommon sentiment. Better is achievable in the tube preamplifier realm. You’ve chosen very well with your Coincident Statement Line stage.
Charles

@dbb 

how it sounds ... beautifully, the M8sPRE is totally oversized in terms of the power section and output stage ... combined with its transparency (pure class A) and channel separation (dual mono) gave me some very strong emotions in listening.

I live in Italy, if you happen to be on vacation I'll let you listen to it :-)

in the meantime, I am sending you the updated photos of the plant

https://ibb.co/k56yRg7

https://ibb.co/kQ18ntj

Thanks @melm  I do love my tube pre, Coincident Statement MkII, 101D dht, and I do believe tube pre's and tube amps for that matter, are great match for 005. My take on 005 is it really excels with just the slightest added bit of warmth, harmonic development only tubes can provide. Doesn't need more than a touch of that tube warmth so the more neutral, modern sound tube amps/pre's just right. Also, modern top flight tube equipment needs not give up anything to SS in terms of resolution/transparency. This especially true with balanced pre, noise floor lower with balanced circuits, cables.

As far as the Musical Fidelity pre, I purchased MF M2SI integrated some years ago in a different setup, thought it very nice musical piece. Hit above its weight against a much more expensive class A SS amp. I too am not impressed with Mac, middling sound for the cost.

Update on new server, have JCAT Optimo S ATX LPS in house after 2 weeks wait for shipping out of Poland. Have new setup running but haven't listened yet, Euphony OS and Stylus player steep learning curve, this thing has ability to run direct from RAM, lowest latency (jitter) possible vs SSD. This setup should really test 005 potential, a number of individuals built virtually same server (minus the Optimo LPS) after having gone through previous lesser custom build servers over the years. Each considered this was best custom server they could build. Each of these individuals purchased Taiko Extreme server directly after this particular build, $35k last time I looked.

@americanspirit 
I don't think you can use the Mac C22 as an example by which to judge the sound performance of all preamps with tubes.  I know that there are those who drool in front of the visual attraction of Macs.  However, the build of the C22 and its predecessor twin C70 leaves a lot to be desired.  There's a lot of empty space inside the chassis, only two of its six tubes support the preamp function, and it relies on chip op amps in its signal path. If I'm not mistaken all its caps are generic.  Typical for Macs there are no reviews to be found and information about their insides is very hard to come by. 

@sns is the tube guru in these parts and it would be interesting to hear from him on the general topic of the resolution potential of tubed pres.

@americanspirit  I have a P30 which I use with a McIntosh MC402.  It's  very nice, especially with natural timbre. I hear the P30A won't be in the US until November or December. How does the M8sPre sound with the Mac?

@dbb 

thanks for the advice, I had considered buying the Hegel P30A but then the choice fell on the Musical Fidelity M8sPRE.

@americanspirit If you're still looking for a preamp, you might want to try a Hegel P20. I use it with the 005 and the McIntosh MC152. I found it was better than the McIntosh C47, more dynamic, detailed, and timbrely accurate.

@melm 

dear
my questions weren't provocative, just sincere curiosity.

I asked you because before choosing the preamp I performed several tests using the components made available to me by various passionate friends like us.

the most trivial was the comparison between DA005 + MC152 vs DA005 + M8sPRe + MC152 and obviously there was no comparison.

the second was between Lumin U2 MINI + DA005 + MC152 vs DA005 + M8sPRe + MC152 and also in this case the level of details, the three-dimensionality, the dynamic range were in favor of the configuration with preamplifier (the LEEDH control was active)

the third was between DA005 + C22 mkV + MC152 vs DA005 + M8sPRe + MC152
and it is in this case (with the tube preamp) that I no longer distinguished the difference in listening to the same track at 16 bit 44 kHz and 24 bit 192 kHz

@americanspirit

When I wrote my last post I thought that the reputations of the Schiit and Rogue preamps were sufficiently well established that I failed to say the following. Remember that my personal judgments are, as best as I can, against live unamplified music. The inexpensive Schiit preamp with tubes was a very clear improvement over the fine transistor one. It was then that I discovered that I MUST have a balance control, which has gone out of favor on many excellent preamps. So I went to the far more expensive Rogue--I needed balanced outputs as well. It proved to be an even greater improvement than was the first change. A testament perhaps to the value of the Rogue’s extremely strong power supply (LPS, of course) in delivering sound quality. I am very happy with the Rogue listening to all recorded music. That should answer question 2.

No doubt you are focusing on the THD number. First I would refer you to all the discussion here (and elsewhere) about the uselessness of the industry type of specification next to the experience of actually listening. One of the problems with the published THD number is that harmonic distortion may take on different shapes--all hidden in the industry-standard number. Generally in units with tubes, the major factor here is that the THD is principally in the second harmonic.

It has long been a controversy in audio. Does the slight bit of second harmonic that is ordinarily introduced by tubes "distort" the sound so as to make it less like the real thing, live music? Or does it restore an element of the sound that is ordinarily diminished slightly in the recording and reproducing process with the result of sounding more like the real thing? And so one can choose solid state or tubes conforming to your answers here, and I chose a tube preamp that is know for having that fine attribute of tubes, but mildly so. I believe that answers your first question. We touched upon a similar issue a while back when discussing feedback in solid state components.

To answer the third question directly. I don’t spend much time on the kind of comparison you ask about. But for a short while when I was experimenting with streaming I was receiving Tidal and Amazon Music at the same time and testing the streams with MusicScope. A series of Shostakovitch symphonic recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Nelsons was the being released. Tidal had them at 16/44 and Amazon had them at 24/48. While the differences were subtle, they were sufficiently distinct.

@melm 

but this preamp does not degrade your signal?

how do you feel with listening to high resolution music?

in particular can you hear the difference between listening to a CD or a Flac 24 bit 192 kHz?

on the manufacturer's website the following values ​​are reported:

- Frequency response: 1Hz – 100KHz +/- 1 dB
- THD: <0.1%
- Gain line stage: 14 dB (20dB XLR)
- Rated output: 1V
- Maximum output: 30V
- Output impedance: <10 Ohms

As long as there’s so much talk about preamps I’ll add my $.02.

Within the last two or three years I’ve gone from a fine 2 piece Sim Audio to a Schiit Freya+ to a Rogue RP-7. I have found that what works for me is that the preamp is the perfect place to put some tubes into the system. And some tube rolling can help to tune things up a bit. I am very happy with the Rogue as it seems about as neutral as a tube preamp can be and it has great ergonomics. I discovered when I had the Schiit that I cannot live without a balance control.

good morning everyone

I just bought a Musical Fidelity M8sPRE (https://www.musicalfidelity.com/products/m8series/m8spre), after careful research it seemed to me the best preamp to match our beloved DAC.

tonight I'll plug it into my system and listen to MUSETEC...

I'll update you soon with photos and first impressions

Ok, didn't realize RAAl had preamp section.

I do not think the Serene preamp will be much of a difference from the Benchmark LA4, which is exactly what I want to achieve, The Serene has an extra RCA input that I can use. The plan was to get a second LA4 but I am curious about the "better measuring and organic sounding Serene".

The LA4 and Serene are not used with VM-1a headphone amp. The VM-1a has a preamp and amp section already built-in. The Serene and LA4 can used with my SR1a when connected to my RAAL SR1a Amp Interface box. I need to unhook my 2-channel speaker cables when I do this but I have SpeakON cables for both the speakers and the Adapter Box, so it is simple.

Wonder if this some technical issue, for instance impedance mismatch. Certainly doesn't sound like voicing issue as I can't imagine anyone describing 005 as too smooth and lifeless. On the other hand, I can imagine 005 being described  as  excessive in those two qualities.

I'd bet adding the Serene pre will improve things greatly, 005 really requires nice pre to reach potential. Fact is I'm still searching for full potential. I received my new ATX board based music server Friday, expecting JCAT Optimio S ATX Monday, should have close to Taiko Extreme performance music server with this setup. Expecting 005 to be perfectly at home in this company.

@sns It is too smooth on the RAAL VM-1a amp. This amp and both SR1a + CA-1a headphones can scale amazing heights in sonic quality. With the 005 it sounds way too smooth and lifeless. The Benchmark DAC3B sounds so much better. The VM-1a + DAC3B is not what I call smooth. Realistic is a more apt description. The SR1a is really a miniature 2 channel system, not really headphones.

I lent my 005 DAC to Danny at RAAL-Requisite (one of the 2 owners) for 1 month since I wanted his opinion, given mine was not too favorable. He has an incredible ear and is a former musician. In fact, I recently read a 1 page blurb on Danny’s listening skills on the 6moons web site. So I had good intuition on this. Danny even came to my home and heard my office system (for another project) and gave me some great critiques that I addressed to my benefit.

SR1a (6moons.com)

So it is not just my amateur ears that had an issue with the 005. Of course, I love this DAC on my 2-channel gear and own 2 of them.

@yyzsantabarbara I recall you mentioning 005 not working well with RAAL headphone amp. What is it about this pairing that you don't like, on paper it would seem good match, nice tubes and can run in various modes.

I thought about what I should do last night regarding a preamp for my Livingroom system. I considered the Bricasti M12, Meitner M3, SimAudio 390, T+A 200 DAC, and some others.

I also considered some standalone DACs with the HoloMay Serene such as the Rockna WaveDream SE XLR, Mola Mola Tambaqui, and Bricasti M1 SE.

However, The advantages of the LA4 or HoloMay Serene preamps + the Musetec 005 brought me back to that combo. Which is what I will use (if the Serene is what I expect).

My only issue with the Musetec 005 is that it does not pair well with my RAAL VM-1a headphone amp in my office. I use a Benchmark DAC3B for that. However, a single DAC to hook up to both my VM-1a system and KEF LS50 Meta system would be ideal. I am duplicating the optical streaming in my office for the 2 DACs, a waste of money

Getting the very best setup for the VM-1a is important to me since at the moment it is my very best sound. I think the Livingroom ’big’ system should surpass it but you never know when the room gets involved.

@sns  " . . .     Both [analytical and romantic approachess] made certain recordings intolerable, you know you've hit the mark when pleasurable listening sessions don't require a culling of recordings based on sound quality."

 Yes. This is my goal. I've experimented with two inexpensive highly transparent preamps, the Topping  Pre90 and the Gustard P26. Some recordings were wonderfully clear but too many others were rendered thin, harsh, and fatiguing. My more expensive, but older Hegel P30 still managed to beat them in realism, natural timber, and texture even though it is not SOTA in transparency. Hegel is coming out soon with an updated P30 that may have SOTA transparency. 

My own experience with long term pursuit of ever increasing levels of transparency/resolution is that vast majority of recording sound more real, like flesh and blood performers. Fundamental issue that needs to be addressed is timbre, tonality, get that part right with analog section of system first, than you can pursue greater resolution/transparency via source components. With streaming jitter is the critical factor, timing is everything if seeking analog like sound qualities.

I listen to pretty much every genre and quality of recording, very rare I have to remove recording from library due to intolerable sound quality. Some think you have to color sound to get here, I beg to differ, the more natural sound one's system produces the wider variety of recordings one can listen to. I don't consider natural a coloration, I've had both romantic and analytical systems, those were colored systems. Both made certain recordings intolerable, you know you've hit the mark when pleasurable listening sessions don't require a culling of recordings based on sound quality.

@sns
It seems to me that the vocal excercises you outline might work to help "voice" your listening room rather than the component system.

When I go to a dealer or a show I always carry with me, in one form or another, some music files with which I am very familiar. It is easy and inevitable that I would compare what I am hearing there to what I hear at home. It requires no special aural memory to do that. I suppose we have all done that. It may, though, require some insight to separate the different room from the different components. I believe someone here has written of taking his Musetec to a dealer in order to focus more carefully on a different component of interest. IMO that is much the same, and requires similar aural memory skills, when visiting a concert. In fact, avoiding that comparison is virtually impossible--for me.

IMO the Musetec is agnostic when it comes to silver cables. It probably has much more to do with the rest of the system.

You are correct when you say that the Musetec is voiced wonderfully. I would say, accurately. I do not want a component to be "warm." That would be coloration, a distortion. The DAC should be neutral. A cello, piano or bassoon can sound warm and the neutrality of the DAC should let that warm color of the instrument through. I think this is a common misunderstanding of what a good component should accomplish.

It is all too common that components that measure very well will reproduce instruments and voices as flat and colorless. This forum, like others, then find their owners asking for recomendations for amps/preams/DACs that sound warm. One way this often happens is as a request for recommendations of solid state units that sound like tubes.

@dbb
"The Serene review seems impossibly contradictory. More transparent than the Benchmark, but yet more engaging and musical. I would need a lot more information in order to understand what exactly their reporting."

As i wrote earlier, reviews today are "simply expressing personal likes and dislikes in audiophile jargon." Forget asking for more; that’s what they do. Not to mention extolling the detail in the sound of a dentist drill. And with a song he gets a lump in his throat. Who knows? It could be Covid-19!

@sns I agree it's possible. I just need more information to understand the details of how they achieved it. One question would be: how does does it handle mediocre, harsh,  or thin recordings? Would the result still be musical or fatiguing?

@dbb  I don't believe those two attributes need be contradictory. A pre can be both more transparent and engaging and musical together. A more transparent pre mated with engaging and musical system would provide more insight into those attributes vs less transparent pre. The Serene does look like nice pre based on that review.

@yyzsantabarbara The Serene review seems impossibly contradictory. More transparent than the Benchmark, but yet more engaging and musical. I would need a lot more information in order to understand what exactly their reporting. 

Gramophone Dreams #61: The Art of Cable: AudioQuest, Canare, Kondo & the HoloAudio Serene preamplifier Page 2 | Stereophile.com

Ok, I think we have a winner in the HoloAudio Serene. It sounds like a killer unit. A slightly warmer (or musical as they say) LA4. 

1)  HoloAudio Serene preamp |  Musetec 005 | KRELL DUO 300XD | KEF Blade Meta 2

2) Benchmark LA4 preamp | Musetec 005 | Benchmark AHB2 mono | KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 Sub

I have 3 tuners and a SACD player that need a preamp to hook up to.

I wish the Musetec 005 had a 12V trigger input. I could then shut down all the gear with 1 button click in system #2,

@sirnui Thanks for the info on this preamp. It is very interesting.

Alpha Audio NET - Review Holo Audio Serene Level 1 preamplifier – Tastefully Serene (alpha-audio.net)

I've had the Holo Audio Serene Level 1 preamp for a few months now. It's an excellent pairing with the 005. There is a review out there from Alpha Audio that mentions the performance of the Serene against the HPA4.  I agree with the findings from that review.  Being a former owner of the HPA4/LA4, I understand well the comparison.  I highly recommend the Serene preamp with the 005 and its cost is a fraction of something like a Bricasti M20. 

Actually I did that just now and came across some posts by the person that sold me his Musetec 005 (my second one). He compared it to the Bricasti M1 SE. I used different search terms to find the post, A’gon search is pretty lame.

The post I found was very useful and answered exactly what I wanted to know. I was considering using a Benchmark LA4 preamp with a Musetec 005 DAC on my new Livingroom system, which will use new KRELL amp(s) and KEF Blade 2 Meta. I have the 005 and LA4 already in my completed office system, with Benchmark AHB2 monos. So I know that pairing is great.

My dealer is telling me to try a different preamp from the LA4 for the KRELL. He suggested the Bricasti. Reading the post on this thread that compared the M1 SE DAC with the 005 DAC made me think I do not need the Bricasti DAC. I already have the 005 and Sonore OpticalRendu that I am sure is close to the Network streaming card of the Bricasti M12 Source Controller with DAC (mine could be even better). Though the M12 is a cleaner and simpler solution if the Ethernet streaming is as good as my Sonore OpticalRendu.

I am now thinking of giving the Bricasti M20 preamp (no DAC) a demo with the 005. Mainly to be sonically different (not better) from my office system which is Benchmark LA4 preamp | Musetec 005 | Benchmark AHB2 monos | KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub. The office system is super clean and precise with the 005 adding some smoothness.

The Livingroom system could be a rounder and smoother sound with the Bricasti preamp | Musetec 005 DAC | KRELLL XD amp(s) | KEF Blade 2 Meta.

BTW - I just sold my CODA 07x preamp which is 1/2 the price of the Bricasti M20 and has similar features. I liked the quieter and more detailed LA4 more than the 07x, The 07x with the 005 DAC was at the far edge of smoothness for my particular tastes.

If anyone cares. Some smart guys talking about the Sonore streaming vs Bricasti streaming.

Bricasti M1 > M5 > M12: Network Player - Member REVIEW - w/OEM Response from Brian Zolner President Bricasti - Page 2 - Music Servers - Audiophile Style

@yyzsantabarbara 

Too bad that Audiogon does not support a "search within thread" function.  it would often be a great help.

The best you can do here is to use the general search on "Musetec Bricasti".  You will come up with something.

Does anyone remember if the Briscasti DACs were compared to the Musetec 005 on this thread. The thread has gotten big and I do not follow all the posts anymore.

Above posts are good for voicing one's system. I also use my own voice in order to ascertain natural timbre, tonality of my system. I love to sing, sang in many choirs back in the day, so often sing within my dedicated listening room. Really belt it out with operatic voice, hearing live voice within one's own room is extremely enlightening.  Speaking, clapping, whistling, yelling can all be helpful as well, sometimes ugly sounds very telling, don't want to beautify the ugly. Used all the above in determining best use of acoustic treatments for my dedicated listening room, wide variety of music as well.

The one issue with using unamplified live music for voicing one's system is we then have to rely on aural memory. Not to say its not valid method, hearing a good amount of this over a lifetime certainly helps in training our sensory perceptions. Listening to live and reproduced  music over audio systems in analytical mode is a skill, practice improves this skill.  Just leaves out the insights gained from instant comparison to live voice  and/or sounds reproduced within our listening rooms.

As far as colorations within systems, I maintain my estimation of neutral voicing of 005, silver content of wiring doesn't upset in the least. In my setup silver only adds transparency, resolving capability, no brightness or spotlighting of highs, no thinning of mids and bass, in fact I'd say highs and mids sound most natural with the aprox. 50/50 copper/silver content I currently employ. Excessive copper can harden mids, close in highs to some extent, silver opens things back up, and adds delicacy and sophistication.

No to say, I'm unaware of downsides of sliver in some systems, I've had systems in past very sensitive to silver, spotlit highs, thinning of mids, bass, so understand not for everyone.

I'd just like everyone to understand 005 is not inherently allergic to silver, this dac is voiced wonderfully, while it may not be warm enough for every taste and system, it is not hifish sounding. 005 not scared of silver or even rhodium, capable of wonderful harmonic development with a variety of metals.

@melm

In my last post I said I had "calibrated" my ears by going to a concert given by a small orchestra in an appropriately small performance space. I had missed concert going during the Covid period. When I go to a concert like this I can’t help comparing it to listening at home. Calibrating one’s ears is not a bad way to put it. When The Absolute Sound was run by Harry Pearson and was worth reading, each of his reviewers was required to attend concerts of unamplified music on a regular basis, to "calibrate" their ears

Excellent points made, particularly this one concerning calibrating one’s ears by listening to live acoustic instruments (And human vocalists). I’ve have done this for many years. This year I’ve attended 7 live performances and going to a piano recital this evening. Jazz club show next week.

One thing that is unfailingly consistent with live un-amplified music, it’s very full bodied with vivid, rich and colorful tone. There is so much beauty, emotion and presence when listening to these live instruments. I can understand how someone used to modern hyper detailed emphasize components would actually find the live instruments dull by comparison.

In my opinion the pursuit and emphasis on achieving ever more “detail” and “inky black” backgrounds has unintentionally moved away from a natural realistic sound presentation. Melm, I definitely understand your perspective.
Charles

From recent comments here it looks like I am not the only one here experimenting with cables of all sorts.  Like may high-end devices I find the Musetec to be very sensitive to cables: power, USB & analog.  I noted that in my particular set-up silver USB cables that had been very effective with other components seemed to give a surrealistic (and sometimes very pleasant) sound to many recordings used with the Musetec.  Similarly recently with silver XLRs.  That's uniquely what I hear in my own system and I am persuaded that there is no cable that can be optimal in every quality system.  I know some will think otherwise.

In my last post I said I had "calibrated" my ears by going to a concert given by a small orchestra in an appropriately small performance space.  I had missed concert going during the Covid period.  When I go to a concert like this I can't help comparing it to listening at home.  Calibrating one's ears is not a bad way to put it.  When The Absolute Sound was run by Harry Pearson and was worth reading, each of his reviewers was required to attend concerts of unamplified music on a regular basis, to "calibrate" their ears.

The possibility of making a component sound better-than-real reminded me of how friends in the past had sometimes remarked that classical concerts sounded dull compared to their stereo systems.  Of course anyone can make their system sound any way they wish.  Unfortunately though, I don't think any reviewers these days, print or video, are listening for accuracy to the real thing, rather than simply expressing personal likes and dislikes in audiophile jargon.

If one dislikes sound quality with AQ Diamond its due to some coloration elsewhere in system. AQ Diamond is probably the most forgiving of top echelon usb cables, this based on many comparative reviews I've observed over the years, and my personal experience. The added bonus of Diamond vs lower AQ models is increased transparency, resolution.

Get your timbre, tonality, harmonic development right, only then will higher resolving, transparent cables show their full capabilities. Towards that end, recent replacement of Audyn True Copper Max and Miflex KPCU coupling caps in 300B amps with Duelund CAST PIO tinned copper has provided both greater resolution, transparency, but more importantly more natural timbre. Harmonic development with these caps has really turned the corner, 005 is now moving into REAL SOUL territory!

Further major changes coming in form of near SOTA custom build music server, power supply and install of Euphony Stylus Version 4. This is not just music player, but full operating system for music servers. This will be tested along with Roon for best sound quality. I'm expecting these purchases in home by next week.

My experiences with the Musetec and silver (USB cables only) mirror that of @melm. I tried the Audioquest Diamond and Supra Excalibur and I prefer copper USB cables such as the Acoustic BBQ Helix and Sablon 2020.

@melm - I agree it is very system/room dependent. 

@boxer12
As compared to other DACS I have used, the Musetec seems to have what I would call a fuller treble that’s a bit hard to describe. It’s not a tipped up top end, but rather a fullness that has the effect of filling out the overtones of instruments. I wrote about its ultimate effects here.

Nice that you have found a USB cable that works for you. I have experimented with cables of all sorts. The DAC seems to respond to cables: the power cable, the XLR cable and the USB cable. I have used silver cables with success on other DACs, but I have found that at the moment copper cables are the most natural sounding with the Musetec. I continue to use Pearl USB. I went to a chamber orchestra concert last weekend so my ears are calibrated. What happens when I substitute a silver cable (either USB or XLR) is that a couple of my very best recordings sound extra specially good. I’m coming to think of that as a super pleasant (euphonic) surreal effect. However many, many of my recordings then seem a bit strident. Back to copper and everything is back to comfort--back to natural. I know it’s all extremely system dependent and especially due to my close listening space, roughly an 8 foot equilateral triangle--speakers facing forward. I keep looking for something that might add just a tiny bit of that silver magic while maintaining the natural quality and the great sound stage of the Audioquest. However I am aware that solid silver USB cables have worked very well for others here.

@jjss49
I confess to having contributed to the boredom. The good doctor is happy with the Topping and we shall move on.

Just replaced my Audioquest Pearl USB cable with a WireWorld Starlight Platinum 8. Liking the added detail & ambiance of this cable.   

@melm

too bad the recent entries in this thread have become such a bore

anyhow, hope you are still enjoying the 005

i suppose in sum total it is a good thing this thread has continuing participation, so that more folks coming here can learn about the dac and the good value in represents in higher end dacs