Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

@westborn does your assessment still stand for the Tek Line 10 ag power cord? There is a Tek Line Reference for sale right now but seems to be different to the cord you have. I find that the 005 changes significantly with power cords. I have tried the Harmonic Technology Magic Ref II which is a silver cord and it sounds significantly different to the copper Magic Ref II. I also tried the Purist Audio Dominus but it’s too rolled off and smoothed over. I am currently using a JPS Labs AC digital which has a nice balance of tonality, detail and soundstage. Does anyone else have any recommendations for power cords that work well with the 005?

Quick tip: a guy over on USAM ha(d) 4 ’vintage’ Tek Line AG 10 cords. Talk about serendipity/timing.  These things are probably 20 years old (same time frame as some of my Bob Crump TG Audio cords if memory serves). He is asking $60 each. I picked up 2 just because .. my name is Keith and I’m an audio addict.. Anybody else that has a Musetec be advised - these should be a required upgrade. And for $60? That’s half the price of an aftermarket fuse(!). BONUS!

I would have bought all 4 of them but I didn’t want to be greedy.  And I view tips and recommendations as kinda paying it forward - especially for my Musetec|audio brothers. No affiliation with the seller whatsoever. Peace.

Count me in as another very happy 005 owner who will seriously look at the 006..

Please keep us posted with your thoughts, impressions, and additional information.

Speaking of... I would like to pass on a bit of information from my experience. I had swapped out a good number of power cords on the 005, and of course all sounded fine and some sounded better than fine. And recently, I was playing around and experimenting a little, and put in a full silver power cord from the old company called Tek Line. HOLY SHI-ITE ! Everything jumped up and flexed and I don’t mean slightly. Snap, focus, resolution, soundstage depth, ’all the things’. :)

@sns

You were among the first to go the 005 route and you were an accurate reporter. If you go the 006 route we’ll be eager to hear what you hear.

@benzman

There is a Musetec US dealer. He is Midwest Audio, midwestaudiophile.com

Too bad no American dealers. 250 to ship back to China. I bought a 005 and unfortunately did not work in my system where a Bricasti M3 played much better. Learned the hard way when returning the unit. 

I was just made aware of the 006, seriously considering trying one. Taking just the power supply upgrades alone, I'd expect a quieter, read more resolving, transparent and dynamic dac. Looks like the usb input may be improved as well.

A New Musetec DAC, the MH-DA006 Flagship DAC is here.

As usual with Musetec, a lot of new design and details offered in text and in interior photos.  Two ESS ES9039pro chips.

The price at Shenzhen is $3900.

No doubt it is worth a new MH-DA006 thread

There is also a MINI version here based on on one ESS ES9039pro chip.

@duchhart 

Happy that you are liking the Musetec.  It's always been surprisingly good out of the box, but will get better with time,

Interesting that you are getting good results with USB > LKS USB-100 > I2S > 005.  This has ben a topic of discussion before, that is whether the USB conversion to I2S is better done in the LKS USB-100 or on the Amanero board in the 005.  Logic suggests it should be better in the 005, but you can't deny your own ears and you are not the first to suggest a preference for the LKS USB-100.

It was suggested you try the USB straight into the 005 and report back your comparison.  If it remains better with the LKS USB-100 I might inquire with the factory why that might be so.

Also, theoretically and logically, to use the I2S input, it might be best to avoid the USB entirely with a streamer going directly from ethernet to I2S.  I have been changing my system a lot lately and also experimenting with Iancanada circuits and will soon add an I2S output to see what that yields.

Besides great music, it is a great hobby.

@duchhart 

Glad the 005 and the USB-100 is working out for you.  It was a great little I2S converter when I had it. I'm wishing I had kept it to run I2S-E to another component for experimenting. 

I've since replaced the SMSL I2S converter with an Audio GD DI-24HE and I'm using it's I2S output. I heard an improvement. Then I added an Aune SC1 external clock to the DI-24HE and then converted the clock to use a very low noise DC input.  I also added a filter to the clock cable.  With each change I made related to the clock, I heard a difference for the better.  In my experience, digital improvements seem limitless with the 005.  

@duchhart 

the inclusion of the LKS USB-100 in the chain is redundant and pejorative, the AMANERO card present in the 005 is already an upgrade compared to the USB-100

I recommend you remove it and listen again
 

😉

Today I received a new 005. Before I used f.i. Lampizator, Pegasus, Terminator, Holo Spring 3 L2, Audio-GD, Teac UD-701N, Leaf Audio CMD27 (with Staccato opamps) and ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX. The latter I plan to keep as a parallel all-in-one system). I use a Rose RS130 streamer.

I am surprised that it already sounds so good out of the box. Great detail, natural, coherent and smooth. I expect it to be volatile though in the next few weeks.

Best sound so far with

RS130 > USB > USB-fiber-USB isolator > USB > LKS USB-100 > I2S > 005.

Both I2S-H (with 50 cm Ricard I2S/hdmi cable) and I2S-E (with 50 cm Ali knockoff Nordost Odin Gold ethernet cable) sound great. Slight preference for the latter. I can imagine I could improve on that with another (shorter) ethernet cable.

Al in all no regrets so far :-)

Dear friends, very reluctantly I am forced to sell my audio system, and therefore also my beloved MUSETEC MH-DA005.
The room dedicated to listening has been usurped by the new baby.

If anyone is interested in purchasing we can agree on a reasonable price.

The color of the DAC is black and the condition is like new

In the past I experimented with I2S using an LKS Audio USB-100 DDC and a Wireworld Platinum Starlight 48K HDMI I2S cable.  It sounded great. This second time around with this 005, I started my I2S experimentation with an SMSL PO100 Pro DDC, Monoprice 48K HDMI cable, and an off brand flexible 5.5 inch USB A to USB C cable. The PO100 Pro takes USB C only. For less than $100 total price, this combination sounded really good to me. It had a good fun factor.  For anyone wanting to try I2S, I would recommend this combo to start. You may find this to be an upgrade. The streamer was a Lumin U1 Mini with LPS mod. 

With this said, I kept the PO100 Pro and upgraded the I2S cable to Tubulus Concentus I2S V2 and this was a very nice improvement. I heard more into the music.  Today I replaced the off brand USB cable with a short Ghent Audio USB C to USB A cable. I will reserve jugement on this cable but right now the current I2S solution is very enjoyable. 

@jc4659 the pre I am using is the Supratek Cabernet, it has two outputs, 300B and 6SN7. Supratek has cheaper models and also more expensive ones to choose from.

@sirnui I had the Lumin X1 after the Musetc 005. The Leedh volume control is almost as good as the LA4’s. The Serene’s volume is not as fancy as the LA4’s but great nevertheless. The only deficiency in the Leedh is at extremely low volume when the volume does not increase in a linear fashion as in theLA4. Splitting hairs and not a concern for 999 out of a 1000 people.

@jc4659 The reason I have the Serene and the LA4 is that I can interchange them in my 2 systems without a concern. There is a review on the web comparing the 2 preamps. The Serene was preferred by the reviewer. I am more inclined to choose the LA4 but love both.

@yyzsantabarbara If the LA4 was a good match for the DA-005 then I would think the Serene would be as well. As long as the gain in transparency doesn’t sacrifice natural, meat on the bones imaging then I’d be happy. I don’t want my soundstage to look like an x-ray no matter how it may sound.  I’m still torn between the Serene KTE and a really good tubed preamp.  For now it would be paired downstream with a Pass labs amp and Verity Audio speakers.

@sirnui That you would try the Serene again says a lot.

The best sounding headphone system I've built some time ago included the Ferrum Oor headphone amp with hypsos power supply, Holo Serene L1 preamp, and Musetec 005.  The Oor was configured to bypass its volume control and the volume was set to 0.0 on the 005. The Serene was used to control volume. I can say in my experience, the Serene is the best sounding preamp I've tried and it mated very well in the system I described above.  Other pieces of gear played their roles in that system but I want to say the Serene and 005 played their parts very well. 

I sold off most of that system but I've recently repurchased the 005 (black this time) and the Ferrum Oor. I now use a Lumin streamer for digital volume control which in some systems can obviate the need of a dedicated preamp.  I would love to try the Serene again with the Oor and 005 but the Lumin LEEDH digital volume control is keeping me satisfied for now. 

@jc4659 I used to own 2 Musetec 005’s and I currently own the Holo Serene preamp. I never put the 005 and Serene together. I used the Benchmark LA4 preamp and the CODA 07x with the Musetec. The 005 worked great with the straight wire with gain LA4. The Serene is almost identical to the LA4 except for a miniscule bit of warmth. I think the 005 and Serene would work great together.

With my 07x preamp, which is the warmest preamp of the 3, I think I found it too warm for my more neutral tastes. I sold the 07x some time ago to get the Serene and LA4. Both are exactly what I want in a preamp,

I wish I had the 005 today during a test I was doing with the Benchmark AHB2 amp + Holo Serene + Yamaha NS5000 speakers. I think the 005 would have been a better match over the Schitt Yggi+ LIM DAC.

@gryphongryph The Holo Serene KTE version sells for about $3200 and the Musetec preamp about $5500 I believe.  I've not heard either.  May I ask which tube pre you are using?

I used to think a pre was all about purity of the signal, but now being in this game for nearly forty years I feel the most important is the tone and decay of instruments and voices, not sure a solid state pre can achieve that actually, I am using a tube pre and the tone is just beautiful, also the space around instruments is extremely nice. 
Do you guys know the price of this pre ?

Good morning Musetec DAC owners. Any of you running your DAC into a Holo Serene or Musetec preamp and willing to share your opinion?

Slightly off topic but,

Musetec has produced a preamp: shown here

As usual, a complete technical description.

Probably best to take any further discussion over to "Amps Preamps"

As reported by lordmelton, best price ever.  Sale at Shenzhen Audio ends tomorrow.

@melm 

Hi Melm

I confirm that it was the enthusiastic reviews of the innuos and the technical detail of the UIP-1 PRO (24.000 Mhz OCXO) that made me try the Singxer

I had already had the opportunity to describe my system: upstream of the Singxer there is a ROON ROCK (NUC12WSHi7).

both the NUC and the UIP-1 PRO are LPS powered

the connection between NUC and UIP is via 20cm long usb cable which includes the +5v PIN, the UIP is connected to the DAC with a Premium USB cable modified by me (without +5v PIN)

I recommend the following album to verify the improvements made to the sound: Coldplay - Live In Buenos Aires (2018) [Hi-Res 24Bit], wonderfully recorded, only feels good with high-level systems

ask if you need more info

@americanspirit 

Congratulations on your purchase and thanks for your post.  Whether the $280 Singxer or the $3500 Innuos USB reclocker, each has at its core a 24.000Mhz OCXO that is placed near its USB converter circuit.  The Singxer also provides galvanic isolation just before the DAC.  Potential buyers of the Singxer, by the way, should be careful to specify the "PRO" version.  No "PRO," no OCXO.

As this reclocker worked so well for you some of us may want to try it.  It would be helpful if you would describe your set-up, especially what comes in front of the DAC showing where the Singxer fit in.  Could you do that please?  

Also, are you running it off the power supply it came with, or do you have an LPS for it?

Many of us might suppose that placing a reclocker after a streamer may provide only a marginal improvement.  But marginal may be very worthwhile given the quite marginal expense.  Comments anyone?

Device arrived, installed and tested for 48 hours. Impressions: Holographic image enhancement, greater channel separation, increased dynamic range.

I think I can't ask for more from MUSETEC, I'm having continuous sensory orgasms and I find it hard to write.

P.S.: I've read reviews that put our beloved DAC in third place (after a Gustard R26 and a DENAFRIPS VENUS), I've had the opportunity to compare them to the MH-DA005 and I've had completely reversed impressions.

Is it too much to ask for photographic evidence of the seutp?

Trusting is good, not trusting is better...

Musetec 005 special price $2800.00 plus free shipping:

https://shenzhenaudio.com/collections/dac/products/l-k-s-audio-mh-da005-es9038-pro-x-2-dac-coaxial-opt-aes-ebu-flagship-audio-decoder

@melm 

Thanks Melm

I just placed my order on
https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/singxer-uip-1-pro-isolate-processor-usb2-0-usb-interface

and I paid it $275.00 USD

Now we just have to wait for it to arrive ... I already have several LPS with which to feed it properly :-)

I will insert it between my NUC12WSHi7 and the MUSETECH MH-DA500 and I will give you my listening impressions.

@americanspirit 

It looks like 6V is being recommended for an LPS for use with the Singxer UIP-1 PRO.  Saw this at Kitsune.

@americanspirit 

Singxer is a Chinese company with a sterling reputation.  Their most popular product over the years has been a USB to I2S converter that is competitive with a similar one from LKS.  

The Singxer UIP-1 PRO ($280) and also the Innuos Phoenix ($3750) are USB in and USB out reclocker devices that we used to call decrapifiers or USB pipe cleaners.  Long ago I used such a device made by Intona and there are many makers of these at present.  The two mentioned here seem far more sophisticated as each has a 24MHz OCXO for a reclock of the USB data lines.  Each, no doubt, also regulates the 5V line, though that has no impact on the Musetec as it generates its own 5V and doesn't use USB line 1.  The Innuos is made in Europe and is in a large case that is filled mostly with an LPS.  There is a small circuit board, similar in size to the circuit board in the Singxer, that does the actual USB cleaning.  The board in the much smaller Singxer seems to have the advantage of galvanic isolation as there are definitely two distinct parts to the circuit board separating the USB in and out.  To make these devices comparable one would have to substitute a good 7.5 V LPS for the Singxer's wall wart at an additional cost..  

As many have written here, the Musetec seems to be optimized for USB with custom clocks in the USB input circuit as well as at the D to A stage.  Also, many of us use streamers that include reclocking.  Whether stand-alone reclockers like these can make a meaningful difference in your system can only be known with a trial.  Given the pricing, the reputation of Singxer and the descriptions of both, the Singxer looks like the better option of the two, by far.  If you try one, please pass along your impressions.

the Singxer UIP-1 PRO has just been released and should do the same job as the INNUOS PHOENIX at a tenth of the price. has anyone had the opportunity to insert one of the two devices between the usb straeamer and the dac?

@lordmelton 

Thanks, but your original post was a better expression of my own view.

I would be interested in knowing exactly what you liked better about the Gustard and Denafrips compared to the Musetec

@melm 

The poster obviously doesn't know that R2R (used in the Giscard) is the oldest of the digital to analog technologies.  it was used in Philips CD players more than 40 years ago at the outset of the digital age.  So talk of a dated design is just kind of ignorant.  And obviously there is nothing wrong with a "dated" design if it offers high sound quality.

+1!!!

@melm Kudos again melm your post cut right to the chase - why come here to bash Musetec?

A professional reviewer normally has a piece of gear in his system for at least a month before he starts the reviewing process and that could take another month.

Well I guess it's easier to have a few mates around order a pizza and some Bud Light and go from there.

The Musetec is the only DAC in your list that is made from mostly European parts, not cheap Chinese caps etc.

Anyway consider yourself schooled, Old School.

When I read that post I was thinking that those guys must have some interesting hearing. 

It never shocks, surprises, or disturbs me when someone, or some group, finds a less expensive DAC to sound better to them than a more expensive one.  Indeed, within this long thread there have been many testimonies of the Musetec bringing greater pleasure than more expensive competitors.  Personal taste, set-up, selection of tracks, kind of music, short-term vs. long term listening, comparisons to components rather than to live music, etc., may all contribute to a result that may vary from our own.  I wrote about this before, about a year ago, "No one here has ever said that the Musetec is the best of all DACs.  Like any DAC it may not be for everyone. . . . . If someone says he likes another, perhaps even less expensive, DAC better than the Musetec let's just accept that and move on."

Nonetheless, what was written here has a very unsavory ring to it.  The writing, and particularly its placement, virtually self-denies it the credibility the poster was looking for.  I say that for two reasons.  First, I find it absolutely suspicious that the post was made to this thread.  A more reasonable thing to do, I would think, would have been to start a new thread with a comparison of four well though of DACs rather than aim it at a thread dealing with one of the so-called losers.  Others on Audiogon have done similar things.  A second more reasonable place for it might be the existing Giscard r26 DAC thread here.    Seems to me if I had a comparison to share and the Musetec came out on top, I would post it here rather than to the discussion of the DAC that came in second place.  That is, unless I had a malicious motive.

The second reason I think the post to this thread is unsavory is that the poster took great pains to single out the Musetec for gratuitous extraneous criticisms.  He did not criticize any of the other DACs in a similar way.  What he wrote was (1) "Seems like a dated design," (2) a throwback design in not just aesthetics but also sonics" and (3) "the least aesthetically appealing of all 4 DACs."

About the Musetc being a dated design.  The poster obviously doesn't know that R2R (used in the Giscard) is the oldest of the digital to analog technologies.  it was used in Philips CD players more than 40 years ago at the outset of the digital age.  So talk of a dated design is just kind of ignorant.  And obviously there is nothing wrong with a "dated" design if it offers high sound quality.  The Musetec used the newest sigma-delta chip available at its birth, a fine analog section (that doesn't date at all), and a newly developed super-capacitor power supply for its digital section.  It also uses a relatively newly developed O-Ring silver plated transformer as well as newly refined clock-crystals.  Much of its architecture is fairly standard and used in some of the finest DACs of the day.

Because he has obviously has a limited understanding of what goes on inside a DAC, the poster next chooses to demean the Musetec's aesthetics.  The fellow simply doesn't like how the Musetec looks.  Well, I think it looks fine.  Being a design meant for relatively limited distribution it is a simple, even elegant, design compared to some mass produced components.  It has functional buttons and a window giving all the information needed and it comes with a full-functioned remote.  It's entirely of extruded aluminum with no sheet metal at all.  It's as solid as a brick.  

So he came HERE specifically to trash the Musetec.  I do not know why.  But no one controls these threads and he may do on Audiogon as he pleases.  However for the reasons given here, the post in question should be accorded a very low credibility rating.

Thank you mod staff for removing the rather offensive , hate charged and genuinely hostile reply from a member, whose name will remain unpublicized. 

@jjss49  Correct on the Gustard r26. One takeaway from today"s audio meet up was the discussion we had on the shockingly good QPR with the r26. Credit goes where it is due in that respect. Currently, now with Chifi (as you call it) confidence at its highest, we may be seeing Chinese designed and made audio products to genuinely rival their Western counterparts. Easily seen in the lower to mid price tiers , although not as of yet, if ever, who really knows, in the high end and ultra high end brackets. 

In terms of the audio setup used in the test :

Magico A5 speakers , Innous Zen mk3 server, Pass labs xp 22 pre amp , Classe Delta monos , AQ Robin Hood speaker cable and Earth interconnects (balanced)

@chaseton

interesting result you are reporting... please tell more about how the digital feed was managed, what the rest of the system was etc etc... with dac testing and comparisons, how the streamed music input is handled matters alot

fwiw, i bought a nice used r26 just to try it, see what the fuss is about, and i would agree that for the $ it is absurdly good... particularly from the lan input (i am a roon user) - i have confidently poo-pooed the chifi brands since i started my dac journey at the start of covid, especially those from the guangzhou/shenzhen factory alley (smsl, gustard, topping, singxer, matrix and so on...) but this r26 is pretty amazing... with an effective built in streamer too...

Just this morning in our Saturday audio club meet we demoed 4 dacs (all Chinese designed and manufactured), the Denafrips Venus, Musetec mh005, Gustard r26 and the Martix aAudio X Sabre. There were a total of 8 people in attendance , all assigning scores from 1-4 to each dac after a 3 minute sampler of various music styles including female vocals, electronica, rock , classical and r&b. The scroes were tabulated and the winner was more of a surprise to me given that 6 out of the 8, me included , all selected the same dac ast the top performer. Before we get to the final breakdown , it must be noted in attendance were some very seasoned audiophiles. owning reference dacs from the likes of DCS, MSB, Vermeer , TotalDac and Esoteric to make but a few.

Onto the final results

1. Gustard r26, again 6 out the 8 voted it the winner. Legitimately, sounds to me more like a $5k dac and even beyond. Fast and resolving , accurate and transparent sound .......a r2r dac performing more like a delta sigma all for $1600 .....boggles the mind how they got this dac just so right in all the ways that matter.

2. Denafrips Venus, the other 2 people both voted number one for this dac. It was my choice for second best dac on the day. Trademark Denafrips sound , while more daring and forward focused in presentation. Midrange is where this dac really shines.

3. Musetec mh005, just one point in all separated the Musetec from the last place Matrix X Sabre. While perfectly adequate in most every aspect, nothing really stands out as exceptional with this dac. Seems like a dated design. One other attendee stated "a throwback design in not just aesthetics but also sonics. Fair to say the least aesthetically appealing of all 4 dacs.

4. Matrix X Sabre, the guys at Matrix need to refine this D/S dac further. Most in attendance agreed to tiring faster of the most digital sounding dac of the bunch.

It is important to add nobody in attendance has/had an affiliation or shared any financial interests or vested interests of any manner with any of the dac manufacturers whose products were featured in this shootout.

Well just in case anyone is interested, I have SR Purple fuses in all my gear and recently put a SR Masterfuse in my power conditioner.

The sound in unbelievable, like a huge component upgrade, like I upgraded everything.

A single fuse upgrade isn't going to be earth shattering, very noticeable nevertheless, but multiple Purples increase the effect. The Masterfuse multiplies everything exponentially.

You have a 30 day money back guarantee so I don't know why anyone should be hesitant about trying these fuses.

Has anyone noticed a difference between the AES and the coaxial inputs on the dac?

@jjss49 

people can certainly spend money on whatever they want for their enjoyment

👍 

Charles 

@melm @charles1dad

my apologies for the sidetrack on silly fuse ’upgrades’

i couldn’t resist the little jab when the subject was raised...

people can certainly spend money on whatever they want for their enjoyment!

The topic of premium fuses has been discussed countless times across many audio forums. There are some manufacturers who are very receptive to their use and contribution. Here's one example of a manufacturer (Netherlands) who's well regarded in the European market. They are proponents of the Synergistic Research purple fuse.

https://magnahifi.com/mano-ultra-mk3-music-super3-streamer-high-res/

Thanks Melm. I like the Lumin also due to its recent release. Streamers seem to be improving drastically very quickly. The guy from Vinshine said that a DDC wasn’t needed for Lumin/Venus 2 combo due to the very low jitter produced by the Lumin and he sells the DDC’s. A good endorsement. I’m also looking at the Auralic Aries g1.1. A little more reading and I will pick one of these two. Not looking for features just sound quality. So, if anyone can provide any imput regarding these 2 units it would be greatly appreciated.