Six DAC Comparison

@moonwatcher - I am just finishing up my write-up on the Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro, which will be my baseline for comparing against the others. LTA Aero will be next.  All the nice end of summer weather we have had this week is getting in the way of my evaluations!

@mitch2 - Thanks for allowing us to enjoy your evaluations and comparisons vicariously. It's a great opportunity to learn about these other products I've not yet had the opportunity to hear and experience. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on these different products. While I'm absolutely happy with my Merason DAC1 MKii, I'm curious about the sonic strengths of these other DACS. 

Thanks again for allowing us to enjoy the journey with you. 

I just want to mention that the Bricasti M19 SACD transport and M19 (and their M12 Series II) DAC have an I2S connection optimized for working together. Their DACs also have an optional internal network renderer.

Preamble

My next post will consist of my observations of the Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro DAC.  This will be the longest write-up of the DACs being compared since I have owned this one the longest and I am very comfortable and pleased with the sound of the EVO Pro DAC.  The EVO Pro will be my baseline, or reference, for the following DAC comparison write-ups. 

In my write-ups for the individual DACs, I plan to link professional on-line reviews related to the subject DAC.  To get the most out of my comparison write-ups, I suggest reading the linked reviews, because they will contain technical, operational, and aesthetic information about the subject DACs that I will not repeat in my write-ups, and because I may refer to comments contained in some of the reviews.   In addition, I agree in general with the observations and conclusions reported in the published reviews for these DACs.   However, in some cases you need to read between the lines, and certain reviewers either have bias for or against a certain type of sound, or exaggerate certain aspects of the subject DAC but, overall, I believe the reviewers mostly nail the essence of each DAC.  

After the EVO Pro, I plan to post a write-up on the Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC, because there seems to be the most interest in that DAC and because I am under a time line for that one.  I will save the Mojo Audio Mystique X SE NCZ until last and provide a comparison between the two Mojo Audio DACs.  My initial impression between those two DACs favored the EVO Pro but because of the many positive reviews of the X SE, my discussions with Benjamin, and my purchase of the NCZ version of the X SE, I will revisit my comparison between the two Mojo Audio DACs to find out if I reach the same conclusion.

Disclaimer

Keep in mind that my subjective observations will be biased by my personal auditory preferences, my home system (virtual system posted here), my music selections, and my methodology (or lack of).  Also remember, this is NOT a play-off or “best DAC” competition, and I do not plan to select a “winner”.  The write-ups I will post are not intended to be interpreted as an authoritative “last-word” or an analysis following the scientific method.  I am certainly open to suggestions and questions, and I don’t mind if people disagree.

Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro

 

Applicable Articles and Published Reviews

Dagogo – Benjamin Zwickel on the Mojo Audio Mystique v3

Enjoy the Music – Jeremy Kipnis’ review of the Mojo Audio Mystique v3

Audiophilia - Karl Sigman’s review of the Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro

Enjoy the Music – Dr. Matt Clott’s review of the Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro

 

Observations

The Mojo Audio Mystique EVO line represents the enhanced evolution of Mojo Audio’s full-width chassis DAC design that began with their Mystique v3 (reviewed by Jeremy Kipnis at Enjoy the Music). The Mystique v3 DAC is also the first Mojo Audio DAC to use the 20-bit AD1862 R-2R chip (previous Mojo Audio designs used the 18-bit AD1865 chip) and the first to use five choke input power supplies. If you are interested in Mojo Audio’s Mystique DACs, please read the Kipnis review as well as the Dagogo article linked above as they provide historical background information about the Mojo Audio DAC designs. In awarding the Mystique v3 a Blue Note Award - 2018, Enjoy the Music editor, Steven Rochlin, said this:

"What I heard through the Mystique v3 was what only some of the very best DACs in history have been able to achieve: a rare and breathtakingly seamless emotional connection to the music and sounds being produced from my wide array of review speakers, on hand. The qualities this DAC lets through are the sort of experience one can expect when attending a live concert and sitting in an ideal spot. If you close your eyes and listen carefully, you can resolve all sorts of details that most people never bother to think about, but that they hear in the background, anyway. So often, these subtle inner details are crushed or distorted much the way different lenses change the viewer’s perspective in photography."

"But when listening to a well constructed audiophile recording on a tuned music system, and occupying the center position in one’s listening space, the distortion that generally affects most digital music reproduction is almost completely absent with the Mystique v3. This rare DAC repeatedly allowed me to feel the sound in a tactile, visceral, and musically meaningful way, that allowed my music to both come alive and remind me of the very best analog sources I have had the pleasure of hearing and working with – right off the 1st generation masters."

"Not surprisingly, I was stunned to hear inner instrumental details from recording after recording that simply resolved hidden elements like never before. Through the Mystique v3, the shear clarity at the loudest and softest ends of the dynamic spectrum, in combination with a palpable, detailed portrayal of the acoustic and instrumental space around and between the musicians, made for a truly scintillating listening experience that gave me goosebumps. Now and again, I was able to also hear a much more precise, characterful recreation of the various room acoustics surrounding the microphone(s). Through the Mystique v3, the degree to which one can "see" or rather "hear" the size and shape of the many different room acoustics, and even height being clearly heard, are all revealed much more easily than with just about any other DAC I’ve played around with. The rather surprising level of timbral detail, dynamic honesty, and harmonic accuracy revealed by the Mojo Audio Mystique v3 DAC is simply and utterly amazing, especially with recordings I have heard repeatedly on some of the best DACs in the world. If the point of our hobby is, indeed, to e, I can think of no finer way than to call up Mojo Audio and order up a Mystique v3 DAC to enjoy digital audio at it’s finest... each and everyday!"

I shared the link to Kipnis’ review, and Rochlin’s comments above, to illustrate the effect that the sound of the v3 DAC had on those experienced audio equipment reviewers and to show why, after reading the review, I was compelled to purchase the second-hand v3 that eventually replaced Metrum Acoustic’s Pavane and Adagio in my system. When I found out Benjamin Zwickel had introduced the Mystique EVO line as an upgrade to the v3, I purchased a new Mystique EVO B4B 21 DAC directly from Benjamin. The B4B 21 was the middle child in the EVO line that included the basic, B4B, and Pro models. Like the v3, the EVO B4B 21 ticked pretty much every audio box for me and provided the best digital sound I had ever heard in my system. Within a year or so, I saw a for-sale listing for a Mojo Audio EVO Pro model, and I purchased that, which is the subject of this write-up.

The improvements in moving from the v3 to the EVO B4B, and finally to the EVO Pro were incremental but certainly noticeable. IMO, the house sound for all of those DACs includes full and deep bass, underpinning a tonally rich midrange, and extending to smooth and sweet-sounding high frequencies. These enjoyable sonic attributes collaborate rather than compete with each other, resulting in an organic, natural-sounding presentation that some might describe as reminiscent of vinyl playback in that it doesn’t sound like the digital reproduction that I had become used to before owning the v3.

The EVO Pro DAC somehow accomplishes the sonic signature described above without any perceived loss of detail or drive. The detail is present, the bass can be felt, and the midrange sounds so natural that vocals are a pleasure to listen to. The main thing I like with the EVO Pro is that it all works together to create a coherent and believable sonic presentation. The EVO Pro avoids sounding unnatural like some DACs that are detailed to the point of sounding etched, or that make it seem as if vocalists have moved out into the room, or that present overly damped/tight bass with little to no decay. I also hear no unnatural or irritating roughness, dryness, or congestion, regardless of the source material or how busy the music gets and, as a result, the EVO Pro could be considered somewhat forgiving of poorly recorded source material. All of this leads to engaging and enjoyable listening sessions without listener fatigue, at least in my room.

When listening to Birds through the Mystique EVO Pro, the opening bass line just jumps out at you big and full, with the sense of fingers on strings. The drums and different percussion instruments are distinct. I can easily hear the differences in tone and inflections between Dominique Fils-Aime’s lead vocals and her back-up singers. Not only is the detail present but the instruments carry weight and the singing is tonally rich. It is similar with The Girl from Ipanema, the instruments sound real and are perfectly proportioned to back up the wonderful singing by Joao Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto. Through the EVO Pro, the music is so relaxed I have the feeling I am sitting under a palm tree at an outdoor café.

Freddie Freeloader was perfectly balanced between Miles’ horn, the percussion, and piano. The attack and sustain of the piano keys were realistic and engaging. Sound staging was rock solid with each player perfectly positioned for a sense of realism.

I just saw the Tedeschi Trucks Band a few weeks ago and listening to the live version of Angel from Montgomery took me right back to the concert. Through the EVO Pro, Susan’s unique tone sounded just right.

Even the rock selections on my list like Thorazine Shuffle, Fell on Black Days, and Staind’s Outside were big and loud enough to be believable. I sensed no breakup or strain through my system when rocking out to those songs at a pretty loud level.

You might ask, so how much of this is related to the EVO Pro and how much to the rest of the system itself and I would have to say, I don’t fully know the answer to that. Some thoughts would be that my 650wpc SMc monoblocks can put out serious juice and do it in a controlled and musical manner. In addition, the Aerial LR5s like lots of current and can get really loud without strain as discussed in the review by Michael Fremer. So, the system itself might have something to do with why all six of these DACs sound pretty good to me. However, I do hear differences between the six DACs and not all of them do the things I discussed above to the same level, or in the same manner.

Does the EVO Pro do anything wrong? Here is where I come up a little short. I have owned a few DACs at or around the same price range but nothing in the $15-20K range, with the Tambaqui coming closest, and the Tambaqui is not a good comparison because the sound of those two DACs are quite different. What I heard from the Tambaqui was all about musical precision, which didn’t exactly correlate to the rich, full, natural sound I hear from the Mojo Audio DACs. I have said a couple of times that to my ears, the Tambaqui sounded “perfect” but not necessarily in a manner that engaged me the way the Mojo Audio DACs engage me. I can imagine some of you readers thinking, “what an idiot to sell a Tambaqui for this older technology R2R DAC!” Oh well, this is my subjective comparison, based on my musical preferences, and it is what it is.

I can refer you to the linked Dr. Matt Clott review of the Mystique EVO Pro, where he compares the EVO Pro to his $40K Davinci 2 and $19K Pilium Audio Elektra and said, “During my comparisons, and to Benjamin’s enormous credit, I never felt the Mystique EVO B4B to be massively outclassed.”

Therefore, to wrap up, in my world and considering the general price range, I perceive no significant sonic shortcomings to the Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro, although some might own DACs that offer a bit more detail, a more expansive perceived sound stage, and/or a touch more refinement (like I hear from the Merason DAC1 MkII). Some might not care for the appearance of the very plain black box (that weighs about 30 pounds), or the absence of knobs, displays, or functions. Also, the absence of an I2S input, and/or the ability to decode DSD or MQA may be a deal breaker for some. However, for others, the Mojo Audio house sound, and the Mystique EVO Pro specifically, could be just the thing that elevates their digital source to a higher musical level.

To quote Karl Sigman from his linked review:

“how many (DACs) can take the basic ingredients of fine imaging, extraordinary transparency, textures, spatial cues and impressive timbral accuracy and combine them in a 3D soundstage in an uncanny way into something that sounds so beautiful, natural sounding, musical and addictive as to demand that one say (often attributed to Aristotle), “The whole is larger than the sum of its parts”? Very, very few. The Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Digital-to-Analog Converter is certainly one of them.”

FWIW, my observations discussed above were based on running the EVO Pro through its S/PDIF coaxial input and balanced outputs. My system is as described earlier in this thread, with the pertinent digital front-end consisting of a SGC sonicTransporter i9 (Gen4), fiber to a Sonore Signature Rendu SE, USB to a Singxer SU-6 DDC, and then the coax output to the EVO Pro.