@debjit_g You mentioned the Musetec and Mojo DAC's are different. Can you explain how they are different. Can you mention some of the DAC's you have had in the past?
Six DAC Comparison
I am in the middle of comparing the sound of six different DACs in my system. I own them all (I know weird) but one of them is still within a trial/return timeframe.
Not to share specific comparisons today, but a couple of observations so far are that first, they all definitely sound different from each other. On one hand, they all sound pretty good and play what is fed to them without significant flaws but on the other hand there are definite sonic differences that make it easy to understand how a person might like the sound of some of them while not liking others.
Second, raises the observation that most of them must be doing something to shape the sound in the manner the designer intended since one of the DACs, a Benchmark DAC3 HGA, was described by John Atkinson of Stereophile as providing "state-of-the-art measured performance." In the review, JA closed the measurements section by writing, "All I can say is "Wow!" I have also owned the Tambaqui (not in my current comparison), which also measured well ("The Mola Mola Tambaqui offers state-of-the-digital-art measured performance." - JA). The Benchmark reminds me sonically of the Tambaqui, both of which are excellent sounding DACs.
My point is that if the Benchmark is providing "state-of-the-art measured performance," then one could reasonably presume that the other five DACs, which sound different from the Benchmark, do not share similar ’state-of-the-art" measurements and are doing something to subtly or not so subtly alter the sound. Whether a person likes what they hear is a different issue.
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@brbrock as I was mentioning earlier I can’t justify a real comparison between the two as I did a bunch of mods to my amps/pre, music server, etc right after I received the X SE. They were already in the pipeline, so I couldn’t avoid it. As with burn-in/break-in, it’s a roller coaster ride, especially when it involves Furutech NCF components. I will get to a meaningful comparison when my system settles in but these two DACs have different flavor - I will not say more but at a high level, Mojo is more of denser, Musetec is more airy. However, take these with a grain of salt and my opinion might changes later. |
@brbrock For what it’s worth, some of DACs I owned, PS Audio Direcstream, Denafrips Terminator, Mytek Brooklyn, Mivera Purestream, Matrix Audio Element X (excellent measuring DAC), 4 Lampizator models (Amber 3, Baltic 3, Baltic 4, Atlantic TRP), Aqua La Scala, Musetec 005 and now the X SE. My plan going forward is to upgrade the X SE to NC and then also get the 006 (I am very much fascinated by the choice of parts and design). |
I never owned the Gaia, but I did own the Hermes and had problems with it requiring me to send it back to Denafrips, although that may have been a fluke. I do see the potential advantage of the Gaia DDC when using Denafrips' Terminator DAC since it offers the ability for clock syncing. I am not here to argue about sound quality between DDCs, and I am not promoting the Singxer SU-6 so I don't really have a dog in the fight, but I can say that inserting the Singxer did nothing to degrade the sound of my system and that it has worked reliably the entire time I have used it. Here are links to review measurements of both the Singxer SU-6 and the Denafrips Gaia by the same reviewer. The SU-6 was reviewed a couple of months prior to the Gaia and below are some conclusions by the reviewer,
and,
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I've seen Golden Sound's measurements, also ASR, another instance of measurements not telling you the true story. According to ASR $1k dacs are right up there with state of art, and dacs don't benefit from ddc. Sound quality is the final arbiter for my audio purchases and the equipment that comes and goes. |
By the way, being a curious person I decided to purchase Okto Dac some years ago, believe it held record at ASR for SNR at the time, one of the lowest jitter as well. And I owned Musetec 005 at the same time, relative poor measuring dac over there, Okto goes, Musetec stays, so much for ASR dac evaluations credibility, bye bye ASR. |
@wig - Thank you for the feedback. It has been satisfying to hear that several folks have used the information from this thread to successfully help with their DAC purchasing decisions. I really enjoyed my time with the Merason DAC1 MkII and I am not surprised to hear that it is an end-game DAC for some. I just found out that I may be getting the opportunity to try out a couple of additional DACs, which I will report on. I can’t say much yet except that one will be at the $10K +/- price point and the other at the sub-$4k price point.
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@mitch2 Although I am very pleased with my new Mojo Mystique X-24AM (which is a product that I was completely unaware of until you did this fantastic writeup of the 6-dac comparison) I’ll look forward to reading your write-ups on the upcoming dac’s. I’m not one to hop from one piece of gear to the next. I do my research, audition, and then select the piece that gives me the emotional connection to the music. When I get it right, I tend to keep that piece for decades. The X-24AM will be that piece for me. However, I still enjoy reading about what else is out there and hearing the passion that people have in their gear and the music that touches their souls. Thank you for introducing me to the Mojo! Best wishes, Don |
@mitch2 Thanks so much for the DM. As expected, your advice/perspective was 100% on the money. Will post once I make the next move (if there is a next move) Many thanks, JAMES. |
Some updates:
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Hey @mitch2 Looking forward to your thoughts on the Mystique Y -- although I believe the AM chokes put that DAC to about twice the MSRP of the Benchmark DAC3 HGC? Best, JAMES. |
This is my first post on Audiogon. Been lurking for a while as I have returned to audio after a significant break (career, kid, family, other priority hobbies/sports, etc). I just wanted to say THANK YOU! for all your efforts on this review. It is greatly appreciated and impressive to say the least. Fantastic to be able to get a POV across so many products and the few that I have heard align with your assessment so it is a valuable reference point for me. Thank you so much! |
@dantaudio - Thanks for the kind words, and welcome back to audio. If you are looking for information, there is a lot of knowledge here on this site and you can get meaningful responses from the members on just about any topic. The forum archives are also extensive and cover just about any audio topic. Since you have just "returned to audio after a significant break", you might enjoy spending some time looking at the virtual systems since many members have constructed unique listening spaces and very effective audio reproduction systems at a wide range of price points. |
