Transport for MHDT Havana

Ok, I'm a little confused? This is a nice DAC but why spend more on a transport than you probably did on the unit itself? The MHDT is the real brains and can run off your pc or even an xbox. If you want a top loader, buy an old Rega.

CEC TL-2 or TL-1.

Elevick,

Quite simply because the transport matters quite a bit--probably equally to the DAC. I'd love it if a cheap dvd player's digital out were sufficient with a good enough DAC, but even those dacs that promise jitter reduction seem to benefit from a quality transport.

Elevick, Gopher answered your question quite well. Buying a DAC and sending a less than pristine digital signal to it is kind of like buying a sports car and getting generic tires from Sears... Yes, you can drive the car, and it might even be fun, but honestly you're only achieving a small portion of it's potential. Plus, call me old fashioned, but I have a lot of CD's and really don't want to put them all on a drive, besides, I like to be able to touch the physical media... That's one reason why I really love LP's.

I'll look into the CEC transports. Those were actually on my mind, but I forgot to mentioned them.

Audiojan,
You and Gopher are correct, a transport's quality is a major factor in the overall sound.Some have suggested that it is more important than the DAC.Don't know your budget but a used PS Audio PWT is musically excellent, the CEC is a good recommendation also.Computers are obviously an alternative, but some don't want to bother with this approach and setting it up.
Regards,

First time I could spend some serious time with the Havana and IMPRESSED doesn't even come close. First time digital is getting close to the analog purity that I so wanted. Live records sounds like.. live!

This thing definitely needs a dedicated transport... Using my Oppo BD95 right now but that's going back in the HT.

So, I've decided. It'll be a CEC TL1. I heard one of those years back and really liked how that sounded. Granted, it was with Thiel CS7.2, driven by some very large and expensive VTL's, but that sound was glorious. My experience with the Havana so far has really moved me much, much closer to that and once the CEC get's here, I really hope that is yet another step towards that.

Audiojan...I think you'll really like the TL1. I have a TL2 and it's the best transport I've ever had in my system.

I have a TL-2X with a couple mods from here, which takes these transports to an esoteric level, without changing any of their inherent, original character.

who sells the Havana in the us

also, I had a nos dac, an it lacked bass response. is the havana fully extended in the bass ?

To answer your question Mr. Tennis it is not fully extended in the bass which may conincide with your listening impressions of NOS dacs in general. It is a wonderful little DAC though. I don't currently use it but can't bring myself to part with it. A bit lacking in detail but conveying the musical message in a most natural and convincing matter, better than most of the more resolving digital devices I've personally owned. It is just wonderful in the midrange, particularly with voice and has a fullness and flow that many DACs I've listened to don't capture. I think, based on your posted preferences, would really like it. I purchased mine directly from MHDT in Taiwan. Ordered it late Thursday afternoon and received it the following Monday. I don't believe there is a dealer network in the US for this product. It has been superceded by the Stockholm I believe.

i'm sure I would like the mids and treble, and timbre. but my speakers are a bit bass shy, so an attenuation in the bass, is not a good idea. I need all the bass I can get.

thank you for confirming my intuition.

I can swap tubes in my Vincent cs-7 dac.

I need a tube dac with extra energy in the bass, along with liquidity and bloom. any ideas ?

if only there were a dac that had the sonics of the zanden, but not its exhorbitant price.

I had very good results using a 47 Labs 4716 Shigaraki Transport when I had a Mhdt Paradisea DAC. A pre-owned one can be found under your budgeted figure when available. BTW, tube rolling in the DAC can be beneficial. My favorite was the Bendix 2C51.

Well if you need more bass I certainly wouldn't recommend the Havana, it would not be the best choice. Actually heard it in a separate system that was using a 300B based SET and it did not work at all. In my system, with my amp it wasn't as big an issue but certainly notable. To be honest I can only compare to the EE minimax Plus which doesn't have any tube signature. I easily preferred the Havana across the board even though the EE had better bass, more extended high frequency performance and more detail, it just had an edge and I could never relax listening to it. I wouldn't know where to direct you for a budget tube based DAC. You would probably have to spend considerably more to get what you're looking for.