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Musetec (LKS) MH-DA005 DAC

Some history: I was the OP on a four year old thread about the Chinese LKS MH-DA004 DAC. It achieved an underground buzz. The open architecture of its predecessor MH-DA003 made it the object of a lot of user mods, usually to its analog section, rolling op amps or replacing with discrete. The MH-DA004 with its new ESS chips and JFET analog section was called better then the modified older units. It has two ES9038pro DAC chips deliberately run warm, massive power supply, powered Amanero USB board, JFET section, 3 Crystek femtosecond clocks, Mundorf caps, Cardas connectors, etc., for about $1500. For this vinyl guy any reservation about ESS chips was resolved by the LKS implimentaion, but their revelation of detail was preserved, something that a listener to classic music especially appreciated. I made a list of DACs (many far more expensive) it was compared favorably to in forums. Modifications continued, now to clocks and caps. Components built to a price can be improved by costlier parts and the modifiers wrote glowingly of the SQ they achieved.

Meanwhile, during the 4 years after release of the MH-DA004, LKS (now Musetec) worked on the new MH-DA005 design, also with a pair of ES9038pro chips. This time he used more of the best components available. One torroidal transformer has silver plated copper. Also banks of super capacitors that act like batteries, solid silver hookup wire, 4 femtoclocks each costing multiples of the Crysteks, a revised Amanero board, more of the best European caps and a new partitioned case. I can't say cost NO object, but costs well beyond. A higher price, of course. Details at http://www.mu-sound.com/DA005-detail.html

The question, surely, is: How does it sound? I'm only going to answer indirectly for the moment. I thought that the MH-DA004 was to be my last DAC, or at least for a very long time. I was persuaded to part with my $$ by research, and by satisfaction with the MH-DA004. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the improvement; just didn't think it was possible. Fluidity, clarity, bass extension. A post to another board summed it up better than I can after listening to piano trios: "I have probably attended hundreds of classical concerts (both orchestral and chamber) in my life. I know what live sounds like in a good and bad seat and in a good and mediocre hall. All I can say is HOLY CRAP, this sounds like the real thing from a good seat in a good hall. Not an approximation of reality, but reality."

melm
debjit_g
247 posts
 

The two images @lordmelton posted, I could see some more differences as well

1. A Mundrof cap near the digital input section removed in the 2nd image 

2. Heat sinks from two chips near the analog section is removed from the 2nd image.

 

I am not sure which one is the latest. It would be awesome if someone who got the unit recently be brave enough to open the unit and post couple of pictures 😊

lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

@debjit_g The silver 005 with the 4 FETs must be the earlier model because this pic on Head Fi is dated 24th Oct 2020

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/l-k-s-audio-mh-da004-dual-es9038pro-dac-van-dammes-double-impact.840938/page-197#post-15936281

Maybe original 005 was within published spec but they decided to tweak it to improve SQ. I'm not complaining.

The black 005 is the same pic as is on Musetec's Website so I guess this is the current incarnation.

http://www.mu-sound.com/DA005-detail.html

toddk31
36 posts
 

I want to give a shout out to Jason at Midwest audio regarding my purchase of the musetec dac that was sent to Amir for review. Having owned the lks 004 and liking it very much I ordered the 005 and had it sent to Amir, Jason was fully aware that it was going to asr for review. He and I were both disappointed in some measurements that obviously did not meet the published specs. According to jinbo he is going to look into the issue. Jason has kindly accepted the return of the unit and has promised a refund. Neither of us expected the review results. The only reason I returned the unit is because the unit shipped may have a problem or may not. Not willing at this point to gamble knowing it did not meet spec. I appreciate very much Jason’s help and he has been a stand up guy in this whole mess. I hope jinbo will address the issue and be forthcoming with more information down the road. For all of the people bent about the asr review take a chill. I’m sure the dac sounds great as witnessed by all of you all that own it. I’m no electronic engineer but i know in a digital source that jitter an the dreaded ess hump are issues that should not be present in a $3000 dac.  Again thanks to Jason. I never intended to creat such a s**tshow about dac. The review could have a negative effect on his business and jinbo’s business. That was not the outcome we expected. So I hope jinbo can successfully address the spec issues.  I find no problem existing in the audiogon world and the asr world at the same time. Again we all enjoy our music and that’s the point of both worlds. Carry on and bash me if u want to, I could care less.

Post removed 
melm OP
1,057 posts
 

I received this message late last night from Jinbo Li, designer and manufacturer of the Musetec:

Our current testing equipment can’t compare with ASR’s equipment. Their equipment is the highest grade at present. As I said in my previous email, I really don’t pay much attention to testing performance. But I think the real test performance fully meets the requirements. The main problem in ASR test is that SINAD is not good. This is mainly caused by multiple harmonics. The overall base noise of DAC is still very low. The main reason for this is that, as friends of audiogon forum said, low negative feedback at the output stage will increase distortion, but the sound will have rich texture, while deep negative feedback will make the test data better, but it will obviously make the sound colder and drier. Many experienced enthusiasts understand this situation.

Products serve people. We must recognize this before we can choose the right direction in the design.

However, I will still buy a high-end tester of the same grade as ASR equipment for verification. I hope to make some efforts next. According to the verification results, if necessary, I will update the design for some customers in need. I will try my best to serve every loyal customer friend.

 

It is now my intention to tell him that no one who has a Musetec 005 has yet expressed a desire for a modification that would improve measurement specifications if it is at the expense of the final sound quality as he perceives it. That note won’t go out for several hours.

As an aside, many of us find tubed electronics and/or analog sound to do very well at sounding like the real thing. At the same time we know they cannot compete in specifications with solid state and digital.

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