Musetec Audio (LKS Audio) MH-DA005 Review (DAC)

[SaltyCDogg]

Reminds me of the car Homer designs in the Simpsons. All those quality components, all neatly laid out. It must be good right??

 

[Jimbob54]

I honestly cant be bothered to look but I am sure if I googled reviews of this I would find people waxing lyrical about how it sounds. The existence of such products continues to amaze me.

 

[staticV3]

We are now very close to rated spec (110 dB vs 114 dB spec)

Shouldn't you measure THD to verify their "Distortion" spec? SINAD will always be worse.

At lower outputs performance drops to that of a $9 phone dongle!

You're thinking of the Apple A2049. The Razer headphone adapter pictured here cost $25.

 

[Veri]

It's kinda sad though. This is like a rip-off of the Holo audio product range which also uses "boutique" eye-candy components but actually performs well and as advertised.. while this is just poor. All those purple-color capacitors and fancy German Mundorf/m-cap seem to hinder the ESS DAC performance, if anything.

 

[Deleted member 34304]

I have the Musetec myself and have sold other devices after listening comparisons afterwards (e.g. Oppo 105d).
Too bad that the device was so poorly measured. But now the used prices are sure to fall and I can make a bargain for my second system.

 

[xaviescacs]

But now the used prices are sure to fall and I can make a bargain for my second system.

Because of this review you mean? I'm not sure audiophile equipment prices fall that easily...

 

[Deleted member 34304]

Possibly you are right and probably no owner of the Musetec will part with it again so quickly ...

 

[amirm]

Shouldn't you measure THD to verify their "Distortion" spec? SINAD will always be worse.

Not in this case. Noise is 30 dB lower which literally pushes it into noise with respect to SINAD computation. This is in addition of everyone meaning THD+N no matter how they state it.

 

[DanielT]

Reminds me of the car Homer designs in the Simpsons. All those quality components, all neatly laid out. It must be good right??

View attachment 207343

You have to get all the pieces of the puzzle together in the right way otherwise it will not be good.

Hifidelity Jigsaw Puzzle​

https://www.redbubble.com/i/jigsaw-puzzle/Hifidelity-by-Bulografik/41152205.L4Q0T

 

[bidn]

This is more than a graveyard of parts, it's a mausoleum

Indeed, and for so much money! Crazy!

I think that the company'name should not be "Musetec",
but rather: Abusetec...

Abusing the use of high quality components,
Abusing the customers' money...
.

 

[Mart68]

I honestly cant be bothered to look but I am sure if I googled reviews of this I would find people waxing lyrical about how it sounds.

Here you go:

'' As for SQ in the new Musetec, the bottom line is that I found the improvement astonishing. I didn't think that was possible within the same fundamental design shared with the LKS and many other DACs. Power supplies and quality parts really matter. Bass quality and deep extension, a roundness, body, liquidity and space given to instruments. Full harmonic envelopes. Pinpoint instrumental location. For this classical music listener finding a component that can bring out the space and detail of an unamplified group of 100 (or even three) musicians is something I sought in analog, and now seek in digital. In summary: low level detail, the same as we seek in analog. The way notes start and stop. Separation of instrumental (and voice) choruses is what I found in the LKS and now far more refined in the Musetec. I hear things in familiar digital classical recordings that I didn't hear before. In summary it works and represents value for me.''

I like that he has still managed to tick every box on the bingo card even in such a concise review. Stereophile and the like would need two pages to cover that same ground.

REVIEW: Musetec MH-DA005 DAC Processors - Mel - Digital Drive

REVIEW: Musetec MH-DA005 DAC Processors - Mel - Digital Drive

www.audioasylum.com

 

[Lupin]

Dual ES9038 Pro DAC chips, silver this and that, femto clocks, re-clocking... they're banking heavily on audiophile snake oil. Yet apparently they also feel the pressure of the ever growing objectivist camp and publishing data that when checked doesn't add up..

Well it works as on Head-Fi people proclaim it to be the best thing happend in Hi-Fi just because it happens to have a dual ES9038 Pro... how short sighted can you be.

 

[Mnyb]

Dual ES9038 Pro DAC chips, silver this and that, femto clocks, re-clocking... they're banking heavily on audiophile snake oil. Yet apparently they also feel the pressure of the ever growing objectivist camp and publishing data that when checked doesn't add up..

Well it works as on Head-Fi people proclaim it to be the best thing happend in Hi-Fi just because it happens to have a dual ES9038 Pro... how short sighted can you be.

Implementation, Implementation and Implementation. RME runs circles around this with a much more modest chipset

The parts is of almost no consequence if used right .

Still people care a lot of its ESS or AKM or whatnot

 

[Lupin]

Implementation, Implementation and Implementation. RME runs circles around this with a much more modest chipset

The parts is of almost no consequence if used right .

Still people care a lot of its ESS or AKM or whatnot

It is telling enough when the best measuring DAC (D90SE) is a single chip design.
It outperforms everything else measured including boutique designs with dual or quad DAC designs.. But as usual in Hi-Fi marketing is king and dual/quad designs will sell for absurd prices just because of the dual/quad design.

 

[Euphonic_employee]

Yeah same the BOM in this device is appreciated. Ess DAC has THD compensation(is it being implemented?), etc and something freaky(read non optimal) was done with ASRC/DPLL and data. Thanks for the measurements really interesting. One can only hope this manufacturer of audio equipment reads this forum.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I forgot to mention that I did no see any regulatory/safety certification on the box.

Looking at the IEC jack PE routing, I can't say I'm surprised. I don't think this would pass as either IEC Class I or Class II (nor "Class 1.5").

Audio performance by itself gets a "not terrible" from me, but the entire construction is extremely misguided and overall a major waste of resources and people's money. They would need to hire an actually competent EE to redesign the thing so it's safe and performs according to expectations. As-is, snake oil / 10.

 

[DBB]

Since the unit was received new I assume no break in. Is that correct Amir?

 

[JSmith]

I assume no break in

Firstly, welcome to ASR.

Secondly... you are joking, right?


JSmith

 

[DBB]

Firstly, welcome to ASR.

Secondly... you are joking, right?


JSmith

The assumption here is that break-in has no measurable consequences? I'm not joking.

 

[Bleib]

Nice external design, a shame about the inside..