Musical Fidelity MX-DAC Review (Balanced DAC)

[AudioManNewb]

My

I don't claim the test to eliminate the possibility of bias, but the notion that there is any such thing as a perfect experiment is absurd. Claiming that the test was "worthless" is not appropriate IMO.

Perfect no, but easily a better way to test yes.

 

[AudioManNewb]

Skimming over the comments in this thread is a hoot.

DAC is $999 and performs worse than much cheaper products. I could care less if its audible or not. I will not waste a grand on something that performs like that when they obviously have the money to very very very easily make it perform better than that. I mean would you spend 100 times the amount on 1ply toilet paper than 2ply? Would you spend 100 times the amount on a toyota corolla than a lamborghini? Both examples do the job they where made for but when you can get something objectively better for less why spend more when that can literally translate to $900 more. It is stupid to buy this DAC the engineers should be upset for what they engineered for a grand. No need to defend your bad purchase we all make them it is a part of life. Move on and be better informed for you next purchase.

 

[ZooTV]

I really enjoy reading the reviews... One thing I've learned is that measured performance isn't always the best if the intent isn't on measured perfection...

Let's compare a Monet with an iPhone 13Pro. One can say "what an amazing picture! Sharp, look at how the colors pop..."
A child can take that picture and get lucky...

You look at a Monet, and you say "how can someone capture the essence of the moment with such 'crude' brush dabs"...
The same thing can be said about Jimmy Hendricks or SRV... It's the literal distortion that brings power and emotion into their art.

So, would you want to hear a perfectly tuned guitar play chord progressions, or do you want Hendricks in your living room?
IMO a lot of people in these forums prefer to listen to their gear and not the music. Maybe that's the point? I don't know.

Full disclaimer, I have an MX-DAC, and while it's not the end-all when compared to the topping 90SE, it makes music in MY system sound more like music, and less like rubbing alcohol on a scrape. This is great if you want to stop bacteria, but bad if you just want to collect yourself after a crash.

 

[BDWoody]

So, would you want to hear a perfectly tuned guitar play chord progressions, or do you want Hendricks in your living room?

There is a big difference between the creation of art, and the reproduction of it.

Do you listen to music through guitar amps?

If someone were selling a Monet reproduction, would you want them to throw mud on it, or brighten it up, or change the shading to improve things based on their version of how it really should be appreciated?

IMO a lot of people in these forums prefer to listen to their gear and not the music.

Wanting to let the music itself be the unadulterated centerpiece, rather than believing the gear is part of the artistic chain seems to be the exact opposite. For me, I'll leave the art to the artists, and the dealing with electrical signals to EE's. All I want to hear is the music reproduced as accurately as possible, then I can season to my own taste should I choose, not rely on someone else's idea of how everything that goes through their super special box should be tarted up.

 

[xaviescacs]

Full disclaimer, I have an MX-DAC, and while it's not the end-all when compared to the topping 90SE, it makes music in MY system sound more like music, and less like rubbing alcohol on a scrape. This is great if you want to stop bacteria, but bad if you just want to collect yourself after a crash.

I've had this dac since few months ago, when I sold it and bough an RME ADI 2 FS. I didn't make any direct comparisons but I bet would be completely unable to distinguish between them. I don't think its easy at all to set up a test on any condition that someone can pass, meaning can reliably tell them apart, but for sure I can be wrong. I didn't hear any noise coming from the DAC, certainly not while playing music, so I guess it's all about hearing distortion, but at quite low levels, so not an easy task for an average listener.

Edit: maybe with a wisely choosen single tone to try to make the distortion as audible as possible.

 

[YSC]

I really enjoy reading the reviews... One thing I've learned is that measured performance isn't always the best if the intent isn't on measured perfection...

Let's compare a Monet with an iPhone 13Pro. One can say "what an amazing picture! Sharp, look at how the colors pop..."
A child can take that picture and get lucky...

You look at a Monet, and you say "how can someone capture the essence of the moment with such 'crude' brush dabs"...
The same thing can be said about Jimmy Hendricks or SRV... It's the literal distortion that brings power and emotion into their art.

So, would you want to hear a perfectly tuned guitar play chord progressions, or do you want Hendricks in your living room?
IMO a lot of people in these forums prefer to listen to their gear and not the music. Maybe that's the point? I don't know.

Full disclaimer, I have an MX-DAC, and while it's not the end-all when compared to the topping 90SE, it makes music in MY system sound more like music, and less like rubbing alcohol on a scrape. This is great if you want to stop bacteria, but bad if you just want to collect yourself after a crash.

well I do believe that any tuning or colouration should be done in the studio when the pros and artist tuned the music to be~ music. not the random gear one purchase.

it's not comparing a Monet to an iphone, say if it's a Monet appreciation event through the ineternet, you would want a calibrated, accurate monitor, in a calibrated accurate camera rather than someone with a random vivid mode TV and a who knows what filter used camera to capture the Monet, right?

 

[Madlop26]

I really enjoy reading the reviews... One thing I've learned is that measured performance isn't always the best if the intent isn't on measured perfection...

Let's compare a Monet with an iPhone 13Pro. One can say "what an amazing picture! Sharp, look at how the colors pop..."
A child can take that picture and get lucky...

You look at a Monet, and you say "how can someone capture the essence of the moment with such 'crude' brush dabs"...
The same thing can be said about Jimmy Hendricks or SRV... It's the literal distortion that brings power and emotion into their art.

So, would you want to hear a perfectly tuned guitar play chord progressions, or do you want Hendricks in your living room?
IMO a lot of people in these forums prefer to listen to their gear and not the music. Maybe that's the point? I don't know.

Full disclaimer, I have an MX-DAC, and while it's not the end-all when compared to the topping 90SE, it makes music in MY system sound more like music, and less like rubbing alcohol on a scrape. This is great if you want to stop bacteria, but bad if you just want to collect yourself after a crash.

I think you are not getting it, do you want to listen to Hendrix as he recorded in studio or colored (distortion and harmonics) added by your Dac or amp?, you see is actually the opposite , most of people here look for perfect transparency of music, the fact that some artist use distortion in their instruments it is not the point

 

[rdenney]

I think you are not getting it, do you want to listen to Hendrix as he recorded in studio or colored (distortion and harmonics) added by your Dac or amp?, you see is actually the opposite , most of people here look for perfect transparency of music PLAYBACK, the fact that some artist use distortion in their instruments it is not the point

Fixed that for you.

Rick "who has looked at a lot of art reproduced in books--it is never transparent but it's a lot closer than it used to be" Denney

 

[milosz]

HAHAHA so many people just don't get it. People who look for transparency in audio gear want to AVOID listening to their gear, and let the MUSIC come through. I do not want my audio gear to ADD artifact - euphonic or not - to the reproduced sound. I want JUST THE MUSIC. Saying that adding distortion or some other "signature" to the playback is somehow more musical turns the playback gear into a musical instrument, one which the original artist has no control over.....

 

[Middle Earth]

Adding this comment to a moribund thread
I have had the Musical Fidelity MX DAC for a while now and find it to be a nice sounding DAC for the price
The reason I am posting this is because Amir did not take the time to listen to it in any way and that is a problem and one reason that as much as SINAD worship makes sense until it does not matter, it is the reason that ASR is held in low esteem by so many people interested in HiFi which is unfortunate because there is value here
Reading the comments in the thread we have ignorance and disdain for the majority of the HiFi community and from what I am seeing the majority feel the same about you
I personally find this forum and find @amirm work to be useful and I am glad to be here
I don’t believe there are huge differences between DACs so I have no problem with the notion that money is being wasted
This DAC is definitely worth consideration if one is interested in a DAC in the $700 and under range and I got mine for $600
I have a Topping D90 Discrete 1Bit DAC, among many others, and I like but it costs $1k and I enjoy listening to the Musical Fidelity MX DAC more which is 100% subjective
I use a PC for streaming and it is great in that chain and the USB is properly implemented
Since I have actually listened to it I can say that others may enjoy it as well
It is unfortunate that @amirm will not listen to a component he reviews and then say it cannot be acceptable as the inaudible science performance makes it bad per se
If the bad performance is not audible in theory, then why not listen to see if it sounds good or bad or acceptable
Again, I can honestly say that the Musical Fidelity MX DAC is absolutely worth considering in the $600 to $700 range especially if a USB input is being used

 

[xaviescacs]

DACs don't (or shouldn't) produce sound and therefore listening to them is arguably a waste of time. Since the goal here is to convert to analog what is being coded in digital in the best possible way, it is by far easier to assess it through precise measures than listening. This is not a violinist choosing a violin, this must be as objective as possible.

 

[RandomEar]

Adding this comment to a moribund thread
I have had the Musical Fidelity MX DAC for a while now and find it to be a nice sounding DAC for the price
The reason I am posting this is because Amir did not take the time to listen to it in any way and that is a problem and one reason that as much as SINAD worship makes sense until it does not matter, it is the reason that ASR is held in low esteem by so many people interested in HiFi which is unfortunate because there is value here
Reading the comments in the thread we have ignorance and disdain for the majority of the HiFi community and from what I am seeing the majority feel the same about you
I personally find this forum and find @amirm work to be useful and I am glad to be here
I don’t believe there are huge differences between DACs so I have no problem with the notion that money is being wasted
This DAC is definitely worth consideration if one is interested in a DAC in the $700 and under range and I got mine for $600
I have a Topping D90 Discrete 1Bit DAC, among many others, and I like but it costs $1k and I enjoy listening to the Musical Fidelity MX DAC more which is 100% subjective
I use a PC for streaming and it is great in that chain and the USB is properly implemented
Since I have actually listened to it I can say that others may enjoy it as well
It is unfortunate that @amirm will not listen to a component he reviews and then say it cannot be acceptable as the inaudible science performance makes it bad per se
If the bad performance is not audible in theory, then why not listen to see if it sounds good or bad or acceptable
Again, I can honestly say that the Musical Fidelity MX DAC is absolutely worth considering in the $600 to $700 range especially if a USB input is being used

Message to golden-eared audiophiles posting at ASR for the first time...

Hello friend. Hey, listen...we know how it is. Believe me, most of us have been there too. You've spent years toiling in the muck of audiophilia. You read ALL the reviews. You watched ALL the youtube videos. You visited ALL the other forums where everything always makes a difference. You...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Middle Earth]

Message to golden-eared audiophiles posting at ASR for the first time...

Hello friend. Hey, listen...we know how it is. Believe me, most of us have been there too. You've spent years toiling in the muck of audiophilia. You read ALL the reviews. You watched ALL the youtube videos. You visited ALL the other forums where everything always makes a difference. You...

www.audiosciencereview.com

My point was simple. I.E. the Musical Fidelity DAC sounds good and is modestly priced
Someone who have been here longer than you and I combined, and who is totally adherent to the so called “audio science” said this which I believe is accurate
“No. Some DACs will output audible distortion and noise, some will have insufficient output voltage, some audibly different frequency response.
However, the vast majority of DACs will sound the same.”
DAC do have a sound, the sound of a DAC taking an analog signal converting it to an analog signal and, as a general matter it sounds the same as other DACs so the sound fidelity is essentially the same as the analog signal and the other DACs
That is different than saying there is no sound which is yet another reason this forum is more of a circular firing squad than not.
Which is unfortunate because, as I have stated there is a lot of good information here
I doubt members have 100% FunFi systems because the components measure well
I see some nice components that are being used by members here and it is not just Topping and SMSL only systems which is what it should be based on this “logic”

 

[RandomEar]

My point was simple. I.E. the Musical Fidelity DAC sounds good and is modestly priced
Someone who have been here longer than you and I combined, and who is totally adherent to the so called “audio science” said this which I believe is accurate
“No. Some DACs will output audible distortion and noise, some will have insufficient output voltage, some audibly different frequency response.
However, the vast majority of DACs will sound the same.”
DAC do have a sound, the sound of a DAC taking an analog signal converting it to an analog signal and, as a general matter it sounds the same as other DACs so the sound fidelity is essentially the same as the analog signal and the other DACs
That is different than saying there is no sound which is yet another reason this forum is more of a circular firing squad than not.
Which is unfortunate because, as I have stated there is a lot of good information here
I doubt members have 100% FunFi systems because the components measure well
I see some nice components that are being used by members here and it is not just Topping and SMSL only systems which is what it should be based on this “logic”

DACs convert audio signals, so if you're pedantic, they have to have a sound if they are switched on and their outputs work. DACs shouldn't have a sound signature though and the vast majority of modern, well designed DACs don't. Your statement

The reason I am posting this is because Amir did not take the time to listen to it in any way and that is a problem and one reason that as much as SINAD worship makes sense until it does not matter, it is the reason that ASR is held in low esteem by so many people interested in HiFi which is unfortunate because there is value here

is the reason I posted my response, because it is typical audiophile blubber. The simple truth is that if two devices measure identical and your measurements cover all the relevant aspects, they will sound identical. End of story. That's the consenus on the forum, because it makes sense from a logcial perspective and relies on science. If you oppose logic or science and don't bring any data to back up your argument, you will get pushback around here. If you'd like to call that a "firing squad", feel free to do that. From my perspective, that sound a bit overdramatic.

Coming back to this Musical Fidelity MX-DAC, it measures fine honestly. It's not very good or excellent, but it will not sound broken and most likely the vast majority of people won't be able to differentiate it from most other DACs even in controlled A-B-testing. But there are DACs for less money which offer better measurements and better engineering. So from a value perspective, the Musical Fidelity certainly isn't great. But if you like the case work, the features or simply the brand, it's still fine to buy and use it. It won't melt your ears.