Mytek AMP+ Review (Stereo Amplifier)

[Billy Budapest]

Not sure how you got there. They had a fabricator in Europe that they weren't happy with and stopped working with them. The fabricator is still making the "old" designs, so anyone who orders Mytek should check carefully what they are buying.

This is almost exactly what happened with Jolida in China.

 

[Billy Budapest]

The Dutch &Dutch 8c - one of the best measuring active speakers ever - uses Pascal amps, perhaps one of the worst regarded class D amp families.
Strange huh?

Are you sure the Dutch & Dutch is “one of the best measuring active speakers ever?” To me it seems to be all sizzle and no steak. The hype is high but the performance is meh.

 

[dorirod]

@amirm thank you for the review. A couple of typos I think:

Put my noise close to the vent
if we allow distortion to rise up to 0.1%:

 

[Labjr]

This is almost exactly what happened with Jolida in China.

Need to deal with reputable maunfacturers.

Big tech companies love to reap the fincancial benefits of outsourcing but then ask the government to step in diplomatically on the taxpayer dime when everything is ripped off.

 

[JJB70]

I would urge some caution in these situations. There are usually three stories, a version from each of the two involved parties plus an impartial one. I have seen instances where each party has taken a lot of heat wrongly and unless people know what has happened it's generally best to stay out until the dust settles.

 

[zuhandenheit]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/topping-pa3-review-stereo-amplifier.20085/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...opping-tp60-and-fx-audio-fx502spro-amps.5025/
Is there new ones in the pipeline? Those are unimpressive.

Wondering the same thing. Thought I heard about a Topping power amp in the works a little while back.

 

[Laserjock]

The Dutch &Dutch 8c - one of the best measuring active speakers ever - uses Pascal amps, perhaps one of the worst regarded class D amp families.
Strange huh?

My thoughts too.

I had commented on that somewhere on the D&D but couldn’t find it.

 

[PeteL]

Wondering the same thing. Thought I heard about a Topping power amp in the works a little while back.

Sometimes rumors start from nothing.

 

[JohnBooty]

I am trying to understand what you mean, typically, if you stop your business relation with a manufacturing facility, you don't let them keeping making your products.. Are those "old designs" still sold by Mytek? if so they didn't "stop working with them". Or did the manufacturing house just chose to keep doing these products even tough the contract with mytek is over and sell them as Mytek products for their benefit. Are we talking discontinued design? Grey market? Sorry your statement is not clear.

I don't know anything about Mytek in particular, but I've been told that this is a common thing when using Chinese manufacturers. Happened to a guy I used to work for. You pay somewhat large $$$ for the design, prototyping, and tooling. After that unit cost is cheap. But... they may offer your design to others as well for cheap or just churn out extra copies themselves. They may have YOUR branding, or some alternate branding. You don't have a lot of legal recourse. It may not be a breach of contract and even if it was, you would have an uphill battle (to put it mildly) if you are planning to pursue some legal action in China against a Chinese company.

https://medium.com/sealnetwork/3-re...e-fake-products-than-you-realise-806d505b2c4f

I would imagine this is a problem anywhere in the world where intellectual property is not really respected; not sure if Poland fits that description.

 

[amirm]

Thinking about this - heat developement is a pretty interesting thing to know about gadgets. Specially for lifetime expectation or if it's possible to place them inside a narrow space or next to sensitive stuff. Maybe it would be possible to establish a short test for this? For example 1 hour running idle after testing and then measuring the case temperature?

I have a version of that in the way I run my tests. I always follow the same sequence and by the end, I feel the top of the amp and usually report any concerns. A formal 1 hour test like that ties up my bench and lengthens testing significantly so I prefer to not go there. I am sure other owners can report on such things anyway as it doesn't require the instrumentation I have.

 

[amirm]

@amirm thank you for the review. A couple of typos I think:

Put my noise close to the vent
if we allow distortion to rise up to 0.1%:

Thanks. Corrected.

 

[Cuniberti]

It's crazy when you can purchase the very well-built March Audio P452 for $1600. (Purifi based stereo amplifier). I'm waiting for the delivery of mine as I write.

https://www.marchaudio.com/p452-purifi-amplifier

 

[Dialectic]

It's fine to strive for maximum fidelity, but a lot of the posters here seem confident they can differentiate between a working example this amplifier and an Ncore amp. I am skeptical that they can do so.

And I am increasingly skeptical of the need for astronomical SINAD numbers except in front end equipment and headphone amps.

 

[amirm]

Ah, my guess as to the failure reason was right. Owner gave me permission to open it. I found the ribbon cable crooked in one channel. Pushed it all the way in and it now works!

 

[polmuaddib]

Nice to hear it was an easy fix!

 

[PeteL]

I would think that a “Brooklyn” amp would be manufactured in the U.S. rather than Poland. The labor cost can’t be that different. The supply chain wouldn’t be any more expensive or complicated considering the amp boards are drop-ins and the case is probably manufactured in China. If Mytec is booting/has booted HEM as a contract manufacturer, why not move manufacturing to, say, Brooklyn?

Hard to know, and I'm no expert in foreign labor manufacturing, but ages ago when I was like eighteen, I did some grape picking in Wineries in a trip to France, and there were lots of Polish grape pickers... That normally says something about labor cost.

 

[PeteL]

I don't know anything about Mytek in particular, but I've been told that this is a common thing when using Chinese manufacturers. Happened to a guy I used to work for. You pay somewhat large $$$ for the design, prototyping, and tooling. After that unit cost is cheap. But... they may offer your design to others as well for cheap or just churn out extra copies themselves. They may have YOUR branding, or some alternate branding. You don't have a lot of legal recourse. It may not be a breach of contract and even if it was, you would have an uphill battle (to put it mildly) if you are planning to pursue some legal action in China against a Chinese company.

https://medium.com/sealnetwork/3-re...e-fake-products-than-you-realise-806d505b2c4f

I would imagine this is a problem anywhere in the world where intellectual property is not really respected; not sure if Poland fits that description.

I am well aware of this phenomenon, my comment was based on a false assumption that it was manufactured locally.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

It will produce music if that is what you are asking.

C'mon Amir. You know I what I mean. With all the hype about bi-amping sounding better, does this cheap availability mean we should be looking at products that allow it? I always felt bi-amping was an expensive solution to a small problem. But if it's cheap

 

[PeteL]

C'mon Amir. You know I what I mean. With all the hype about bi-amping sounding better, does this cheap availability mean we should be looking at products that allow it? I always felt bi-amping was an expensive solution to a small problem. But if it's cheap

There is certainly benefits, at least theoretical, to have crossovers in the digital domain, before the amps, if it is well executed, if it is really what you are asking. Now I feel that would be a good reason for "Biamping". Other than that I wouldn't have an opinion, I fail to see the benefit but maybe others have other theories.

 

[Grooved]

I would think that a “Brooklyn” amp would be manufactured in the U.S. rather than Poland. The labor cost can’t be that different. The supply chain wouldn’t be any more expensive or complicated considering the amp boards are drop-ins and the case is probably manufactured in China. If Mytec is booting/has booted HEM as a contract manufacturer, why not move manufacturing to, say, Brooklyn?

It's not only labor cost, they certainly sell a lot in Europe, and it can cost less to distribute products from within Europe than all from USA.
And there are a lot of Polish carriers everywhere in Europe, they operate from Poland but have lots of people in every countries able to beat price/time of established national carriers. It may be link to that more than labor cost of product production itself... or at least counts in.

I am trying to understand what you mean, typically, if you stop your business relation with a manufacturing facility, you don't let them keeping making your products.. Are those "old designs" still sold by Mytek? if so they didn't "stop working with them". Or did the manufacturing house just chose to keep doing these products even tough the contract with mytek is over and sell them as Mytek products for their benefit. Are we talking discontinued design? Grey market? Sorry your statement is not clear.

You could also find cases like a company doesn't want to work with the manufacturer anymore and stops paying, but manufacturer has a production running, and they would agree to let them sell this last production themselves, but it would be under their own name, or at least another one than the company who stopped working with them.

Anyway, here's what they said :

"Mytek Audio has announced a slew of new products to be launched throughout 2021 following the shifting of production to the new larger factory in Poland that took place last Summer. This change, originally prompted by a loss of confidence in previous manufacturer and EU distributor, HEM Electronics coincides with development of Mytek's new product platform, based on Roon OS and Linux Audio. This created the strategic need to update all of the new Mytek streaming DACs to this new platform. Consequently, most of Mytek's existing products have been discontinued and will no longer be available.

A selection of nine brand new products will be released in 2021, beginning with the Flagship $20K Empire Streamer. In addition, Mytek’s own recently established EU Branch, Mytek Europe Corporation in Warsaw, Poland has become the European Distributor for Mytek Products, effective since November 1, 2020. HEM Electronics is no longer representing Mytek, nor are they involved in any way with Mytek business.

The new factory will manufacture all new models with exception of the Empire Streamer, which is currently being assembled at Mytek's Brooklyn, New York facility..."