Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II Streamer Review

[dtaylo1066]

That's a nice looking transformer and a lot of quality electronic parts for such poopy measurements. Big toroid and mini pc crammed into such a small area may not be the best design. I'll take performance over the seemingly endless desire to make components smaller. I guess the old adage is true: it's about performance not size.

 

[RichB]

The reconstruction filter is what's broken if anything.

Ultimately, this is enough for a poor rating that at its core is supposed to be a SOTA DAC.

- Rich

 

[Multicore]

It's a NUC-in-the-box.

Did y'all see this video on Mytek's web site home page? I have so many questions about it that I don't know where to start.

https://cloud.mytek.audio/apps/sharingpath/mytek.audio/header.mp4

Kinda looks like the idea was to use live action photography to make something that looks like output of an AI.

Ok, I decided what question to start with: What's going on through the window? or is it through the looking glass?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Hi

At times we take for granted what ASR has brought to the community of audiophiles: A few years ago. before ASR, we had few (no?) ways to ascertain the quality of this or similar items. The price would have made it somehow .. interesting.. not entirely HEA... borderline maybe @ $5000... A streamer to consider for a "pure" 2-channel system and it can run ROON ...
forward to today...
We know we would (shall?) this expensive product. We know this emperor has few clothes. We know we can get better performance for about 1/10 the price, or if one wants to have the streaming and ROON functionalities, perhaps 1/5? 1/7?
A new era.

Thanks @amirm!

Peace.


Peace

Well, Stereophile has been measuring gear for ages. It's just that they somehow manage to ignore poor measurements in favour of subjective impressions.

 

[DSJR]

In fairness...

This thing packs a lot of features into an attractive (to some) and compact package. I wonder if there could be some rating scale where audible performance is taken into account first, assuming a relatively quiet listening space, and from there you can apply a certain number of points based on functionality, usability, and finally cost to extract a decent representation of value, durability/customer service excluded.

Of course, this is a science-based forum, and these devices are being scrutinized at a level far beyond what a typical consumer might ever need. I get that. But maybe a more pedestrian-friendly assessment could benefit and appeal to a broader group. Just a thought.

I appreciate what you're saying sir, but there are definite basic flaws which could and should have been ironed out in the design stage - supply breakthrough and ridiculous filter (couldn't the latter issue be correctable in firmware maybe?).

Heck, a once CHEAP QED Digit 'Bitstream' dac from pre-Jurassic times has a mu-metal shield across part of its circuit board

 

[Blumlein 88]

Well, Stereophile has been measuring gear for ages. It's just that they somehow manage to ignore poor measurements in favour of subjective impressions.

I don't think "somehow manage" is accurate. They push the idea of ears being the ultimate arbitration via uncontrolled listening described by subjective impressions. So when it measures good they praise that. When the reviewer says it sounds good and it measures badly they make excuses for it and praise it. Their whole ethos is backwards. They measure hoping to make it match listening results. However, the way they carry out their listening evaluation without controls is inherently unreliable.

But that is the whole thing they are selling. Just listen to this and to that. You'll like one better than the other (and almost always you will). So you can do the same tests we do. We audition more gear than you have the chance to just in the way you would. So you can trust our results and even corroborate them.

 

[NDRQ]

PS noise is just a big shame at this price point, even a dirt cheap chinese gadget can avoid PS noise nowadays. To be honest, i expected this kind of crappy performance. Aside from a few nice exception, these kind of big audiophile brands are usually selling garbage products.

Tips from the world of hi-fi, no1: Big audiphile brand+high price+audiophool marketing/praise=almost always trash.

 

[Sokel]

I have discovered the issue, Darko is building them

- Rich

It seems that this is the the version Stereophile reviewed (and got the "Product of the Year" badge) and it has a switching (looks like Mean Well) PSU:

The linear PSU after that was probably demanded so to match a (very) entry level traditional hiend device.
Surely the PSU noise products at -110db can't be audible,but still...

 

[Overseas]

I bet Mytek takes pride in how it 'sounds' and not even trying to pretend to be transparent.

As long as Stereophile or other reviewers do measure it correctly or ignore measurements and recommend it based on 'sound', that is buyers decision.

 

[RichB]

It seems that this is the the version Stereophile reviewed (and got the "Product of the Year" badge) and it has a switching (looks like Mean Well) PSU:

View attachment 352019

The linear PSU after that was probably demanded so to match a (very) entry level traditional hiend device.
Surely the PSU noise products at -110db can't be audible,but still...

Interesting, Mytek moved from a better measuring device with a switching PS to linear PS.
BTW, the filters were also broken in the Stereophile review. Yikes.

- Rich

 

[AudioSceptic]

I don't think "somehow manage" is accurate. They push the idea of ears being the ultimate arbitration via uncontrolled listening described by subjective impressions. So when it measures good they praise that. When the reviewer says it sounds good and it measures badly they make excuses for it and praise it. Their whole ethos is backwards. They measure hoping to make it match listening results. However, the way they carry out their listening evaluation without controls is inherently unreliable.

But that is the whole thing they are selling. Just listen to this and to that. You'll like one better than the other (and almost always you will). So you can do the same tests we do. We audition more gear than you have the chance to just in the way you would. So you can trust our results and even corroborate them.

I agree with you. I was trying to be kind.

 

[bmwr75]

10 lb. of crap in a $5000 bag, to slightly modify the old adage.

 

[MacClintock]

Yo

When getting into audio a few years back I recall seeing this company's devices, but nothing in terms of serious performance measurements of note. The price was high back then, and it seems even higher now. So glad I went the RME route instead (I was mostly looking for all-in-one desktop devices, so while I don't have streaming, I get basically everything else I needed).

I always have a sneaking suspicion of literally any electronic producing company that actually works in NYC metro area. They all strike me as pretentious overhyped marketing nonsense. In audio we have Gradio's headphones (who's heads have gone on record saying "we don't listen to measurements, we listen to audio"). And now we have Mytek selling $5K audio devices that questionably clear CD quality on some fronts. It seems anyone working in this city is willing to spend every single cent on perception of their product rather than using the supposed prestige one might assume when you say your company is based in NYC and makes products there.

I get labor costs, and just cost of business here is high. But come on, have some pride and stop being a bunch of charlatans goodness.. As if NYC doesn't have an image problem enough as it is. Get your products at or above competition if you're going to vye for prestige and a higher asking price.

Agree, you just forgot to mention to top of the list in pretention and being overpriced, the kings, OAM.

 

[amirm]

I wonder if there could be some rating scale where audible performance is taken into account first, assuming a relatively quiet listening space, and from there you can apply a certain number of points based on functionality, usability, and finally cost to extract a decent representation of value, durability/customer service excluded.

An apple dongle at $9 has similar noise and distortion. Surely that would blow away the Mytek in value. Is that what you are asking me to do?

 

[Billy Budapest]

Y’all have lost your minds when SINAD of 98 is "broken". It’s audibly transparent. Of course it’s not worth its price, but that should be an asterisk independent of the technical review.

That’s why I voted it “not terrible.”

 

[amirm]

Y’all have lost your minds when SINAD of 98 is "broken". It’s audibly transparent. Of course it’s not worth its price, but that should be an asterisk independent of the technical review.

That filter is broken and has remained broken for months. Without it, I would have given it the postman mark but with that, it is literally broken with knowledge of the company.

 

[HorizonsEdge]

Another failed attempt at selling the Brooklyn Bridge )

 

[Liya]

As a gaming PC user for over 2 decades, I don't get the point of audio streamers at all let alone something as expensively bad as this one.

I don't get it either.
For me, fanless computer (or MacMini. I have it and never hear its fan) with a tablet (best screen at your fingertips) is the best streamer.

 

[Liya]

double post

 

[Billy Budapest]

An apple dongle at $9 has similar noise and distortion. Surely that would blow away the Mytek in value. Is that what you are asking me to do?

And I thought the Apple dongle was $16. Either way, a massive value proposition.