Interesting thread.
As I'm also looking for a new DAC at the moment, I'm happy to read along here.
I currently have the following devices on my “hotlist”:
- Mola Mola Tambaqui
- T+A DAC 200
- Weiss D501
All three are available in midi format and in silver. However, all three offer many functions that I don't actually need (preamp function, various inputs, etc.)
I actually “only” need a USB input and a fixed-level output in XLR format, ideally with an internal, balanced architecture.
There's a second-hand QB-9 Twenty from Ayre on sale at the moment - in principle, that would be enough for the “requirements”.
Or the “Mystique Y” from Mojo Audio, which
@No Regrets recommended, would also fit the bill.
What would be your recommendation to bring digital to a comparable level to analog (which would/should be primary source…)
Fully setup is in the signature - thanks a lot.
atb, Tom
Hey Tom,
I really think that you'd like the Mojo Mystique Y. It would be worth your time to give Benjamin a call or email and have a conversation with him. He's easy to talk to and he love's talking about music and gear and the "why" behind how he builds his gear. He's been doing this stuff for a long time and he does make an amazing product. He also gives you a very generous trial period to make sure his product will fit in well with the rest of your gear. If I remember correctly, it's 45 days.
I bought my Mystique X-24 AM from him new. He advised me to leave it fully powered on, with a digital source playing into it and the dac's output going into a powered pre-amp or amp that is on continually for at least (I think for 150 hours) to break it in. There are a lot of chokes in this unit.
I remember when I first hooked it up in my system, right out of the box... it sounded kind of dull, congested, lifeless, etc. By about 100 hours, it really started to come to life and after 150 hours it was singing. Now, it just floors me with it's musicality, it's fullness, it's dynamics, etc.
I can honestly say this wasn't just a case of me growing accustomed to it. This dac really did change. I had an audiophile friend come hear it a couple of days after I had it first installed. He came back for a listen about a month later and we had to pick his jaw up off the floor because of how much the sound had changed. Unbelievable!
I have a forum friend that bought a used one. He wasn't impressed by the dac at all and returned it to the dealer that he bought it from. I truly believe that he didn't allow enough time for it to resettle and re-energize, for lack of a better term, all of the components in the dac. Even though the dac was used and I would imagine was broken-in at some point; I still think it may take a substantial amount of time, being fully on - actually being used within the connected system for it to come on song again. Or, maybe it's possible that it didn't gel with the other components in his system?
All I can say is that I am absolutely gobsmacked with this dac in my system. In addition, a few weeks ago I spent 3 days at AXPONA hearing the likes of Wadax, DCS, Esoteric, EMM, MSB, and the like. Mojo was also playing in a room there, without me knowing. I was impressed by the sound in that particular room and then when I happened to notice the dac was the Mojo, I completely understood why!
I'm floored by the sound it reproduces off of the recordings with such a small footprint. It doesn't require several large boxes, connected with several multi-thousand dollar cables, taking up tons of precious real estate in your music room.... and best of all, you don't have to deplete your 401K to acquire it either, lol.
Here's a pic of how little space is required to place the Mojo dac, shown on the shelf directly below my Jay's dedicated cd transport...
Here's wishing you choose a dac that will not only meet your needs, but will also give you many years of musical bliss!
Best wishes,
Don
