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I bought a discontinued and lightly used Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC as I've always wanted to try one out. This one showed up on Audiogon for just over 1/4 the original MSRP so I snapped it up.This early DSD DAC requires a manufacturer supplied USB driver for PC -AND- Mac but their driver is developed by a third party and Mytek customer support told me it's been a challenge getting a newer USB driver written for Mac OS 10.11.x "El Capitan", the current Mac OS X release. They offered to send me a workaround until the driver was done.
The Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adapter arrived today all the way from Poland! I had no idea I was dealing with Mytek support clear across the globe.
I wanted the try the DAC on my wife's MacBook Pro which doesn't have a Firewire port (and the USB driver for Mac OS X 10.11 isn't done) so this Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter worked out perfectly. The Mytek also has a Firewire input. I was very surprised at how responsive the folks at Mytek were. I interacted with them via their customer service website and email, and they didn't even care that I wasn't the original owner of the DAC. Great customer support!
Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC via Firewire on the Mac Mini
Thunderbolt to Firewire Adapter for attaching Mytek DAC to computers lacking a Firewire port
The other cool features of this DAC that will come in handy for me include it's ability to 'pair' with a standard Apple remote control as I have a few of those lying around the house. It also has a volume control so I'll be able to use it without a preamp should I decide to drive a power amp directly. And the Apple remote will be able to control the Mytek's volume along with other functions.
How does the Mytek sound? Excellent for an early generation DSD DAC but I still prefer my PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC by a slight margin. It was released just last year.
Standard Apple Remote works on Mytek DAC
Edits: 09/03/16Follow Ups:
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I did. I reduced the gain and set the volume control to analog, I believe. Not sure on the latter. I'd have to go through the manual again to check all the settings in detail as the Mytek is very versatile.
It took some effort and experimentation:
1. set volume to digital
2. set internal jumpers to low output setting
3. use HQPlayer to for upsampling to either 176/32 or 192/24 or DSD128
4. burn unit in for 200+ hours
With my system the DAC drives powered speakers directly. Normal gain setting in the Mytek is -12 dB with -4 dB in HQPlayer (needed because of use of software room correction). Without the HQP reduction, normal gain setting would be -16 dB. (This is with acoustic music, no loudness wars).
The 44 kHz playback filters in the Mytek come from the SABRE chip and they are junk, hence the upsampling. Using DSD128 provides a smoother sound since Miksa's modulator seems to work better than SABRE at this speed. DSD128 is the Mytek's sweet spot.
The op-amps used in the Mytek sound better when they are under driven (e.g. with digital volume control). Especially the extra set of op-amps which are used with the analog volume control. They don't contribute any "euphonic" distortion when they are bypassed out of the circuit.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Thanks Tony. I'll keep a link to your post handy. I'll have an opportunity to check and make changes when I get back from this trip.
I bought a Mytek at retail ($1500 or so) a couple years ago. It could not best my Teac UD-301 ($399). Mytek had a 'Return Policy', so it went back. I would have kept it, if it sonically bested the Teac, but it did not. IMNSHO, DACs are more equal than Unequal. Sometimes the emperor has no clothes.Cut-Throat
Edits: 09/03/16
DACs are more equal than Unequal.Among the "better" DACs I tend to agree. And I didn't say among the more expensive DACs. But there are still slight differences that stand out.
In this grouping of what I am calling "better" DACs I think it becomes more of a slight 'flavor' difference and a matter personal preference.
I like all of these DACs: PS Audio NuWave, PS Audio NuWave DSD, Ayre QB-9 DSD, Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC. And I like them all with plain ole PCM too.
And then there are those DACs that stand out way too much and just didn't sound right, to my ears anyway: Luxman DA-06, Wavelength Brick v3, Oppo HA-1. The first two were very smooth and warm but lacked detail, sounded rolled off at the frequency extremes, a little soft and veiled. The last one was 'thin' and analytical to my ears.... no 'meat' in the mids bordering on cold, lean, and not very engaging. That's also how I would describe the Bryston 7BSST2 monoblocks that I once owned. ;-)
Edits: 09/03/16 09/03/16
I had pretty much decided to buy the Mytek when a local dealer had a used Benchmark Dac2 HGC. I was able to trade in a preamp I couldn't sell.
Later, I learned that you could only upgrade the Mytek through the Firewire input. Not having any Mac gear, that might have been a problem. I also think the Benchmark has a better isolated usb connection, also an issue for me.
I have always wondered about it's sound quality. Cut-Throat answers that.
The new model Mytek is one of the few new dacs with MQA. My guess is there will be a lot of used 192-DSD available soon. I personally prefef the looks of the one you bought.
Yup... A couple years ago, I was trying most all of the DACs that I could up to $6K and found that they were very similar soundwise. I have suspended my DAC hunt for now.
I now read "HiFi" reviews where they are comparing $10 Chinese DAC boards for Raspberry Pi's favorably to $4 Grand DACs.
Cut-Throat
Do you have a link to that 10$ chinese PI DAC? What 4k DACs?
Seems this magazine has found an even better deal.
I compared my new - rather well powered - 55$ MamboBerry LS to my modified $1200 RME UCX. And it's the MamboBerry that stays.
I have been doing a lot of reading the past couple weeks on Raspberry Pi's and came across many reviews/articles on DACs for the Pi.
Here is one. (I think this DAC was a zillion Dollars :-)
https://volumio.org/raspberry-pi-i2s-dac-sounds-so-good/
Cut-Throat
Please. No BS. You talked about a 10$DAC!
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