l.K.S Audio MH-DA004 DAC Review
pearsall001
Posts: 5,068
I just snagged this beauty from Paul (PSOVLSK) & the unit arrived on Fri 12/1. Very quick shipping & this thing would have survived a tsunami the way he had it packed! Excellent transaction from a super fellow Polkie.
Now on to the review. First off the DAC is very heavy & rather large as DAC's go. It weights in at 15.5 lbs, 17"W - 12.5"D - 3.5"H. And lets not forget the remote...weighing in at nearly 7oz of solid steel, no plastic here & could be used as a weapon if needed.
The DAC uses 2 SABRE32 Reference ES9038 pro chips. Now we all know that the chips are only one piece of the puzzle as far as how it will sound. Couple that 2 very large & beefy toroidal transformers & you're starting to have a recipe for success. Another great sign of a quality product is their power supplies. I think they have that covered pretty good here.
Now as far as the other technical items go I'm pretty much a novice. I'll let you guys look at the pics & report back with your thoughts.
Now how does this thing sound?? To sum it up quickly...simply fantastic!!!
I really didn't know what to expect & from my reading the ESS Sabre chips always seemed to get the rap of being a tad bright & adding a bit of sizzle on the top end. Something that I definitely don't like. Well my fears were quickly put to rest. Big time!
I immediately heard a very expansive sound stage w/ what I call meat on the bones. Thick, juicy & lucious. I kept waiting for the digital nasties to real their ugly head but it never happened. Instead I heard nothing but very heart warming satisfying music...in fact as good as the Maggie LRS are they really opened up & strutted their stuff like never before. Sound seemed to float in the air & created a very life like 3D effect. Instruments came to life & filled the room with perfect placement. Vocals, both male & female also rose to the occasion & sounded more present & alive.
I'm still playing around with it's 7 filters. Nothing to report on my findings just yet. I've just toggled thru them just to get the feel of how they sound. I'll focus in one at a time & keep it there to really get a feel of the differences. For now I'm leaving it on FIR Slow Roll-off, Liner Phase Filter. All in all I'm very extatic about how this DAC has the ability to really bring music to life. Tunes that I know by heart are just that much more enjoyable.
And as a side not I know I still have to put together a review of adding the dual REL T/7X subs. The REL's also added a whole new dimension to the music & the DAC has simply added to it.
Now on to the review. First off the DAC is very heavy & rather large as DAC's go. It weights in at 15.5 lbs, 17"W - 12.5"D - 3.5"H. And lets not forget the remote...weighing in at nearly 7oz of solid steel, no plastic here & could be used as a weapon if needed.
The DAC uses 2 SABRE32 Reference ES9038 pro chips. Now we all know that the chips are only one piece of the puzzle as far as how it will sound. Couple that 2 very large & beefy toroidal transformers & you're starting to have a recipe for success. Another great sign of a quality product is their power supplies. I think they have that covered pretty good here.
Now as far as the other technical items go I'm pretty much a novice. I'll let you guys look at the pics & report back with your thoughts.
Now how does this thing sound?? To sum it up quickly...simply fantastic!!!
I really didn't know what to expect & from my reading the ESS Sabre chips always seemed to get the rap of being a tad bright & adding a bit of sizzle on the top end. Something that I definitely don't like. Well my fears were quickly put to rest. Big time!
I immediately heard a very expansive sound stage w/ what I call meat on the bones. Thick, juicy & lucious. I kept waiting for the digital nasties to real their ugly head but it never happened. Instead I heard nothing but very heart warming satisfying music...in fact as good as the Maggie LRS are they really opened up & strutted their stuff like never before. Sound seemed to float in the air & created a very life like 3D effect. Instruments came to life & filled the room with perfect placement. Vocals, both male & female also rose to the occasion & sounded more present & alive.
I'm still playing around with it's 7 filters. Nothing to report on my findings just yet. I've just toggled thru them just to get the feel of how they sound. I'll focus in one at a time & keep it there to really get a feel of the differences. For now I'm leaving it on FIR Slow Roll-off, Liner Phase Filter. All in all I'm very extatic about how this DAC has the ability to really bring music to life. Tunes that I know by heart are just that much more enjoyable.
And as a side not I know I still have to put together a review of adding the dual REL T/7X subs. The REL's also added a whole new dimension to the music & the DAC has simply added to it.
"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
Comments
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"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Where are the tubes......I didn't see any tubes??
I kid. Looks like a nice unit, well built and laid out nice. Not sure what a dac need a remote for, looks like a lot of different settings and filters, etc.
Have fun and give us another review in a few weeks after the newness wears off. Sabre chipsets done correctly can sound excellent. Looks like you have plenty of options as far as contouring the sound via remote.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Man, I'd like to hear what I'm seeing there.
Brian
One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM -
Where are the tubes......I didn't see any tubes??
I kid. Looks like a nice unit, well built and laid out nice. Not sure what a dac need a remote for, looks like a lot of different settings and filters, etc.
Have fun and give us another review in a few weeks after the newness wears off. Sabre chipsets done correctly can sound excellent. Looks like you have plenty of options as far as contouring the sound via remote.
H9
I started dabbling with the filters last night. Just a quick observation... there definitely are different sound signatures for each one. Looks like I have my work cut out for me to see which one I like the best."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Now you see what Marv and I were raving about!Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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Now you see what Marv and I were raving about!
Yes indeed! Without a doubt a worthy addition to my system. More fun to come experimenting with the various filter settings."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Glad you’re enjoying it!Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
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"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
