musical paradise dac

Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
Puritan PSM156

Comments

  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    will be picking up one tonight, nothing but outstanding reviews from owners.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    Cool, you might want to see if you can have on hand some other tubes to roll in it though.
    HT SYSTEM-
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,505
    tonyb wrote: »
    Cool, you might want to see if you can have on hand some other tubes to roll in it though.

    Have you heard this dac Tony?
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    i started with upgraded tubes and caps. this 25 lb beast is something special.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • Dawgfish
    Dawgfish Posts: 2,554
    Do tell more......I'm interested in this too!
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    let's start with the cons. this thing is big and heavy(25+ lbs.) it will take up a shelf by itself and needs breathing room for that tube that sticks out on top.
    pros. detailed without being harsh, layers of detail in the midrange, which is on the warm side of neutral.
    there is plenty of tight bass. the speed of the dac is fast.
    here's the weird thing, you know how some equipment has the soundstage pushed forward toward you, this thing seems to instead pull you in your chair closer to it....strange.
    i'm not using it in balance mode so i only had to upgrade two tubes and two caps which made the price $1362 going balanced will push the price up more.
    the great thing about this dac is it's tube rollers dream and now you get to roll caps without having to solder. it woke my system up.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    here's a couple of pics.ygd782jtm44a.jpg
    4io3354z2pw0.jpg
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    Wow looks huge now compared to the product page. What source are you using? Are you using the DAC for the CD? I see Keb Mo there :)
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    Using my cayin cd player as a transport
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    Nice looking dac! So you can change some of the caps out to match the tube? The LH labs vi tube dac has something like that but but at a lot more $$$$$.
    Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300, Audioquest Thunderbird Zero Speaker Cable, Tyler Highland H2, 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.
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    I haven't done any swapping yet.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    Yep2 wrote: »
    marvda1 wrote: »
    let's start with the cons. this thing is big and heavy(25+ lbs.) it will take up a shelf by itself and needs breathing room for that tube that sticks out on top.
    pros. detailed without being harsh, layers of detail in the midrange, which is on the warm side of neutral.
    there is plenty of tight bass. the speed of the dac is fast.
    here's the weird thing, you know how some equipment has the soundstage pushed forward toward you, this thing seems to instead pull you in your chair closer to it....strange.
    i'm not using it in balance mode so i only had to upgrade two tubes and two caps which made the price $1362 going balanced will push the price up more.
    the great thing about this dac is it's tube rollers dream and now you get to roll caps without having to solder. it woke my system up.

    Do you have to discharge the caps before swapping?

    They are in the signal path, so no. You're thinking of power supply caps.
    "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!
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    modwright is now doing mods on the musical paradise dac, I don't know which version or the cost.

    Hi guys, RE the Musical Paradise DAC, I actually have MP D2 DSD DAC here, with AKM DAC chips, Mundorf coupling caps and USB input.

    I am shipping the first unit today, with the following mods:

    Re-biased tube analog stage (optimized for 6922 driver tubes) and replaced signal path resistors with Tantalums.
    Revised power supply operating voltage as part of bias revision.
    Added our own SS High Voltage Regulator circuit to provide rock solid regulated B+ to the tube output stage.
    Bypassed the B+ and regulator rails with MWI custom capacitors.

    It sounds MUCH better than stock now!

    It is actually a well designed and built DAC. In stock form, I found the soundstage to be too diffuse and the tonal balance off. When I looked at operating bias and where the 6922's were operating on the tube curve, I could see that they were operating in a VERY non-linear region. Once this was resolved, alone, things got much better! I then added our own SSHVR (Solid Stage High Voltage Regulator) with MWI bypass and the B+ became VERY clean and VERY tight!

    This translated to tighter and better defined bass and control across the frequency spectrum. The combination now, of proper operating bias, upgraded tube signal path resistors and regulated supply, gives the music a controlled but natural and organic flow.

    I am very pleased with the result!

    Finished photos to follow.

    Thanks,

    Dan W.

    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    edited June 2018
    here's what dan had to say about the mod.

    I did compare it to an Oppo 205 and I was pleasantly surprised to find the sound with our mods to be on the same level as the modified 205. There are some tonal differences, but the level of sonic performance was right on par! Both mods use the 6922 tube and both are optimized for a similar operating point on the tube curve.

    I am very pleased and excited with how this turned out! Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.

    Mod Price: $500 + shipping.

    Thanks,

    Dan Wright
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156