[bearmann]

Hmmm... I wouldn't say they 'degraded' the design. In the MKII you get a better regulated power supply, you get better (read: more powerful) output buffers (they switched from BC560+BC550 to TIP41C+TIP42C) and you get a better volume pot. Could be worse I think...

You can find the schematic of the MKII PCB here

 

[devast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearmann /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm... I wouldn't say they 'degraded' the design. In the MKII you get a better regulated power supply, you get better (read: more powerful) output buffers (they switched from BC560+BC550 to TIP41C+TIP42C) and you get a better volume pot. Could be worse I think... You can find the schematic of the MKII PCB here

Wow, thanks a lot for that. That helped a lot. MK2 is missing the 0,1uf filter caps at the opamps v+ and v-. That might be ok with stock opamps, but more exotic opamps will go wild. But let's not hijack the thread, i'm curious about the performance of the muse unit

 

[pp312]

If I can get an acknowledgement from the seller, I may actually get one and be able to post impressions. But it's been 3 days now and nothing. Maybe it's so good he doesn't want to let it go.

 

[RobertTilson]

The eBay seller of the Muse DAC is certainly not as responsive or friendly as the seller of the Aune units. That being said, I've been thinking about getting the Muse instead of the Aune for two reasons:
1. Price, currently (on eBay) the Muse is $40 cheaper than the Aune
2. Muse has an optical input. Frankly, for better or worse, coaxial is practically extinct; I'd love to use a digital coaxial line into my headphone amp, but unless you want to run everything through a converter of one form or another, you're going to find that most common audio sources just don't do digital coaxial. CD/DVD players, TVs, computers, and video game consoles are all much more likely to have TOSLINK than digital coaxial.

Something I do wonder about though is the line-out. The Aune does not amp the line-out (the volume knob doesn't control the volume for anything other than headphones), what about the Muse?

Also, can anyone really compare the construction quality? I've heard complaints about the Muse being made cheaper; does this mean the unit is likely to break, that it will feel cheaper (such as the volume knob wiggling, for example), or simply that it is a bit worse quality, but the consumer is unlikely to notice the difference?

Any thoughts would be welcome, if anyone is still interested in talking about this topic.

 

[pp312]

I now have a Muse and, though I'm reluctant to comment on sound quality (frankly, one amp sounds much like another to me, and that includes integrateds), I can attest that the Muse appears well constructed and professionally finished, with no thumps, clunks, hum or buzz. As to reliability....I really think this is a lottery. All these Chinese sellers are contesting in a hot market; they no more want failures than we do. You could buy from one with a slightly better reputation than another and have the unit die the second day; or buy one with no reputation and have it last a lifetime.

The only con I would note about the Muse is that the Muse op-amps, unlike the Aune, are not socketted, so no swapping. Could be a deal breaker.

EDIT: A couple of points. I was just re-listening to the sound and noted how neutral and clean it was and how much fine detail came through. I'm not the world's greatest Golden Ear but I'd be surprised if anyone was disappointed in the sound.

Second point: I just tried running a lead from the line out on the back to an integrated amp and couldn't get any sound at all. Tried all the switches...nothing. Not sure what's happening here.

 

[RobertTilson]

Are you saying that the line-out on your Muse is not producing any sound whatsoever? I'm assuming that you are using USB or SPDIF as your audio source (not line-in to line-out).

Though this might seem a strange question, does your line-IN output sound under any configuration? I've seen cases where audio-ins and audio-outs have been installed backward; not sure if that is a possibility in this case, but it popped into my head.

 

[pp312]

I get line out sound with digital in. This post will no doubt betray my profound ignorance, but why can I not get line out sound from an analogue input? I'd have thought it was just a loop, that the input would just be looped through to the output.

Stop sniggering behind your hands, you two over there!

 

[RobertTilson]

Well, you should be able to get analogue out while using an analogue source for input. I'd be interested in finding out more about the Muse's power supply; I got some strange results with analog when I under powered an Aune.

For clarification, how many of the following illustrations would you say correctly match your situation?


(The image should be a clickable thumbnail -- I'm not really sure which image-hosting site is best for posting on forums)

 

[devast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I get line out sound with digital in. This post will no doubt betray my profound ignorance, but why can I not get line out sound from an analogue input? I'd have thought it was just a loop, that the input would just be looped through to the output. Stop sniggering behind your hands, you two over there!

You will get line out from the digital source, even if you use analogue line in. Line out is hardwired to the digital stage. Line in is wired to a switch, that lets you switch between the internal digital source or the line in on the headamp. The dac, and the headamp stages are totally independent.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertTilson /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, you should be able to get analogue out while using an analogue source for input. I'd be interested in finding out more about the Muse's power supply; I got some strange results with analog when I under powered an Aune.

Under powered? Not sure I understand that. And what strange results?


As for the thumbnails, the first matched my situation; couldn't make much out of the others. But you should know that after clicking on those thumbnails I was invited to a hot sex site, and after agreeing to terms which I thought referred to the thumbnail hosting site, I was transported to said sex site. This is not good. If I start receiving emails inviting me to other hot sex sites, you won't be getting a Christmas present.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devast /img/forum/go_quote.gif You will get line out from the digital source, even if you use analogue line in. Line out is hardwired to the digital stage. Line in is wired to a switch, that lets you switch between the internal digital source or the line in on the headamp. The dac, and the headamp stages are totally independent.

Well, this sounds entirely logical, even if I am still a little disappointed that I can't get analogue out from analogue in.

At least your reply didn't take me to a hot sex site.

 

[RobertTilson]

In my previous post I was simply referring to the possibility of your power supply outputting an incorrect voltage, but if the first figure in those illustrations was the only one which looked familiar, then this isn't likely the problem. What Devast said makes perfect sense if that describes the problem you are experiencing.

In reference to the hot sex site: I'm sorry that the image hosting site I sent you to had a **** pop-up; I just went with the first free image hosting site I found. The good news is that accidentally clicking on a pop-up doesn't give a website your email address, so there shouldn't be any problem (unless you actually filled out a form to sign up for some website).

 

[pp312]

My sex site remarks were tongue-in-cheek, but I did once actually get involved in a sex site, even to the point of having money deducted from my account, whilst searching for a soundtrack record. Right--if you can see the connecton there you're a better man than I am. I thought I was signing up for an opportunity to download some music files; instead I got involved in something that still causes me to get pornographic emails every day. The way they do it--and your site was the same--is they present something that you're immediately going to click off (if you're like me), but some sort of consent form stays behind which you think is part of the site you're visiting, not the one you just clicked off. Cunning really.

Sorry to interrupt with extraneous info. Now back to (fully clothed) amps.....

 

[weibby]

HIFIDIY MINI USB DAC-HIFIDIY
MINI USB DAC´ú×°³ÉÆ·£¬HIFIDIYÈËÆø²úÆ·-Ó°ÒôµçÆ÷ - ÌÔ±¦Íø

Interesting 560 yuan - 82 USD for cost w/o shipping

 

[RobertTilson]

I'm going to bite the bullet and buy one of these amps, after I get it, (not sure how long that will take) and test it out I'll post my review on this site; frankly, I just haven't found that many reviews of the Muse online. Naturally, I'll be comparing it against the Aune.