[Soundsgoodtome]

I just keep the top unscrewed but if you got little ones or pets that might like to pull on things, your best bet would be thumb screws.

So,..... With tube rolling, is there an easy safe way to swap tubes besides removing the top? I hate having those tiny screws rolling around and parts exposed.

 

[Barra]

Thumb screws are not a bad idea if I can find them that small.

 

[ericr]

For the last few weeks I've just been keeping mine finger tight.

 

[M3NTAL]

Does anyone have a photo of a finished R-Core swap with US Voltage?  The stock transformer has RED RED BLACK BLACK and nothing wired to the IEC inlet. Am I taking the middle RED / BLACK to the IEC?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Does anyone have a photo of a finished R-Core swap with US Voltage?  The stock transformer has RED RED BLACK BLACK and nothing wired to the IEC inlet. Am I taking the middle RED / BLACK to the IEC?

~pg 110 give or take, all your mod needs are a few pages after that.

I believe it's the outside cables but you'll need to check. The red cable out of the r-core is for 220v only. When swapping to the r- core you'll have no voltage selection, you have to wire either 115v or 220v

 

[Luckbad]

Is this the definitive MHDT DAC thread? I'm considering getting one.
 
How many folks here have compared them to some of the other R-2R NOS DAC offerings?
 
The only I've owned is the Audio-GD NOS1704. Sounded great but was a little syrupy/soft for me.
 
The Master-11 I have now can run in NOS mode and sound excellent as well, but much more detailed than the above.
 
I'm looking for a NOS R-2R DAC for my work setup. Considering a DAC-19 and going NOS with it, but more recently (after failing to buy a Paradisea 3 from @Soundsgoodtome), I've been looking at MHDT, Monarchy, and some other DACs.

 

[s1rrah]

  Is this the definitive MHDT DAC thread? I'm considering getting one.
 
How many folks here have compared them to some of the other R-2R NOS DAC offerings?
 
The only I've owned is the Audio-GD NOS1704. Sounded great but was a little syrupy/soft for me.
 
The Master-11 I have now can run in NOS mode and sound excellent as well, but much more detailed than the above.
 
I'm looking for a NOS R-2R DAC for my work setup. Considering a DAC-19 and going NOS with it, but more recently (after failing to buy a Paradisea 3 from @Soundsgoodtome), I've been looking at MHDT, Monarchy, and some other DACs.

 
The Havana 2 DAC isn't what I would call "syrupy" ... it is certainly a NOS/R2R design, and a well realized one in that it is on the warm side of the DAC spectrum with just gorgeous musicality and a non-fatiguing signature.  The MHDT Labs Stockholm v2 is technically a better DAC, continuing the musical ease evident in the Havana DAC but being a bit more resolving and detailed.  Both the Havana and Stockholm v2 DACs use the venerable PCM56P DAC chip (x2 in dual mono) and so even though capable of receiving input up to 192/24bit, they are both nonetheless limited to 16bit output (a simple limitation of the PCM56P chips). They are both excellent DACs and that statement is echoed in many glowing reviews both here and online in general; you'd be hard pressed to find anything online in the way of negative comments regarding either one.
 
That said, I've been fortunate enough to have a MHDT Pagoda DAC  in my house for the past few months and can say it's a bit of a departure from both the Havana 2 and the Stockholm 2 DAC.  
 
...
 

 
(that vertically aligned bit of gear in between the DACs and my amp is a Mapletree switch box that lets me instantly switch (A/B) between DACs while listening; very handy for comparisons...)
 
...
 
Though still a very musical, very classic sounding NOS/R2R design, the Pagoda DAC uses dual PCM1704 DAC chips in it's circuit as opposed to the PCM56P chips used in both of the above two mentioned DACS; this alone creates quite a different sound signature.  The PCM1704 chips in the Pagoda produce a much more detailed sound overall with markedly  more sparkly highs, slightly tighter bass and a more spatious, more airy sound stage presentation overall ... the PCM56P chips in the Havana 2 and Stockholm 2 on the other hand yield a slightly more musical, warm presentation that doesn't give quite the 3 dimensional imaging of the Pagoda.  I've been A/Bing the Stockholm v2 and the Pagoda DACs quite often for the past few months (in preparation for a review) and the differences are quite obvious. I love them both but I think either would best suit particular listeners with particular needs.
 
Further, due to the usage of the PCM1704 DACs, the Pagoda can receive input up to 192/24bits and can maintain that 24bit stream all the way through output; it is a true 24bit capable DAC and when playing high resolution files, this makes a huge difference.  Clarity goes through the roof and detail/micro detail retrieval, sound stage and imaging really reach the "spooky" level. Another interesting bit of trivia is that, according to my reading online, the Burr Brown PCM1704 is the only option currently available for the construction of non-oversampling, true 24bit digital to analogue converters. It's today still recognized among many builders as the finest sounding, most musical DAC chip available today (some interesting reading regarding the PCM1704 can be found here: Lessloss comments on PCM1704.  
 
I listen to primarily Redbook resolution FLACS and so the high resolution dexterity of the Pagoda isn't that important to me.  But even with Redbook listening, the Pagoda is a noticeably more resolving DAC ... as mentioned, that difference coming through mostly in noticeably more sparkle in the highs and a more airy/3D presentation.
 
I listen through Grado PS1000's and I think I ever so slightly more enjoy the Stockholm 2 with them since the Grados are already high frequency sensitive but at times, and with other headphones, I prefer the more articulate, detailed Pagoda DAC.  
 
Judging from your comments in your initial post, I would recommend trying to hear a Pagoda DAC if at all possible... sounds like exactly what your looking for.
 
BTW: here's a handy spreadsheet showing the technical differences among all the MHDT DACs. You will note that both the Havana and Havana 2 still use operational amplification (OPAMP) in their circuit and so among all of the offerings, they are going to be the warmest and otherwise lack some of the overall resolution and clarity of the upper end DACs:  MHDT Labs DAC Families
 
Best,
Joel

 

[Luckbad]

Great info, thanks! I do love the PCM1704 sound. My main dac at home is an Audio-GD Master-11 and I've had 3 others with the chip. It does NOS mode rather well.

I was hoping to spend a chunk less than the Pagoda, so I'm primarily looking at the Stockholm 2 and Atlantis. I've heard good things about the AD1862 but haven't heard a dac using one.

 

[Luckbad]

Think I'm biting on the Atlantis. It's a really good price for an AD1862N-J dac.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

This was yesterday at a mini-meet where we compared the Pagoda, Havana, and Paradisea 3. MHDT definitely has a "house" sound we were able to figure and that while these were generations apart, the Paradisea still had a lot to offer specially at the prices you're able to acquire one (if you can find one that is). Unfortunately my rig didn't succesfully implement an a/b/c switch due to a faulty optical splitter but we were still able to a/b two of three dacs at a time.

ericr has pioneered something exciting here. With an adapter from Jeremy at Garage 1217, we were able to use 6SN7 tubes on his Paradisea and we've also tried it on the Havana. My Pagoda was a baseline with the bendix 2c51 so we can get a better feel on sound changes the 6sn7 made and let me tell, those tubes on the MHDT Dacs is pretty magical. **disclaimer: I'm not associated with Garage 1217 but these adapters are not the same adapter for 6SN7 to the Project amps despite looking EXACTLY the same. Maybe ericr can chime in here as he knows a bit more on the adapter and where to get em. As far as I know, Garage 1217 is the only source for these properly pinned adapters.

 

[Luckbad]

Jeremy is awesome! What 6SN7 tubes worked well?

If I am able to get the Atlantis, I'll pick an adapter up. This DAC will feed my Garage1217 Project Sunrise III.

 

[s1rrah]

This was yesterday at a mini-meet where we compared the Pagoda, Havana, and Paradisea 3. MHDT definitely has a "house" sound we were able to figure and that while these were generations apart, the Paradisea still had a lot to offer specially at the prices you're able to acquire one (if you can find one that is). Unfortunately my rig didn't succesfully implement an a/b/c switch due to a faulty optical splitter but we were still able to a/b two of three dacs at a time.

@ericr has pioneered something exciting here. With an adapter from Jeremy at Garage 1217, we were able to use 6SN7 tubes on his Paradisea and we've also tried it on the Havana. My Pagoda was a baseline with the bendix 2c51 so we can get a better feel on sound changes the 6sn7 made and let me tell, those tubes on the MHDT Dacs is pretty magical. **disclaimer: I'm not associated with Garage 1217 but these adapters are not the same adapter for 6SN7 to the Project amps despite looking EXACTLY the same. Maybe @ericr can chime in here as he knows a bit more on the adapter and where to get em. As far as I know, Garage 1217 is the only source for these properly pinned adapters.

 
Awesome.

 

[ericr]

The 6SN7 to 5670 adapter is the last item on the Garage 1217 parts page:

garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_012.htm


A while back I scored a killer deal on a Tung-Sol 6SN7 black round plate. It was a bit too warm for me in the Ember. The Havana owner was looking for more bass than the Bendix was giving so using the adapter we put the Tung-Sol in. Several of us liked the results. The adapter only came in on Friday but I did quicky run the Tung-Sol, a Sylvania 6SN7W, and a RCA side-getter GTA (or GTB, not marked) in one of my Paradisea 3. My initial impression was, unlike with the Havana, I stll favor the Bendix in the P3 as it gives the most detail.

The adapters Jeremy makes are fantastic quality and for $25 this one is a fun option to try, especially if you already own, or can borrow some 6SN7s.

DISCLAIMER: the 6SN7 heater current is 600mA. I could not find heater current specs for the MHDT DACs, though they support the 6385 which requires 500mA. Use the adapter at your own risk.

 

[Luckbad]

MHDT Labs Atlantis on the way! Well, paid for. Unless we get definitive info from MHDT regarding the 6SN7  adapter, I'm not picking one up. I did a bunch of investigating, and I think the MHDT dacs are likely fixed bias, which means they're likely dialed in specifically for the 5670 tube type. We might need to change out some hardware to use 6SN7s permanently (likely a simple soldering job, but still not something I want to approach at the moment).
 
Should I make an MHDT Atlantis thread? It seems like this could just as easily be converted to an all-purpose MHDT thread in title since it seems to be already in function.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

There isn't really enough of us, we should just keep this thread and change the title. Is that possible?

Congrats on the Atlantis, looking forward to your impression. The ad chips look promising!