[Mastad0n]

Hi guys,
Just wondering how many are still using the DP1 ?
Last month I upgraded the main system to a chord Qutest/ MScaler duo and been playing more music than ever ...
DP1 is a keeper for Occasional mobile duties with laptop and powered Sub/ satellites but recently hooked it up via toslink to
the MScaler as a headphone amp and it’s never sounded better ... obviously a more than capable DAC/ headphone amp to pass on the sound
quality out of the MScaler ...

 

[Mastad0n]

I still use mine directly connected to my computer along with a set of original LCD-2s. I really like the combo and while I have been on the verge of jumping on a tube amp and newer headphones, listening to good music on what I already have has stopped me from spending the money.

 

[The Jester]

I still use mine directly connected to my computer along with a set of original LCD-2s. I really like the combo and while I have been on the verge of jumping on a tube amp and newer headphones, listening to good music on what I already have has stopped me from spending the money.

From what I’ve listened to so far the DP1 is only limited by what’s fed into it ... only using half of the Mscalers potential compared to the Qutest
but 176.4 via toslink with up sampling turned of is wonderful ...

 

[Abstraction]

From what I’ve listened to so far the DP1 is only limited by what’s fed into it ... only using half of the Mscalers potential compared to the Qutest
but 176.4 via toslink with up sampling turned of is wonderful ...

I have a DP1 connected that I bought used several years ago in one room and a Mytek Brooklyn in another room, both connected to Mac minis. I use HD800 with the DP1. The Brooklyn outputs to an antique tube amp. I occasionly use the Brooklyn with phones.I prefer to DP1 but have no urge to upgrade either one. It would cost a $ thousands to make a significant improvement in sound.

 

[mickeyduff]

I’ve started using mine as a pre-amp straight into a Bel Canto S300 power amp, also using it to feed a Ergo Amp &Amt headphone set up.
The problem is the RCA/XLR output signal level is 3 Vrms which is on the high side. Does anyone know if it can be reduced without in-line attenuators?
I have never downloaded any of the software updates and don’t know if it can be done that way or can only be done through hardware/internally in the circuitry.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ZeusOdin]

I have a DP1 connected that I bought used several years ago in one room and a Mytek Brooklyn in another room, both connected to Mac minis. I use HD800 with the DP1. The Brooklyn outputs to an antique tube amp. I occasionly use the Brooklyn with phones.I prefer to DP1 but have no urge to upgrade either one. It would cost a $ thousands to make a significant improvement in sound.

You have (had) both of these two DACs I am considering for purchase. Looks like you recently unloaded the Brooklyn. I am planning to buy a DAC to integrate with Roon and Tidal. I have the SOtM sMS-200ultra neo network streamer adapter, Onkyo TX-NR809 receiver, Canton 3.2 DC Reference speakers, and Classe CT-M600 monoblock amps. My first question is do you know if Roon will recognize the DP1 as a valid output? I ask because the DP1 is 10 years old. I think Roon would recognize it but hey what do I know. The second question is what would the DP1 do when it encounters DSD, MQA, and other files / streams it does not recognize? I am guessing it will translate to the default PCM 192 kHz / 24 bit.

It seems that the DP1 is "better" than the Brooklyn by just a nose. It is the DAC that I slightly prefer due to its hefty weight, thoughtful design, and slightly better imaging and soundstage. However, as of right this moment, I will buy the Brooklyn because it is still a phenomenal unit that recognizes DSD256 and MQA. The Brooklyn is more recent (which is not necessarily a good thing), supports more protocols, is slightly more flexible, supports 384 kHz / 32 bit, and has a better display. Does it bother you that the Brooklyn is only 4 lbs? Mytek is still in operation whereas April Music is defunct.

Regardless of which unit I buy, I can't lose. Both units are amazing. They both have impeccable lineages. Like they say, This is a good problem to have. Thanks so much for your time.

 

[Abstraction]

You have (had) both of these two DACs I am considering for purchase. Looks like you recently unloaded the Brooklyn. I am planning to buy a DAC to integrate with Roon and Tidal. I have the SOtM sMS-200ultra neo network streamer adapter, Onkyo TX-NR809 receiver, Canton 3.2 DC Reference speakers, and Classe CT-M600 monoblock amps. My first question is do you know if Roon will recognize the DP1 as a valid output? I ask because the DP1 is 10 years old. I think Roon would recognize it but hey what do I know. The second question is what would the DP1 do when it encounters DSD, MQA, and other files / streams it does not recognize? I am guessing it will translate to the default PCM 192 kHz / 24 bit.

It seems that the DP1 is "better" than the Brooklyn by just a nose. It is the DAC that I slightly prefer due to its hefty weight, thoughtful design, and slightly better imaging and soundstage. However, as of right this moment, I will buy the Brooklyn because it is still a phenomenal unit that recognizes DSD256 and MQA. The Brooklyn is more recent (which is not necessarily a good thing), supports more protocols, is slightly more flexible, supports 384 kHz / 32 bit, and has a better display. Does it bother you that the Brooklyn is only 4 lbs? Mytek is still in operation whereas April Music is defunct.

Regardless of which unit I buy, I can't lose. Both units are amazing. They both have impeccable lineages. Like they say, This is a good problem to have. Thanks so much for your time.

To my ear, the DP-1 better by more than my a nose. I unloaded the Brooklyn and bought a second DP-1. They work fine with Roon and manage all the recordings that show up on Tidal well. I found that with the Brooklyn that I rarely noticed noticed MQA. When a recording seemed especially good, it was generally because it was well recorded, not because of MQA. I also found the little buttons and complicated switching functions frustrating to deal with. Too many unnecessary options. I do not really need a switch function to change the color of the LEDs. It is true that April Music is defunct, but I found a like new DP1 for $1150. If it goes bad, I saved enough to buy another one.

 

[ZeusOdin]

To my ear, the DP-1 better by more than my a nose. I unloaded the Brooklyn and bought a second DP-1. They work fine with Roon and manage all the recordings that show up on Tidal well. I found that with the Brooklyn that I rarely noticed noticed MQA. When a recording seemed especially good, it was generally because it was well recorded, not because of MQA. I also found the little buttons and complicated switching functions frustrating to deal with. Too many unnecessary options. I do not really need a switch function to change the color of the LEDs. It is true that April Music is defunct, but I found a like new DP1 for $1150. If it goes bad, I saved enough to buy another one.

You had me at "To my ear".... I just purchased the DP1 for $981. It is a phenomenal price. I even had questions that the seller hadn't answered yet. I purchased anyway. And you're right, it's such an advantageous price that even with a failure, I can purchase another unit. I would have preferred to purchase from Head-Fi but there were no DP1 listings. I love the fact that the DP1 has a large torroidal transformer. April Music thought about the power supply and made it as quiet as possible out-of-the-box. Many DACs produced today still require an additional purchase of a linear power supply for noise reduction. Thank you, Abstraction, for sharing your experience. You literally changed my buying decision. I am deeply in your debt.

 

[Abstraction]

You had me at "To my ear".... I just purchased the DP1 for $981. It is a phenomenal price. I even had questions that the seller hadn't answered yet. I purchased anyway. And you're right, it's such an advantageous price that even with a failure, I can purchase another unit. I would have preferred to purchase from Head-Fi but there were no DP1 listings. I love the fact that the DP1 has a large torroidal transformer. April Music thought about the power supply and made it as quiet as possible out-of-the-box. Many DACs produced today still require an additional purchase of a linear power supply for noise reduction. Thank you, Abstraction, for sharing your experience. You literally changed my buying decision. I am deeply in your debt.

Nervous about being responsible for you (chuckle), but the heft of the DP1 is nice. I suspect the heavy weight ps is a consideration in the high SQ. Mytek recommends a high-powered external ps for the Brooklyn. I never tried that.

I am running the DP1 in my study through a Sonore utlraRendu (mostly HD800) and the one in the living through a microRendu (mostly Rosinante Signature speakers). I added the Micro when it first came out, and the ultra perhaps a year later. I haven't thought much about them for quite a while, but I have the feeling they were doing good work.

 

[all300b]

HI,

I had the DP1 for years; it is a sweet sounding DAC with great build and nice headphone output. A quick caveat about comparisons with other DACs- the DP1 output is higher than typical - I believe 3V single-ended instead of 2. I ended up using the DP-1 volume control to level match using a microphone and SPL meter (about 5-6 clicks down from wide open). After that, the routine ass kicking the DP1 was giving the Topping D90 under comparison disappeared. To my ears and in my system, the differences morphed into more of a "different flavors" thing. I actually ended up preferring the D90 using HQ player upsampling options. It is possible that defeating the volume on the DP-1 marginally diminished its sound quality.

 

[Abstraction]

I have no patients for A-B testing. I bought the DP1 because it got great reviews and was cheap. I'm not sure why I
bought the Brooklyn. It had just appeared. The Mytek headquarters are just a few blocks from where I live. I figured it would
be okay. My judgement on them is a result of using both of them more or less daily for some years. I did use them in
one location exclusively with cans; in the other location mostly with speakers. But I would occasionally exchanged
places. When I realized I could sell the Brooklyn and buy a DP1 on even up money, I didn't hesitate.

 

[ZeusOdin]

Nervous about being responsible for you (chuckle), but the heft of the DP1 is nice. I suspect the heavy weight ps is a consideration in the high SQ. Mytek recommends a high-powered external ps for the Brooklyn. I never tried that.

I am running the DP1 in my study through a Sonore utlraRendu (mostly HD800) and the one in the living through a microRendu (mostly Rosinante Signature speakers). I added the Micro when it first came out, and the ultra perhaps a year later. I haven't thought much about them for quite a while, but I have the feeling they were doing good work.

Ha ha ha, no need to be nervous. I finally received both the DP1 and an incredibly well-built LPS from EBay. Heavy and very nice LPS. Connected the SOtM sMS-200ultra NEO streamer bridge to the DP1. Installed Roon. Played... Nothing. No sound. I realized that maybe the volume on my receiver was too low. I increased beyond normal max listening level of 70. This is usually too loud. I have never made it to 80 with normally sourced music. I went all the way to max of 96. The sound increased. I can hear the music. But it is extremely low volume. I have been working at it for 2 days. It appears that the DP1 is reporting that it's volume level range is -60 to 0. I am pretty sure this should be 0 to 100. Have tried every permutation of settings with Roon, sMS-200, and DP1. Roon reports a signal path of FLAC --> MQA --> sMS-200 --> DSP volume 0.00 --> USB Output. If I play a local FLAC file, it's more less the same path except the first two steps are replaced by FLAC Lossless. I have applied no DSP settings. Did not request a volume of zero. Strange indeed. Extremely frustrating. I can sense the raw power and elegance of the DP1... but I would need to hear it for myself! Lol. Any suggestions?

 

[Abstraction]

Ha ha ha, no need to be nervous. I finally received both the DP1 and an incredibly well-built LPS from EBay. Heavy and very nice LPS. Connected the SOtM sMS-200ultra NEO streamer bridge to the DP1. Installed Roon. Played... Nothing. No sound. I realized that maybe the volume on my receiver was too low. I increased beyond normal max listening level of 70. This is usually too loud. I have never made it to 80 with normally sourced music. I went all the way to max of 96. The sound increased. I can hear the music. But it is extremely low volume. I have been working at it for 2 days. It appears that the DP1 is reporting that it's volume level range is -60 to 0. I am pretty sure this should be 0 to 100. Have tried every permutation of settings with Roon, sMS-200, and DP1. Roon reports a signal path of FLAC --> MQA --> sMS-200 --> DSP volume 0.00 --> USB Output. If I play a local FLAC file, it's more less the same path except the first two steps are replaced by FLAC Lossless. I have applied no DSP settings. Did not request a volume of zero. Strange indeed. Extremely frustrating. I can sense the raw power and elegance of the DP1... but I would need to hear it for myself! Lol. Any suggestions?

There are so many permutations. It is hard to say. Have you stripped it down to the minimum? Just take a streaming source from the computer, USB to DP1. Skip Roon. It can be very cranky. If it is a Roon problem, I found the support at Roon grumpy but very knowledgeable and helpful.

 

[ZeusOdin]

I don't care what your Brooklyn neighbors say about you, you are brilliant! Lol. The DAC is right next to my CD player, so I connected them via coaxial. Why didn't I think of that? Same problem, extremely low volume. The CD player connected directly to the receiver works perfectly. I will test with another component but it does appear the issue is the volume control on the DP1. Even when I use variable volume and adjust the volume control on the DP1, the actal volume doesn't change at all. It appears that the unit is stuck on a very low volume and will not adjust. If you have any other suggestions, I am open to them. Thanks so much.

 

[Abstraction]

I don't care what your Brooklyn neighbors say about you, you are brilliant! Lol. The DAC is right next to my CD player, so I connected them via coaxial. Why didn't I think of that? Same problem, extremely low volume. The CD player connected directly to the receiver works perfectly. I will test with another component but it does appear the issue is the volume control on the DP1. Even when I use variable volume and adjust the volume control on the DP1, the actal volume doesn't change at all. It appears that the unit is stuck on a very low volume and will not adjust. If you have any other suggestions, I am open to them. Thanks so much.

The implications of trying to help ZeusOdin just struck.
One of the things I like about the DP1 is that there are not many buttons to push. That it doesn't work the CD player is not good. You want it to work on all of the inputs no matter what you will generally use. It looks like the SOtM sMS-200ultra has a USB out. But it looks like the DP1 has a problem.