[oldearwax]

Hi 005 owners, where did you order your unit ? Amazon or Shenzenaudio ?
Please share your purchasing experience. TIA.

 

[JecklinStax]

I live in the Netherlands. I bought mine from the Clear-Components webshop in Cologne, Germany, for €3.025 including all transport and taxes. Service was impeccable.

 

[ti5002000]

Fast Roll-off, Linear Phase Filter
Slow Roll-off, Linear Phase Filter

That is a shame. That wasn't my preferred filters in the 004...

Thanks

 

[moss]

I bought my 005 from Shenzhen. Delivery was a bit slow. I suspect they didn't have it on hand, as previous purchases were very fast.

I suspect the reason for the reduction in number of filters is because of the use of the FPGA. I think they are probably using superior custom filters rather than the ones built into the DAC.

 

[Lennym]

Hi 005 owners, where did you order your unit ? Amazon or Shenzenaudio ?
Please share your purchasing experience. TIA.

You can also order directly from the factory. If they have one in stock it will go out the next day. Web site is mu-sound.com.

 

[DBB1]

I am making some progress toward deciding between buying the Holo May Dac or the 005. I found a humorous but serious negative review of the Holo May on YouTube which has given me some doubt. This is the first negative one I have seen. Other reviewers can’t stop gushing praise on the Holo May. Since I am very pleased with the 004, perhaps it is better to stick with a company and designer I know and like. I recall that one reviewer thought that even the Chord Dave was only slightly better than the 004. It doesn’t hurt either that the 005 is $2,000 cheaper. To be continued . . .

 

[sns109]

I am making some progress toward deciding between buying the Holo May Dac or the 005. I found a humorous but serious negative review of the Holo May on YouTube which has given me some doubt. This is the first negative one I have seen. Other reviewers can’t stop gushing praise on the Holo May. Since I am very pleased with the 004, perhaps it is better to stick with a company and designer I know and like. I recall that one reviewer thought that even the Chord Dave was only slightly better than the 004. It doesn’t hurt either that the 005 is $2,000 cheaper. To be continued . . .

I'd attach virtually no validity to that review, not really a high end system, imo. Also, I hear predetermined bias against higher cost dacs, his review is meant only to confirm this bias. There are too many positive reviews by reviewers I trust and good measurements to back up their subjective positive judgements. Add to this, high quality parts, build quality and design. Add to this a relatively affordable price, what's not to like. The May is still my number one choice of dac to purchase next, present agenda will have it in house early winter. My one tiny criticism of it would be their choice of resistors for ladder network, I'd really love to see the Texas Components TX2575 here. The only ladder dacs I'm aware of that use those are the top of line Mojo and Totaldac dacs, both big bucks.

The Chord has fallen in my estimation, I too have seen too many blah reviews of it as stand alone dac. Seems one needs the Upscaler to get top contender sound.

 

[DBB1]

I'd attach virtually no validity to that review, not really a high end system, imo. Also, I hear predetermined bias against higher cost dacs, his review is meant only to confirm this bias. There are too many positive reviews by reviewers I trust and good measurements to back up their subjective positive judgements. Add to this, high quality parts, build quality and design. Add to this a relatively affordable price, what's not to like. The May is still my number one choice of dac to purchase next, present agenda will have it in house early winter. My one tiny criticism of it would be their choice of resistors for ladder network, I'd really love to see the Texas Components TX2575 here. The only ladder dacs I'm aware of that use those are the top of line Mojo and Totaldac dacs, both big bucks.

The Chord has fallen in my estimation, I too have seen too many blah reviews of it as stand alone dac. Seems one needs the Upscaler to get top contender sound.

I look forward to your eventual review and comparison to the 005. It certainly will have an influence on me. I decided for now to buy the 005 and put in my factory direct order. If I become unhappy or restless I can sell it and try the May. I doubt, given the quality of the 004 that I will be dissatisfied.

I try to be a music lover first and audiophile second. In my case my mood influences my enjoyment of music more than equipment. Generally I find good sound an enhancement but not always a necessity. Also I often do not find huge differences between excellent equipment. So I went with a manufacturer of which I was more familiar. Finally, I was not thrilled with the 5 week wait for the May.

 

[Lennym]

I have had the Musetec 005 now for exactly a week. This unit does have to be broken in. I left it on and let it play music for about 5 days/24 hours and have listened to it most days. I don't think it is fully broken in yet, so this is an interim report. Bottom line, I love the DAC; it's a truth machine.

I have two standards of comparison: my reasonably good analog system and the LKS 004, both tempered by concert-going. The 004 is wonderful. It is the equal of my analog system generally, but is different. By "equal" I mean that I like to listen to it as much. I could never say that before about digital. It outperforms vinyl in some ways, but is outperformed in others. The 004, because of its fundamental quality, very tough build and open construction has been the subject of many modifications. But if you look at the beginning of the 004 thread here you'll see that it was welcomed by lots of folks as a terrific player right from the factory. However there is hardly an audio component, built to a price point, that cannot be improved by substituting parts of greater quality. I have a feeling that's not going to be so easily done on the 005.

I listen principally to classical music, pretty tough to reproduce well. First, the sounds that come out of this DAC are absolutely beautiful if the recording is. I have never heard string sections like this before from digital, only from vinyl. But the true surprises are the things that I hear clearly now that might have been obscured before, or which simply did not project. I could name the tracks and go into details but that would bore people. I hear instrumental sections, playing among others, that are more separated aurally as they would be in a concert. I hear clarity among the low instruments like contra bassoon and tuba that stand apart from the general bass sound as they do in real life. These are revelations from very familiar tracks. Generally I hear instrumental overtones filled out more than in earlier digital.

The other thing I hear is pin-point directionality. The trumpet (they're in the back row) is not somewhere over there. He is just specifically: there. And if there are two or three, that's what I hear. Trombones to the right, horns to the left each in their own spaces.

Similar to the 004, this is not a forgiving DAC. Some people want that. I don't. If poorly recorded tracks bother you, there are much better ways to tone them down I think. On well recorded tracks there is absolutely no digititus or glare that I can discern. The music is simply there. Like I said, this is a truth machine. We pay 120 per cent more for, perhaps, a 10 per cent improvement. But oh yeah, that 10 per cent! That's the ball game.

Others have written that there is more breaking-in to go. I can hardly wait.

 

[HermannS]

Hi!

I have just registered here to share my experiences with the DA005, as I am very excited about this device.

My toys are: dCS Network bridge (moderately modified) -> Mutec MC3+ USB (replaced power supply and some caps) -> Benchmark DAC2 (profoundly modified pwr supply and a lot of caps + Crystek clock) -> Focal SM9 (almost no cap and OP-amp left unchanged). I am using Acourate DSP software to fold my FLACs on the NAS.
The Musetec replaces the DAC2.
I have ordered a Benchmark HPA4 and am hoping to get it in a couple of weeks. There are delays. After that, a nice headphone could (will) be inevitable My pretty old HD600 doesn't cut it anymore.

I was looking at the DA004 and eBay presented the DA005, which I did not come across before. The pictures of the inside let my eyes pop. These guys know their stuff! Only top-notch parts. Almost no ceramic caps (yuck!) to be found. A Supercap power supply for the digital section. Wow! The spectacular measurements of the ESS 9038 designs in audiosciencereview, and the fact that there is one chip per channel in the DA005 added more plusses, not to mention the discrete class-A output stage. This thread was the final spark that triggered the decision to get one.

The DA005 is sitting in my rack since last Saturday. I've ordered it from Clear Components via eBay. Bevor I even switched it on, a Supreme3 copper fuse got installed and the DAC2 had to give away its Furutech power cord. Standard fuses have no place in my devices. Fresh out of the box, I was very disappointed. It sounded dull. The deemphasis was active. Fixing this of course straightened the frequency response. Still, I was not impressed at all. It felt as if something wanted to get out but could not. Having read the reports here about a long break-in period, my patience was sufficient to give it a chance.

The next day, it presented an astounding soundstage, which already left the DAC2 in the dust. Also, the general dynamics and grunt in the bass were amazing. However, the sound was a bit too bright and not fit for long listening sessions. It was exciting but fatiguing.

After two more days, the brightness vanished and some spiciness in the sibilants appeared. After a week this problem is mostly gone and I think what's left of it comes mostly from the digital sources or the recording.

I am not trying to describe the sound much more here. One thing is clear though: it is way above a heavily modified DAC2, which is already one of the best in its class in the original configuration. The DA005 is presenting me with a whole new experience of dynamics, precision, and soundstage. It never sounded that great in my room. This thing is in another class. Be prepared to be hit with all the sound details. Good or bad. It has no mercy. That is the price to pay for its transparency.

Speaking of price, I think it is a bomb. No manufacturer anywhere else could build such a thing at this price point. The Chinese seem to eat through the DAC market, not only because they are cheap, but because they really know how to build great products.

I also considered a Benchmark DAC3. Knowing the DAC2 inside-out, I am sure that the replacement of the ESS Sabre 9018 with the 9028, and with otherwise a mostly unchanged design, it is impossible to beat the DA005. The difference is that big!

It is a bummer that a guarantee seal is blocking a screw. Otherwise, I would have peeked inside and documented every little detail.

Cheers
Hermann

 

[Lennym]

Hi HermannS,

What is the value of the 005 fuse?

Thanks.

 

[HermannS]

It's actually not specified anywhere. They stuffed a 3.15A into it, which makes no sense. That's for power amps. A slow 1A is just fine.
The device came with a better power cord and an "optimised fuse". The cord was not too bad, yet the fuse was nothing to write home about.

 

[sns109]

HermannS, welcome to the 005 dac club.

I do believe this is perhaps one of the highest resolution dacs available at any price, I assume the sense of sound coming from the blackest of black background will be the initial impression, noise floor on this thing is virtually non-existent. Amazing dynamics will also be one of those first impressions. With more hours on unit sound will get more organic, natural. By around 400 hours I heard burn in as complete.

While I wouldn't describe 005 as forgiving, I also wouldn't describe it as analytical. I've now used it with two different amps (300B, 845 SET's), two different preamps, single ended and balanced out of dac, 005 always maintains it's characteristic sound, in a word, always magical.

If my assumption of 005's resolution is correct, and it's natural timbre and dynamic expression is without fault, and have I even mentioned top notch soundstaging, imaging and wonderful tonal balance; one would assume I'd not believe there was a better dac for me. All this is true, I am truly content with this dac, and yet I still want to hear top flight ladder and fpga dacs. Is it possible there is an equally revealing dac with an even more analog, natural presentation, now that would beat out the 005. I suspect any ladder dac will be more forgiving with lesser resolution. FPGA dac could go in any direction. At this point I'm not willing to spend large sums on a dac, future innovations will likely deem our present dacs obsolete at some point. I'm not sure I'd want to spend a whole lot more than 005, perhaps Holo May price.

HermannS, perhaps they use high amp fuse because of supercap power supply. High in rush current at initial startup could stress fuse. Both my 845 SET amps (Art Audio Carissa Signature, [forgot to mention this amp prior as its in for service] and Coincident Turbo) have suffered blown aftermarket fuses rated same as original generic fuse. I've had to increase amp ratings for my aftermarket fuses in both amps. Your lower rated fuse will prove this out.

Speaking of fuses and power cords. In previous installments I failed to mention I run a Synergistic Orange fuse in 005, never ran originally supplied fuse. Power cord using my own home brewed DIY Helix PC, superior to my previous best pc's which include many $1-2.5K pc's used over many, many years. Power cords most important cabling in audio IMO.

 

[HermannS]

On day 8 it again sounded a little different. Break-in still not finished, it seems. The timbre is getting darker and it is a little off-balance to my ears. I think its digital volume control does a little damage to the sound. It loses some of its magic in the -25dB and lower area (my late hours level). I've learned that and refrain from making any judgment unless I can crank it up to -20. I cannot make my active Focals any less sensitive. I will find out once the HPA4 is here, which doesn't make any difference in SQ at any level.

I am amazed and perplexed by its dynamics in every listening session. What's supposed to be loud is LOUD, and it effortlessly comes out of nowhere, just as you described. This puts some demand on the amplification downstream. A soft, slow amp is not the right partner for this thing. It needs to be quick and attack the speakers.
Also, the 005 is capable of sounding bright and dark in the same piece of music. This is always a good sign. And geez, some recordings sound so odd! What the heck were they thinking!

A friend and I compared a pimped Soekris ladder DAC last weekend. The Soekris is much more forgiving and easy listening, just as my DAC2, yet it misses the in-your-face dynamics and spatial resolution of the 005. Not a fair comparison by any means, but it seems that DACs in the lower price range have no chance to come close. I have no idea what can beat the 005. It is going to be horrendously expensive. dCS Vivaldi anyone? Or we wait another 8-10 years. Digital is developing in huge strides. That's the reason why I have decided to split the tasks again. A pure DAC (like it was common in the "old days"), a streamer, and everything analog (with a much longer lifespan) are separate.

What's your favorite filter and DLL setting? I chose the fast filter and BW03. I think there is very little difference between the filters. The slow filter sounds a little bit softer. I wouldn't notice if anybody silently changed it. As for the DLL setting, I found BW01 too tense and forward-sounding. BW03 is more relaxed and my personal sweet spot for PCM 44/16, which makes up 99% of my stuff. BW04-15 is all the same to me.

 

[sns109]

Using digital volume control of 005 you're losing bits, or resolution. I'd estimate -10db is most you want to attenuate without noticeable resolution loss. I've used 005 both in bypass and as fine volume control with my Coincident Statement preamp, as it has only dual manual control transformer volume control (don't want to get out listening chair for constant fine volume adjustments). Keep 005 at most -10db and ok, still, even at that you're still losing some bits or resolution, best to run in bypass for absolute best performance.

I run in slow linear, seems just slightly more analog to me. I previously owned LKS 004, preferred same setting with it. DLL setting should sound best in BW01. DLL settings are fine tuning for internal clocks, minimum jitter at BW01. You need a very stable, likely hard wired ethernet connection to run BW01. Properly sorting out ethernet connection can pay dividends in sound quality. I use quality ethernet cables and do optical conversion (this is a must for best ethernet imo) just prior to my Sotm sms200 usb decrapifier/Roon endpoint. If BW01 doesn't sound best I'd check your ethernet setup. Different DLL settings in 005 equate to adjustable clock settings I had in previous Auralic Vega dac, highest quality settings always mostly affect soundstaging and imaging for me. Best settings more dimensional ss and imaging.

On burning in, I did vast majority silently, serious listening session aprox. every 100 hours over first 400 hours. That way I didn't have to go through all the many crazy changes burning in components entails. Since you're a modder like I, you know how capacitors, resistors, etc. change over time. All that silver in circuit and transformer, forming of electrolytic caps and especially boutique film caps takes some time.