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MHDT Havana DAC
Apr 6, 2015 at 4:39 PM Post #2,566 of 2,680
I got to say that the service from MHDT is first class. Juin got ready a tested pcb board and sent it to me after I contacted him. He was easy to talk to and answered all my questions.
 
Since last Friday was Easter Public Holiday, I was expecting to receive the package on Monday (today). However, the delivery man came on Saturday when I was not at home. He left a note at my door. So I picked up the package today at lunch time.
 
Apr 7, 2015 at 9:29 PM Post #2,567 of 2,680
Took me 45 minutes to replace the old pcb with the new one. I took my time cause I don't want to break or miss anything. I am not a DIYer. So I got to say that this is the most challenging and exciting stuff that I have done thus far with pcb or electronics. Luckily I have all the tools needed to the get the job done. A Torx T8 for top, side and back covers. A Torx T10 for front cover. Screw driver and plier to remove and install the power transformer. Plier for removing and installing the pcb board to the base.
 

 
Apr 9, 2015 at 4:32 AM Post #2,569 of 2,680
Stockholm v2 is a slightly more resolving DAC ... slightly more detailed; it still shares the warmish/NOS DAC qualities of the Havana but is not quite as "dark" sounding ... the main difference is that the Havana (both v1 and v2) use the DAC chips internal OPAMP circuit while the Stockholm v2 bypasses this altogether in favor of a fully discreet solution...
 
Personally, I think you'd be happy with either but if your looking for an even more detailed look at the music then you might think about the Stockholm v2 or also the newest MHDT Labs flagship DAC, the "Pagoda" ... the latter being a true "24bit output" DAC ... (while the Havana and the Stockholm still output in a 16bit format)...
 
You can see a detailed overview of all the MHDT Labs DACs at this page:  MHDT DAC Families
 
Apr 9, 2015 at 5:44 AM Post #2,571 of 2,680
moatsart said:
Thank you

Previously the Metrum Octave and Havana had been on my short list, but now I will also investigate the Stockholm 2 and Pagoda.
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I'm interested on these too esp the Pagoda. Hope you buy one so we can get more impressions. :smile:
 
Apr 9, 2015 at 6:00 AM Post #2,572 of 2,680
He... it might take a while.  I'm getting an amp made at the moment that will consume by audio budget for the rest of the year.  Maybe (hopefully) early 2016.  I am currently at the "gathering data and impressions" stage.
 
Apr 9, 2015 at 6:02 AM Post #2,573 of 2,680
moatsart said:
He... it might take a while.  I'm getting an amp made at the moment that will consume by audio budget for the rest of the year.  Maybe (hopefully) early 2016.  I am at the "gathering data and impressions" stage at the moment.
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Are you talking about Glenn's amp? I'm sure it will pair well with thr Pagoda. And of course, you may not be able to resist the urge that long... As they say here on some of the threads, you have two kidneys... :joy:
 
Apr 9, 2015 at 6:06 AM Post #2,574 of 2,680
Glenn's OTL?  Yes.  A hundred times "yes" - My dream amp for the T1s
 
Two kidneys?  Once upon a time: an amp and a dac ago 
tongue_smile.gif

 
Apr 9, 2015 at 7:31 AM Post #2,575 of 2,680
moatsart said:
Glenn's OTL?  Yes.  A hundred times "yes" - My dream amp for the T1s

Two kidneys?  Once upon a time: an amp and a dac ago  :tongue_smile:
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Hahahaha. Nice one.
 
Apr 11, 2015 at 10:01 AM Post #2,576 of 2,680
My Pagoda with new inside is now quiet. After leaving the Pagoda on for several days (with the stock tube of course) just to make sure the electronics parts inside are break-in, I am now back in my audio tube nirvana heaven.
 
Apr 27, 2015 at 6:09 AM Post #2,577 of 2,680
Hello gents (and ladies), I figured I'd check into this thread as the Paradisea thread is less lively.

I had a question about MHDT and their NOS dacs. I recently acquired a Paradisea 3 and still getting used to it but I'm getting clipping on some of my music. Particularly when the sound picks up and the volume is pushing, I've ruled out mastering as this clipping doesn't occur on my nfb12.

I've trIed 2 different tubes with no luck. It seems putting a limiter DSP on foobar helps some (-6db hard limiter) but not fully. Turning the vol slider down does help but I'd rather avoid this as it's digital attenuation. Otherwise the sound is clean but clipping is present.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
May 2, 2015 at 7:53 AM Post #2,578 of 2,680
soundsgoodtome said:
Hello gents (and ladies), I figured I'd check into this thread as the Paradisea thread is less lively.

I had a question about MHDT and their NOS dacs. I recently acquired a Paradisea 3 and still getting used to it but I'm getting clipping on some of my music. Particularly when the sound picks up and the volume is pushing, I've ruled out mastering as this clipping doesn't occur on my nfb12.

I've trIed 2 different tubes with no luck. It seems putting a limiter DSP on foobar helps some (-6db hard limiter) but not fully. Turning the vol slider down does help but I'd rather avoid this as it's digital attenuation. Otherwise the sound is clean but clipping is present.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
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I have a Havana and it doesn't like files that suffer from clipping. I can open the files in Audacity, choose Show Clipping, and the peaks and valleys that "max out" are shown in red. When I use bit-perfect software to play these back, they cause trouble with the Havana and it pretty much plays as a clicking sound. The clicking sound can go away if I use different playback software. I would guess some software players round off maxed out values. If I edit the sound file and reduce the clipped area (in Audacity select the area apply Effect->Amplify->-.1) the clicking goes away altogether. 
 
Files with clipping play back fine with other dacs but I have found the Havana doesn't do well with them. There are surprisingly a lot of commercially available files with clipping out there.
 
May 2, 2015 at 4:51 PM Post #2,579 of 2,680
Hi Stephen, thanks for the answer. Its not necessarily audio files with clipping in the mastering per say but more like when the sound really picks up or music with high dynamic range. Although I never ran my files through audacity to look for clips but I believe it's even good mastering (I presume) that have this issue with my Paradisea.

Also is the clipping from the DAC bad for amps? Or is that only when clipping occurs because an amp runs out of headroom? Someone told me clipping was bad for power amps but I believe they only mean when the amp runs out of power or the speaker goes beyond its ability.
 
May 3, 2015 at 3:37 AM Post #2,580 of 2,680
soundsgoodtome said:
Hello gents (and ladies), I figured I'd check into this thread as the Paradisea thread is less lively.

I had a question about MHDT and their NOS dacs. I recently acquired a Paradisea 3 and still getting used to it but I'm getting clipping on some of my music. Particularly when the sound picks up and the volume is pushing, I've ruled out mastering as this clipping doesn't occur on my nfb12.

I've trIed 2 different tubes with no luck. It seems putting a limiter DSP on foobar helps some (-6db hard limiter) but not fully. Turning the vol slider down does help but I'd rather avoid this as it's digital attenuation. Otherwise the sound is clean but clipping is present.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
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I have yet to experience this problem with any of my recordings through my Paradisea 3
 
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