[twylight]

Skylab I dont have all the gear you have, but its that tube - the 2c51 variants add a little more tubey sound in that range - drop a decent we396a in there - its a little less rich, but cleaner.  I have well testing tubes (1 or 2 points off per channel) and go back and forth between the bendix 2c51 and we396a from the early 60's and I hear the same thing.
 
The havana is pretty clear and doesnt add a lot of tube anyways - the paradisea is way more tubey.  (have them both and others)  I was running strait through some emotiva DSPs last night and the havana (so I could sell the havana) but I just cant do it, love it.
 
Based on the number of tubes you have I assume you have access to a tester so I doubt there is a problem with your tube.

 

[Skylab]

Yeah, I have a tester, and the Bendix tests perfect.  I do have a WE 396A - I will roll that in and see what happens.  Thanks!

 

[s1rrah]

Quote:

I've started to become aware of a coloration of the Havana that on occasion bothers me, and wondered what other owners think. I am using the Bendix 2C51 tube. I find there is a kind of forwardness in the very lower mids that isn't natural. Sometimes, like all colorations, this is kind of pleasant, but sometimes it can be quite annoying.

Before I embark on a huge tube-rolling adventure, what do other Havana owners who have had the DAC longer than I have think? Is this just the way the Havana is?

That's an interesting note; I can't say that I've noticed such with my own but then again, I might not be in quite as critical of a listening group as your self (although, I do own a slew of Chesky records). But would be curious to hear if your tube changes affected things much. I've been stuck on a JW 396A for more than a year or two and just love everything about my current set up and so haven't really gotten much into critical examination of sonics (I just know it pleases me and so I spend hours simply wading through the beautiful mire that is my 30,000 track .flac collection. .
 
Anyway ...
 
Again ... would be interested to hear of any sonic differences amongst tubes.
 
Best.
 
.j

 

[realmassy]

Quote:

...I just know it pleases me and so I spend hours simply wading through the beautiful mire that is my 30,000 track .flac collection. .
 

Love that!
Anyway, I don't think the Havana sounds "bassy" or adds coloration, at least not my ears...or maybe I simply got used to
I think it sounds rich, harmonically rich, if you see what I mean.
The JJ6386 sounds very clean and transparent, but I always come back to the bendix.
On a side note, I put the WE (JW version) back last week and it didn't sound as bad as I remembered...I actually liked it

 

[Skylab]

Yeah, what I am hearing from it versus my other DACs is often very pleasant. I still think the Havana is an excellent sounding DAC. It's just a wee bit too forward in the lower mids with my particular Bendix tube, IMO. I hope this weekend I will have time to try another tube.

 

[loserica]

 
Quote:

After hearing a number of upsampling dacs that I didnt liked I decided to purchase the mhdt havana dac.
 
The sound after a few days is quite dark, and not so detailed in high.
Is this phenomenon of  tube burn-in? 
 
what tubes is recommend for the best sound?

 
The dac is connected to the computer's built-in Sound card, Does adding a USB to S/PDIF will improve the sound?
 
 

How to open Havana sound? ... A good question! 

 
Unfortunatly, the "stock" converter is slightly darker and not so detailed in high, and my recommendation is to read what he said SteveM324 (on 77 page). 
Since I have Havana, I realized about same changes: JW 396A tube + tube dampers from EAT, Hi-Fi Tunning Fuse, output capacitors - V-Cap OIMP, WBT - connectors; diodes, dampening material, isolation feet, etc. Chris Johnson from Parts Connexion, will certainly help-you with them! Must confirm that changed the sound are substantial. Is exactly how said Steve.

But, we must be mindful of these: Havana is very dependent of transport!! (as was also pointed on forum). Actually, he respond positively any change in the sense of up-grade...Being a "NOS" dac, is weakness the jitter rejection. Any change of transport will affect the sound quality. For example, I use a transport which is modding with separate power on oscillator and the USB interface (Hi-Face M2Tech). Not least, that Havana sounds very good an optimal setup with a very, very good sinergy beetwen them and expensive wiring , filter, etc. In combination with electrostatic amp + headphone (Cavalli eXStatA SS - version + STAX SR-404LE "Limited Ed.") and a cable Audioquest Colorado between them, forget the shortcomings!! High are well defined, detailed (with very good extension) and the sound is transparent and a refined texture. Is a real pleasure to hear Havana this setup! 

 
 
 

 

[brasewel]

Alright guys I have joined the Havana bandwagon. Using it currently with a pair of Tung-sols. I am really impressed with this dac, it gives my Apache a very warm, lush sound. Does anyone know what is output voltage when running balanced?

 

[sk3383]

 
Quote:

Yeah, what I am hearing from it versus my other DACs is often very pleasant. I still think the Havana is an excellent sounding DAC. It's just a wee bit too forward in the lower mids with my particular Bendix tube, IMO. I hope this weekend I will have time to try another tube.

Did you have a chance to try a different tube lately? Looking for your impressions, do you still hear a forwardness in the lower mids?
 

 

[Skylab]

Ahhh, yes, sorry I should have posted.  This was largely a tube related issue, it seems.  While the Havana is a little on the warm/lush/dark side overall, I believe, after swapping in the WE 396A and taking the Bendix out, I am MUCH happier - the lower midrange emphasis I heard with the Bendix doesn't seem to be an issue with the WE.

 

[FOXY]

A friend suggested not to use the tube Buffer , can it be done by removel of the tube and than using jumper on the tube socket?
 
It will be interesting to see if it improves the sound at all..

 

[robeeert1]

Havana uses tube instead of opamp, it can't be omitted or something. It's reasonable construction opposite to other ones where tube stands behind the opamp just for a good taste.

 

[Skylab]

It makes no sense to want to use the Havana without the tube - this is the part of the design. If you don't want to have a tube in your DAC, buy a different DAC!

 

[Currawong]

I have been habouring ideas of getting the balanced Havana for use in my rig for more casual listening as I understand that while it inevitably will lose some detail through distortion, it will be possibly be more pleasant to listen with for long periods. I also have what I think is a very good transport, which should help considerably. What I'd be interested to read about is comparisons with other high-end DACs. I suspect I may have to go through quite a bit of this thread, however more info from people who have experiemented with different transports would be welcome.

 

[FOXY]

SKYLAB, see this post:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/252392/comparison-mhdt-constantine-and-paradisea/30#post_3246607
 
 

 

[robeeert1]

Foxy: Havana  will not work without the tube because there is no opamp there,  paradisea has opamp and the tube buffer can be omitted.