[JerseyD]

Now y'all have got me looking at the Orchid again. Two issues, though.
1. At my head-fi station, the only place it could live is either under a wood cabinet on the floor or under the sofa. I'm assuming that the tube makes this a dangerous idea
2. I mostly listen to Qobuz. Will the Orchid's bitrate limitations negate high-res streaming?

 

[cats4cans]

Now y'all have got me looking at the Orchid again. Two issues, though.
1. At my head-fi station, the only place it could live is either under a wood cabinet on the floor or under the sofa. I'm assuming that the tube makes this a dangerous idea
2. I mostly listen to Qobuz. Will the Orchid's bitrate limitations negate high-res streaming?

You can throttle Qobuz back to redbook or even mp3 without much trouble. Most streamer apps have the option.

I never remember it getting hot even on a 5.5” shell opening. It’s a tiny, low power tube. If you’re going to have a 6SN7 sticking up, you might need different accommodations.

 

[Pharmaboy]

With all the glowing praise I feel more and more like an idiot for trying to sell mine. Maybe I shouldn’t. It’s good, but i think I must not have heard it at its best yet. FOMO How does anyone let their old equipment go?

We've all made similar mistakes. The thing is, when you sold, it probably seemed the opposite of a mistake: you had good reasons to sell.

But in retrospect: yup, a mistake.

MHDT Labs doesn't make it easy to mythologize and prioritize their gear, the Orchid included. They have zero public relations, few if any reviews, no user comments on the website. The whole process is rather opaque. But if you can wade through the undertainty of selecting and buying an Orchid, the sound is insanely good and the thing is bulletproof--it just keeps on going.

In this, my year of buying "doubles" of gear I most love, I'm actually thinking I should buy a second Orchid; having it outfitted with a 2nd RCA output pair, as I did my first (MHDT's US distributor did the honors); and thus future-proof myself. I couldn't care less about DSD, MQA, or high-rate oversampling, so 192/24 is just right for me.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Now y'all have got me looking at the Orchid again. Two issues, though.
1. At my head-fi station, the only place it could live is either under a wood cabinet on the floor or under the sofa. I'm assuming that the tube makes this a dangerous idea
2. I mostly listen to Qobuz. Will the Orchid's bitrate limitations negate high-res streaming?

1 is indeed a consideration, more with a tube on a converter (which sits higher than the stock tube).

2 is probably not, unless Qobuz streams at multiples of 192 kHz (I kind of doubt that).

 

[Yeutez]

Is it make sense to use Orchid only via USB or another inputs are a way better?

 

[warp2600]

Is it make sense to use Orchid only via USB or another inputs are a way better?

I suppose it depends on the quality of the clock in your player (plus the quality of the digital cable).
Personally, I can't hear any difference between the digital inputs on my Canary. Right now I use optical to connect my Mac Mini and Coax to connect the CD transport.

 

[cats4cans]

Well for what it’s worth, last I looked, more than just mine was listed in the classifieds. I’m committed due to my other November purchases. It’ll be okay as long as I don’t read this forum too much and get all weapy and nostalgic. I think cash is short after Black Friday. I always wanted to hear what one sounded like after all the cap upgrades and whatever else some guy on Audiogon would work his magic on them.

 

[Pharmaboy]

It’ll be okay as long as I don’t read this forum too much and get all weapy and nostalgic.

Sorry to snicker, but that really is amusing.

 

[wape hatson]

Hello Head-Fi,
I've been enjoying my MHDT Orchid DAC for about a year, but recently the green light stopped illuminating and no signal passes through.
One day working fine, the next not working. I emailed the manufacturer but haven't heard anything. I have it hooked up via USB to a new Mac mini.
Roon "sees" the DAC and the Orchid blue "U" light (signifying USB) is on but the green one isn't. I plugged in a different DAC and that works fine. Anyone experience this? i'm wondering if there's a way to reset it somehow? I also tried an optical cable with a different computer but no green light and no signal.

Thank you for any thoughts

 

[Pharmaboy]

Hello Head-Fi,
I've been enjoying my mhdt orchid DAC for about a year, but recently the green light stopped illuminating and no signal passes through.
One day working fine, the next not working. I emailed the manufacturer but haven't heard anything. I have it hooked up via USB to a new Mac mini.
Roon "sees" the DAC and the orchid blue "U" light (signifying USB) is on but the green one isn't. Anyone experience this? i'm wondering if there's a way to reset it somehow?
Thanks very much

I inadvertently zapped my Orchid several years ago when the metal end of a connected RCA cable got loose and touched the side. It fried the circuit that the coaxial cable's signal flows through. The green light was no longer lit. I knew what happened and didn't bother trying other sources like USB (I was using coax for good sonic reasons).

The MHDT Labs dealer in the U.S. at that time is Linear Tube Audio. They had modded my new Orchid by adding the 2nd RCA output pair on the back (Jeung of MHDT Labs suggested I do this), so I sent it to them to fix that little input board, which they did for a very reasonable sum. I believe they're still working with MHDT Labs...

The person who helped me (very politely) was Nicholas. Did it all via email. Contact information is below. Good luck!

hifi@lineartubeaudio.com
Linear Tube Audio
7316 Carroll Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-448-1534

 

[wape hatson]

I inadvertently zapped my Orchid several years ago when the metal end of a connected RCA cable got loose and touched the side. It fried the circuit that the coaxial cable's signal flows through. The green light was no longer lit. I knew what happened and didn't bother trying other sources like USB (I was using coax for good sonic reasons).

The MHDT Labs dealer in the U.S. at that time is Linear Tube Audio. They had modded my new Orchid by adding the 2nd RCA output pair on the back (Jeung of MHDT Labs suggested I do this), so I sent it to them to fix that little input board, which they did for a very reasonable sum. I believe they're still working with MHDT Labs...

The person who helped me (very politely) was Nicholas. Did it all via email. Contact information is below. Good luck!

hifi@lineartubeaudio.com
Linear Tube Audio
7316 Carroll Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-448-1534

 

[wape hatson]

This is fantastic information thank you very much

 

[wape hatson]

This is fantastic information thank you very much

I heard back from Linear Tube Audio and they no longer support MHDT Labs.
They suggested a local technician to replace the USB chip.

 

[ejk1]

I heard back from Linear Tube Audio and they no longer support MHDT Labs.
They suggested a local technician to replace the USB chip.

If you find it too expensive to fix mine is for sale.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650048174-mhdt-labs-orchid-dac-free-shipping-in-cont-us/

 

[wape hatson]

If you find it too expensive to fix mine is for sale.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650048174-mhdt-labs-orchid-dac-free-shipping-in-cont-us/

I appreciate that thank you