[Fitski]

Could that be what was wrong with the Susvara into the Mytek? I didn't invert the polarity on the Mytek. Do you have any reference for this? How can a manufacturer just release HP with inverted polarity? You're joking, right?

It's somewhat well known that the Susvara is always polarity inverted (reference 1, reference 2), and also not publicised enough. I confirmed it for myself using an iPhone app "Mobile Tools by AudioControl" which will emit a specific sound on the headphone output and listen for what waveform comes back to the microphone. Using that app I was able to confirm that Susvara is the only polarity inverted headphone in my collection.

 

[simonelvladtepes]

It's somewhat well known that the Susvara is always polarity inverted (reference 1, reference 2), and also not publicised enough. I confirmed it for myself using an iPhone app "Mobile Tools by AudioControl" which will emit a specific sound on the headphone output and listen for what waveform comes back to the microphone. Using that app I was able to confirm that Susvara is the only polarity inverted headphone in my collection.

It's discussed in the Susvara thread, google "Susvara inverted polarity". No consensus. Confusing. This is nuts.

 

[Fitski]

It's discussed in the Susvara thread, google "Susvara inverted polarity". No consensus. Confusing. This is nuts.

The lack of consensus I think is because:

• Many people can't hear the difference
• Most headphones have correct polarity
• Many headphones aren't detailed enough to reveal the difference

But I figured out my Susvara was inverted slowly over time through listening. And then confirmed it independently using the iPhone app. The best description of the problem I have is that it sounds like left is at 8:00 and right is at 4:00, when they should be more like 10:00 and 2:00. The diaphragms and sound waves are pulling when they should be pushing and vice versa. That's probably why the direction feels backwards to me.

 

[ld100]

Before I purchased it I exchanged an email with Michal and Damian at Mytek (no last names). They answered a question I had. After I purchased it I had a question about the warranty - no response.

UPDATE ON AAA:

After approximately three to four months of attempting to resolve the issue directly with MyTek, I decided to file a dispute with my credit card. I had two to three phone conversations with Michal, who, as far as I know, is the founder and engineer of MyTek. He was clearly aware of the issues with AAA. He assured me multiple times that the problem would be resolved, but then he suddenly disappeared. None of my phone calls were returned, and my multiple emails requesting a resolution or the return of the amp to MyTek were never answered.

Just a word of advice: personally, I would not trust MyTek at this point and strongly recommend seeking an alternative. I am stunned that a company that supposedly manufactures great devices and has a good reputation would treat customers in this manner. Additionally, I don't believe the product itself lived up to the hype. There are numerous shortcomings in the AAA amplifier design, and I believe you can find a better device for less than a quarter of the asking price.

 

[ld100]

It's been a bit now since receiving this amp and....I'm done looking for another one. The V550 is something special and I'm totally satisfied with it.

Worth 3K? Is it that good?

 

[simonelvladtepes]

I found a speaker switch box on Amazon which allows me to toggle between the speakers and headphones. Surprisingly my tower speakers and Susvaras both require the same input level(!?) so I don't need to change volume. And no you don't need to "modify" the AHB2. Just plug in a four-banana-plugs-to-XLR4 adapter. You can find generic ones on eBay instead of the old HifiMan HE-adapter.

Thank you so much for this idea. I connected everything AND IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM. I returned the AHB2. The Susvara now sound almost as good as my speakers, but my speakers cost x>10 times. The Susvara require an average level of -38dB on the RME; my speakers require -22dB and the Susvara through the Mytek required the RME all the way up, and it still sounded unpleasant in climaxes (clipping?). I'm selling my Mytek. All these little HP amps that say they have enough power for ANY headphones - what a joke.

 

[simonelvladtepes]

I'm selling my Mytek Liberty THX AAA


https://www.ebay.com/itm/1859077168...08&osub=-1~1&crd=20230521093055&segname=12000

If you're wondering about the difference between R & L, this unit has a barely audible difference, I did not notice it at first at all, and anyway, free returns.

 

[Turcoda]

I bought one of these recently and the noise floor is INSANELY high for my iems. So much so that I just can't use iems on it and the background noise is unbearable. Is this normal? Also i have significant channel imbalance at lower volume at 9 oclock or below. Is it worth RMAing this unit?

 

[simonelvladtepes]

I bought one of these recently and the noise floor is INSANELY high for my iems. So much so that I just can't use iems on it and the background noise is unbearable. Is this normal? Also i have significant channel imbalance at lower volume at 9 oclock or below. Is it worth RMAing this unit?

A significant channel imbalance at 9 o'clock is very disturbing. I would RMA the unit immediately, request a full refund and forget about this model. I just sold mine for about $525 IIRC (excluding shipping), almost new, with a total of about 5 minutes of use, more than a year left on the warranty, no noticeable channel imbalance - that's the real market value. It's worth spending on a much more expensive amp. For my purposes there are only 2 extremes - either the RME or a speaker amp with the HE-adapter.

 

[alekc]

I bought one of these recently and the noise floor is INSANELY high for my iems. So much so that I just can't use iems on it and the background noise is unbearable. Is this normal? Also i have significant channel imbalance at lower volume at 9 oclock or below. Is it worth RMAing this unit?

@Turcoda Mytek is not really fit for IEMs at least not those easy to drive despite low gain settings. IMHO it is just too powerful. Sorry.

 

[Turcoda]

A significant channel imbalance at 9 o'clock is very disturbing. I would RMA the unit immediately, request a full refund and forget about this model. I just sold mine for about $525 IIRC (excluding shipping), almost new, with a total of about 5 minutes of use, more than a year left on the warranty, no noticeable channel imbalance - that's the real market value. It's worth spending on a much more expensive amp. For my purposes there are only 2 extremes - either the RME or a speaker amp with the HE-adapter.

Yeah, sounds about right for that value.
To be fair, I think the 9 oclock was for my more sensitive stuff. I need to try again with the less sensitive headphones. Its still very much present, but to a lesser extent. It really shouldnt be happening at all though, so color me extremely disappointed. Im now running a Topping A90D. I was going to sell it, but its totally noise free and has 0 imbalance. Might as well keep it now that I know its better than the Mytek.

 

[Turcoda]

After some reading I suspect they ALL have slight channel imbalance. I think its normal for these

 

[alekc]

After some reading I suspect they ALL have slight channel imbalance. I think its normal for these

@Turcoda indeed I have exactly the same suspicion and I guess it is kind of design flaw or design compromise. On the other hand it is less than half the price of Benchmark.

 

[MLGrado]

I've had the Mytek Liberty THX AAA for over a week now and also own a Benchmark HPA4. Two key observations:

• Mytek achieves much more powerful sub-bass than Benchmark. Still linear, perfect tonal balance, no distortion, but it underscores the power limitation of the Benchmark. The Mytek is more like listening to big speakers.
• Mytek sounds filtered (but not quite veiled) with noticeable treble roll-off compared to Benchmark. It's so significant that I have resorted to setting my DAC filter to Slow or even NOS, and it still doesn't fully compensate for the missing spaciousness.

I would say the soundstage is taller with Mytek due to the excellent sub-bass extension, but much narrower due to the lack of air. So people who are used to fully balanced amps might find the soundstage uncomfortably narrow (I still do). I found the same conclusions when comparing the Mytek to SMSL SP400. The SP400 was surprisingly more airy than Mytek, but SP400 has even less power headroom than Benchmark so quickly becomes insufficient for insensitive headphones.

Other brief (and rough) comparisons done so far, adding Violectric V280 and V281 into the mix:

• Sub-bass under load: Mytek > V280 > Benchmark >= V281 > SP400
• Tonal balance / linearity under load: Mytek > Benchmark > V280 > SP400 >= V281
• Air / spaciousness: Benchmark > V281 > SP400 > V280 > Mytek
• Midrange power: V281 > V280 > Mytek > Benchmark > SP400

"under load" means testing with Hifiman Susvara. The Mytek is the only desktop amp I have found that can adequately drive sub-bass on Susvaras and give a realistic bass decay. Lesser-powered amps seem to have all attack (blip/pop sounds) and no decay when given a heavy load. And somehow Mytek has the smallest chassis of the lot and never gets above luke warm. Impressive.

The lack of air in the Mytek isn't all bad either. Its imaging and depth still exceeds that of the Violectric amps even if I consider them more spacious in soundstage width. Thanks THX.

Mytek's build quality is stunning, really solid while also beautiful. But you could almost say the same about Benchmark and Violectric. Only SMSL misses the grade there, but for the price that's totally understandable.

The purchasing experience was slow, but that's not unheard of with small manufacturers of high-end equipment. I ordered in October, payment was accepted immediately, then got no response to any of my emails for the next month. Finally after finding the private email address of a Mytek employee I got a response from the founder Michal who said it would be sent the next day. Actually it took another 10 days to get a tracking number and then another 14 days to arrive (the final part is because I'm in Australia). Overall two months from order to delivery. And now I find my bonus Sundaras are faulty so hopefully can get that rectified after the holidays.

Overall Mytek seems to have achieved something unique - unmatched power in a THX AAA headphone amp. I only wish there was more space in this concert hall... Maybe a fully balanced (4 amplifier) design in the next model please Michal?

I hope some people found my first post useful. Obviously I've been collecting gear for a while already.

sorry, I am going through back threads on head-fi to catch up on tech I have neglected. Listening to THX AAA amp for the first time ever (SMSL sp400)

but I have a question for you. why would setting filters to slow or NOS on your DAC help with an amp that has rolled off treble already? NOS filter will naturally roll off significantly due to the sync effect, and slow filters also roll off starting at lower frequencies as opposed to sharp filters which will maintain flat response past 20khz right up before rolloff happens rapidly ending at the brickwall filter.

Or is there something specific with these THX AAA amps that is counterintuitive? Sorry to ask, just curious since I am just learning about this tech.

 

[Fitski]

sorry, I am going through back threads on head-fi to catch up on tech I have neglected. Listening to THX AAA amp for the first time ever (SMSL sp400)

but I have a question for you. why would setting filters to slow or NOS on your DAC help with an amp that has rolled off treble already? NOS filter will naturally roll off significantly due to the sync effect, and slow filters also roll off starting at lower frequencies as opposed to sharp filters which will maintain flat response past 20khz right up before rolloff happens rapidly ending at the brickwall filter.

Or is there something specific with these THX AAA amps that is counterintuitive? Sorry to ask, just curious since I am just learning about this tech.

Filters are subtractive, not thresholds. So if you have a roll-off in the amp as well as the DAC then they add up to a faster roll-off.

I was specifically referring to the asymptote, not the point at which the frequency response deviates from linear. So the roll-off of NOS is negligible for the purposes of my original comment. It was more about some kind of brick wall/asymptote that seems to exist in the amp itself.