[Dubstep Girl]

I kept mine at 70 but might end up putting at 50

Anyways the amp on the mytek works great imo, for planars and my high impedance and even better with th-900.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Well I guess I lost that argument ...lol

 

[ogodei]

  Well I guess I lost that argument ...lol

No argument at all, the DAC output is very good too.  YMMV depending on your amp obviously.
 
I'm using balanced outs right now, have yet to A-B on the DAC outputs but I seem to keep picking up amps so that may happen soon.

 

[earfonia]

  I wonder what kind of power output the headphones output has with different loads. I've asked Mytek about it in a ticket, but they didn't respond to that question. However, and to be fair, I did ask many questions where everything else was responded to, so they might just have overlooked it.
 
Does anyone know how many mW it puts out on different loads, or should I start naggin them for real? Haha.
 
Edit: Mytek have responded quickly and extensively to all my questions, so not trying to put the company down. I'm very pleased with both customer service and the product. They probably just missed the question.

 
I measured the headphone output, max voltage swing is 10 Volt RMS.  With I (current) max of 500 mA (as stated on Mytek website), you can do the math with difference headphone impedance.  
W = I x I x R
V = I x R   with Vmax is 10 volt.
For example, for 600 ohm, the equation become I = 10 / 600 = 0.0167 Amp.  W = 0.167 Watt
For 32 ohm is more tricky, since there is a 20 ohms on the headphone output, so the total impedance become 52 ohm.  W = 0.192 x 0.192 x 32 = 1.18 Watt
 
I read somewhere that the resistor on the headphone amp output is 20 ohm, but looking at the resistor that is bypassed, it is actually 5.1 ohm resistor, not 20 ohm.  So if it is 5.1 ohm, than the total impedance with 32 ohm headphone will be 37.1 ohm, so the max power is higher than 1.18 Watt.
 
But don't rely on the Wattage only, my problem with the headphone output is, even the clarity and detail is very good, tonal balance is neutral, but the mid bass and bass is thin, lacking of bass body.  The thin bass is my main complaint of the Mytek headphone output.

 

[earfonia]

  Digging back through the product reviews I just saw this:
 

 
Has anyone tried the filters?  I didn't even realize they were there.

 
I agree with the review, the difference is subtle, and also depending on the recording.  For practical purpose we can set it 60 kHz, and leave it.  The difference is subtle.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Aha someone hears what I do. It is a great product for the price and does dsd and is bal output . It is great but the amp is just up to par with the dac .

Thanks for noting

Al D

 

[ogodei]

Aha someone hears what I do. It is a great product for the price and does dsd and is bal output . It is great but the amp is just up to par with the dac .

Thanks for noting

Al D

 
What are the differences you're hearing from the DAC v. the internal amp?  Better bass extension?  I'm not doubting btw, just asking.  I'd like to try and hear it myself.  Your using the fire wire connection, correct?

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Yes fire wire , I just had nose surgery it will take me a few days to do comparison . I can compare the amps to the inernal one . Hdvd800 , phonitor, these are both solid state but both are op amps so I guess this makes it fair the headphones will be the hd800 . They all fair well with those headphones. I read somewhere here that they use the HE6 with the mytek and it sounded good. I never tested this as thinking it did not have enough power though. I did test the hdvd800 with them and it was horrible it sounding thin and overall just bla..

Al D

 

[gz00]

I have had the Mytek for a couple of weeks now purchased used so well run in.  I'm using Foobar via Windows 7 & USB2. Listening is via ATH-70 electret & also Stax SR5 gold so I'm not actually using the Mytek's headphone output.  The Mytek has replaced; QuteHD, Metrum Octave & Dacmagic DACs and I can only say that I find SQ much better via both headphones and main hi-fi system via the Mytek.  I'm loving it and still exploring filters etc. but very happy with default settings.  I am also finding that the Mytek works well with Foobar which I prefer to JRiver, much better than my experience with previous DACs.  I have not found the bass to be lean as expressed in some of the posts here quite the opposite in fact.  My ATH-70's have a natural tendency toward leaness but with the Mytek I have found that the bass has just filled out to the right amount with the result that they have never sounded better in the 20 years I have owned them!

 

[earfonia]

  I have had the Mytek for a couple of weeks now purchased used so well run in.  I'm using Foobar via Windows 7 & USB2. Listening is via ATH-70 electret & also Stax SR5 gold so I'm not actually using the Mytek's headphone output.  The Mytek has replaced; QuteHD, Metrum Octave & Dacmagic DACs and I can only say that I find SQ much better via both headphones and main hi-fi system via the Mytek.  I'm loving it and still exploring filters etc. but very happy with default settings.  I am also finding that the Mytek works well with Foobar which I prefer to JRiver, much better than my experience with previous DACs.  I have not found the bass to be lean as expressed in some of the posts here quite the opposite in fact.  My ATH-70's have a natural tendency toward leaness but with the Mytek I have found that the bass has just filled out to the right amount with the result that they have never sounded better in the 20 years I have owned them!

The bass quality from the line output of the Mytek 192-DSD is very good!  Not lean at all.  The lean bass is from the Headphone output only.

 

[Synthax]

Could anyone please explain why MYTEK plays better, smoother with INPUT SYNC option with my Pioneer PD9700 CD transport (via spdif coax)? When I choose  44->192 at some frequencies there is very slight hiss, which is the most audible with 96kHz internal sync of Mytek. 
 
Thank you in advance

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Maybe someone here may have a better answer but mine is jitter. I use sync as well and happy with it. The reason I am saying jitter I think in sync it is doing a clock resyc .
A pure guess. Also FireWire sounds better than USB does. Even mytek themselves told me this.

Al D

 

[Sherwood]

I really prefer the sound of the USB input to that of the Firewire.  I've given Firewire every chance I could, but it always comes in second to my ears.  I'm using the same cable (Audioquest Forest) for both, newest drivers, and same output formats out of JRiver.  I expected Firewire to sound better, and used it exclusively for a while, but it has not been the case.
 
Also, I'm going to register a minority opinion here.  I don't really enjoy the headphone out from the Mytek itself.  Every time I compare it to the balanced output into my amp (an ECP Audio L2), it falls far short.  The bass is anemic from the headphone jack, and the soundstage is vastly smaller.  I ran a quick volume-matched ABX (with the help of my lovely wife) and correctly identified the Mytek or the ECP each time, and never preferred the Mytek.  
 
Everything feels constrained out of the headphone out, frequency extension is limited on both ends, and the bass is significantly less textured.  A lot of detail is smeared, which really detracts from how holographic the DAC really is.  
 
I ran this test on a pair of JH13s, Grado RS1, and Sennhesier HD800.  I heard similar differences on all three, which leads me to believe that it's not an issue of current, but of design.  I suspect the headphone out on the Mytek is a bolted on chip amp, and while it uses the same excellent power supply as the rest of the unit, it's not designed to the same standard.  This unit is designed as a DAC first, preamp secon, and headamp third.  If you can get away with using only the DAC, it's a great unit.

 

[Todd R]

  I really prefer the sound of the USB input to that of the Firewire.  I've given Firewire every chance I could, but it always comes in second to my ears.  I'm using the same cable (Audioquest Forest) for both, newest drivers, and same output formats out of JRiver.  I expected Firewire to sound better, and used it exclusively for a while, but it has not been the case.
 
Also, I'm going to register a minority opinion here.  I don't really enjoy the headphone out from the Mytek itself.  Every time I compare it to the balanced output into my amp (an ECP Audio L2), it falls far short.  The bass is anemic from the headphone jack, and the soundstage is vastly smaller.  I ran a quick volume-matched ABX (with the help of my lovely wife) and correctly identified the Mytek or the ECP each time, and never preferred the Mytek.  
 
Everything feels constrained out of the headphone out, frequency extension is limited on both ends, and the bass is significantly less textured.  A lot of detail is smeared, which really detracts from how holographic the DAC really is.  
 
I ran this test on a pair of JH13s, Grado RS1, and Sennhesier HD800.  I heard similar differences on all three, which leads me to believe that it's not an issue of current, but of design.  I suspect the headphone out on the Mytek is a bolted on chip amp, and while it uses the same excellent power supply as the rest of the unit, it's not designed to the same standard.  This unit is designed as a DAC first, preamp secon, and headamp third.  If you can get away with using only the DAC, it's a great unit.

 
I disagree with you on one point, the Firewire sounds better. Have you tried using Audirvana instead of JRiver? It sounds and works better than JunkRiver. 
 
I'm with you on the headphone output. It's passable and does an ok job, but my Woo Wa-6SE is far better. 

 

[ALRAINBOW]

+1 on the headphone amp. It's ok but there is better for sure. Did you remove the output resister front right side .??