Mytek Stereo 192 DSD DAC/Preamp/Amplifier Thread

[ckc527]

The DAC is fully balanced throughout.  There is no single-ended circuit with any kind of splitting going before the XLR outputs.

So it is balanced by differential circuit?

Thanks
ckc

 

[Topspin70]

Been having the Mytek on my radar for a while and finally saved enough funds to go for it. Judging from this thread the headphone amp isn't quite as good. Anyone compared it to the Concero HP? That's what I'm upgrading from and if there's a positive jump in SQ I'm gonna go for it. The Concero HP has been driving my LCD3 and much I like what I hear I feel it's far from doing the cans justice. Plus it has no outputs except headphone which limits my future plans to add a dedicated amp.

 

[ogodei]

The amp in the Mytek is serviceable. It wont win any awards but I still find it decent for SS.

 

[simmleong]

Does anyone know where can I test the Mytek in kuala lumpur?

 

[okw3188]

There is a new firmware 1.8.3 available now. It has been a long time, since my last upgrading of firmware and I forgot that the default volume control is set to "analog" after upgrading. I was panicking for the past 1 hour, just to get the sound out from the DAC again. And finally enjoying music through my headphone now....

 

[ogodei]

Two recent firmware updates actually. The previus update was from 2013 !

From the release notes:

"
v1.8.3 / 2015-09-10
Changes:
1. MidSide, L-R and Mono are saved now and restored after power up.

v1.8.2 / 2015-07-27
Changes:
1. Added vol trim in bypass mode. After this change vol trim doesn't work on analog input.
"

My guess someone in the pro world asked for this change? I guess if you are using the device purely as an analog attenuator you'd be advised not to make the update. Otherwise I don't see the point.

 

[Sherwood]

I'd skip the update entirely, unless you read the above and thought "My God finally, thank you Mytek."

 

[nerone]

Been having the Mytek on my radar for a while and finally saved enough funds to go for it. Judging from this thread the headphone amp isn't quite as good. Anyone compared it to the Concero HP? That's what I'm upgrading from and if there's a positive jump in SQ I'm gonna go for it. The Concero HP has been driving my LCD3 and much I like what I hear I feel it's far from doing the cans justice. Plus it has no outputs except headphone which limits my future plans to add a dedicated amp.

I can't make any comments on the amplifier side of the Concero HP, but I do have the Mytek and the Concero HD. The DAC on the Mytek sounds better to me, more transparent and a little brighter. I use the Musical Fidelity M1HPAp and Vallhala 2 as amplifiers. With the MF the Mytek sounds fatiguing, but just on very long listenings.
Considering I'm using the LCD-X, I think you should be fine with the Mytek as you have the LDC-3.
I didn't find the amp on the Mytek capable enough for me, but I have the gain on the Mytek set for half of the original on the internal jumpers and I didn't try to change that as I didn't have the intention to use it as a stand alone DAC/amp. Also the LCD has lower impedance than the 3.

 

[Synthax]

Mytek headphone output is mediocre. It has background noise/hiss with sensitive headphones (Teslas for example). It is not sufficient powered for very low bass in full size headphones. It is rather weak in power and voltage. I have very average experience with this output and absolutely recommend separated headphone amp with this great DAC unit.

 

[Ultrainferno]

Is this the same one Nathan @shigzeo reviewed today?

 

[Lord Raven]

Hi guys,
 
Has anyone reviewed it with any of the Geek Pulse Infinity, XFi, SFi DACs? What is different in the Brooklyn DAC? I heard a newer model is launch and this model gets a discounted price.
 
Best Regards
LR

 

[Promenadeplatz]

I asked them 2 weeks ago in the U.S. and in EU to tell me the voltage the headphone amplifier delivers but got no answer so far........ I understand it is not a good idea to change the HPA V200 amplifier I use for this one, I mean only the amplifier section. I thought to buy one that delivers at least 10-12V for an HD 800.

 

[Promenadeplatz]

The DAC is fully balanced throughout.  There is no single-ended circuit with any kind of splitting going before the XLR outputs.

No, it is not. It is just servo balanced, often also called "cross coupled", not fully balanced.

 

[notengewirr]

Since last week I have the possibility to test the Mytek Stereo192-DSD
For comparison i have my beloved Apogge Mini-Dac.This unit outperformed some other CD-Players and dacs in the past...
Both devices are connected via  Balanced XLR outputs, cables are all the same sort / balanced Studio XLR cables
The source is a Mac with iTunes and Pure Music upsampling OFF
The data files are PCM 44.1-96kHz 16 / 24bits
 
First I tested the best connectivity for each device.
The Mytek Stereo192-DSD clearly benefits from the FW connection.
Upsampling off, PCM Filter sharp,analog vol.control

The Apogee Mini-Dac also has FW, but it sounds clearly better with a separate USB 2 HifaceTwo over Coax S / PDIF Interface.
Mytek is also very good via the Hiface2 > S/PDIF coax.
My Macs Toslink sounds crap , has high jitter. Only advantage is the electrical isolation.
The Hiface2 has built in Pulse-Transformer. so i believe it it also isolated.(Transformer-Isolated)
No 'noise' or 'buzzing' or 'hum' audible via the HifaceTwo.
 
The headphone outputs of the  devices are slightly different.
With my Shure SE535 (36Ohms/119dB sensitivity)  only the output of the Apogee is absolutely noise-free
With low impedance HP the Apogee has most impact. Even my older LCD-2 sounds very controlled. Also my K701
HPs like T1, Sennh.600/650  are slightly better connected to the Mytek amplifiers.
 
Over XLR analog outputs both converters give a very clean and powerful sound image.
The Apogee Mini-Dac has even the most power reserves through its anaolog XLR outputs.
Apogee and Stereo192Dac can also be controlled internally.
The Mini-Dac via channel-separated Potis, the Mytek by jumper.
Mini-Dac and Stereo192-DSD / Stereo 96-Dac also have the option to control the analog output via front knob.
Both units uses analog attenuation. ( i do not try the Mytek's digital volume control ) someone here prefer the digital volume ?
 
i first noticed ,the Mytek sound is very clean in the heights. Sometimes I have the feeling that they are a bit artificial in the upper range.
Do the heights have more resolution over the Apogee ? Hmm , difficult ! The apogee's heights are same intensity but less artificial.
Is it a kind of sizzling or so ? Perhaps aliasing ? ( as i said ,i do not use any Upsampling or special filter setting on the Mytek)
It is like using an exciter to enhance the upper range. Or if someone adds minimal Tube-or Tape-harmonics to the signal.
Apogee Mini-Dac has the same treeble energy, but less 'smooth&widening' or softening/enhancing the signal.
It sounds more natural with Mini-dac.
The heights of both units  are free of  ear-fatigue even at very high levels !
 
If i listen to vocals ( mostly  Vocals in Pop/Wave/ 80-90s music lol )  both units are great performer.
Voices sound absolutely genuine and are placed in the right space. With the Mytek there is a bit more space arround the voices.
The Mini-Dac voices sound a bit more in front of you. For me an advantage for live-music or acustic instruments.
 
The Mytek has slightly deeper bassresponse, only a bit more punch at the lowest end.That's pretty cool with some electronic music !
Apogee Mini-Dac does more 'kicking'. Drums sounds powerfull ,more forward, more present. More live-character i think and more in your face. The sound-centre (mono-mid) has more pressure.
 
Mytek's advantage is the remote control via Apple remote. Pretty cool feature !
 
 So wich unit do i prefer ?
 
I think both dacs are great , the Mytek now is my dac for electronic music) and the mini-dac is the pop-music and livemusic performer
 

 

[ambchang]

Need some help with the firmware update so apologies in resurrecting an old thread.

My mytek dsd is still using firmware 1.3.x and I wanted to update it. Problem is that I can only do so through FireWire.

My laptop is a PC and doesn’t have FireWire. My new Mac only has thunderbolt any USB but no firewire. My old Mac has FireWire but it’s so old that it would not support the software from mytek.

I purchased a thunderbolt to FireWire adaptor but that doesn’t work.

I emailed mytek but they have gone silent.

Any of you have similar issues and solved it? Help is much appreciated.