btbluesky
100+ Head-Fier
- Long story short
For the impatient, this is a great sounding, very revealing setup thats perfect for large amount of material (especially rock, techno/trance, even classical), but not all.
- Prologue
As a noob for headphone, I got my MK V two weeks ago along with a pair of new DT880. The communication, packaging and price to me are top notch from David. I have not used a highend headphone before (grado S60, senn PX100, I don't count them as such), and for sure I'm no golden ear, so I'm not sure some of these attributes I encountered are because of the amp or the DT880, so I can only say these are my experience with this combination. I'm a neutral kinda guy as far as SS vs Tube, for reference my home setup is:
Linux Flac -> MHDT Paradisea+ w/Tube buffer DAC -> Jolida Tube/SS integrate -> Ascendant Audio Sierra.
At work I used Window Flac (ASIO) -> Trends Audio UD10.1 NOS DAC/transport -> ultimate ear studio 3 (114db)
Materials are female vocal, jazz, classical, soundtrack, techno and lounge. Also 20+ of the reference samplers I've collected. Using both linux and windows, UD10.1 and Paradisea+.
- First Impression
After 30-40 hours of pink noise for both the amp and 880, I connect the Paradisea+ to it and fire up some female vocal. Everything I expected are there plus some more. The highs are all there with all the detail. Extremely fast transient, great separation, everything is so lively. In fact I can even distinguish the 320 mp3 and flac version of the same song, and the source's weakness all comes out.
One thing need to mention. Just like another reviewer posted, the MK V unit I got also produce a very very slight hiss sound even without music (and only noticeable without music, pass 10 o'clock mark). This could be just due to the fact that it's a class AB amp, not true class A. But overall, I do not feel like it interference with my enjoyment w/ the unit. Also there'd be nothing in this review about soundstage, as I personally feel like headphone soundstage is just not comparable to regular 2-ch setup, and this is not a pair of AKG electrostatic cans.
- Vocal
e.g. Lara Fabian - En Toute Intimite (live recording), not a normal reference, but one of my favorite CD, tested across 4 version: CD, 320MP3, CD rip flac AND downloaded flac. The last song Bambina is a guitar unplug song. Anyone has this CD knows around 41 sec there's a hiccup. With MK V, not only is this sound way more visible, but it reveal other jitter-like imperfection in other places of the song as well.
Its both exciting and depressing for me, as I before I wasn't able to tell those, and now its like Brat Pitt just burned my apartment and wanted to start a club with me.
- Classical/jazz/samplers
Next couple days I learned my lesson and tried out only the good source, Joshua Bell violins, Gheorghiu casta diva, Rachmaninov piano concerto No. 2. They all came alive beautifully. Impactful, great instruments separation, high dynamics. With the samplers, some of them are SACD/XRCD/HDCD rip, the detail are just impressive. Piano/guitar notes flies out realistically across w/ dynamic force. The jazz and opera vocal however, I have a different feeling toward it, everything is there no question, but I just feels like something is missing comparing to a tube preamp home setup, very hard to put into words, feels like its the emotions. Maybe that's what tube user refer to as the tubey sweetness of it, maybe it's just some even order distortion, or maybe its just me. In any case, this is where it hit me that I will need to get the MK IV just to complete this part of my test
- Techno / Lounge / pop
Matrix soundtrack and Yoko Kanno Ghost in the shell OST never sounds so good. This is where this setup shine best, it can really move your body without you noticing it. The source imperfection w/ these genre are pretty much cover itself, so even with complete SS upstream and/or mp3, I think it gets the job done very well.
- Conclusion
It's been a great run. For the price, I think it deliver a truly great sounding product that many cannot touch. I absolutely would recommend this to anyone who likes the materials mentioned that suite this setup. And its obvious to me now there is no one tool perfect for all the jobs. Maybe I'm asking too much, maybe 8 hours non-stop vocal session without ANY fatigue plus emotion to die for, as well as faster-than-bullet transient, all in 16bits of zeros and ones are just too far a goal. I'll need to get a hold of the MK IV or darkvoice to really find out. Rock on...
Bryan
For the impatient, this is a great sounding, very revealing setup thats perfect for large amount of material (especially rock, techno/trance, even classical), but not all.
- Prologue
As a noob for headphone, I got my MK V two weeks ago along with a pair of new DT880. The communication, packaging and price to me are top notch from David. I have not used a highend headphone before (grado S60, senn PX100, I don't count them as such), and for sure I'm no golden ear, so I'm not sure some of these attributes I encountered are because of the amp or the DT880, so I can only say these are my experience with this combination. I'm a neutral kinda guy as far as SS vs Tube, for reference my home setup is:
Linux Flac -> MHDT Paradisea+ w/Tube buffer DAC -> Jolida Tube/SS integrate -> Ascendant Audio Sierra.
At work I used Window Flac (ASIO) -> Trends Audio UD10.1 NOS DAC/transport -> ultimate ear studio 3 (114db)
Materials are female vocal, jazz, classical, soundtrack, techno and lounge. Also 20+ of the reference samplers I've collected. Using both linux and windows, UD10.1 and Paradisea+.
- First Impression
After 30-40 hours of pink noise for both the amp and 880, I connect the Paradisea+ to it and fire up some female vocal. Everything I expected are there plus some more. The highs are all there with all the detail. Extremely fast transient, great separation, everything is so lively. In fact I can even distinguish the 320 mp3 and flac version of the same song, and the source's weakness all comes out.
One thing need to mention. Just like another reviewer posted, the MK V unit I got also produce a very very slight hiss sound even without music (and only noticeable without music, pass 10 o'clock mark). This could be just due to the fact that it's a class AB amp, not true class A. But overall, I do not feel like it interference with my enjoyment w/ the unit. Also there'd be nothing in this review about soundstage, as I personally feel like headphone soundstage is just not comparable to regular 2-ch setup, and this is not a pair of AKG electrostatic cans.
- Vocal
e.g. Lara Fabian - En Toute Intimite (live recording), not a normal reference, but one of my favorite CD, tested across 4 version: CD, 320MP3, CD rip flac AND downloaded flac. The last song Bambina is a guitar unplug song. Anyone has this CD knows around 41 sec there's a hiccup. With MK V, not only is this sound way more visible, but it reveal other jitter-like imperfection in other places of the song as well.
Its both exciting and depressing for me, as I before I wasn't able to tell those, and now its like Brat Pitt just burned my apartment and wanted to start a club with me.
- Classical/jazz/samplers
Next couple days I learned my lesson and tried out only the good source, Joshua Bell violins, Gheorghiu casta diva, Rachmaninov piano concerto No. 2. They all came alive beautifully. Impactful, great instruments separation, high dynamics. With the samplers, some of them are SACD/XRCD/HDCD rip, the detail are just impressive. Piano/guitar notes flies out realistically across w/ dynamic force. The jazz and opera vocal however, I have a different feeling toward it, everything is there no question, but I just feels like something is missing comparing to a tube preamp home setup, very hard to put into words, feels like its the emotions. Maybe that's what tube user refer to as the tubey sweetness of it, maybe it's just some even order distortion, or maybe its just me. In any case, this is where it hit me that I will need to get the MK IV just to complete this part of my test
- Techno / Lounge / pop
Matrix soundtrack and Yoko Kanno Ghost in the shell OST never sounds so good. This is where this setup shine best, it can really move your body without you noticing it. The source imperfection w/ these genre are pretty much cover itself, so even with complete SS upstream and/or mp3, I think it gets the job done very well.
- Conclusion
It's been a great run. For the price, I think it deliver a truly great sounding product that many cannot touch. I absolutely would recommend this to anyone who likes the materials mentioned that suite this setup. And its obvious to me now there is no one tool perfect for all the jobs. Maybe I'm asking too much, maybe 8 hours non-stop vocal session without ANY fatigue plus emotion to die for, as well as faster-than-bullet transient, all in 16bits of zeros and ones are just too far a goal. I'll need to get a hold of the MK IV or darkvoice to really find out. Rock on...
Bryan