Mytek new dac Brooklyn.

[John Eaton]

sgb, thank you for the correction!  I’m delighted to be wrong in this case. 

Thanks also for the spreadsheet.  This will greatly assist me in creating my own MQA tagged library in Roon.

I do have a couple of questions.

After opening and saving in Excel, your linked spreadsheet, on the first tab titled “The 2700+”, I do not see column headers.  I’m pretty sure Column A is Artist, and B is Album, but I’m not clear on what columns C, D, E, and F indicate.  I assume Column G is the date the album was added to Tidal as an MQA file, correct?  Also, how is this spreadsheet sorted?

The second tab on the spreadsheet, titled “Tidal MQA Albums – discovered” also has some missing headers.  It does have what appears to be an MQA column but not all the 1715 albums listed are marked as MQA.

One other curious thing for me is when using the Tidal application, I select Tidal > Masters > Show All, I come up with only 471 Masters albums, not 2700+.  Currently in the Roon program, counting the Masters > View All, I come up with 653 Tidal Masters/MQA albums.

I’ll do some further investigation, but one tidbit I picked up from reading the Roon knowledge base is due to copyright laws and other legal considerations, Tidal offerings are not the same in all countries.  In other words, at this point in time, Roon has no way of allowing users to select a category that will list all MQA albums, even though one can specify hi vs standard resolution as a sorting method. 

Yesterday I was attempting to put together my own Roon MQA list by finding and tagging the Tidal MQA album in Roon.  There is almost always more than one version of the same album in Roon, thus the only way to find and tag the MQA version was to play each one until the blue MQA light lit.

Unless I’m misunderstanding something, if there are indeed 2700 + MQA albums in Tidal, the only way to find many of them is a hit and miss process.

I wouldn’t think it would be so complicated but what do I know?

Nonetheless, thanks a bunch for this information!

[sgb]

John.

It is a spreadsheet that everybody can edit and thats why the headers have disapeared.

Column A: Artist

Column B: Album title

Column C: Available in UK via Tidal

Column D: Available in US via Tidal

Column E: Available in Australia via Tidal

Column F: Tracks on album

Column G: Date added

Column H: Type of music

As far as I remember.

 

I first checked in Tidal the albums in Tidals windows application from the list if it was Available in my country (Sweden) and was MQA.

If yes then I added the album to a playlist in Tidal that I named MQA. After syncing Tidal in Roon I choose add to library and tagged it MQA. It was a hell of a job but my Roon MQA bookmarked Tidal albums is up to 1496 albums.

From the 2700+ there are some that I can´t access in Sweden and many that not in my music taste.

 

The sorting is up to you. But remember that if you change the sorting it is changed for all the 237000 other people that is watching this spredset.

 

All the album except for a few that I cant access in Sweden is MQA. I have checked them all in Tidal.

 

It is very strange that Tidal don´t have a complete list of Masters/MQA in their application that is available i Tidal and that you have to search for the albums listed in the spreadsheet.

 

You have to use Tidals application to find the 2700+ albums, you won´t find them in Roon. In the Tidal app all the Master albums is marked with a M.

 

Hoped this willclarify some questions

 

[John Eaton]

^^^^^^

sgb, thank you, this is immensely helpful!

I saved a copy of the linked spreadsheet to my hard drive.  I will work with my saved copy and leave the spreadsheet on the web alone.

So, you compiled your MQA list within the Tidal application, saved it as a playlist, synced with Roon then tagged it as MQA.  Very clever.  I’m sure it will take days, weeks maybe, but I think I’ll give that a try.   Likely I will complete the task about same the time Roon comes up with a MQA coding convention.

I agree it is odd that selecting Tidal, Albums, Masters, Show All actually shows only a small portion of the total MQA albums available.

I had no idea Tidal had 2700 + MQA albums but I’m taking it as wonderful news!

 

[Veovis]

Is it just me or is the Brooklyn with firmware 2.35 suddenly output at a lower level? I've been one of the people who have questioned the design of this dac in this regard but lowering the output digitally through a firmware update is certainly no solution. Will probably get rid of this thing and buy from people who know what they are doing on the consumer side of audio. Bye Mytek.

 

 

[intensemojo]

Have not heard a lower output however I only use fixed balanced out.

 

Mytek needs to bring back the blue MQA logo. The dot is too small.

[Veovis]

1 hour ago, intensemojo said:

Have not heard a lower output however I only use fixed balanced out.

 

Mytek needs to bring back the blue MQA logo. The dot is too small.

 

Actually, fixed balanced out here as well. Went back to 2.32 and then to 2.35 again and either I was having a really bad ear day or something went wrong with the update the last time, but now it sounds ok again at least. Can't shake the feeling it sounds different though, but hard to a/b different firmware versions. 

[rtb]

I updated to 2.35 yesterday. Being a techno phobe my Brooklyn was at 2.06 from when first purchased.There seems to be quite a big jump in sound quality from the original software.

[Middy]

Small update powering the Brooklyn's 13v.

I tried another upgrade on the Sbooster. 

I replaced the smoothing Capacitors on the DC side with direct but higher spec for ESR Impedance and ripple current.

I am no EE so the same values were used. I also changed over the diodes on the rectifier bridge with faster switching ones. The effect sound wise is quite pleasing and I am happy with the SQ Boost .

If it reads cleaner on a scope I will never know.  Anyone wanting details let me know.

But in general it's another tick in the box for better power supplies....

 

Have fun

Dave

[whacky]

On 6/5/2017 at 3:24 PM, John Eaton said:

 

Also a couple of thoughts regarding Whacky's balanced cable phono issue.  I doubt it has anything to do with Blue Jeans XLR cables.  (I honestly think Blue Jeans balanced cables with Neutrik XLR connectors are pretty darn good.)  I suspect it would be easy to substitute single ended cables, Brooklyn out to amp in, to see if the problem persists in that configuration.  My guess is the noise is coming from the turntable itself.

 

Two Issues:

1. I'm revisiting this issue now that I am back in the country and am on the move trying to fix the problem. 

 

To review, I have a cyclical, repetitive noise coming from the speakers when using my Project Debut carbon turntable through the MM phono stage on the Mytek. 

 

I changed interconnects and connected a pair of seemingly well made, high quality Outlaw Audio RCA interconnects between the DAC and the amp, and used those cables instead of my BJC XLR cables. NO change whatsoever. The repetitive, cyclic noise is still present. No change in volume or tone. 

 

I changed the RCA cables that connected the turntable to the DAC as well, and again, nothing has changed. 

 

The turntable is a Project Debut Carbon with an Audio Technica AT440MLB MM cartridge. 

When I had the turntable running into my Marantz 7702, there was no such cyclical, almost clock-like noise. 

 

So I am inclined to believe its not a cable issue, and I am struggling to think how it would be a turn table issue at this point. Which is making me point the finger at the Brooklyn. 

 

I attempted switching to 2.35 firmware without success on this issue (Also hate the small MQA blue dot change. Wtf) . I will try to revert back to an older firmware, but I am guessing that wont be an issue. 

 

I think I am going to email Mytek and look for a solution because it is quite annoying, and completely destructive of listening to vinyl through the phono stage. 

 

If anyone else has any suggestions, I am all ears.

 

 

Issue #2. 

May be an issue to discuss in the Audirvana thread, but not sure if its a Mytek Brooklyn issue or not. May also just be a silly question to ask in general based on my knowledge base, but is it possible to force upsample files in Audirvana to DSD256 and send that to the Brooklyn?

 

As of now, my only options are to upsample to DSD128, which does sound excellent.  I have Native DSD capability set to DSD over PCM standard 1.0, or 1.1. 

 

When I select "Auto detection" this changes the DSD64 and DSD128 from green to grey, and no longer allows native DSD files to play as DSD.  When "DSD over PCM Standard" is selected, only up to DSD128 is lit up in green, and that is my max choice when I go to pick what DSD level to upsample to.  DSD256 still remains greyed out and apparently not an option. 

 

From my understanding, Brooklyn can handle DSD256. So I am just curious if I am missing something, or do I just not understand what Audirvana/my mac mini are capable of.

 

 

Thanks all

 

 

[whacky]

Ok, sorry to repeat post. 

 

Concerning my mid frequency repetitive noise. 

I am playing around with the connections as we speak, and just noticed that when I physically touch the rear connections from the DAC, the repetitive noise diminishes, or vanishes.  Most notable when I remove the XLR cables( as those were the loudest) and physically touch the input RCA input from the turntable. 

 

As soon as I take my fingers off the connectors, the noise returns. 

 

Does this mean there is a grounding issue somewhere? Or is this a static charge issue?

 

The noise was much more pronounced on the XLR cables than the thicker Outlaw Audio RCA. When I disconnect the XLR cables, the noise is still present and when I touch the connection to the RCA cables going to the Phono Input of the Brooklyn, the noise quiets almost all the way. 

 

I handled every connection to see if my physical touch changed the sound. No change with disconnecting turntable power. No change with manipulation of turntable ground wire, which currently just a 12 guage speaker cable connected to ground on the rear of the Brooklyn. No change with manipulation of RCA cables at the turntable level. And only minimal change with manipulation of the Outlaw Audio RCA out from the Brooklyn towards the amp. 

 

So basically, removing the XLR cables helped diminish the sound, but even if I didnt, physically touching either the XLR connection, or the Phono Input cables on the rear of the Brooklyn removed the noise almost all the way. 

 

 

I am going to keep tinkering, but if anyone has any further ideas, I'm all ears. 

[John Eaton]

^^^^^

Whacky, it sure would be interesting if you could somehow borrow another turntable just to see if the problem would persist.

Interestingly we have nearly the same setup.  I also have a ProJect Debut Carbon but mine has an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, with BJC XLR’s from the Brooklyn to my Classé SSP-800 pre-pro.  I am using BJC RCA’s from the ProJect to the Brooklyn.

In my case, with the Brooklyn in the chain as the phono preamp and the volume on the Classé turned all the way up to 0 dB, I can hear a slight static hiss with my ear right at the speaker.  (Not trying to be a jerk.)

Two or three things I would try.

1.       Unplug the RCA cables from the project and see if the pulsing noise stops.

2.       Take a close look at the tiny wires connecting the cartridge to the head shell to make sure everything is as it should be on that front.

3.       Change the speed on the turntable from 33 to 45.  Do the rhythmic pulsing sounds increase?  Perhaps the cartridge is somehow picking up and amplifying a mechanical noise coming from the turntable motor or bearings. (I know my ProJect is not completely silent as I can hear its mechanicals whirring away when I’m standing close to it.)

Good luck!

[whacky]

Eureka

 

Well, after spending a majority of the evening painstakingly going through my entire audio-video rack, I finally determined where the noise was coming from.

 

As it turns out, when the turntable was selected as the input on the Brooklyn, it was picking up noise from the Apple Airport Extreme router.

I discovered this by systematically unpulgging each item in the vicinity and seeing it it changed anything. What a bear of a task. 

 

The culprit was the wireless transmission from the Airport Extreme. 

Funny because the Frontier-provided wireless FIOS modem which is still putting out a wireless signal of its own, had no effect on the noise. it was only the Airport Extreme. 

 

So now I am going to have to find a way do one of a few things. 

1. Move the Airport Extreme further away from Turntable. I can move it slightly, but not much due to where the FIOS line enters the house, and the length of cable. Can always run wire, but that gets exhausting real quick. 

2. Find a way to somehow shield the Router and the Turntable....So I jokingly threw a piece of foil over the router tonight after this discovery and BAM, worked. though not very permanent and at times, not perfect. 

3. Get better shielded Phono interconnect cables. 

 

Will likely try to do all 3 in some form.

 

So, does anyone have any recs for excellently shielded, dead quiet Phono Cable or RCA cables that can be used as Phone lines?? This would be super helpful. 

 

Wonder if upgrading turntables will have any effect on this problem? Gotta imagine it most definitely would depending on the turntable design. 

 

Thanks to all who offered assistance. 

 

I'm pretty sure the Brooklyn DAC doesnt really have all too much to do with my noise issue now. Just strange how the turntable never made this sound when it was being fed into the Marantzs phono input and the Airport Extreme was about the same distance apart at that time. 

 

 

[mumsoft]

Maybe it's just the poor shielding in the AT-cartridge? Just guessing though. But if you can, try another cartridge first, before swapping complete turntables. And, if you are on an analogue forum, try to get advise there.

 

Marc

[gmplus]

I found Interesting article on the some blog about hardware/software decoded MQA

- proffesional comparison using DAC Brooklyn

comparison-hardware-decoded-mqa-using.html

 

 

[whacky]

So the Brooklyn can handle DSD 256, correct?

 

Are people who are using the Brooklyn and Audirvana+ able to run Audirvana+ to force upsample using DSD256 as an option??

 

On my setup, which is a mac running OS Sierra,  the DSD 256 isn't an option to upsample to. Its grayed out. It also doesn't even highlight green when the Brooklyn DAC is selected as the output device. 

 

Is this just something I am not aware of? or are others having similar issues running Audirvana+

 

[Bob M.]

10 hours ago, whacky said:

So the Brooklyn can handle DSD 256, correct?

 

Are people who are using the Brooklyn and Audirvana+ able to run Audirvana+ to force upsample using DSD256 as an option??

 

On my setup, which is a mac running OS Sierra,  the DSD 256 isn't an option to upsample to. Its grayed out. It also doesn't even highlight green when the Brooklyn DAC is selected as the output device. 

 

Is this just something I am not aware of? or are others having similar issues running Audirvana+

 

I can verify that the Brooklyn DAC can handle DSD256 just fine through the USB input.  I do not use Audirvana+, so I cannot answer the other part of your question.   Happy listening!

[jamesg11]

A+ will do 256, which I do thru an iFi iDSD.

[quark]

16 hours ago, whacky said:

So the Brooklyn can handle DSD 256, correct?

 

Are people who are using the Brooklyn and Audirvana+ able to run Audirvana+ to force upsample using DSD256 as an option??

 

On my setup, which is a mac running OS Sierra,  the DSD 256 isn't an option to upsample to. Its grayed out. It also doesn't even highlight green when the Brooklyn DAC is selected as the output device. 

 

Is this just something I am not aware of? or are others having similar issues running Audirvana+

 

Hi

 I don't know why it isn't automatically detected, I sent an email to Mytek and Audirvana about it, but nothing changed.

But you need to change the "Native DSD Capability" setting in Audirvana's "Audio System" settings panel from Auto to "DSD over PCM standard 1.1" or 1.0.

works lovely then

same for MQA, change from auto to MQA decoder.

[intensemojo]

recently picked up the balanced headphone adapter to power Audeze LCD X. Very nice upgrade in power, clarity, and soundstage. Worth the extra $ for hungry phones.

[whacky]

On 7/8/2017 at 6:45 AM, jamesg11 said:

A+ will do 256, which I do thru an iFi iDSD.

So you mean just to confirm just that A+ will in fact do DSD 256 no problem. Just through your iFi. You aren't using a Brooklyn correct?

 

 

[whacky]

On 7/8/2017 at 7:49 AM, quark said:

Hi

 I don't know why it isn't automatically detected, I sent an email to Mytek and Audirvana about it, but nothing changed.

But you need to change the "Native DSD Capability" setting in Audirvana's "Audio System" settings panel from Auto to "DSD over PCM standard 1.1" or 1.0.

works lovely then

same for MQA, change from auto to MQA decoder.

 

Yeah, I am using all of those settings. And it will output DSD128 no problem. 

 

I just want to know why a DAC that states it supports DSD256, and a program that clearly has support for it are not allowing the users to upscale to that level. Especially if other users of A+ with other DACs are able to do so without difficulty. 

[lucretius]

5 hours ago, whacky said:

 

Yeah, I am using all of those settings. And it will output DSD128 no problem. 

 

I just want to know why a DAC that states it supports DSD256, and a program that clearly has support for it are not allowing the users to upscale to that level. Especially if other users of A+ with other DACs are able to do so without difficulty. 

 

The Brooklyn supports native DSD up to DSDx256 -- that normally means support for DSD via DoP is limited to DSDx128 (DoP takes twice the resources). Further, an ASIO driver is required for native DSD. There is no such driver for Mac OS (and Audirvanna) -- therefore, only DSD via DoP is possible, hence DSDx128.

[whacky]

1 hour ago, lucretius said:

 

The Brooklyn supports native DSD up to DSDx256 -- that normally means support for DSD via DoP is limited to DSDx128 (DoP takes twice the resources). Further, an ASIO driver is required for native DSD. There is no such driver for Mac OS (and Audirvanna) -- therefore, only DSD via DoP is possible, hence DSDx128.

 

Many thanks for the explanation. 

[whacky]

On a separate note, for those that use the Brooklyn as a phono preamp, what are your overall thoughts about it??

 

After doing some extensive troubleshooting in my system,  I have found my Brooklyn Phono input to be quite noisy. A more than acceptable hum that is present at just marginal volume levels.  Changes in accordance to the volume of amp. But at standard listening levels, I think anyone would consider it an unacceptable amount of noise. 

 

I don't think it's turntable or stylus as I switched styluses. No change. When I switch the turntable to the Phono input on my Marantz pre/pro, the hum is significantly decreased, And almost nonexistent until volume levels are totally maxed out.

 

so that makes me believe it's noise within the Brooklyns Phono preamp. 

 

 

 

Everything is running into the same outlet via a Furman power conditioner. Switched Phono cables of all varieties and cost. No change. Switched power cords. No change. Switched ground wires. No change. Installed the famous 4 jumpers, and it still has noise just slightly less.  Repositioned everything. No change. Isolated turntable from other electronics. No change. I also changed amps from primaluna Dialogue Hp to my Parasound A31 and then to an Outlaw audio 7125 and they all have the same hum. 

 

Switching to different input on Brooklyn and the noise is gone. I've tried every combination of setting and firmware with no change. 

 

Is this a gain issue within a hot Brooklyn? 

Is anyone else experienced this significant hum using the Phono preamp??

 

 

 

 

 

[mumsoft]

Firmware 2.36 is out.

 

Marc