Mytek new dac Brooklyn.

[lmitche]

I believe you'll find posts #191 and #209 very interesting..

Not a comparison with the vega but a good detailed comparison with the 192 may prove useful to you.

 

Having never heard a Mytek DAC before the Brooklyn it's impossible for me to compare with the 192.

 

I've owned three DACs in two years and have auditioned another 3 in that time. Nothing beat the Vega. One DAC, an Exasound was close, but I couldn't listen to it in DSD256 which is supposed to be its best mode. It was a close tie to the Vega playing PCM, with the Vega arguably a touch better. From this experience my conclusion was that DACs aren't that different. I was wrong.

 

The Mytek Brooklyn powered by my custom LPS is in another league. There is just much more of everything PRAT, 3d imaging, extension, resolution, air, harmonics, you name it. It's both a very natural presentation with a fullness that makes the other DACs I've owned and auditioned seem pale by comparison.

 

It is as though there is much more signal getting to the DAC. The Brooklyn just delivers a better simulation of reality. A bit like moving from SDTV to HDTV.

 

It was exciting to learn about this product given it's many connectivity options, format support including MQA, external power and clock inputs and preamp capabilities, including both analog and digital attenuation at a great price. However I was ready to return it if the SQ was less then great. It's not going back.

[occamsrazor]

The Mytek Brooklyn powered by my custom LPS is in another league.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write down your observations. I wonder how much is due to your "custom LPS"... how did the Brooklyn compare to Vega when used without the LPS?

(Edit: Sorry just saw your reply yesterday saying you hadn't had much chance to test with the stock supply)

[lmitche]

Yes, it took no time to hear the difference with the LPS and I hate de-tweaking! I am busy listening to my 1500 albums, and it seems like the first time for most!

[lmitche]

I didn't compare the Brooklyn powered by the internal SMPS and the Vega directly. When we tested both at Mytek, the Vega was powered by the LPS . Michal seemed impressed as well.

[tomsag]

I didn't compare the Brooklyn powered by the internal SMPS and the Vega directly. When we tested both at Mytek, the Vega was powered by the LPS . Michal seemed impressed as well.

 

Speaking about PS... I've seen here a lot of messages about PS upgrades, and - honestly - do not understand why

is no one speaking about the BEST DC power supply - a (high power, motorcycle or car) Battery which is during

critical listening unplugged from charger.

Costs less and should sound best.

Am I wrong about this kind of PS?

[lmitche]

Speaking about PS... I've seen here a lot of messages about PS upgrades, and - honestly - do not understand why

is no one speaking about the BEST DC power supply - a (high power, motorcycle or car) Battery which is during

critical listening unplugged from charger.

Costs less and should sound best.

Am I wrong about this kind of PS?

 

Funny, The CEO of Mytek suggested the same. I have never tried one. Of course one needs to find a good charger, but I am sure that a single charge would last a long time. It is definitely a cheap viable solution. You get galvanic isolation as well. Why don't you give it a shot and let us know how it goes?

[Totsipaki]

Today I gave external Power Supply powering a try using a Kingrex PSU 13V kindly lent to me.

The sonic advantages were obvious the difference was that from Amazing (as truthfully stated by Mytek advertisers) to Breathtaking..

 

I was about to keep the PSU but then after a couple of hours of playback and a bass heavy electronica track I use for testing the Brooklyn Suddenly switched off by It self with the illuminated "M" indicator turning very pale green..

 

Thankfully nothing bad happened (I was just scared to death) since powering the dac from Its normal 220v inlet again proved it was functioning fine and no damage happened to the unit.

 

Could It be that the Power Supply Run Out Of current? It did run rather hot to be honest..

 

Oh please cmon Mytek give Us the optimal specs for an Outboard linear regulated PSU.. Now that I have heard the difference the construction of one is my top Audio Priority!!

[lmitche]

[BigGuy]

Thanks for taking the time to write down your observations. I wonder how much is due to your "custom LPS"... how did the Brooklyn compare to Vega when used without the LPS?

(Edit: Sorry just saw your reply yesterday saying you hadn't had much chance to test with the stock supply)

 

A friend of mine had been using the Vega in his high resolution audio system for some time and another had recently taken delivery of a Brooklyn, upgrading from the 192-DSD. A-B'ing them side by side with same cables, power cords, etc., and using the internal PS of the Brooklyn, our feeling was that the Brooklyn was slightly better across the board than the Vega...until we switched the Brooklyn to ANALOG preamp mode (at full gain since we were using an external preamp for volume control) from the BYPASS setting. With this change, the Brooklyn was head and shoulders better than the Vega... broader soundstage, deeper and tighter bass and a smoothing of the sound making for a much more involving listening experience without sacrifice of detail and extension. As always, YMMV!

 

I would say from what we heard that the internal power supply of the Brooklyn is really quite good but do not question what might be achieved with sound quality by going to an external linear, regulated supply which we did not have available.

 

As someone suggested, it would be nice if Mytek provided some guidance on connectivity, preferred voltage and maybe even some power supply options. From my investigation, many of these purpose-built external supplies are on the order of $500 or more and not sure I trust the $50-100 supplies from overseas.

[agladstone]

A friend of mine had been using the Vega in his high resolution audio system for some time and another had recently taken delivery of a Brooklyn, upgrading from the 192-DSD. A-B'ing them side by side with same cables, power cords, etc., and using the internal PS of the Brooklyn, our feeling was that the Brooklyn was slightly better across the board than the Vega...until we switched the Brooklyn to ANALOG preamp mode (at full gain since we were using an external preamp for volume control) from the BYPASS setting. With this change, the Brooklyn was head and shoulders better than the Vega... broader soundstage, deeper and tighter bass and a smoothing of the sound making for a much more involving listening experience without sacrifice of detail and extension. As always, YMMV!

 

I would say from what we heard that the internal power supply of the Brooklyn is really quite good but do not question what might be achieved with sound quality by going to an external linear, regulated supply which we did not have available.

 

As someone suggested, it would be nice if Mytek provided some guidance on connectivity, preferred voltage and maybe even some power supply options. From my investigation, many of these purpose-built external supplies are on the order of $500 or more and not sure I trust the $50-100 supplies from overseas.

 

I actually returned my Brooklyn Dac last week, but I am still following this thread.

FYI, I did speak directly with Michal about the specs for an external LPSU and he told me that it should be 12V and as much Amps as possible ( in his opinion the more the better),

he told me that the internal supply was 12V and 3.5A, so in his opinion, he thought at least 12V 7A, and that a 12V 15A would be even better.

He did also suggest trying a car or motorcycle battery, stating that a car battery would deliver about 1,000 Amps!

I looked at the HDPlex per another members suggestion, and it has 12V 7A in addition to having 3 additional outputs (19.5V, 9V, and a 5V), if I recall, I think it is around $325 USD.

[markwb]

agladstone- What led you to return it? Frustration or sound quality?

[jamesg11]

"until we switched the Brooklyn to ANALOG preamp mode (at full gain since we were using an external preamp for volume control) from the BYPASS setting"

 

Can this be explained please? On the 192 Mytek were adamant that bypass was best if not using its pre.

[occamsrazor]

Are any of you with the Brooklyn using it as a Pre direct into power amps? If so, how are you controlling volume, given that it doesn't support USB HID volume control? Would one keep the Brooklyn at max gain then use software volume control on the computer? Or do you use the software at full gain then manually control the Brooklyn output volume by hand via the dial?

 

Sorry I've only ever used a DAC that supports USB HID volume control (i.e. controls the internal volume of the DAC chip itself) so I'm genuinely confused about how it works when you don't have that function.

 

I still wonder why USB HID volume control wasn't implemented given the chip supposedly supports it. Michal replied to that question here, but I haven't heard anything since and didn't get an answer when I emailed Mytek . I guess they have other priorities such as MQA etc, but for me the lack of it is the only thing stopping me from a purchase.

[tomsag]

Are any of you with the Brooklyn using it as a Pre direct into power amps? If so, how are you controlling volume, given that it doesn't support USB HID volume control? Would one keep the Brooklyn at max gain then use software volume control on the computer? Or do you use the software at full gain then manually control the Brooklyn output volume by hand via the dial?

 

Sorry I've only ever used a DAC that supports USB HID volume control (i.e. controls the internal volume of the DAC chip itself) so I'm genuinely confused about how it works when you don't have that function.

 

I still wonder why USB HID volume control wasn't implemented given the chip supposedly supports it. Michal replied to that question here, but I haven't heard anything since and didn't get an answer when I emailed Mytek . I guess they have other priorities such as MQA etc, but for me the lack of it is the only thing stopping me from a purchase.

 

Brooklyn has two different gain controls, Analog AND digital (or bypass which makes sense only if you have a preamp). The digital control gives you the same thing as you expect, but it has to be done via it's remote (or dial). So, it's very practical and already implemented.

I personally think this is even easier than USB HID volume control you are up to.

My2c

[occamsrazor]

The digital control gives you the same thing as you expect, but it has to be done via it's remote (or dial). So, it's very practical and already implemented. I personally think this is even easier than USB HID volume control you are up to.

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes am aware that you can use the digital control via an infrared remote. For me USB HID control of the digital control is much nicer though, because it means I can control that from the music software on my Mac, such as iTunes, Audirvana, etc, or even from my iPhone, without having to reach for the infrared. I guess each person has different preferences. It justs seems that as the chip supports it, it would be a benefit to provide that option. Michal has said they didn't implement it simply because they didn't think about it, and that it might be possible to add via firmware. I'd love to see that happen....

[tomsag]

What I'm doing is to set the gain control on my Mytek a little louder than usual, and then do some

little attenuation on computer, if needed. If you go "down" about 6dB or so via digital attenuation from the source side, it cannot be noticable regarding sound quality.

[lmitche]

Great observation! FWIW, I'm running the Brooklyn with the analog volume control enabled as well, but with no preamp.

 

The Vega uses Sabre volume control and the s/n ratio varies by level. This is documented here:

 

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/auralic5/3.html

 

I suspect that the Brooklyn does the same in digital mode. If true, that could be at least one reason the Brooklyn sounds better in analog volume mode.

 

The impact of the digital volume control on the Vega was very noticeable, and I used analog inline xlr attenuators to create more headroom for higher volume settings. These are not necessary with the Brooklyn and from the start I've left it set in analog mode.

 

I am also noticing that the USB input on the Brooklyn appears much less sensitive to upstream noise. I was told that the USB implementation was done in house, rather then using a third party chip like asmedia or xmos.

[occamsrazor]

These are not necessary with the Brooklyn and from the start I've left it set in analog mode.

 

Out of interest does the infrared remote still control volume when in analog mode? Thanks...

[BigGuy]

"until we switched the Brooklyn to ANALOG preamp mode (at full gain since we were using an external preamp for volume control) from the BYPASS setting"

 

Can this be explained please? On the 192 Mytek were adamant that bypass was best if not using its pre.

 

Yes, I owned the 192-DSD and found that setting the volume control to BYPASS sounded the best.

 

Generally one would not expect daisy-chaining of preamps would improve sound quality but I and friends have found the ANALOG setting on the Brooklyn to give the best, and not by a little, feeding into a Tortuga LDR-based passive preamp. We have also heard similar improvement in sound quality with my Manhattan DAC using the ANALOG setting into a custom built LDR-based preamp. In both our cases the ANALOG volume was at full gain, i.e., no attenuation at the DAC. I believe a reviewer of the Manhattan recently reported a similar finding.

 

I would not even venture a guess as to what the possible electronic explanation might be.

[Totsipaki]

For anyone interested in those topics.

 

I got a reply from Mytek Support today where concerning the optimal specs for an external linear regulated power supply the reply was "for external PSU 12V / 4-5A will be optimal".

No wonder why I "drained" the 13v / 2,5A Kingrex power supply dry, almost at the point of knocking it out yesterday..

 

Concerning the most anticipated MQA firmware update they said they are still working with MQA to make MQA option ready as soon as possible.

 

 

[lmitche]

The Uptone audio JS-2 is likely a great match as a power supply for this DAC.

[mumsoft]

 

Concerning the most anticipated MQA firmware update they said they are still working with MQA to make MQA option ready as soon as possible.

 

 

Hm. So much about planning in IT.

 

Marc

[knopi]

I will order one too at weekend. Which coulour is better in real silver/black? I had in past CASEA Orion Lite (I was satisfied) and now I have borrow Chord Hugo from friend which is good too but definitely better with quality separate preamp. I am planing to use Brooklyn as all in one system and looking forward a lot on MQA as I found comfortable to use Spotify, Tidal etc..

[mumsoft]

I will order one too at weekend. Which coulour is better in real silver/black?

 

I don't think there is a 'better' colour. I do think there is better material, soundwise. But I also think dat both the black and the silver Brooklyns have an aluminium case, so... you choose.

(And to be frank, I don't think that anyone here tried to compare both colours, soundwise).

 

Marc

[lmitche]

Lol, FWIW, I'm happy with the sound of my silver Brooklyn?!