Mytek new dac Brooklyn.

[lmitche]

What is specs of the Sigma 11 in regards to v and amps? Did you diy it or did you have the Sigma 11 built for you?

 

Thanks

 

Randy

 

The Sigma 11 is a generic design that can run from 5 to 34 volts depending on how it's configured. Of course the current output and voltage also depends on the transformer and heatsinking. Goto amb.org to take a look.

 

A friend of mine built the board for me.

[zorntel]

A HDplex 100W Linear Power Supply arrived today for my Brooklyn, etc. I'm currently using the 12V output for the Brooklyn and the variable 9V output for the Regen currently attached to the Brooklyn. I also plan to try the power supply with the Sonicorbiter SE (currently using an IFI LPS) driving the Brooklyn, but I believe you can only use either the 5V or the 9V output at one time. No problem using the 12V and 9V at the same time.

 

I'm intending to wait until I've burned in the power supply for a week before doing any critical listening tests, but the difference in the Brooklyn was dramatic even after 30minutes...better yet after 4 hours. The noise floor disappeared, transients particularly in percussion dramatically improved. The sound stage became deeper and the their was improved focus in acoustic elements. Honestly I don't know whether these changes are the result of the Brooklyn or the Regen getting better power, but I'm really excited to hear what this thing sounds like in a week. I'll obviously do tests with and without the Regen, comparing the onboard Mytek and LPS power.

 

All the above comments are for tracks that were upsampled to DSD256 using HQplayer polysinc and then delivered to the Brooklyn via the Sonicorbiter running as a HQplayer NAA. A couple photos of the setup are attached.

 

Robert

 

 

[wanta911]

......but I believe you can only use either the 5V or the 9V output at one time.

 

 

I actually use just the 5V & 9V outputs on one of my HDPlex units without a problem. I am not sure what the possible downside to this would be other than the possibility of a ground loop?

[BigGuy]

Yesterday was spent listening to the phono and coax inputs of the Brooklyn. We compared a new Zanden model 120 phono stage with the Brooklyn MC input. Both machines were connected to a Tortuga LDR preamp, amplifiers and Avante Garde Duos.

 

The Brooklyn beat the Zanden in a black and white kinda way. We were both quite surprised. Mytek knows how to design high quality microphone inputs for their proaudio ADCs. This experience was clearly transfered to the phono world in an effective fashion.

 

Next we connected the Brooklyn to an Esoteric DV50S transport via the coax input. We then listened to three power supplies, the internal SMPS, and two custom linear power supplies, one old and one new based on the AMB Sigma 11 regulator board.

 

Both linears beat the internal SMPS with the speed of the Sigma 11 winning the day with more resolution and openness. This is a great DIY power supply for the Brooklyn.

 

All for now.

 

Nice review, lmitche.

 

Can we ask who builds the custom LRPS based on the AMB Sigma 11 regulator board, e.g., is it commercially available? Cost?

[orgel]

I'm intending to wait until I've burned in the power supply for a week before doing any critical listening tests, but the difference in the Brooklyn was dramatic even after 30minutes...better yet after 4 hours.

 

i'm really interested in what you're doing, so please keep us posted on your results.

 

I think I'm headed toward something very like your setup (Brooklyn with external power supply plus SOSE or microRendu as HQP NAA), so thanks for doing the research.

 

--David

[RKlein]

Nice review, lmitche.

 

Can we ask who builds the custom LRPS based on the AMB Sigma 11 regulator board, e.g., is it commercially available? Cost?

 

I contacted the below website who will build the Sigma 11. For a 12v 4.5 amp PS the cost is $450. For a 12v 7amp version it would be $509. The wait for the build is a very reasonable 3 weeks. Being that I already have a HDPlex 100(along with the HiFi 250W, DC-ATX that I bought to power my new CAPS Pipeline that I just built), I plan to use the 12v output to power the Brooklyn.

 

YBM Audio products

 

Regards,

 

Randy

[lmitche]

Thanks for the price info. My guess is that you can get the regulator board only from YMB for $150. It's probably another $100 for a chinese case and iec inlet and toroidal transformer. That's what I did.

 

Of course one can buy the PCB for around $10 and built the regulator itself.

[mytek]

For those who are facing the same dll problem, I have got a reply from Mytek with a workaround.

 

Dear Mike,

 

We are working to make our installer fully compatible with Windows 32bit. It should be available within a two weeks. In the meantime please install the Mytek Control Panel driver as mentioned below.

 

There are three elements installed: the Brooklyn DAC USB driver, the Mytek Control Application and the Mytek Control Application driver. That last element was not installed properly in your system.

Please turn off the DAC and uninstall all Brooklyn DAC resources previously installed. Reboot your computer and:(...)

 

Hello Everybody

 

A clarification here: Mytek Policy is to support two last operating system versions. So theoretically for Windows it'd be Win 10 and Win 8. However- we will provide the control panel for Win7 for the time being, because it's a still very popular OS, but this is really a practical exception to this general rule.

 

Regards, Michal at Mytek

[RKlein]

Hello Everybody

 

A clarification here: Mytek Policy is to support two last operating system versions. So theoretically for Windows it'd be Win 10 and Win 8. However- we will provide the control panel for Win7 for the time being, because it's a still very popular OS, but this is really a practical exception to this general rule.

 

Regards, Michal at Mytek

 

Maybe a dumb question but will I be ok with Windows Server 2012 R2 ?

 

Regards

 

Randy

[alonwa]

I have a few questions regarding the Brooklyn (my current DAC is the Audiolab MDAC, but I'm considering an upgrade and was more or less decided on the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, when the Brooklyn gave me second thoughts):

1. Is it compatible with the Squeezebox Touch (with the EDO plugin and USB connection)? The Mytek Stereo192-DSD model was reported to be incompatible in the sense that it does not support USB2 connection from the SBT (only USB1.1), but perhaps because of the new Brooklyn USB board (and the fact that no driver in required for linux), the situation with the Brooklyn is better.

2. What is controllable from the remote? For example, can you select inputs using one button per input or is it done by cycling through the inputs?

3. I use a Logitech Harmony Touch remote and don't see the Brooklyn in the database. Is the Brooklyn planned to be added to the Harmony database?

4. It seems to me that the closest competitor in terms of functionality and price would be the well-regarded Benchmark DAC2 HGC, yet people here mostly compared the Brooklyn with the Auralic Vega. Can anyone shed any light on how the Brooklyn compares with the DAC2?

5. I'm listening mostly through headphones (mostly Hifiman HE-560). Can anyone comment on the quality of the Brooklyn headphone out, in particular how it compares with the headphone out of the DAC2. Has anyone tried it with the Senn HD800 with or without the balanced adapter? Any reason why the adapter costs as much as $159?

6. General question about MQA. Does MQA need to be supported also on the player side? For example, say I'm playing Tidal on an Oppo BDP-103D connected via Coax to the Brooklyn. Say we're at a future date where the Brooklyn is MQA-certified and Tidal supports MQA. Would the Oppo need to also explicitly support MQA or would such support be automatic?

7. As for looks, I typically prefer a quiet simple design, so I'm a bit concerned about the sculpted front with the flashy logo and bright display. However, it's hard to judge just based on pictures. Some people said it doesn't look as bad as in the pictures. Any further comments?

8. In my current setup, I don't use DSD, but I saw that people report better quality when PCM is converted to DSD (for example with HQPlayer). The Benchmark DAC2 supports DSD only up to DSD64 and the Brooklyn supports it all the way to DSD256. Should I put much weight on this difference when comparing the two or is it of marginal significance?

 

Hope that's not too much for one post... Anyway, I won't be ready to buy before some reviews are published on the usual review sites - I suppose these will come soon enough.

Thanks!

[JW Audio]

I have a few questions regarding the Brooklyn (my current DAC is the Audiolab MDAC, but I'm considering an upgrade and was more or less decided on the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, when the Brooklyn gave me second thoughts):

1. Is it compatible with the Squeezebox Touch (with the EDO plugin and USB connection)? The Mytek Stereo192-DSD model was reported to be incompatible in the sense that it does not support USB2 connection from the SBT (only USB1.1), but perhaps because of the new Brooklyn USB board (and the fact that no driver in required for linux), the situation with the Brooklyn is better.

2. What is controllable from the remote? For example, can you select inputs using one button per input or is it done by cycling through the inputs?

3. I use a Logitech Harmony Touch remote and don't see the Brooklyn in the database. Is the Brooklyn planned to be added to the Harmony database?

4. It seems to me that the closest competitor in terms of functionality and price would be the well-regarded Benchmark DAC2 HGC, yet people here mostly compared the Brooklyn with the Auralic Vega. Can anyone shed any light on how the Brooklyn compares with the DAC2?

5. I'm listening mostly through headphones (mostly Hifiman HE-560). Can anyone comment on the quality of the Brooklyn headphone out, in particular how it compares with the headphone out of the DAC2. Has anyone tried it with the Senn HD800 with or without the balanced adapter? Any reason why the adapter costs as much as $159?

6. General question about MQA. Does MQA need to be supported also on the player side? For example, say I'm playing Tidal on an Oppo BDP-103D connected via Coax to the Brooklyn. Say we're at a future date where the Brooklyn is MQA-certified and Tidal supports MQA. Would the Oppo need to also explicitly support MQA or would such support be automatic?

7. As for looks, I typically prefer a quiet simple design, so I'm a bit concerned about the sculpted front with the flashy logo and bright display. However, it's hard to judge just based on pictures. Some people said it doesn't look as bad as in the pictures. Any further comments?

8. In my current setup, I don't use DSD, but I saw that people report better quality when PCM is converted to DSD (for example with HQPlayer). The Benchmark DAC2 supports DSD only up to DSD64 and the Brooklyn supports it all the way to DSD256. Should I put much weight on this difference when comparing the two or is it of marginal significance?

 

Hope that's not too much for one post... Anyway, I won't be ready to buy before some reviews are published on the usual review sites - I suppose these will come soon enough.

Thanks!

 

I can answer a couple of your questions. #

6- MQA will not turn CD's into MQA. It has to be encoded in the recording. I have heard a non-MQA recording played through MQA and it did sound better than the original PCM recording.

#8- This is a very subjective opinion on up sampling PCM to DSD as being better. I personally don't care for it myself. I like to stream directly to the DAC in the native format. I do like DSD playback from a DSD file. But again... It's very subjective.

[PieterP]

I contacted the below website who will build the Sigma 11. For a 12v 4.5 amp PS the cost is $450. For a 12v 7amp version it would be $509. The wait for the build is a very reasonable 3 weeks. Being that I already have a HDPlex 100(along with the HiFi 250W, DC-ATX that I bought to power my new CAPS Pipeline that I just built), I plan to use the 12v output to power the Brooklyn.

 

YBM Audio products

 

Regards,

 

Randy

 

Just some experience from my side with the Sigma 11. Mind that the AMB Sigma 11 LPS max continuous current would be something around 2A. I built three Sigma´s 11 myself to power an audiostreamer. I made a thread about that, see link below. I made one Sigma 11 at 18V and about 2A max to power a motherboard with low TDP processor (through a wide PicoPSU). In order to keep the mosfets of the sigma 11 within their max temp range I had to use a large heat sink. So, if you need something over 2A cont., the Sigma 11 may not be the right choice, as it is (to my understanding) designed to provide more or less max 1A cont.

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/my-audiostreamer-diy-project-27881/

[orgel]

6. General question about MQA. Does MQA need to be supported also on the player side? For example, say I'm playing Tidal on an Oppo BDP-103D connected via Coax to the Brooklyn. Say we're at a future date where the Brooklyn is MQA-certified and Tidal supports MQA. Would the Oppo need to also explicitly support MQA or would such support be automatic?

 

Here's my understanding: As long as what's between the MQA-encoded incoming signal and the MQA-decoding-capable DAC can pass a bitperfect stream, you won't have a problem with the DAC decoding the MQA'd signal.

 

--David

[lmitche]

Hi Pieter,

 

Thanks for your post about the Sigma 11. Nice build. Yes, the website below suggests that with onboard heatsinks the continuous current is limited to 1 amp. http://www.amb.org/audio/sigma11/ . It also suggests there is nothing limiting current supply. The website doesn't state the practical limit of a Sigma 11 with off board heatsinks.

 

My 12 volt Sigma 11 has two tall onboard heatsinks and it powers the Brooklyn DAC without issue. It also sounds great!

[orgel]

8. In my current setup, I don't use DSD, but I saw that people report better quality when PCM is converted to DSD (for example with HQPlayer). The Benchmark DAC2 supports DSD only up to DSD64 and the Brooklyn supports it all the way to DSD256. Should I put much weight on this difference when comparing the two or is it of marginal significance?

 

As @JW Audio correctly points out, this is subjective (and also depends on the particular DAC in use, IMO). Currently, for most of my listening, I use HQPlayer to upsample everything to DSD128 (the best I can do with my "antique" Mytek), and I find it to be a noticeable improvement compared with converting everything to DSD64 (or upsampling all PCM material to 24/192). Based on the reports I see on CA, I have the impression that a large portion of HQPlayer users prefer to upsample everything to the highest rate DSD that their systems can handle. DSD256 capability is certainly one of the big reasons why I have an interest in the Brooklyn.

 

--David

[PieterP]

Hi Pieter,

 

Thanks for your post about the Sigma 11. Nice build. Yes, the website below suggests that with onboard heatsinks the continuous current is limited to 1 amp. The σ11 regulated power supply . It also suggests there is nothing limiting current supply. The website doesn't state the practical limit of a Sigma 11 with off board heatsinks.

 

My 12 volt Sigma 11 has two tall onboard heatsinks and it powers the Brooklyn DAC without issue. It also sounds great!

 

But you can calculate the practical current limit with the info and formulas on his website. In short, the temp of the mosfets itself shouldn't get over 100 decrees celcius. Ambient temp inside a case say 35 degrees (dC). Amb formula--> Tmosfet = Tambient + [ P * (Rs = all heat resistances summed)]. P = power dissipated = U * I. U is the voltage difference in Sigma 11 between pre regulator (C5) and output voltage. My pre regulator voltage is 20V/0.707 (my transformer has 20 V output AC) = >28V, but u need to substact 2 V for the diodes which leaves us with 26 Volts pre regulator (C5). The voltage difference with the output (mine is 18V DC) is about 8V DC. Max dissipated power by Sigma 11: 8V x 2A = 16 watts. Heat resistance of the mosfet = 3.3 dC/W, my heat sink has a heat resistance of 0.65 dC/W. This gives us:

 

Tmosfet = 35 dC + 16 [W]* (3.3 [dC/W] + 0.65 [dC/W]) = 98.2 decrees celsius. This equals the max temp of 100 dC that is advised for the mosfets in continuous operation. There is little to no room in my view to increase the current draw from the sigma 11. You can increase the heat sink but this won't be practical. And mind that I did not use Thermalsil III TO-220 mounting kits, if you need to do that, these add another 5 dC/W to the heat resistance or so resulting a lower max current draw. :-)

[lmitche]

That's curious because the designer quoted RKlein a prebuilt Sigma 11 at 4.5 and 7 amps in post 756 above. What would explain the difference?

[PieterP]

Looking at the price of 450 USD, I assume YBM multiplies the number of sigma's to get at 4,5A (if they are doing it with sigma's).

[lmitche]

OK, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. My Mytek Brooklyn sounds phenomenal with the Sigma 11 and I can highly recommend it.

[knopi]

Still waiting on my Brooklyn. But honestly it is not read much good that with quality power suply it is better, that means internal power suply is compromised, why..?

[kennyb123]

Still waiting on my Brooklyn. But honestly it is not read much good that with quality power suply it is better, that means internal power suply is compromised, why..?

 

The Brooklyn was very likely designed to a price point. They stuffed a lot into that box for a very fair price. A larger chassis might have been required to be able to fit a better linear power supply - and that would have raised the cost.

[orgel]

Still waiting on my Brooklyn. But honestly it is not read much good that with quality power suply it is better, that means internal power suply is compromised, why..?

 

Just guessing here, and I don't think the internal power supply is "compromised" per se, but Mytek probably wanted to keep the Brooklyn to a certain price point, in this case ~25% more than the DAC it replaces, the Stereo192-DSD.

 

Also, as others have mentioned, it's possible that if you took the Brooklyn's internal power supply and put it in a separate enclosure, you'd achieve some improvement in sound quality.

 

In any case, the external power supply is optional. Providing for one is a nice design feature that you can make use of if you want to.

 

--David

 

Edit: I see @kennyb123 beat me to it.

[lmitche]

Actually the stock SMPS sounds pretty terrific once broken in. I could easily live with it. Nevertheless, Mytek was clever about giving us a means to improve the DAC with an external power input. Its just one more capability in this Swiss army knife of a DAC.

[BigGuy]

Actually the stock SMPS sounds pretty terrific once broken in. I could easily live with it. Nevertheless, Mytek was clever about giving us a means to improve the DAC with an external power input. Its just one more capability in this Swiss army knife of a DAC.

 

+1 on that lmitche.

 

I would hardly say it is "compromised" in a negative sense but it WAS a compromise on the part of Mytek as others have stated. Where do you find an outstanding piece of equipment that is not only a highly capable DAC which handles pretty much any format you could want including MQA (at some point), a preamp with analog, digital and bypass modes, a headphone amplifier with two outputs, and an outstanding, IMO, phono preamp capable of both MM and MC...all for $2k!

 

Giving us tweekers the option of providing potentially better quality power was also very savvy on their part.

 

FWIW, I know that Mytek recommends using the BYPASS mode for the preamp under normal circumstances but, even if you have a quality preamp, I would suggest trying the ANALOG mode (at full internal gain) for the internal DAC preamp. This has been suggested by at least one reviewer as providing a more pleasant sound quality, obviously dependent on the how other system components sound.

Try it, you might like it.

[mumsoft]

Actually the stock SMPS sounds pretty terrific once broken in. I could easily live with it. Nevertheless, Mytek was clever about giving us a means to improve the DAC with an external power input. Its just one more capability in this Swiss army knife of a DAC.

 

 

+2

 

As one can see in this picture, the internal power supply uses a Faraday_cage

 

It's also easy to open the box, which is a boon for me. As mentioned numerous times in this thread, an external power supply can enhance certain qualities of the Brooklyn, that I have other means for.

I will try these first, but I think there is really no need for them, as the Brooklyn without any other provisions already sounds terrific.

 

The only reason I bought the Brooklyn was for its promised MQA capability, but it turns out to be much more than just a MQA-DAC. I love it.

 

Marc