Mytek new dac Brooklyn.

[Blady99]

I order PSU made special for DAC's. Tomanek Company the same as Taddy Pardo but for half price. For Brooklyn i order 12v 6A.

 

 

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[Blady99]

 

 

 

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[Octavius]

@Blady

 

Why do you say it is the same as Teddy Pardo's ?

[Blady99]

Many peoples compare it with teddy And opinion is that it is as good as teddy

 

 

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[Karin]

This sbooster is rated just 3A which is below Mytek's recommended minimum (4A). Not sure this will work well in the long run especially driving headphone amps...

 

Totsipaki did a test with a low current external PSU (rated 2.5A) and after a couple of hours that PSU ran out of juice!

 

 

Dear all,

 

There is a lot going on regarding the power supply specs and power consumption of the Mytek Brooklyn DAC. Mytek advised to use car batteries and power supplies with an output rating of 7 – 14Amp. Then we had a post of an end-user that informed us, that his power supply with a rating of 12V - 2.5A became overloaded and overheated. Someone else concluded that because of this and the advice of Mytek our power supply rated 12V - 3A would not have enough power to match the Brooklyn DAC.

 

With this post we are going to give you some technical background information why our power supply does have enough power for the Brooklyn DAC and that they are a match. Since we are a manufacturer of power supplies and this is not our thread, we will not discuss the sound quality improvement. Our only goal is to take away the misassumptions regarding our power supply and the Brooklyn DAC.

 

We start with a power description of the Mytek Brooklyn DAC.

 

1. The Mytek Brooklyn DAC has a input voltage specification of 7 – 14V DC, which implies that the Brooklyn is equipped with DC/DC converters to make multiple power rails to power the electronic circuits of the DAC.
   
2. The internal SMPS is rated 12V at 3.5A.
   

 

With this information we know the Brooklyn DAC has the following power characteristics:

Peak-load figure and average power consumption

A SMPS can only deliver the maximum current as specified. Peak-loads generate the highest current demand, therefore a designer selects a SMPS based on this peak-load figure.

In 95% of the cases where we check the actual power consumption of an audio device, we measure an

average current

of only 30 – 35% of the maximum SMPS rating. On the Brooklyn DAC we have measured an average power consumption of <1A, this is <28% of the maximum power rating of the internal SMPS.

Since the internal SMPS is rated 12v/3.5A we know for 100% sure that a peak-load simply cannot exceed 3.5A, otherwise the internal PSU would be to small and wrong selected by the engineer team of Mytek. This is not the case and the internal SMPS matches perfect the power demands of the electronic circuits.

DC/DC converter

The Brooklyn DAC is equipped with DC/DC converters. A DC/DC converter generates high peak-loads. DC/DC converters can decrease costs, the output configurations are limitless, they have a (extreme) high efficiency and most important for some electronic circuits the usage of a DC/DC-converter to power the electronic circuit is simply the only available option.

Conventional external linear PSU’s are too slow to handle the peak-loads of DC/DC-converters adequately. When selecting a power supply for a device that is equipped with DC/DC converters, care has to be taken with the power rating of the PSU. I.e. the 2.5A PSU that had become overheated might have been a faulty one or could simply not handle the 3.5A peak-loads generated by the Brooklyn DAC for a longer period of time. We assume that Mytek advises output ratings of 7 – 14A to avoid these kind of issues.

 

Modern digital audio equipment is more and more equipped with (switching) DC/DC converters. From a linear power supply perspective this trend requires a complete different design philosophy. Peak-loads can make a linear power supply run out of steam in no time, which has a very negative effect on the performance of a power supply/Audio device combination.

 

When we started designing the BOTW P&P ECO, one of our design challenges was to develop a system that would made the power supply 100% resistant against high (frequent) peak-loads. Peak-loads generate large current demands, but due to the high frequency of the spikes the total power consumption of these peak-loads is very low. We invented a system that converts high frequent peak-loads into a easy to deliver low frequent ‘average’ current: our innovative “split-current”-system.

 

With split-current we have divided the power demand of an audio device in two parts:

 

1. The average power consumption/ current of the device;
   
2. Peak-loads;
   

 

This average power demand of the DAC is delivered by the power supply unit of the BOTW P&P ECO. The peak-loads are blocked from the power supply part, but handled by the split-current unit. Therefor high peak-load spikes are only present between the output of the split-current unit and the input of the audio device. The current for the peak-loads is delivered out of an extreme fast energy buffer. Like this, peak-loads are covered without any interruption, DC output cable loss or reduction of the stability of the power supply unit. Our 12V/3A BOTW P&P ECO is therefore not a conventional linear power supply.

 

We have tested the Mytek Brooklyn DAC at the facility of the Belgium importer of Mytek on February 26^th. It was a perfect match. This importer immediately decided to keep the BOTW P&P ECO 12-13.2V for his system.

 

We hope that this post eliminates the ungrounded statement that our BOTW P&P ECO 12-13.2V would not be compatible with the Mytek Brooklyn DAC.

 

Regards,

Karin

[Blady99]

So still do not know the answer - 12V 4A is enough?

 

 

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[mumsoft]

You ordered a 6 ampère version, right?

Why bother about 4.

 

Marc

[Blady99]

6A is twice bigger ( the cover)

 

 

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[mumsoft]

The Sbooster here sells for € 250, Karin made it very clear to me what is important for a replacing power source. I would go for the Sbooster.

 

But I think that any external Power source is also more power hungry, and I have decided to leave it alone.

 

Marc

[Octavius]

@Karin,

 

You must have misread what I wrote.

 

I didn't conclude that your PSU would not have enough power to match the Brooklyn DAC. I simply expressed some doubts, which were quite reasonable IMHO, that it would.

 

Glad you are adamant about its suitability though.

 

Thanks for clarifying the matter!

[mumsoft]

In 2015 I got interested in MQA, as something that had been overlooked in de digital arena, all the time since its debut.

In October 2015 I pre-ordered the Brooklyn DAC, after its appearance in an MQA-show at CES somewhere in America.

My Brooklyn arrived on the brink of 2015. MQA still behind bars though!

Michal from Mytek assured several times in this thread that MQA would be let free any moment, as soon as possible, etc. It still did not happen.

Everyday I check the support page https://mytekdigital.com/hifi/support/ to see if there is a new update.

 

Now I ask Michal, can you give an updated scheme? Also, is it possible to get update-notifications from the support-page?

 

Marc

[Totsipaki]

I agree it is becoming frustrating the way MQA drags It self into fruition ( ; )

I mean It has already been taking long enough to make those interested in It lose their enthusiasm.

I do not believe that the delay in the firmware update is a Mytek thing. It must rather be an MQA thing..

It better be that something big is being secretly prepared or else there is serious danger MQA from something interesting might become something ridiculous..

Never the less the Brooklyn is a fantastic dac MQA or not and I have never regretted my decision.

[alonwa]

Even if MQA was already certified for the Brooklyn, are there available sources for MQA material at the moment?

[lmitche]

Indications are that negotiations between Tidal and MQA are not done. http://www.audiostream.com/content/tidal-mqa-hi-res-streaming-2016#XqjssT0S6Bz32kEx.97

 

I would bet that the Brooklyn DAC validation process is a much lower priority. It will be curious to learn if any of Tidals competitors are in the mix.

 

From Tidals' perspective, it would make sense to ask for an exclusive on MQA technology, even for a period of time. The cost of exclusivity could be very high, given the commercial limitations that would place on the MQA business. It's a tricky deal to close.

[BigGuy]

Even if MQA was already certified for the Brooklyn, are there available sources for MQA material at the moment?

 

2L has offerings in MQA <http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html> and I believe sample tracks can be downloaded. There may be others.

 

May even be able to play them if Meridian gets it running and frees it up for companies like Mytek, etc.

[alonwa]

I know MQA is planned to be supported as part of the Tidal HiFi subscription, but it's not there yet (I think it's not, though there were a few reports of people seeing the Master quality choice in their Tidal desktop app - not sure whether it really corresponds to MQA or not). I was just curious why people here care that much about the immediate availability of MQA on Brooklyn given that they can do nothing with it (except hear a few samples) until there's available material. By the time MQA becomes usable, surely it will be certified for Brooklyn.

[mumsoft]

From Tidals' perspective, it would make sense to ask for an exclusive on MQA technology, even for a period of time. The cost of exclusivity could be very high, given the commercial limitations that would place on the MQA business. It's a tricky deal to close.

 

I don't think this is going on. Even if Tidal spits out MQA-material, you can't evaluate it in full without an MQA-enabled DAC.

I already have some 2L MQA-music on my Olive streamer, I have already (about 2.5 months now) attached the Brooklyn to it, I have already an MQA-enabled Explorer² (since three weeks), but still no sign of activating MQA on my Brooklyn, despite several promises.

 

No doubt it will be activated, in due time. But WHEN?

 

When I put on my suspicious hat, I would glance a bit mean to Meridian, which already has all its stuff MQA-activated, and probably want to have it exclusively, even for a period of time.

But when I put off that silly hat, I only see that both MQA (the company), Mytek, Tidal, 2L and god knows who else will benefit from a rapid disclosure on both sides.

 

Marc

[kennyb123]

I agree it is becoming frustrating the way MQA drags It self into fruition ( ; )

I mean It has already been taking long enough to make those interested in It lose their enthusiasm.

I do not believe that the delay in the firmware update is a Mytek thing. It must rather be an MQA thing..

 

This is pretty normal for launch of a new technology. To be disappointed at this point just means that one's expectations were completely unrealistic.

 

I can't understand getting all excited about a technology like this when there isn't much software out there yet to support it. I could understand if maybe some favorite albums were already available in MQA or maybe if a streaming service offered it, but we're not even close to that. And there's also good chance MQA might need some time to mature. It might be *many* months before that happens.

 

My suggestion would be to just relax. You will have so many smiles once MQA gets up to speed that this delay will eventually seem so insignificant.

[zorntel]

This is pretty normal for launch of a new technology. To be disappointed at this point just means that one's expectations were completely unrealistic.

 

I can't understand getting all excited about a technology like this when there isn't much software out there yet to support it. I could understand if maybe some favorite albums were already available in MQA or maybe if a streaming service offered it, but we're not even close to that. And there's also good chance MQA might need some time to mature. It might be *many* months before that happens.

 

My suggestion would be to just relax. You will have so many smiles once MQA gets up to speed that this delay will eventually seem so insignificant.

 

In my opinion MQA is happening at the speed of lightning...how many years was it from the first SACD to the first time you could download a DSD file? Hmmm...I wouldn't measure that in months! I'm guessing 2018 for MQA regular use...I'm optimistic.

[occamsrazor]

Karin, thanks for the detailed explanation, which is interesting...

 

Since the internal SMPS is rated 12v/3.5A we know for 100% sure that a peak-load simply cannot exceed 3.5A

The Brooklyn DAC is equipped with DC/DC converters. A DC/DC converter generates high peak-loads. DC/DC converters can decrease costs, the output configurations are limitless, they have a (extreme) high efficiency and most important for some electronic circuits the usage of a DC/DC-converter to power the electronic circuit is simply the only available option.

 

So the difference between the power requirements of internal vs external comes down to the DC-DC converter stage? So.....

 

Using Internal: AC > Internal SMPS > DC to circuits

Using External: AC > External LPS > DC Converter > DC to circuits

 

So the DC input does not go directly to the circuit, but passes through an additional DC-DC stage?

 

I see many people using external LPS with various DACs without issue... is the Brooklyn unusual in using a DC-DC converter stage? (I've no idea). What is the advantage of a DC-DC stage, just to enable a range of input voltages?

 

Conventional external linear PSU’s are too slow to handle the peak-loads of DC/DC-converters adequately.

 

Why does a DC-DC converter, if they indeed have "(extreme) high efficiency", generate such high DC-DC loads? If the internal SMPS peak load is 3.5A, can it really be the case that the DC-DC stage increases these peak loads to multiples of that (7-14A)?

Why are conventional LPSUs "too slow" and what does that mean?

 

PS - Yours was an interesting post and these are genuine questions, I'm no expert and just trying to understand better. Thanks.

[jamesg11]

Yes, good questions re dc-dc, etc.

[occamsrazor]

@Karin...

 

I also read your interesting test here:

 

https://www.sbooster.com/mytek-brooklyn-dac-power-test/

 

In it, you say that "In addition, in our opinion, the used 4-output 160W power supply does not match the power demands of the Mytek Brooklyn" which refers to the HDPlex model, which is specced for a 12v output of 5A full load and 7A max load. I'm curious on what basis you say it doesn't match - is this because it was unable to supply the peak currents? Were you able to actually measure the peak current demands of the Brooklyn? That would be interesting to know....

[Octavius]

Before deciding on ordering a Qualiaphysic PSU I asked HDPlex about using their PSU with the Mytek Brooklyn. This was their answer:

 

"The 12V can support more than 7A if you only use 12V since the R core

transformer is rated at 160W."

 

So if Sbooster are really referring to the 160W HDPlex PSU this is certainly quite confusing.

[matthias]

Before deciding on ordering a Qualiaphysic PSU I asked HDPlex about using their PSU with the Mytek Brooklyn. This was their answer:

"The 12V can support more than 7A if you only use 12V since the R core

transformer is rated at 160W."

So if Sbooster are really referring to the 160W HDPlex PSU this is certainly quite confusing.

 

In the test they used three of the four outputs of the HDPlex at the same time. For powering the Mytek alone the HDPlex should be IMO on par or better than the Sbooster.

 

Matt

[alonwa]

New blog review of the Brooklyn, favorably compared with iFi and Chord: MUSIC DISCUSSION and Audio, Vinyl, related thoughts.: Equipment updates and a paradigm shift. Mytek Brooklyn, iFi DSD Micro, Chord Hugo, and other stuff. (warning: contains CA forum trashing...).