Mytek new dac Brooklyn.

[markwb]

Totsipaki- Bummer!! Thanks for your honest opinion. Luckily, although a pain, you can send it back.

[ted_b]

It almost sounds like MQA is in effect on non-MQA source material (throwing things to the background, etc). Prolly not, but...

[Totsipaki]

It almost sounds like MQA is in effect on non-MQA source material (throwing things to the background, etc). Prolly not, but...

 

LOL!.. thanx for fixing my mood mate!!

 

It seems that the early adopter's "disease" fell heavy upon us..

Haven't lost hope yet. I mean despite all the "goofyness" and disfunction It shows to have potential in certain aspects of It's sound. Of course the main thing is to be able to listen to the recordings as they are... The 192 completely got out of the way what I've heard is in the opposite direction..

 

I am expecting a major firmware update release soon.. I mean my local retailer tried to warn me that "Mytek are not done wit It's software yet" and "certain features will not be available in the beginning" but I don't think that he had what I experienced In mind..

 

Now that I have entered the game I will play.. And will be a little more patient as I still believe they can produce quality products (they did produce the 192 right?). Apparently I haven't experienced the fullest of early adopter's misfortune's with the "Ifi I DSD Micro" back in the day and will have to redefine my limits of endurance.

 

I am confident that In the end my patience will be rewarded Like with the Ifi but I am telling you.. this is the last time, no more preorders for me...

 

Like You said even in the worst outcome I can still send It back even though I do not want to ..yet..

 

Haven't you been sent one for listening evaluation? I think you wrote something like that in an early post in this thread..

[markwb]

Haven't you been sent one for listening evaluation? I think you wrote something like that in an early post in this thread..

 

If this is for me, no, I don't have one yet. Not sure what to do now. I have one on order but can still cancel it.

[Totsipaki]

Haven't you been sent one for listening evaluation? I think you wrote something like that in an early post in this thread..

 

If this is for me, no, I don't have one yet. Not sure what to do now. I have one on order but can still cancel it.

 

No It was for Ted_b

 

I do not know what to say to you.. I will try to keep the thread updated but I might have received a faulty unit and gotten the wrong impressions. I can not advise anyone on anything until I hear form Mytek.

[markwb]

I'll probably just cancel it. I can get by without it for now. I was an early Aries buyer and that damn near killed me! LDS is FINALLY coming together but it's been brutal.

[cgiammona]

I also have one on order and not sure what I will do. I still have my 192 DSD DAC and that is fine for now. Will be watching the thread for updates.

[ipkim]

I worry now and my Dac hasnt arrived yet, should I cancel it? However mony have been charged

[Totsipaki]

Dear friends I feel awful not because of my new dac which I am sure will come on It's own within the next couple of weeks but because of my sharing my experience causing such frustration to you within the holidays.

 

Please be calm.. The lack of functions and buggy user experience indicate two things.

 

1) The most probable is that my dealer was right, under the perssure to ship the first units within December as they promised the first brooklyns were loaded with a very premature firmware that would allow them just to function but far from perfectly. I am not trying to justify anything but the good thing is that a firmware update that takes a few minutes and costs nothing will put everything back in It's place. Mytek them selves ask for our patience in their homepage since they haven't yet but will upload control software and updates in their support page from next week..

 

2)My unit is faulty. In any case Mytek are a company trustworthy as far as their after sales support goes. They never let me down with my 192 and my dealer Athens Pro Audio are very nice and professional so even in the worst case I will part with It for one or two weeks and get it back fixed for no charge.

 

3)I still want to keep It It is beautiful and very robustly and quality made, I know I know It did not satisfy me sonically but If that was It's only flaw and everything else worked perfectly, only then I'd go crazy and think that Mytek decided to ruin their reputation with such voicing especially in the Launch of their most promising product.

 

I have lived such a horror story in the recent past when my then brand new Ifi I DSD pro was reproducing audio like bad vinyl full of clicks and crackles and played through my smartphone only when It wanted to. In the end everything was fixed and not only it works like a charm but sounds much better too!!

 

Here's something to cheer you up (It brought a smile to my face..) To day morning I connected my HTC Desire 610 smartphone to the metropolis Usb2.0 cable and it functioned immediately and glitch free (ok still sounding goofily.. fm broadcast-ish..)

 

At least they delivered In their promise that the Brooklyn will be driven flawlessly from every usb device.

 

I estimate to get a comforting reply tomorow before noon local time. I will update as soon as possible.

 

Stay calm please. It makes me feel bad for myself, even though i could not lie about my experience.. If anybody would like to be the bearer of good news more than anyone It would be me..

 

I hope to be able to to just that very soon.

[Totsipaki]

A pleasant update

 

I have just tried the analog input driven through the Ifi dac/metropolis interconnect - Smartphone, the result; amazing sound much better than the Ifi by It self. it was not warm, just crustal clear, dynamic,balanced and very very musical, I guess the warmish impression has to do with the way the Brooklyn plays back through it's usb input.

 

I tested through the headphone output as well as xlr out to my amp.No goofiness no nothing, everything played back perfectly as It should.

I can't wait for that firmware update now..

 

In a brief comparison When playing back again straight through It's usb input/smartphone the Brooklyn seems to play certain frequency regions very silently that's why the goofy and warm-ish impressions occurred.

[r-sherwood]

Today I had the time to really test and evaluate it.

 

Unfortunately i have to confirm your claims.

 

After 48 hours my initial impressions that something goofy went on in the way It reproduces music (i have allready mentioned that discretely) have unfortunately been confirmed.

 

It seems to empasize certain parts of a recording while throwing others in the background rendering It's own interperetation totally messing up some recordings and making others sound unfammiliar..

For example in the song "60 feet tall" by "The dead Weather" It was as if I was listening the recording through the singers booth and guitars which normally sound very loud and airy in this recording were playing like outside the soundproof vocal booth, barely audible.. Also the distinctive reverb in the singer's voice was totally gone truly as If I was In the booth listening to her recording her voice. I don't know how the Brooklyn did that but that glorious recording has been completely messed up.. Also the only functioning digital input is the usb, spdif seemed to lock up in the display but did not produce any sound..

 

Allright I am not crazy (but almost went crazy during these days) i know what I wrote. It did sound warm and non fatiguing and opened up after the first few hours but after leaving it to play continuously for 48 hours and trying another digital input (the spdif which did not function properly) and the rca as well the balanced outputs to make sure, I can now certainly say that something is seriously wrong with the way this dac reproduces music. Also a comparison with the Ifi i dsd micro my other dac left me disappointed since the Mytek may sound more dynamic but despite that It did sound goofy and wrong and left me puzzled to say the least.

 

Apparently we have a very premature release here but I would advise anybody thinking of getting It to hold their horses until It matures. I have contacted Mytek Support and am waiting for a reply.

 

I'll post again when i have something new to say..

 

 

I can confirm, that I have some issues with other inputs as well. The optical TOSLink worked just the first time (24bit/95kHz). After switching to another input it sticks at 32bit and won't path the correct data stream - no sound.

Also the quality of the analog input (Line) is really poor. I've tested with my mobile Denon DA-10 DAC, first via analog input through the Brooklyn DAC, than directly connect to may active monitors. The sound quality difference was huge, via the Brooklyn flat.

 

The "Volume Control" option is very dangerous. If you play music and would like to change from digital to analog control, you can accidentally switch to bypass what could kill your speakers (or neighbors .

 

About sound quality, sometime it's sounds amazing, but I have some issues with electronic music. Sometimes it sounds relay flat and goofy, acoustic music sounds much better. I don't have heard many DACs so far, but compared to the price of the Denon DA-10, the difference to the Brooklyn is not that big. - Please note: this is just my current impression and sound impression is very subjective. Maybe the Brooklyn is faulty too.

 

I'm asking me, how could they control digital sound waves, if they are not able to handle the input management of the firmware - a bit disappointed about the expensive brick and poor quality assurance in that price range

[[email protected]]

I am definitely cancelling my pre-order!! Seems like not ready for release and quality control giving way to production issues and demand to get out all pre release orders, etc.

I think it makes more sense to find a more mature product as replacement (but not outdated). Any suggestions in this general price range? DSD a must, XLR out's preferred

[tallica1]

save your money and buy the best DAC for the money the AURALIC Vega hands down. No competition unless you spend $10k+

[markwb]

I have a Mcintosh D100 which is a work horse and has the same chip set as the Brooklyn. The new D150 does DSD and I think it's still $2,500. I know a lot of people poo-poo Mcintosh, but it feeds my Wo WA5 and with Audeze LCD 3 I don't think I've ever heard anything better. I also have a Wavelength Crimson DAC but that costs a lot more.

[r-sherwood]

Anyone got their hands/ears on an Oppo HA-1

[[email protected]]

save your money and buy the best DAC for the money the AURALIC Vega hands down. No competition unless you spend $10k+

I can get a demo Vega for close to same price as Brooklyn, I was going to do that up-front, but I was intrigued with the MQA capability of the Brooklyn combined with the fact that the Vega (like the 192) has been out for a while and could be getting "old" re: technology. However, I think that will be what I end up doing once I get confirmation of my cancellation from Mytek.

[stinart]

Even from the old stereo 96 dac , this company proved that has the "know how" to deliver really competitive products . I believe (and hope) that the brooklyn issue will be addressed soon , but its really fishy how they launched their product in such a beta state... Its not acceptable to launch your 2k$ dac with source input problems.

[Andrew S.]

I have a Manhattan, and like it very much. It does what it says on the packet.

 

I just wish that Mytek would deliver on their promises for it (updated drivers, new firmware) instead of evidently rushing to market with a new product which evidently has some issues.

 

Seriously can't anyone in the digital world get their act together? Either do what you promise or don't do it.

[Totsipaki]

with a new product which evidently has some issues.

 

Seriously can't anyone in the digital world get their act together? Either do what you promise or don't do it.

 

"Some issues" is an understatement in this case. I feel like I got the box but still waiting for my dac.. Anyway I too agree that in the digital world there is an epidemic of problematic early device releases.. That is very annoying for the customers. In the end Iam still confident I'll get the high quality product I have paid for, but this time It was so unpleasant that next time I'am buying something digital It must be at least out for a year..

[Totsipaki]

After I visited my retailer today who was absolutely negative that the dac can not play faulty and offered me an invitation to bring it for a listen to the studio I decided to make a last effort just to exclude any possibility I get embarassed..

 

This time I did something additional before I tested it.. I removed It's plug from the socket and replugged It making It totally restart (and reset) and then started Spotify.. Everything sounded right this time no goofy sound, no unpleasant quality.. After i accidentally unplugged Its power again while playing back ,trying to attach the optical cable I re attached it and started playback.. the goofyness and poor quality returned..

 

I switched off properly disconnected the power reconnected it and started it again ..everything back in it's place..

Alright lets try Audirvana now eith lossless material.. And.. Suddenly.. Amazing Sound exactly as advertised came out of my speakers... You can imagine my relief... Of course the optical input still does not function but I assume that this ommition might be due to the premature firmware update..

 

At least now i made sure that my new dac can sound as I dreamed It would (and even better..) of course i am not done yet but now I can enjoy it while waiting for it to mature..

 

So to everyone thinking that their Brooklyn is performing weird or poorly please try this procedure I described..

As for all of you thinking of cancelling it you might feel bitterness after you hear what this machine is capable to do..

To my ears it betters the Vega to a great extent and beats the 192 hands down As it should..

 

Despite the fact that i am not done yet I am definitely keeping it..

 

I sincerely and humbly apologise If I drove some people nearly crazy In this thread but believe me those last three days i found it hard not to go crazy my self..

 

GOD WHAT A RELIEF!!!..

[[email protected]]

I cancelled my order based upon your feedback and posts. I do think that it seems like the Brooklyn DAC is not yet ready for release and that there will be a long road of updates, etc to get all the kinks worked out post release (as opposed to pre-release as they should have been).

Now I need to decide what DAC to buy as a replacement????

Auralic Vega, NuPrime DAC 10H, Wyred4Sound DSDSE, Bryston BDA-3????

[The Computer Audiophile]

I have one on the way for review.

[Totsipaki]

I cancelled my order based upon your feedback and posts.

 

I am very sorry about that. Let me make one thing clear.. Despite my experience with the Brooklyn which i have described as I lived it honestly and in good will. I would never advise anyone to cancel their order, neither did I do that during this conversation.

 

I can not comment on your decision which I respect but i can not and will not bear any responsibility whatsoever If the influence of what I wrote, honestly and always trying to look at things in a positive way, made other adult consumers make a decision of their own ,no matter which, or made them have good or bad opinions according to their own judgement.

 

We are all adults here and above all this is a conversation.

[Totsipaki]

I have one on the way for review.

 

That is very good news. Please let us know if the optical and spdif ports function properly. After the hard reset I did to my unit i consider my usb playback issues resolved.

[Totsipaki]

Something wonderful and most reassuring happened to me about an hour ago..

 

I had a personal call at home from a most polite Mr Hamella who after apologising and telling me that I was right in my observations and evaluations on the device tried to explain to me in technical terms (that i must admit I did not understand very much) what went wrong in their writing the firmware at the very last moment and that they did not have the time to notice it in all the fuss to ship the first units within the holidays.

 

He told me that he is sending me the firmware update and that everything will function properly including the remote that some people mentioned here.

 

I consider the case closed and have confirmed at least to my self that trusting a serious company was the right thing to do and for sure only a serious company would take care of their customers being satisfied.

 

I am now eagerly waiting for the review from computer audiophile since after all the fuss I wouldn't dare say more. I Just hope that what I read successfully describes the glorious sound i am listening to as I am writing these lines.

 

Thanks for all your patience and sorry for all the fuss..