Dilemma between this two DACs

[theKremlin]

Hi guys!

 

I'm going to set up my very first audio system. For the DAC, I have narrowed down to 2 choices. And I do need help from you guys to help me arrive at a conclusion.

 

The two DACs are as follows:

M2tech Young DSD

 

Mytek 192 DSD

 

My priority will be music flow or the musicality of the DAC. Followed by resolution of the DAC.

 

The equipment that I will be pairing the DAC with will be:

-ECS Liva X (barebones PC)

-Rogue Audio Cronus II

-Dynaudio X38

I will be mainly streaming my media from NAS.

 

Ask me anything and I mean anything at all to help u guys better know the direction that I am after.

 

I would love to know what made you chose that DAC. Also do share your experiences with them if you have any. All forms of contribution is greatly appreciated. Thank you guys in advance!

 

Cheers

Clifford

[Totsipaki]

I had the 192 DSD dac for three years.

I have also heard the M2tech dac for long enough.

 

My humble opinion is that the better dac is the Mytek. The M2tech Is not bad at all It self but but It comes on It's own and reaches the performance of the Mytek (plus becoming a bit more musical) after adding the van der graaf psu to It but for a big additional cost reaching almost double the cost of the Mytek 192 now on sale.

 

The M2tech standalone was not in my opinion as good and surely not better than the Mytek

In any case you should try to have a listen to both to confirm any claims you read here since both are very high quality dacs.

[firedog]

See the audiostream.com review of the M2Tech for that reviewers comparison.

I would say you need to think about 2 aspects:

 

1.Features: Do they both have all the features you'd like? If one has a feature/function the ohter doesn't, and you think you might use it, that would be a reason to go with that one.

 

2. Sound. Hard to judge without hearing them. If you know your tastes and are willing to go by written descriptions, you might thing that one will appeal more to your taste.

[HDgeorge]

The YoungDSD is clearly the best of the two.

Especially soundwise. Adding the van der graph psu along the way makes it a killer dac for music lovers.

[CR250]

Have you listened to any of this equipment yet?

[stinart]

From audiostream :

 

I compared the Young DSD DAC to the Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC (see review) since it offers much of the same functionality while coming in at the same price. This made for an instructive exercise since these two DACs offer up different views into your music. The Mytek is more concerned with detail and resolution making the Young sound softer in comparison, more forgiving. I'd give the upper hand to the Mytek in terms of bass weight and clarity where the Young's sounded a bit looser and less well defined. I'd also say the Mytek sounds a bit richer overall while adding a touch more sparkle to the top end whereas the Young has a pleasant if somewhat soft top end akin to some of the NOS DACs I've heard.

Overall I would not call one DAC better than the other, I'm sure other people would, rather they offer differing presentations that each have their pluses and minuses. System synergy and personal preference will determine which is best for the buyer. If you generally find digital reproduction to be harsh and unnaturally edgy, the Young DAC may be the choice for you. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a DAC that can dig relatively deeply into detail while keeping a firm grip on the entire sonic picture, the Mytek may be more to your liking.

Read more at M2Tech Young DSD DAC | AudioStream

[theKremlin]

I had the 192 DSD dac for three years.

I have also heard the M2tech dac for long enough.

 

My humble opinion is that the better dac is the Mytek. The M2tech Is not bad at all It self but but It comes on It's own and reaches the performance of the Mytek (plus becoming a bit more musical) after adding the van der graaf psu to It but for a big additional cost reaching almost double the cost of the Mytek 192 now on sale.

 

The M2tech standalone was not in my opinion as good and surely not better than the Mytek

In any case you should try to have a listen to both to confirm any claims you read here since both are very high quality dacs.

Sales discount aside, for the original price, will the young DSD catch your attention? I will definitely try out these two DACs before deciding on one.

 

What I'm afraid is that the end results might be drastically different due to the varying components that the shop is using compared to the set up I'm going after.

 

Also, my untrained ears may not be able to pick up the characteristics of the DAC. Therefore I'm here to sought advice from the experienced users to help guide me in the right direction.

 

The YoungDSD is clearly the best of the two.

Especially soundwise. Adding the van der graph psu along the way makes it a killer dac for music lovers.

Mixed opinions, I'm facing. I like that. Anyways, what did the Young DSD do that makes u arrive at that conclusion? Could you describe the experience u had with the Young DSD and the Mytek 192? Thank you so much!

 

Have you listened to any of this equipment yet?

sir, not at this point of time.

[theKremlin]

See the audiostream.com review of the M2Tech for that reviewers comparison.

I would say you need to think about 2 aspects:

 

1.Features: Do they both have all the features you'd like? If one has a feature/function the ohter doesn't, and you think you might use it, that would be a reason to go with that one.

 

2. Sound. Hard to judge without hearing them. If you know your tastes and are willing to go by written descriptions, you might thing that one will appeal more to your taste.

 

From audiostream :

 

Came across this review too. This is one of the review that got me leaning towards Young DSD. I believe both offers great features. For me I put my priority in their sonic performances. Followed by their available features.

[MikeJazz]

Have you listened to any of this equipment yet?

 

I guess not, because if he had he would probably found the answer himself.

The only thing that matters is to listen, if possible with his system, especially using his sources...(computer and cables)....

 

In the past I was unimpressed by m2tech usb interfaces (I tried m2tech evo full setup).

 

This is a very competitive bracket of price, and so many valid options...I would say, IMHO, the OP should listen to as many dac's as possible to make an informed decision and ignore all other opinions, including ours. I know, too radical maybe, but I have learned that usually external opinions means nothing, unless we can relate to a person whose opinion and taste we know very well...

[derekc]

sorry to throw a spanner into the works - I had the mytek 192 for over a year. However, I replaced it with a ifi idac2 + itube - IMO the ifi combination significantly bettered it in terms of clarity and musical engagement. Also the ifi kit produces that true out of speaker experience that only the best hi fi can give you. I always felt the analogue side of the mytek was letting it down - it sounded a bit shut in compared to the idac2. Rest of system is Bel Canto 500 mono blocks + Amphion one18s.

[CR250]

If this is your first system and you've never listened to any of this stuff, expect to be surprised. What reviews and well meaning comments don't tell you is that you really need a certain level of skill and experience to put a system like this together. The more money you spend, the easier it is to mess up. I know that's not what you want to hear, but its the truth. I can tell you what my favorite dac is too, but it won't help you one bit.

[theKremlin]

I guess not, because if he had he would probably found the answer himself.

The only thing that matters is to listen, if possible with his system, especially using his sources...(computer and cables)....

 

In the past I was unimpressed by m2tech usb interfaces (I tried m2tech evo full setup).

 

This is a very competitive bracket of price, and so many valid options...I would say, IMHO, the OP should listen to as many dac's as possible to make an informed decision and ignore all other opinions, including ours. I know, too radical maybe, but I have learned that usually external opinions means nothing, unless we can relate to a person whose opinion and taste we know very well...

If this is your first system and you've never listened to any of this stuff, expect to be surprised. What reviews and well meaning comments don't tell you is that you really need a certain level of skill and experience to put a system like this together. The more money you spend, the easier it is to mess up. I know that's not what you want to hear, but its the truth. I can tell you what my favorite dac is too, but it won't help you one bit.

Thank you for the input. Appreciate it. I totally understand where you guys are coming from. To be more realistic, it'll be the best to audition this 2 specific DACs on my own rather then fishing for opinions.

 

However, I believe taking in opinions and reviews on the DACs may not be that bad of an idea if one knows what they are doing. Also, one should never let opinions/reviews cloud their judgment. The opinions and reviews shall serve as only a rough guide for the end user.

 

Like what CR250 mentioned above. What I'm lacking now are a certain level of skills and experience to put the whole chain together effectively. That's also one of the reason why I'm starting this thread. I understand this will be a journey, this setup will most probably going to change once I have a better grasp of which direction I'm heading towards in this journey.

 

sorry to throw a spanner into the works - I had the mytek 192 for over a year. However, I replaced it with a ifi idac2 + itube - IMO the ifi combination significantly bettered it in terms of clarity and musical engagement. Also the ifi kit produces that true out of speaker experience that only the best hi fi can give you. I always felt the analogue side of the mytek was letting it down - it sounded a bit shut in compared to the idac2. Rest of system is Bel Canto 500 mono blocks + Amphion one18s.

Hi Derek, I would gladly take up your suggestion into my consideration but my amplifier will be a Tube amp. I do not wish to take up another tube component in the chain. Thanks for the sharing though. [emoji106]?

 

Also, would u share the specifics on the differences which u experienced between the 2 set ups?

[derekc]

Hi TheKremlin - oops I did not realise the Rogue Audio is an integrated amp - so yes agree the itube is not required - the IDAC2 would work just fine though. Maybe consider the IDSD as well. If you went down a usb powered dac route, I would factor in a IUSB or the like.

 

You now face the dilemma of buying hi fi - how do you hear all of them in order to make a decision. Where in the world are you?

[theKremlin]

Hi TheKremlin - oops I did not realise the Rogue Audio is an integrated amp - so yes agree the itube is not required - the IDAC2 would work just fine though. Maybe consider the IDSD as well. If you went down a usb powered dac route, I would factor in a IUSB or the like.

 

You now face the dilemma of buying hi fi - how do you hear all of them in order to make a decision. Where in the world are you?

ok sure thing. Will go briefly read up on iDAC2 and iDSD.

 

It's never possible to hear all of them as the audiophile realm is too huge for anyone to fully explore them.

 

I'm located in a tiny red dot on the map, Singapore!

[derekc]

agree it is difficult to hear everything, hi fi shows go some way to helping and am always surprised at shows just how indifferent I am to some kit that gets great reviews/feedback. Hence, it is always best to trust your own ears wherever possible. Speaking of which, looks like you can cover the ifi side of the equation :-)

 

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