The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC

[mevdinc]

4 hours ago, Stereophilus said:

 

Another reviewer who REALLY likes this DAC.

Very good review and excellent comparison of two high end DACs.
I really like the Mola Mola Tambaqui myself, but it's a shame it's only Roon ready and doesn't support other streaming services. And it doesn't have an analog volume control and not sure how good the digital volume control is, but Darko seems very impressed with the sound.
Now there's also the latest Terminator Plus DAC to consider, which also lacks volume control. Choices, choices...

[mevdinc]

Thanks for all the informative and helpful comments.
I only use digital source so I don't really need a preamp as such. It's just that so far I have used DACs with builtin analog volume controls and I don't like having a separate preamp. I am on the less is more camp regarding this issiue. 
As I stated in my comment, since Darko was so impressed with the sound that digital volume implementation of Tambaqui must be very good.
In the past I did try Roon but didn't quite like it against my Audirvana Plus. I guess I could always use the USB connection and hope that I would get the same quality sound.

I will see if I can find a dealer with Tambaqui to listen to in my own system. As you can see from my signature I have the top of the range ATC active system, which is very revealing and would certainly allow me to hear the Tambaqui's extra qualities.
 

[mevdinc]

49 minutes ago, Stereophilus said:

In his review of the Tambaqui, Darko uses the PS Audio BHK preamp for volume control.  There is a point in the comments section where he states he doesn’t use digital domain volume control because he finds using a preamp “meatier”.  I’m sure you could compare Makua to Tambaqui for yourself if you really wanted analog volume control without a seperate box.

Didn't he also say he used the volume control in Roon rather than the one in Tambaqui app? That means you don't really need a preamp with Tambaqui.
I thought he used the preamp to easily switch between Tambaqui and Bartoc during comparison.
Anyway, I can always keep my current Lindemann DAC which has a very good analog volume control and also a couple of analog inputs too.
 

[mevdinc]

10 hours ago, PYP said:

 

He was demonstrating the mola mola app's volume control in the video.  If that documented his actual method when he listened, then he was indeed using its volume control function.

 

Will be very interested to hear your impressions about the Tambaqui in your setup.  Beautiful beasts, those speakers.  I like the simplicity of the setup too. 

I wouldn't mind using the Tambaqui amp to control the volume, in fact, that's exactly I am doing with my Lindemann Musicbook DSD. Incidentally, my DAC does sound wonderful too for the price  and it includes streaming (support for Tidal and Qobuz).
It would be interesting to compare Tambaqui with my existing system (my DAC was around £3700 GBP) .
Thank you, I have a very simple setup; just a Mac Min, DAC and my active ATCs. I listen to music everyday for hours on end. Listening to music is food for the soul and it's been my saviour during the lockdown days while writing my autobiography, Life Is A Game.

 

[mevdinc]

Here's another great write-up on Tambaqui.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2020/09/25/mola-mola-tambaqui-dac-review/

[mevdinc]

I am on the 'less is more' camp and always preferred going DAC direct to my active speakers.
Assuming of course that the DAC in question has a decent volume control, which Tambaqi seems to have.

[mevdinc]

18 hours ago, PYP said:

 

And the device the DAC feeds is compatible/easy to drive...

That goes for most device compatibility.
I have used 4 different DACs with direct connection with very satisfying results.

I can understand that some people prefer to have a preamp in between, which is fine if you like the resulting sound.
It's all matter of taste and what sounds right to our ears. That's the beauty of this wonderful hobby.

Stay safe and enjoy listening to music.

 

[mevdinc]

Personally, I always prefer DAC direct to my active speakers, of course, as long as the DAC provides a good enough volume control.
I thought Tambaqui provided a decent volume control.

[mevdinc]

21 hours ago, galanakop said:

The mola mola Tambaqui together with the ATC SCA2 –Pre-Amplifier Will be my main sources for my new atc SCM100ASLT.
What is your opinion ???

'Perfect' is the first word that comes to my mind. :)
Enjoy!

 

[mevdinc]

2 hours ago, Stereophilus said:

The real question is do you need a preamp for anything else apart from the DAC? 
 

If your only source will be the Tambaqui DAC, then save some money and use the Tambaqui direct into your active ATC loudspeakers.  The money you save can be better spent on other areas of your system, or music…

 

However, if you need a preamp for other sources, then the Makua offers an edge over the Tambaqui, albeit at a price.  The Makua has a very transparent analog volume control along with excellent current drive for overcoming the cable length losses to your active ATCs.  You may notice, as I did, that the Makua digs a bit deeper in the bass compared to Tambaqui direct.  Any interconnecting cables between a DAC and preamp will detract from the sound, which is why the direct connection within the Makua will sound the best if a preamp is needed.

In my personal experience, I have always preferred DAC direct to my active ATCs. Obviously, this assumes the DAC in use has a very good analog/digital volume control.
 

[mevdinc]

1 hour ago, justthemusic said:

Have you tried tried Leedh volume processing on your Lumin U1 streamer with the Tambaqui? Has anyone else here tried Leedh lossless volume control?

 

Joel Chevassus’s stellar review on SixMoons recently piqued my interest where he used the Leedh volume algorithm on the Lumin X1 as the streamer and volume control into a Mola Mola Tambaqui pre-amp-less into Lumin Amps and Vivid Giya speakers. He preferred the streamer and Leedh volume control in the X1 to the already good digital volume control in the Tambaqui, but unsurprisingly preferred the dac in the Tambaqui. He had high praise for the Lumin / Mola Mola combo and compared it favorably to some very high end Swiss gear.

I'd been very interested on Leedh digital volume myself but since the Lumin implementation it's all gone quiet for some reason. Even Audirvana was supposed to implement it but dropped it.

[mevdinc]

On 2/10/2022 at 9:57 PM, ted_b said:

Well, my decision to someday acquire this marvelous dac was made in the first several minutes with it.  🙂  There is no digital device I've ever heard that makes music like the Tambaqui.  The realism, life, meat-on-the-bones foundation that this dac extracts from all types of music is, frankly, awe inspiring...a piece of equipment that creates smiles and often a little laughter when sitting in a darkened room listening by myself...laughing and enjoying the sounds that emanate.  It's that good, it's that much of a game changer for me.  However, I have not heard a lot of $13k plus dacs, so maybe this is what that level sounds like.  But I cannot realistically imagine anything that "wipes the floor" over this sound. 

 

Although I was somewhat used to DSF files playing at a significantly lower level (6db?) in my Holo May I was, regardless, still unsure of cranking up my preamp to 2 o'clock levels (PCM plays nicely at 11 o'clock) to listen.  But after chatting with the SPL Elector folks I became confident that the ALPS pot is quite fine at that volume, so I spent one night listening to my fave DSD stuff....and boy does it sound great too.  Maybe not the gulf between it and the May that PCM provides, but very musical nonetheless.

 

My loaner timer has extended a bit, so I continue to allocate hours late in the evening to immersing myself in the color, texture and power of the music that spills from the Tambaqui.  Life is good.  😎

Wow! I've read quite a few great remarks on Tambaqui but nothing like yours. I've been seriously considering it but unfortunately it lacks a preamp (I need at least one analog input).
I wish you had a chance to compare Tambaqui with Linn Klimax DSMi (especially after Chris's glowing review). I know there's a huge price difference but then again Linn is an all-in-one DAC with a full pre-amp and streaming support.

[mevdinc]

6 hours ago, Kelly said:

The product you describe does exist, it’s call the Mola Mola Makua preamp.  It is a full fledged preamp to which the internal dac can be added. It is priced accordingly tho.

I am aware of Makua with internal DAC option but I'd rather it is the other way around i.e a fully pledged DAC with a builtin preamp and streamer; an all-in-one DAC.  I just need a decent volume control and one analog input with the preamp.
Plus from Chris's reaction, Linn's new in-house DAC chip maybe much better, that's why it would be interesting to compare the two systems. Maybe Chris will do it. :)

[mevdinc]

1 hour ago, barrows said:

ummm, what would make you think that?  The new Linn uses a very similar approach as the Tambaqui for its conversion stage: Discrete multi element high speed switches converting a highly oversampled data stream.  This approach is also very similar to the DSD converters in the Holo DACs and the T+A DACs.  In the Tambaqui and Linn the DACs use powerful DSP chips (an FPGA for Linn and multiple AD SHARC processors in the Tambaqui) to oversample all incoming data rates to very high MHZ rates for the conversion stage.  Essentially, the conversion approaches are very close in these two DACs, and the differences will be more about which one has the better oversampling and modulation approaches and output stage design.  Notably the Tambaqui uses a fully discrete output stage, where the Linn uses IC opamps for its output stage.  Bruno Putzeys (Tambaqui designer) has proven in the past that he is capable of designing discrete analog stages which outperform IC opamp based versions.

Your speculation that the Linn "maybe much better" is based on nothing?  To my knowledge Chris has had no significant experience with the Tambaqui.

To be clear-there is no really "new" tech in the Linn, as it uses an approach already well known-it is just new to Linn, who used to rely solely on integrated circuit DAC chips until now.

I expect the Linn sounds fantastic, I have not heard it yet, I know the Tambaqui is fantastic, and I have heard other DACs which use similar approaches (I have a DSC-2 DAC here which is a 32 element single bit discrete converter for use with HQPlayer oversampling as opposed to having an oversampling engine built into the DAC).  Of course at nearly 3x the price of the Tambaqui, the question remains whether it would be worth that much money to most users?  Personally, I expect the better value proposition would be the Tambaqui (or Makua for those who might want an analog input) and then spend the savings over the Linn on that much better loudspeakers; +$20K will get one some much better speakers!

I did say 'maybe much better', obviously Tambaqui is a great DAC no doubt but I don't understand people's reactions to my reasonable comments. I did also state that Linn DAC was much more expensive, which of course, doesn't make it better sounding.
Still, it's a simple thing I wished for, which is a comparison between two great DACs.

[mevdinc]

43 minutes ago, PYP said:

According to Mola-Mola website, the Tambaqui has a "lossless digital volume control" and in the Makua "The relay-based volume control directly controls the gain of the output stage."

I don't understand why everyone's defending Tambaqui, I am not even saying anything negative against it, on the contrary, I believe it's a great DAC and I did consider purchasing it myself.. I didn't even say anything against its digital lossless volume control either, I just said it lacks analog input ( Added: that's why I am now also considering T+A DAC-200).
I simply wished that @ted_bcould compare the two DACs, that's it.