The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC

[PYP]

14 minutes ago, Vampat said:

Received my Tambaqui yesterday!

 

Even at cold, without burning in, it sound good, really good!

 

 

When I had my in-home demo, the distributor told me to leave it on at all times.  That works well while you get a handle on the sound.  Then you can experiment, if you want, with only turning it on when you want to listen to music.  

[Vampat]

6 minutes ago, PYP said:

When I had my in-home demo, the distributor told me to leave it on at all times.  That works well while you get a handle on the sound.  Then you can experiment, if you want, with only turning it on when you want to listen to music.  

It seems to run very hot after several hours...

[Davidny]

Run music through it 24/7 for at least a month.  It will gradually improve.

[Davidny]

Another enthusiastic review

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/mola-mola-ambaqui-dac/

[PYP]

50 minutes ago, Vampat said:

It seems to run very hot after several hours...

it does.  I believe the exterior is functioning as the heat sink, thus the heat.  The US dealer told me he never turns his off (neither do I), so I don't think the heat is a concern.  Of course, as with all electronics, give it room for air flow.

[Vampat]

1 minute ago, PYP said:

it does.  I believe the exterior is functioning as the heat sink, thus the heat.  The US dealer told me he never turns his off (neither do I), so I don't think the heat is a concern.  Of course, as with all electronics, give it room for air flow.

Ok thank you.

I have a ac infinity for my Arcam receiver and for my Hegel amp. 

I was thinking to add one for the Tambaqui, so the fan start at the setting temperature we want.

[further]

My Makua runs warm to hot as well, regardless if using the DAC card inputs, or other preamp preset options, including Direct, which I have one preset configured for as a home theater bypass connected to my home theater processor.   I do turn off the presets when not in use, but do not disconnect from power.   I live in an area that can reach triple digits nearly half the year, so I generally turn off or put into standby much of my audio and video equipment when not in use.   With presets off, the Makua cools down.    I do leave my PF Buffalo and DC4 power supply on at all times, my X1 power supply and also leave my K50 on.   Antipodes recommends leaving their equipment on.  My K50 seems to run cool and leaving on overnight allows it to receive any updates Antipodes issues and manages.   If I plan to be away from home for more than a couple days, I will power down all and disconnect power cords and ethernet connections as lighting/electrical protection for the system.  

 

There appear to be some vents under my Makua, and suggest caution not to cover those should you employ 3rd party feet/vibration/isolation devices.   I totally agree with PYP's recommendation of allowing room for air flow for electronics.  

[PYP]

47 minutes ago, Vampat said:

Ok thank you.

I have a ac infinity for my Arcam receiver and for my Hegel amp. 

I was thinking to add one for the Tambaqui, so the fan start at the setting temperature we want.

if your cabinet is closed, or partially closed, fans definitely help.  

[Vampat]

5 minutes ago, PYP said:

if your cabinet is closed, or partially closed, fans definitely help.  

Yeah it is partially closed!

[Vampat]

17 minutes ago, further said:

My Makua runs warm to hot as well, regardless if using the DAC card inputs, or other preamp preset options, including Direct, which I have one preset configured for as a home theater bypass connected to my home theater processor.   I do turn off the presets when not in use, but do not disconnect from power.   I live in an area that can reach triple digits nearly half the year, so I generally turn off or put into standby much of my audio and video equipment when not in use.   With presets off, the Makua cools down.    I do leave my PF Buffalo and DC4 power supply on at all times, my X1 power supply and also leave my K50 on.   Antipodes recommends leaving their equipment on.  My K50 seems to run cool and leaving on overnight allows it to receive any updates Antipodes issues and manages.   If I plan to be away from home for more than a couple days, I will power down all and disconnect power cords and ethernet connections as lighting/electrical protection for the system.  

 

There appear to be some vents under my Makua, and suggest caution not to cover those should you employ 3rd party feet/vibration/isolation devices.   I totally agree with PYP's recommendation of allowing room for air flow for electronics.  

Thanks!

How good is the combo Mola Mola-K50?

I just put the trigger on a NEW Antipodes K50 at a INCREDIBLE price, 500$ less than the K22!!! 

[further]

I really enjoy the K50 with the Mola-Mola.   Antipodes is a pretty organic presentation.  I have been a fan of Christiaan Punter's reviews at hifi-advice.com.   I like the style of his reviews and how he compares various input/outputs of the item being reviewed as well as to his equipment and recent reviews of similar positioned equipment.   The K50 had been very favorably reviewed by him, but the Grimm MU-1  has now taken the top review spot for him based on his preferences.   His site has full reviews of the K50, MU-1, and Tambaqui, as well as other equipment.   He now has a work association as well with Taiko Audio, and I do not know how that will affect future reviews.  The Taiko Extreme is highly praised by owners, but is approximately twice the list price of the K50.   

 

My server prior to the K50 was a Small Green Computer i5 CDR, with which I was happy, and still have though not in use.   I used an etherREGEN with it and microRendu to DACs without internet connection.   The K50 does not lack information, but is a smoother and more engaging presentation for me than the SGC i5 CDR.  They are also priced considerably differently as well.  While I found the K50 to improve sound quality pretty quickly, Antipodes suggests that sound quality will continue to improve for a considerable time--recall 6 months was a period they suggested.   While it is difficult to quantify smaller incremental changes, I do think my unit continued to evolve beneficially over many months.   The K50 has lots of options, including I2S, which the Tambaqui has.   My Makua does not have I2S input, but I was able to use with my PS-Audio DirectStream.   I2S with the last software update from PS Audio provided me the best sound quality I have had with the DS.   I'm a bit promiscuous when it comes to DACs, having several still including the DS.   I periodically put the DS back in service.   It's kind of a comfort food DAC for me.   I do much prefer the Mola-Mola and Lumin X1 though.  

 

The K50 will give you AES/EBU and USB options as well for the Tambaqui, in addition to ethernet Roon Ready and S/PDIF and BNC.  You also have additional server and player options within the K50--very full featured.   If you have not yet done so, recommend you check out the Antipodes Forum, accessible on the Antipodes web site along with videos on setup of your new unit.  Mark Cole of Antipodes participates there as well.  

 

One word of caution--Antipodes does not want its line pricing discounted, so suggest you not actively discuss in open forum the source or price of your deal.   It can be against many forums' rules and have negative consequences for the source of your deal.  That being said, congratulations on the deal and your new K50!   I am happy with my choice with the K50 and believe you will be as well.  

[Vampat]

35 minutes ago, further said:

I really enjoy the K50 with the Mola-Mola.   Antipodes is a pretty organic presentation.  I have been a fan of Christiaan Punter's reviews at hifi-advice.com.   I like the style of his reviews and how he compares various input/outputs of the item being reviewed as well as to his equipment and recent reviews of similar positioned equipment.   The K50 had been very favorably reviewed by him, but the Grimm MU-1  has now taken the top review spot for him based on his preferences.   His site has full reviews of the K50, MU-1, and Tambaqui, as well as other equipment.   He now has a work association as well with Taiko Audio, and I do not know how that will affect future reviews.  The Taiko Extreme is highly praised by owners, but is approximately twice the list price of the K50.   

 

My server prior to the K50 was a Small Green Computer i5 CDR, with which I was happy, and still have though not in use.   I used an etherREGEN with it and microRendu to DACs without internet connection.   The K50 does not lack information, but is a smoother and more engaging presentation for me than the SGC i5 CDR.  They are also priced considerably differently as well.  While I found the K50 to improve sound quality pretty quickly, Antipodes suggests that sound quality will continue to improve for a considerable time--recall 6 months was a period they suggested.   While it is difficult to quantify smaller incremental changes, I do think my unit continued to evolve beneficially over many months.   The K50 has lots of options, including I2S, which the Tambaqui has.   My Makua does not have I2S input, but I was able to use with my PS-Audio DirectStream.   I2S with the last software update from PS Audio provided me the best sound quality I have had with the DS.   I'm a bit promiscuous when it comes to DACs, having several still including the DS.   I periodically put the DS back in service.   It's kind of a comfort food DAC for me.   I do much prefer the Mola-Mola and Lumin X1 though.  

 

The K50 will give you AES/EBU and USB options as well for the Tambaqui, in addition to ethernet Roon Ready and S/PDIF and BNC.  You also have additional server and player options within the K50--very full featured.   If you have not yet done so, recommend you check out the Antipodes Forum, accessible on the Antipodes web site along with videos on setup of your new unit.  Mark Cole of Antipodes participates there as well.  

 

One word of caution--Antipodes does not want its line pricing discounted, so suggest you not actively discuss in open forum the source or price of your deal.   It can be against many forums' rules and have negative consequences for the source of your deal.  That being said, congratulations on the deal and your new K50!   I am happy with my choice with the K50 and believe you will be as well.  

Thanks for your feedback.

The K50 is really a complete package and i will have to figure out what input is better. I have a good USB cable and a couple of HDMI cable, so i could compare both.

Is there a way to edit a post, i could remove the section where i mention cost...

[further]

Not knowing, I did a quick search on editing posts and found the below quote from less than a year ago.  

 

Regarding inputs, my experience has been preferences may change on an input, but suspect that might be due to the K50 settling in, possible further settling in with the Makua, not knowing what DAC card inputs had previously been used and its recent (at time of my purchase) upgrade of the DAC card, the cables themselves as well my condition when listening.   I do rotate listening via ethernet on the Roon Ready input to the DAC card, USB, and AES/EBU.   The Audio Sensibility and Sablon ethernet cables I have used were new when I purchased the K50 and modest hours on them when I received the Makua.   I did purchase a new Sablon AES/EBU cable after getting the Makua, and had both a Wireworld Platinum USB and a Triode Wire Labs short USB for some time.   I have since sold the WW one.   The WW one seemed more detailed but not as relaxed and flowing as the TWL.   Again that could have been somewhat due to the newer equipment pieces, but also was pretty consistent with previous tubed preamp with DAC, Vinnie Rossi.  The WW seemed a better fit for me with the VR at the time.  I would start with your existing USB you enjoy now as well as the Roon Ready ethernet input.   I do like the AES/EBU, but suggest letting your new equipment settle in before making new, and possibly expensive, cable buys.   This should be quite fun and interesting time upcoming for you, but suggest patience as you become accustomed to these pieces and as they evolve with playing time.  This falls more into the follow what I suggest, rather than follow what I have done category.   

On 9/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, The Computer Audiophile said:

The time limit is 30 minutes, or once another post has been made in that same thread by anyone. 

 

[PYP]

18 minutes ago, further said:

 This falls more into the follow what I suggest, rather than follow what I have done category.   

This made me laugh out loud, because it is oh so familiar.  😉    

 

And your point about settling in over time got me thinking about the MU1.   I haven't made any changes in quite some time to my setup, yet my musical enjoyment increased yesterday.   The folks at Antipodes have stated that their equipment improves over time and seems to make small jumps every three months or so (up to one year).  

 

The MU1 has been in my setup for 3 months and one week.  If this is truly an operating principle, then digital takes a very long time to sound its best.  Even with an in-home demo, we may not be hearing the full potential of gear we are interested in.  And it means that after purchase we are making changes to cables, etc. while the target is moving.  

 

And then, of course, we have the last piece in the playback chain - ourselves.  I'm definitely experiencing some serious "settling in" over time.  🧐

[zerung]

I realised there is a Facebook site for MM and no owners there…..

https://m.facebook.com/molamolaaudio/

[Davidny]

12 minutes ago, zerung said:

I realised there is a Facebook site for MM and no owners there…..

https://m.facebook.com/molamolaaudio/

This link is more up to date

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Electronics/Mola-Mola-international-573176019871165/

[Vampat]

On 6/18/2022 at 5:30 PM, PYP said:

Agreed.  At one point, I was using an opticalModule + etherREGEN with all the fixings.  That sounded very good indeed and was a vast improvement.   

 

The Grimm Audio MU1 is a very unique piece and does need anything before it.   The MU1 is unfussy about copper ethernet cable (and power cords, to a great extent).   A superlative companion to the Tambaqui.  

well, i received my K50 yesterday and start the Burn in period! Antipode’s specified at least 200 hours…

I’m using the USB from the Tambacqui for the moment.

Is it recommended to wait that both Tambacqui and K50 are fully broke before experience the i2s connection?

What are the advantages to connect i2s vs USB between the unit? What will i gain in the sound? Less fatigue for long listening session?

 

again, thanks in advance!

[further]

6 minutes ago, Vampat said:

well, i received my K50 yesterday and start the Burn in period! Antipode’s specified at least 200 hours…

I’m using the USB from the Tambacqui for the moment.

Is it recommended to wait that both Tambacqui and K50 are fully broke before experience the i2s connection?

What are the advantages to connect i2s vs USB between the unit? What will i gain in the sound? Less fatigue for long listening session?

 

again, thanks in advance!

I do not believe you need to wait until both Tambaqui and K50 are fully burned in, whatever that may mean in actual playing hours, but I do believe there will be changes as this process goes on.   What you perceive earlier on from an output and cable may change as the units accumulate playing hours.   That certainly was the case for me.   I know you wish to use the player outputs from the K50, but I would not ignore the ethernet connection to the Tambaqui.   Optimizing your network is important--in any case you will be running ethernet to the K50.   I have found the various inputs to the Tambaqui do produce some different results.   You may find one preferable now, but may change preference down line.   You may even prefer a certain input to the Tambaqui for certain types of music.   

[zerung]

Wanted to share the picture of the heat output from the MMT.

 

Apart from this, the overall heat output from the Uptone EE, the Silent NAS from Qnap & the Vacuum tubes power Amp seems to compliment the heatwave going around the world right now.....

[PYP]

6 hours ago, zerung said:

Wanted to share the picture of the heat output from the MMT.

 

Apart from this, the overall heat output from the Uptone EE, the Silent NAS from Qnap & the Vacuum tubes power Amp seems to compliment the heatwave going around the world right now.....

will be hotter than that in my backyard today.  

[Salmonad]

Hi Guys, I hope I not causing any problems by asking this on the forum but I having problems finding out who the dealer is for Austria

 

[PYP]

46 minutes ago, Salmonad said:

Hi Guys, I hope I not causing any problems by asking this on the forum but I having problems finding out who the dealer is for Austria

 

from the Grimm website, it seems to be:   https://www.hoerzone.de/shop/

 

[fheller]

1 hour ago, Salmonad said:

Hi Guys, I hope I not causing any problems by asking this on the forum but I having problems finding out who the dealer is for Austria

 

I got mine from Heimkinowelt in Vienna. Ask for Thomas.

[Salmonad]

Great!  This is my trusted dealer anyway…bought a Pro-Jekt X2 from these guys 2 weeks ago.  I did think to ask because they don’t have it listed on their site.

Thanks for the great lead.

[Mustu]

On 6/22/2022 at 4:24 AM, Vampat said:

Thanks!

How good is the combo Mola Mola-K50?

I just put the trigger on a NEW Antipodes K50 at a INCREDIBLE price, 500$ less than the K22!!! 

 

On 6/22/2022 at 6:53 AM, Vampat said:

Thanks for your feedback.

The K50 is really a complete package and i will have to figure out what input is better. I have a good USB cable and a couple of HDMI cable, so i could compare both.

Is there a way to edit a post, i could remove the section where i mention cost...

Hi there just sent you a message