Mytek Stereo 192

[57gold]

So, have only heard it twice. Reminds me of "Moodswings" which is my favorite Josh recording, a good thing. Denser arrangements and deeper grooves versus Moddswings' more open feel. I guess it's technically not a Redman set, but a band one.

 

Best new to me jazz is Ambrose Akinmusire’s Blue Note debut "When The Heart Emerges Glistening"; really killer, engaging stuff.

 

Vintage King sent a Mytek 24/96 DAC manual???

 

Luckily, there is a DSD 192 online at Mytek.

 

 

[orgel]

57gold wrote:

 

"Vintage King sent a Mytek 24/96 DAC manual???"

 

Other than sending you the wrong manual, do you have a positive impression of Vintage King? I'm thinking I'll get my Mytek from them -- The price is right and they have a good return policy, but I've never bought anything there before.

 

--David

 

[57gold]

Salesman was cool, a guy named Peter 212-874-0046.

 

Because of long lead time, paid shipping, that was on top of a great March 2011 price.

 

Cool folks, guessing that shipping dept wasn't supplied written manuals.

 

I'd buy from them again.

 

Listening to Christian Mc Bride's very classic jazz "Gettin' to It" and this Mytek makes music. Standup bass, plucked and bowed, sounds great, actually more than great, with snap and pitch definition and the piano, even the high register hit hard, sounds sweet. Also digging the cymbals, more clarity than Wadia.

 

Listen to John Mellancamp's "Whenever We Wanted", an album with David Grissom on guitar (an Austin great) and Kenny Aronoff on drums that just kills, and I am not a JCM big fan. But guy has great taste in musicians. Some of the best electric roack guitar tones ever. Kicked some butt.

 

Sensing some quickness to this unit, if that makes sense? When C Mc B slaps on his bass strings, it comes through in a snap with great attack.

 

 

 

[orgel]

57gold wrote:

 

"Standup bass, plucked and bowed, sounds great, actually more than great, with snap and pitch definition and the piano, even the high register hit hard, sounds sweet. Also digging the cymbals, more clarity than Wadia."

 

Excellent feedback (and validation) for me, since that's the kind of music I've mostly been listening to lately. And this is on a unit that came out of the box today? I may just pull the trigger tonight. Bill Evans and I thank you.

 

And thanks for the Vintage King endorsement.

 

--David

 

[57gold]

But using Gordon's WaveLink w/AQ Coffee USB/Black Cat Veloce BNC and Audirvana + into BNC input. Not sure what USB2 or FW input sound like.

 

Could be that Gordon's magic code, clock and overall coolness...are contributing to the extreme musicality I getting with a cold, unbroken in unit.

 

Playing Lucinda Williams' "Lake Charles" from "Gravel Road"...killin'. Tell me you (all of you), have this disc.

 

Jimi just did live "Little Wing" from box set, very nice performance vibe...had to genuflect!

 

[ted_b]

Do you notice any difference with RCA outputs vs XLR? My unit has a substantial difference, with XLR easily clearer and more dynamic. I'm using very good cables on both, but no comparison. Due to this, I have to rethink and re-explore my comments about the Mytek's remote analog out (currently in bypass mode), cuz I was using RCA to go direct. My monoblocks accept both but currently my Furutech Ref III 6 meter cabling is RCA due to my Concert Fidelity preamp (at the time) being single ended only. Now that I am comparing both Antelope and Mytek I dragged out the wonderfully transparent Music First (Bent) TAP passive/active TVC (S&B windings) which handles both single ended and balanced. Also, break-in over the past week has been substantial (first week or so not so much).

 

Amazing you mentioned Lucinda and Lake Charles!! I just listened to Car Wheels it in its entirety last night (from like 12:30-1:15am)!! I couldn't "put it down". I love love that album, always have, and use it to test tonality/timbre as well. This time I was trying to test timbre when the music overtook me.

 

[57gold]

Some cables called Yamamura 5000 balanced...made by a guru of Japanese audio who dissappeared. Used "magical"/prorietary components, geometry, insulation, natural fibers...think they are wrapped in silk. Tried a bunch of cables about 15 years ago, WireWorld, Magnan, Siltech...and these just sounded more musical. They are 5 meters long...so I haven't tired any new flavors of cables...RCA or XLR.

 

Sold preamp long ago...direct into McCormack DNA 500. Plenty of drive, dynamics and color with Mytek. Don't understand why all new CA DACs don't have built in attenuators and need preamps to alter their signals with added circuitry.

 

Lucinda, Steve Earle, Emmy Lou, Buddy Miller...all great performers. Some pretty nice sounding recordings, as well.

 

 

 

[orgel]

57gold wrote:

 

"Just out of the box...

But using Gordon's WaveLink w/AQ Coffee USB/Black Cat Veloce BNC and Audirvana + into BNC input. Not sure what USB2 or FW input sound like."

 

I went ahead and ordered a Mytek. Been moving in that direction for a couple of months, and the time seemed right.

 

I was thinking I'd try connecting via FireWire first. I was going to try a modestly priced cable with the power lead disconnected and see how/if that worked.

 

I hadn't been planning on it, but owing to a somewhat weird set of circumstances, it's likely I'll also be trying an Audiophilleo2. I hope it doesn't sound a whole lot better than FireWire (or direct USB), because the master plan is that the Audiophilleo will end up as part of a friend's system and not as an unexpected component of my DAC budget. Time will tell.

 

Now to wait with bated breath for my tracking info to show up from Vintage King.

 

--David

 

[ted_b]

However, a powerless FW cable doesn't seem to work (I tried and reported on a 6 to 4 pin, with 9 pin adapter..thus making it powerless from my late 2009 Mac Mini). No go. A decent 6pin-9 pin $38 Granite Audio fw cable works great though.

 

Keep in mind that unless the Wavelinks and Audiophileos of the world support dCS's DSD-over-USB you will be unable to do DSD via them. But Linux, yep!

 

Ted

 

[57gold]

Don't see a FW cable on Granite site?

 

Don't know how to get DSD files on my computer...other than some PS3 mod BS?

 

[ted_b]

http://www.granitedigital.com/firewire1394-b3ft6pinto9pinwithled.aspx

 

Wow, PS3 BS? Really?

 

[57gold]

About DSD, read some junk here about some hack of an obsolete version of the PS 3...that will output DSD.

 

Don't have any SACDs or files...and haven't seen any new jazz or alt country or anything I would buy on SACD/DSD (have purchased mutliple versions Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Elton John remasters...and will never buy them again in any format as I have stopped going backwards musically/supporting guys who live in castles, ranches or have there own islands and haven't done anything worthwhile in a couple of decades).

 

So, will wait till there is something new and available to non-hackers on DSD before I go there.

 

Thanks for link, ferrite things look a bit strange for audio?

 

[barrows]

Respectfully... David Gilmour has played some great music in the last few years, perhaps his most recent compositions have not been outstanding, but the performances on his most recent tour were exceptional by any standard-he was certainly not just phoning it in.

 

[57gold]

Was doing a Yanni like show...goofy string arrangements, reworked PF tunes with failed attempts at grandeur (they are stoner rock tunes to get high to, nothing more, remember them being newly released and played in a smokey fog), and performance was full of simplistic pentatonic riffing by DG.

 

Great guitar tone, as always, but not much going on musically.

 

Kinda disappointing for me. But, respect others' who dig it.

 

My wife can't stand bebop/post bebop..."headache jazz" nor most alt country stuff "sounds like a bunch of whiners". I love 'em both...we still live in the same house!

 

 

 

[orgel]

ted_b wrote:

 

"However, a powerless FW cable doesn't seem to work (I tried and reported on a 6 to 4 pin, with 9 pin adapter..thus making it powerless from my late 2009 Mac Mini). No go."

 

Many thanks, Ted. You saved me $50 and a lot of frustration.

 

"Keep in mind that unless the Wavelinks and Audiophileos of the world support dCS's DSD-over-USB you will be unable to do DSD via them."

 

Aha, another missing piece of the puzzle. That's cool, since my intent is not to become attached to the Audiophilleo -- it's just passing through. I don't currently have any DSD files, but I certainly mean to try some. I'm also hoping the fine folks at Channel D will eventually come up with a way for PM and the DAC to handle .iso SACD rips ... but maybe I'm dreaming.

 

From my reading of the Mytek literature, DSD over Fire Wire is do-able. That right, isn't it?

 

--David

 

 

 

 

 

[barrows]

"Great guitar tone, as always, but not much going on musically."

 

just have to disagree with you here (the second part).

 

While I love complex music, just because something is simplistic, does not mean it is not musically relevant or powerful. In some ways, perhaps it is more difficult to be simple and convey a powerful relevance...

 

[ted_b]

And Pure Music already supports DSD. SACD iso's can easily be extracted by SACD-extract.exe. Then played on PM.

 

[orgel]

Off topic but couldn't resist ...

 

57gold wrote:

 

"Don't have any SACDs or files...and haven't seen any new jazz or alt country or anything I would buy on SACD/DSD (have purchased mutliple versions Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Elton John remasters...and will never buy them again in any format as I have stopped going backwards musically/supporting guys who live in castles, ranches or have there own islands and haven't done anything worthwhile in a couple of decades)."

 

Hey, don't hate them because they're rich. I had the pleasure of a front-row seat for Becker, Fagen et al. at DAR Constitution Hall about a year ago, and it was the best rock concert I've ever been to, going back to the 60s. Plus the SHM-SACD of Gaucho is mighty fine. (Yes, I've got my Steely Dan t-shirt.)

 

If that doesn't whet your appetite for DSD, Blue Coast Records has DSD files for download, including some free samples. I'm pretty sure none of those cats live in castles.

 

--David

 

[orgel]

ted_b wrote:

 

"Yes I'm listening to DSD over FireWire as I type this on my iPad"

 

Sweet. I'm looking forward to it, and hopeful that record companies (or whatever you call 'em these days) sitting on a pile of SACD content will decide to make it available as downloadable DSD's.

 

Sorry to belabor a point, but my Oppo BDP-93 can output DSD via SPDIF (coax). Am I right in thinking the Mytek won't be able to handle that? (Not a major tragedy, since the Oppo can also convert DSD to PCM prior to output, and I don't have all that many SACD's.)

 

"And Pure Music already supports DSD."

 

That much I knew. I was hoping for a way to just load up a whole .iso.

 

"SACD iso's can easily be extracted by SACD-extract.exe."

 

Anything ending in .exe is against my religion, but I guess there's always a chance of epiphany (or something Mac native).

 

--David

 

 

[pacwin]

Your Oppo cannot output DSD over SPDIF. Nothing does. DSD would go over SDIF2/SDIF3, various optical and other professional protocols in addition to USB and Firewire and HDMI.The Oppo and many other players outputs DSD over HDMI and various limited resolution PCM via the SPDIF out. There is no HDMI input on the Mytek more's the pity. Note many receivers cannot process DSD anyways they will convert it to PCM, in some cases low bitrate PCM depending on the DSP horsepower of the receiver and the number of channels. If you have your computer audio setup done properly feeding into the Mytek DAC, you wont need your Oppo you will be able to pack it away. All silver discs can be played or viewed from a computer.

 

There is DSD content emerging:

E-Onkyo http://music.e-onkyo.com/artist/m101210_R.asp (If you can navigate the Japanese you can download internationally here)

 

Downloads Now: http://www.downloadsnow.net/ . This latter site has relatively unknown performers and the download cost is high. You could buy two or more physical SACD's for the value of one download.

 

Personally I dont want DSD downloads. Nothing to collect and nothing to resell, no backup. I would like DSD on DVD-ROM or Blu-Ray data disc (especially rfor collected works etc), complete with cover art, booklet super jewel case etc. If Mytek sells enough of their DACS someone might wise up.

 

 

 

[pacwin]

In the past year or so there have been excellent jazz releases on Village Records, Linn Records, Verve Japan, Siba Records, Warner Japan, Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band, Impex Records, Audiomax, Sony Music, Evosound, Neos, Opus3 plus hundreds of high end analogue reissues from Analogue Productions, Universal Japan and elsewhere such as Mobile Fidelity. Alt country is however a bit lacking in output. The reality is that "classical music" (with its hundreds of genres) is where most high end production takes place. If you want to do high resolution computer audio one needs to broaden one's musical tastes as well.

 

[orgel]

pacwin wrote:

 

"Your Oppo cannot output DSD over SPDIF. Nothing does. "

 

Oops. Should've RTFM rather than looking at the back panel and making assumptions based on what it does over HDMI. Thanks for the education. I guess I'll leave the BDP-93 hooked up via HDMI directly to the receiver. Kind of a bummer, but at least that way I can continue to get up to 24/192 playback from the Oppo, and the AVR's internal DAC happily converts DSD to PCM (at 88.2).

 

"If you have your computer audio setup done properly feeding into the Mytek DAC, you wont need your Oppo you will be able to pack it away. All silver discs can be played or viewed from a computer."

 

I get the idea, but I think I'll keep the Oppo around for a while. If a friend comes over with a disc, or a new disc is sitting in a box on my doorstep when I get home from work, it's handy to have around. Plus my 2011 mini doesn't currently have a CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive connected. In light of this new and tragic discovery, I may need to rethink that.

 

--David

 

 

 

 

 

[57gold]

Love their early work, to quote Glenn Frey who I met on a flight to Kauai, they are "Legacy Acts".

 

I work hard to make as much as I can, so no problems with rich people, am well-to-do, rather be rich. Just commenting on a couple of issues that bother me and traps that I have fallen into...realized I was buying my 4th copy of "Exile on Main Street" (LP upon release, CD when bought first CD player, first remaster, 2010 remaster...which by the way sounds like crap, mixed by a guy with high frequency hearing loss...though new songs/alt takes are interesting) and while I ripped 1,800 discs this year, can say the same about Zep, Steely Dan, The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd...

 

Come to realize that "legacy acts" aren't where it's at, there is great new music that is hard to find, because the radio, if it plays any rock, is wed to the "cultural tyranny of the baby boomers" and accessing their wallets. And the majority of Americans like what they know (reason why Mac Donalds thrives, it's not the quality of their food...its just the same everywhere). Even my jazz averse wife called the local rock channel the "Dark Side of the Led Zep meets Skynyrd on a Journey station". No matter when you turn it on, more than 50% chance you get one of the above, again, and only from the greatest hits collection, at that.

 

Listening to Pat Metheny's "Day Trip" , a great trio album with C Mc Bride and a killer young drummer Antonio Sanchez, on the Mytek after having it on all last night..straight ahead Pat playing his butt off. It sounds great, notice the details that Barrows expected me to hear...bass better defined and tuneful, the drum set is in my music room, rim shots sound more real and dynamic with a ring after the impact that is very cool...not sure if all this goodness at frequency extremes is making me feel like I'm missing some of the mid band richness of the Wadia. Will have to listen to some sax and voices next.

 

Saw Pat in NYC last month at the Blue Note in a duet show with Larry Grenadier on bass...if you get a chance, the guy in this format plays his heart out, can't lay back and let the band play and throw in a few signature riffs. Bought a signed copy of his transcription of "Day Trip"...thought I was getting better on guitar...am, but have a long way to get near Pat's playing and mastery of jazz vernacular. He's a late baby boomer who is better now than in his legacy days (first saw him in 1977), keeps on working...guess he doesn't have a castle or island yet and doesn't live on celebrity and an ancient catalogue of pop tunes.

 

[zerung]

Two issues.

1. The gain on the Mytek DSD is very high. I have bypassed the preamp section and pumping this straight to the Wavac PRT1. Any other way of lowering the gain further.

2. As noted earlier by others, the Low register is bloody messy via DSD. I think this is very very related to the burning in process? Also the PCM handles the lower register better than the DSD section. I cannot understand this.

 

The DAC generally is very promising. The sound is seems to be suspended in a black hole holographic, the noise floor seems to have caved in and the eery silence is broken by some lovely sound being pumped via Audirvana Plus Beta. The mid and the top is lovely. The cymbal test is passed in flying colour, the shimmer of the sound being sustained for a nano second longer is very delectable. The above sound is via the PCM High Rez files. The DSD is via FW, shame the USB2 DSD does not work. Once the Base is tighter, there should be a quantum confluence of the whole spectrum of sound and music should be fantastic.

 

DSD files are converted from SACD via PS3.

 

Still holding out on congratulating Mytek for a job well done.

 

[57gold]

Have unit on a Mapleshade thick stand on big ass brass cones...buddy brought his Mapleshade junk over a few years back to put under my Wadia...thought he was nuts when he said that frequency extremes would improve, better imaging and clarity. He was right, my son walked in post Mapleshade "wow Dad, what did you do, music sounds way better?"

 

Anyways, listening to Mark Knopfler "Golden Heart", lots of deep ass bass on that record. Swings clearly and with great pitch definition.

 

At $1500...think Mytek has hit a home run...never heard the $6500 Weiss, but with all this functionality and the music I'm listening to on second day of break in, I'm ready to congratulate the Mytek guy/s. Though I haven't put on a crappy quality recording yet...might hurt with all this clarity goin' on.

 

Wondering what Michal could do with a couple of Gs more in his budget?