[NoahH]

Hi all - there is no DAC circle so hoping those one works well enough.

I have seen a few folks on here endorsing Musical Paradise amps. They are not a particularly common company, and I am having trouble figuring out if I should be looking more closely.

If there are any current or former MP owners on here, could you share your comparisons (even rough) to other DACs? If nothing else, just understanding if they compete in the class of Schiit, Holo, Weiss, etc would be helpful.

[Tyson]

I had the MP DAC for a while (fully upgraded with all options), it was a great DAC.  Wish I still had it but my house is a 1954 split ranch with no ground wiring at all on the main floor, and the MP didn't like not having a ground, making it noisy in my upstairs system.  What's crazy is my downstairs setup has proper ground wiring at the MP was fine, no noise.  But it was too big to fit in my audio rack downstairs.

Based on what I heard, I'd put it on par with DAC's like the Holo May.  I took the MP to a buddy of mine to measure it and it had just about textbook-perfect measurements.  For the level of performance it brings to the table it should retail for at least 3x what it does.

[Escott1377]

I currently own this DAC and it beat out my Cary 100t and MHDT Orchid.

I bought the ESS chip due to the AKM shortage.

I really enjoy the unit.  I am currently running with a pair of Dutch Amperex 6922’s and Jupiter copper in paper capacitors.

I searched thru a lot of DAC options and this has been my favorite. 

Tons of options on tubes and capacitors and I would recommend over the Schiit Yiggy. 

Is also handles DSD easily with Roon as my player.

I do not have experience with the other brands that you mentioned.

I also bought his pre and I am using a trio of Ken Rad black glass 6sn7’s and Mundorf Silver Supreme Oil caps.

This unit hits way about its weight class as well.

Good luck and have fun -

[NoahH]

Thanks all on the above!

[JackD]

Noah

I've owned an MP-D2 Mk I and now a Mk III Deluxe with the AKM 4497 chipset and the clock upgrade.  For the money it is a great piece of gear and I still periodically swap mine in for a while for a change of pace.  I swapped through dozens of pairs of input tubes and about a dozen different rectifiers over the years but never messed with the capacitors.  You can change the "end flavor" a pretty fair amount as there a endless options with tube and cap combos.  In the end it did not win out on a full time basis over the Aqua La Voce S3 or either the Holo Spring 3 or the May though it can give them a run for their money at a third and fourth of their price.  No comment on the ESS chipset in it as when I bought I had a choice of either and as always chose the AKM.

[NoahH]

Noah

I've owned an MP-D2 Mk I and now a Mk III Deluxe with the AKM 4497 chipset and the clock upgrade.  For the money it is a great piece of gear and I still periodically swap mine in for a while for a change of pace.  I swapped through dozens of pairs of input tubes and about a dozen different rectifiers over the years but never messed with the capacitors.  You can change the "end flavor" a pretty fair amount as there a endless options with tube and cap combos.  In the end it did not win out on a full time basis over the Aqua La Voce S3 or either the Holo Spring 3 or the May though it can give them a run for their money at a third and fourth of their price.  No comment on the ESS chipset in it as when I bought I had a choice of either and as always chose the AKM.

Jack - I really appreciate that info - super helpful!