Musical Paradise MP-D2 AK4490 XMOS Balanced DAC DSD DOP 384Khz

djd · « **Reply #120 on:** 20 Sep 2017, 01:57 pm »

Hey guys , I got the dac yesterday and wow its very nice sounding even after an hour of burning , I did change the E88cc tube right away to a Philips SQ NOS tube. The rectifier is next when i get my hands next week on a amperex bugle boy for 1963 production.
Will let you know my impressions .
Im comparing to Mytek DSD dac .
Talking about DSD files .. Not sure but do need to download to this new dac a file or driver ? { I'm running with a macbook/ Roon } . cant get the DSD light to turn on ? i guess its supposed to right !
I can the file plays in all but no confirmation so is it PCM or DSD ? , and the lack of instructions on this dac is ridiculous.
Now i see some Italian made dongle board to download a new software program zip file available or updated as of yesterday on line
I mean i have you remove a Xmos chip physical from this dac and reprogram it on the this thing ! if i replace the AKM chip for a ES chip
A bit much .
Can anyone help me or comment
thxs in advance

djd · « **Reply #121 on:** 21 Sep 2017, 01:49 pm »

solved my issue .. thxs guys for your help .. NOT

LMAO talking to myself on this crappy :duh:forum

Back to a good forum " Computer Audiophile "

mresseguie · « **Reply #122 on:** 21 Sep 2017, 03:53 pm »

Djd,

On behalf of the folks at AC I'd like to express my condolences to you for failing to live up to your expectations. It may come as a shock to you that the fine and normally helpful folks who populate this forum actually have lives, responsibilities, hobbies, and activities that prevent them from spending 24/7 on this particular thread.

Kindest regards always,

Michael

bacobits1 · « **Reply #123 on:** 21 Sep 2017, 05:08 pm »

djd
you have been here since 2007. 8 posts? A real contributor.
Tells me you know everything..............C YA!
You don't want to be over at CA!!!!!!!!!!!

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #124 on:** 21 Sep 2017, 05:15 pm »

Quote from: djd on 21 Sep 2017, 01:49 pm

solved my issue .. thxs guys for your help .. NOT

LMAO talking to myself on this crappy :duh:forum

Back to a good forum " Computer Audiophile "

Wow, it's a good thing you're not my lawyer, boss, or friend. Sometimes they have to wait a few days before I even see their email. And then I might take a day or two to think about it before I even respond.

PS: I hope we're never driving down the same highway together. I hate to be in your way.

Tyson · « **Reply #125 on:** 21 Sep 2017, 11:25 pm »

Quote from: djd on 21 Sep 2017, 01:49 pm

solved my issue .. thxs guys for your help .. NOT

LMAO talking to myself on this crappy :duh:forum

Back to a good forum " Computer Audiophile "

Jackass.

JakeJ · « **Reply #126 on:** 22 Sep 2017, 12:38 am »

Moderator, clean-up in aisle 7, please.

toddbagwell · « **Reply #127 on:** 22 Sep 2017, 03:52 am »

Guys , please keep things civil. We are all here because we chose to be here, we are not manufacturer support, nor do we pretend to be.

Todd

Scotlynn · « **Reply #128 on:** 26 Sep 2017, 09:56 pm »

Just took delivery of this dac yesterday and set it up this morning. I purchased on the glowing reviews here and elsewhere and decided to go with the stock unit as I have a bunch of good tubes here and am undecided about what capacitors I might want to install and figured I'd get a feel for the sound first. I'm using Windows 10 with jriver and usb out to the dac. Source files are all flacs, both 16 and 24 bit, and a number of dsd files. I'm running it unbalanced, low gain to my Emotive Sira preamp. Amps are Carver Cherry 180's. Lots of tubes!!!!

I know I'm firmly in the minority and am literally only about 4 hours into a stock unit, but so far I am not real happy.

Good bottom end, certainly a lot of warm tube sound (too much, and I'm a tube guy!), but flat midrange and no high end. Mud comes to mind. My dsd files sound terrible - no sparkle! This is replacing a relatively cheap Teac UD 301 and the Teac sounded much better. Of course, not giving up yet. I was going to hold off on tube rolling but I think I'm going to have to pop the hood asap. I have one of those mislabeled Phillips 5V4GA (really a 5AR4) that I'll install and then may try out some EH 6922's. I also have some NOS Tesla ECC88's and Mullard 12AU7's I may try. Also waiting on delivery on Voskhod 6N1P-EV's. I need to brighten this baby up, so any capacitor recommendations greatly appreciated. I was thinking of the Audyn True Coppers (if they fit) but am willing to try others.

I'm sure I'll get it to a good, hopefully great, place - after all I've read about this dac, I must be doing something wrong here to be so disappointed!

mresseguie · « **Reply #129 on:** 27 Sep 2017, 12:52 am »

Hi, Scott.

I don't own one of these, but in my somewhat limited experience with DACs I've learned to burn them in for 200 hours before I even think I know how it sounds. The Venus DAC I auditioned didn't open up until after 250 hours. [Just two years ago I still thought burn in was BS. Oh, how wrong I was.]

Michael

JakeJ · « **Reply #130 on:** 27 Sep 2017, 01:03 am »

I'm with Michael, break-in is important and four hours is hardly time for the unit to fully warm up. If you can give it signal for 200 hours and let it burn in you should be rewarded. I bought mine used and just needed to run it for about 50 hours to get it relaxed again. That said like all equipment it has a presentation that may differ from what you are used to. What DAC were you using brfore?

Scotlynn · « **Reply #131 on:** 27 Sep 2017, 01:23 am »

You guys are undoubtedly right about the break in and I'll certainly stick with it. Like I said, with all the great write ups by so many folks I am confident that it'll get there. I am very eager to see what this unit does with switching out the stock tubes and then I'll let it run for several days and see where I am.

I was using a little Teac UD 301 before. I was never much into computer audio, instead listening to vinyl or my Sony Modwright for digital. The Teac was fine, but am hoping that the MP represents a big step up when all is said and done!

Thanks for the responses!

mresseguie · « **Reply #132 on:** 27 Sep 2017, 01:36 am »

Scott,

I really enjoyed the sound Jake's MP-D2 made a couple months ago at gregfisk's G2G. If you're still not satisfied with its sound after your unit burns in, I'd enthusiastically recommend trying his mods. If I owned one, I would try his mods (or I might try Jupiter Cu caps cuz I like them!).

Michael

JakeJ · « **Reply #133 on:** 27 Sep 2017, 12:01 pm »

It must be noted I am not running the stock tubes along with the cap upgrade. I am using an old stock Mullard 5AR4 and a quad of matched, cryo'd JJE88CC from Cryoset. Big difference in sound from the stock. The caps I am using are the Mundorf Supreme Silver/Gold/Oil as recommended by MP.

Scotlynn · « **Reply #134 on:** 29 Sep 2017, 03:51 pm »

Been trying to get this somewhere but not working out. Bloated low end, drab midrange and completely muted highs. Unlistenable. On my dsd files, I had to turn my volume up to about 3 o'clock to get the same volume level I was getting at 9 o'clock on my Teac. I switched out the rectifier with a NOS Phillips and put some EH 6922 gold pins in for signal tubes, thinking that maybe it was the stock tubes - some improvement, but not enough to make me want to listen to this unit.

I contacted Garry - he recommended switching to high gain and using foobar. I did both. Again, some minor improvement. I can now get some decent volume with dsd's at 2 o'clock. But foobar made no appreciable difference, so sticking wih jriver for now. Sound is still very muted and muddy. I just switched back in my Teac and there is no comparison.

I'd love to make this work and have to imagine I'm doing something wrong here given all the positive reviews of this dac. The lack of volume alone makes me think there's something fundamentally wrong. Wrong ASIO driver? Wrong tubes? Defective unit? Thinking of returning it at this point, but thought I'd check in with you guys first to see if you had any ideas.

JakeJ · « **Reply #135 on:** 30 Sep 2017, 01:30 am »

Wow, really sorry to hear this. Question, are you using the preamp section with the DAC? I use mine stand alone and pipe it into my tube preamp via balanced cables (+6 dB).

gtube · « **Reply #136 on:** 5 Oct 2017, 06:10 am »

With stock 6H6 tube, RCA output of MP-D2 is about 2.3V RMS(L mode) and 4.6V RMS(H mode) at regular 47K-100k load. Unless Emotive Sira preamp has <10K non standard input impedance, the volume of MP-D2 should not be lower than TEAC (opamp ouput). Regarding DSD, MP-D2 AK4490 runs at native DSD mode (bypassing PCM conversion and volume control), so it is usually about 6db lower than PCM. This is DSD recording standard to allow more headroom for high dynamic range recording. If Emotive Sira preamp uses a non standard <10K volume control pot, then it is not quite compatible unless you change it to a standard 50K or 100K volume control. Most of the preamp and integrated amps should have a 47K to 250K input impedance. Second thing is, according to TEAC UD-301 specs, its output is +14dbu which is 3.88VRMS which is way over CD line level 2VRMS standard.

BTW, new MP-D2 MK2 with ES9038pro and AK4497 have same PCM and DSD output line level, so they could work better for systems do not have enough gain, or don't want to adjust volume a bit higher when playing DSD.

Thanks,
Garry

JakeJ · « **Reply #137 on:** 5 Oct 2017, 12:01 pm »

Good information, thanks Garry.

pis99 · « **Reply #138 on:** 5 Oct 2017, 01:17 pm »

Hi Garry,

Is their a way for owners of original MP-D2 to upgrade to MK2 status? I understand it may not be cheap but still want to know the feasibility.

Thanks

Quote from: gtube on 5 Oct 2017, 06:10 am

With stock 6H6 tube, RCA output of MP-D2 is about 2.3V RMS(L mode) and 4.6V RMS(H mode) at regular 47K-100k load. Unless Emotive Sira preamp has <10K non standard input impedance, the volume of MP-D2 should not be lower than TEAC (opamp ouput). Regarding DSD, MP-D2 AK4490 runs at native DSD mode (bypassing PCM conversion and volume control), so it is usually about 6db lower than PCM. This is DSD recording standard to allow more headroom for high dynamic range recording. If Emotive Sira preamp uses a non standard <10K volume control pot, then it is not quite compatible unless you change it to a standard 50K or 100K volume control. Most of the preamp and integrated amps should have a 47K to 250K input impedance. Second thing is, according to TEAC UD-301 specs, its output is +14dbu which is 3.88VRMS which is way over CD line level 2VRMS standard.

BTW, new MP-D2 MK2 with ES9038pro and AK4497 have same PCM and DSD output line level, so they could work better for systems do not have enough gain, or don't want to adjust volume a bit higher when playing DSD.

Thanks,
Garry

gtube · « **Reply #139 on:** 5 Oct 2017, 05:12 pm »

Hi pis99,
There are two upgrade options right now.
1. For whom can do soldering work, we can supply a half finished MK2 motherboard for $110USD. Shipping is included. The half finished MK2 motherboard has all surface mount parts and module mount pre-soldered. The user just needs to move the rest through holes parts from the original motherboard to the new one. This is a DIY low cost solution. It is not hard if you know soldering. Do it at your risk. No warranty.

2. For whom has no soldering experience, he can ship the whole unit or motherboard back to Edmonton, Canada for upgrade. The cost is $250USD. He also needs to pay actual two-way shipping cost and duties/taxes if shipped from outside Canada.

AK4497 or/and ES9038pro modules are also required for both options. They are sold separately.

Thanks,
Garry