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New Manhattan Dac from Mytek


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Ted-

 

A request when you review: give us some idea how good the preamp section is. That's an area often overlooked in reviews of DACS with a preamp or volume control. The price of the Manhattan is a bit out of my league, but I might go for it meant I could equal or come very close to the sound of a quality preamp.

 

Great post. Michal called me last night and we got caught up on a lot of things. I will be getting the Manhattan toward the end of July (today's prototype not quite ready for prime time). He shared some things with me about it's design (which I will share in the review as they will be public by then) but rest assured this is not simply a stereo 192 in bling clothing. Mytek has too big of a reputation in the pro world to simply do that. And the pre-orders are pretty astounding, so he is in good spirits on that front, but knows they need to finalize the production version asap. Stay tuned.

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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Bmoura & Ted_b - As you guys converse with the company, have you asked why they are unable to provide drivers that support A+ feature, integer mode, with firewire? I have personally contacted TC Electronics, and of course, as I am not their hardware customer (well actually I am, have a TCE Chorus pedal, but that is a different division), they blew me off. Damien (A+) has interfaced with other companies to assist with software needed for integer mode capabilities...seems like a natural for both Mytek and TCE, an easy feature add with little cost?

Tone with Soul

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  • 2 weeks later...

A few things in my mind regarding the new dac. It's a do or break for me.

 

I am a previous mytek strong supporter. They have great sound performance / price ratio. But I doubt the new dac is about that point.

 

So here comes

 

1) has mytek tighten up the spec of the dc voltage out from the RCA/xlr output? Or still hold the 'low dc out is not one of the design principle'?

 

2) has mytek get rid of the huge dc voltage put out on their output during power up? This dc almost blow my speaker if not my power amp.

 

3) what usb implementation is used to minimize effect of PC/usb/mac has on sound? Many good usb implementation already shift to Xmos base for good reason, Xmos windows driver is better implemented as well.

 

Till then, I will hold on to my new king of performance /price Vega. And welcome Micheal send me a unit of Manhatten for review :)

Speaker system:
RPI4B + Gentooplayer CLTO kernal + LMS (upnp plug-in) + Diretta host -> RPI4B + Gentooplayer CLTO kernal + Diretta Target -> Ansuz diamond USB -> Holo Red DDC -> DH Labs Silver Sonic hdmi 2.1 -> Holo May KTE I2S -> DIY silver wire balance -> Holo Bliss KTE -> Ansuz Diamond balance -> BAT Rex 500 -> ASI Ref speaker cable -> ASI Tango
HP:
HD600 moded, HE1000v1, airpod pro2, Sony WH-10000XM5

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A few things in my mind regarding the new dac. It's a do or break for me.

 

I am a previous mytek strong supporter. They have great sound performance / price ratio. But I doubt the new dac is about that point.

 

So here comes

 

1) has mytek tighten up the spec of the dc voltage out from the RCA/xlr output? Or still hold the 'low dc out is not one of the design principle'?

 

2) has mytek get rid of the huge dc voltage put out on their output during power up? This dc almost blow my speaker if not my power amp.

 

3) what usb implementation is used to minimize effect of PC/usb/mac has on sound? Many good usb implementation already shift to Xmos base for good reason, Xmos windows driver is better implemented as well.

 

Till then, I will hold on to my new king of performance /price Vega. And welcome Micheal send me a unit of Manhatten for review :)

 

1) I guess that if the new Mytek keeps the onboard preamp, the DC output will be similar to the existing.

Hopefully they will implement an easier way to dim it than using internal jumpers.

I had to open the unit and use the jumpers on mine.

 

2) Never had this kind of problem with mine...

 

3) Not able to answer on this one.

 

I guess that the Vega is and will remain a different beast compared to mytek... they have different sound signatures as Mytek doesn't want to design anything "euophonic".

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I don't see any bling on this unit at all. Zip. The fascia isn't expensive, and the dual metal seems very functional, though I don't like the idea of steel near the circuitry--maybe it's a very low-ferromagnetic type. And the pro features like WClock out are really nice. But yeah I'd like to know the basic design and some performance measurements before I put down for this. $4k (first 50 units) is very low for a SOTA DAC today. I had their ADDA 8/192 and found it to be an excellent piece, an almost perfect design and extremely inexpensive for its quality and functions.

 

I'd bet anything that Benchmark is working hard on a similar product, a reference AD/DA for pros to show off to clients and have a great workflow and SQ.

Mac Mini 2012 with 2.3 GHz i5 CPU and 16GB RAM running newest OS10.9x and Signalyst HQ Player software (occasionally JRMC), ethernet to Cisco SG100-08 GigE switch, ethernet to SOtM SMS100 Miniserver in audio room, sending via short 1/2 meter AQ Cinnamon USB to Oppo 105D, feeding balanced outputs to 2x Bel Canto S300 amps which vertically biamp ATC SCM20SL speakers, 2x Velodyne DD12+ subs. Each side is mounted vertically on 3-tiered Sound Anchor ADJ2 stands: ATC (top), amp (middle), sub (bottom), Mogami, Koala, Nordost, Mosaic cables, split at the preamp outputs with splitters. All transducers are thoroughly and lovingly time aligned for the listening position.

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  • 1 month later...
... I will be getting the Manhattan toward the end of July (today's prototype not quite ready for prime time). He shared some things with me about it's design (which I will share in the review as they will be public by then) but rest assured this is not simply a stereo 192 in bling clothing. ... Stay tuned.

 

Did you get your Manhattan ?

 

We are eager to read you initial feedback and... to know what is new and special in it's design :-)

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Did you get your Manhattan ?

 

We are eager to read you initial feedback and... to know what is new and special in it's design :-)

 

Not yet. I'll mention here when it arrives...thx

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Not yet. I'll mention here when it arrives...thx

 

Thanks.

 

May I dare to recommend to also focus on the Headphone AMP part, and to test it with various type of Headphone ?

 

Indeed, we are quite confident about Mytek able to manufacture TOL DACs, but can they also make a Serious Headphone amp ?

 

And will it be able to drive "hard to drive" headphones or will we need to add an external Headphone Amp for this: Most of the time, in the DAC/headphone combo, one of the 2 is the weak part ! :-(

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So...did someone already had a chance to listed to it ?

 

Also I will be interested to know if the Headphone out is really TOL or just an afterthought feature ?

 

Heard the Manhattan DAC at The Show in Newport Beach. They had it set up with the Stereo192-DSD DAC, each playing music files via headphones.

 

Very nice - quite a step up sonically from the Stereo192-DSD to my ears.

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Heard the Manhattan DAC at The Show in Newport Beach. They had it set up with the Stereo192-DSD DAC, each playing music files via headphones.

 

Very nice - quite a step up sonically from the Stereo192-DSD to my ears.

 

This is encouraging Since the the 192 is already very good DAC.

 

Can you remember what headphone they were using With the Manhatan ?

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So... it should be available...TODAY !!

 

Sort of. You can order one, and the website says it's "in stock," but it also says that "[o]rders placed on Aug 17 will ship by the end of September. Delivery time may change depending on demand, most of the 50 pcs designated for preorder have already been booked."

 

And there're only two more days to take advantage of the introductory price. Too bad I don't have an extra $4K lying around. Too bad Mytek hasn't posted more complete info on the website.

 

--David

Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details)

Office: Mac Pro >  AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305

Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5

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On the mytek US Store, it is writen:" We started building the first batch of 100pcs of the Manhattan DAC which will begin shipping on "first come, first served basis" on August 15, 2014 "

 

So... it should be available...TODAY !!

 

Looking forward to the comments from the early Manhattan DAC owners. I wonder if any of the first 50 are on CA.

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I am also looking for the firsts comments from firsts happy owners :-)

 

the first batch is supposed to have been shipped now. So...Please If Someone here got one, can he report on it ?

Also, can someone tell me where to download the user manual ? Indeed, I wonder if the dual SE headphone output can be used to create a single BALANCED headphone output(like resonessencelabs's INVICTA differential mode.) ?

thanks

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Here's an interesting You Tube video from Mytek with ARF Digital Mastering Engineer Alan Silverman and APS Mastering's Alan Saltz on their audition of the Mytek Manhattan DAC.

 

Silverman says the Manhattan bests the Mytek Stereo-DSD192 DAC while Saltz prefers it to a Meitner MA-1 DAC in the A/B comparisons played through an EMM Labs Switchman II.

 

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Silverman says the Manhattan bests the Mytek Stereo-DSD192 DAC

 

One would hope that at 3X the cost of the DSD192, the Manhattan would show some considerable improvements in sonics...not just the casework.

 

Though, there has been some recent experience in that regard with the Weiss DAC2 and Minerva...

Tone with Soul

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One would hope that at 3X the cost of the DSD192, the Manhattan would show some considerable improvements in sonics...not just the casework.

 

Though, there has been some recent experience in that regard with the Weiss DAC2 and Minerva...

 

The good news is that the Manhattan DAC does sound better than its predecessor. No question.

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The good news is that the Manhattan DAC does sound better than its predecessor. No question.

 

Good news...maybe.

 

The question is (at least in my mind) how much better than the DSD192 does it sound?

 

Always hard to equate $s to SQ, but we are discussing a DAC that is more than 3X its older sibling.

Tone with Soul

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I hope Mytek support is better than it appears to be for those considering a $5k DAC. When I was researching DACs a month or two ago before I bought my exaSounds I send Mytek an email with some pre-sale questions about the Manhattan and never got a response. Made my decision easy.

 

exaSound is very responsive with pre-sale questions and support. Not to mention their constant updating and enhancing software drivers and features. That has a lot to do with their continued success in the market.

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