Finally...A basic DAC from Mytek

[exdmd]

4 hours ago, TonyH said:

Hi guys,

 

 

As the owner of a Mytek Stereo 192-DSD DAC Preamp and looking to upgrade, I am interested in the Brooklyn+ and the Liberty. Do you think the either of these would be enough of a SQ upgrade to warrant the cost ?

 

 

Either one would be. My Liberty is not fully broken in yet but SQ is close to my Brooklyn DAC+. For best SQ with either DAC you do need an external LPS so factor in that cost: minimum would be an Sbooster at about $375. The Liberty is a solid value; you just need to determine if you need the extra features the DAC+ offers.

[Kilauea50]

39 minutes ago, exdmd said:

 

Either one would be. My Liberty is not fully broken in yet but SQ is close to my Brooklyn DAC+. For best SQ with either DAC you do need an external LPS so factor in that cost: minimum would be an Sbooster at about $375. The Liberty is a solid value; you just need to determine if you need the extra features the DAC+ offers.

+1 on the LPS. I have an Uptone JS-2 powering the Liberty and an ultraRendu. I can't say enough about that power supply

[maelob]

I am always looking for value, would something like this work as an external LPS for the Liberty?, it is 12v 6A

https://www.parts-express.com/12-vdc-6a-switching-grounded-ac-power-adapter-with-25-x-55mm-center-plug--120-079

 

 

 

 

[exdmd]

13 hours ago, maelob said:

I am always looking for value, would something like this work as an external LPS for the Liberty?, it is 12v 6A

https://www.parts-express.com/12-vdc-6a-switching-grounded-ac-power-adapter-with-25-x-55mm-center-plug--120-079

 

 

 

 

 

It's a switching power supply; not linear power supply.

[maelob]

On 7/4/2018 at 5:53 AM, exdmd said:

 

It's a switching power supply; not linear power supply.

 

oops LOL thanks for the clarification

[mrvco]

Has anyone been able to compare the Liberty and/or Brooklyn/+ DACs with the Metrum Amethyst or Onyx DACs?

[Ralf11]

I wish someone would...

 

OTOH, ""forward correction technology”. Due to this technology a real 24 bits performance is realized ..."  makes me a little squirrelly about that one...

[Cortes]

21 hours ago, mrvco said:

Has anyone been able to compare the Liberty and/or Brooklyn/+ DACs with the Metrum Amethyst or Onyx DACs?

 

From what I've read about NOS ... probably Metrum dacs are in the opposite sonorous spectrum of Mytek's sabre  dacs. 

 

 

[Nondual]

Anyone with Mytek Liberty and SBooster LPS tried 13.2V setting? I heard this is recommended voltage for Mytek Brooklyn+, but wondering if it is safe to set it that high for Mytek Liberty..

[arcman]

Has anyone compared the Liberty to the Pro-Ject S2 side by side?

[creativepart]

1 hour ago, arcman said:

Has anyone compared the Liberty to the Pro-Ject S2 side by side?

Watching this thread for this question, too.

[geronimo1958]

In a review of the Mytek Liberty in this article

 

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/amplifier/mytek-liberty-dac-headphone-amplifier-review/

 

There is a reference to

 

"Additional “one function” Liberty line products are anticipated later this year."

 

Does anyone know what this may be referring to?

[OldBigEars]

On 5/18/2018 at 9:26 AM, exdmd said:

 

Either one would be. My Liberty is not fully broken in yet but SQ is close to my Brooklyn DAC+. For best SQ with either DAC you do need an external LPS so factor in that cost: minimum would be an Sbooster at about $375. The Liberty is a solid value; you just need to determine if you need the extra features the DAC+ offers.

 

Hi, would love an update.  Do you still feel that the Liberty and Brooklyn DAC+ are close in terms of SQ, when both are powered by an external LPS?  What's your source?

[exdmd]

The Liberty is a bargain, as long as you can live without the extra features that come with the DAC+. I would say sound quality is very close to the DAC+ when used with an external amp. The built in head amp is on a par with a Schiit Magni 3. For best SQ you really do need the outboard LPS though. Sources are Tidal or locally stored files.

[Sampitroda]

On 8/27/2018 at 4:26 PM, Nondual said:

Anyone with Mytek Liberty and SBooster LPS tried 13.2V setting? I heard this is recommended voltage for Mytek Brooklyn+, but wondering if it is safe to set it that high for Mytek Liberty..

 

Here is what I received from Sbooster support:

 

With the new MKII power supply you can use all the three DC output voltage settings with Mytek Liberty DAC, but 13.5V for the Liberty DAC is not advised by Mytek. The best DC output settings for the Mytek Liberty/Brooklyn DACs are in our opinion 12V or 13V anyway. 

 

The MKI power supply was mostly used on the 13.2V DC output setting. The new MKII power supply outputs  at the 13V setting almost the same voltage as the ‘old’ 13.2V setting of the MKI units, so 13V is a perfect option to start with.

 

For the break-in period of (at least 100 hours to 4 weeks, see manual) our advice is to set the power supply to 13V or 12V. If you break-in the power supply on 13V, you have to break-in the 12V setting also for a couple of days afterwards. This because the electronic circuit to generate the 12V or 13V output voltage are independent of each other. 

    

We hope that this information helps and if you have further questions, please let us know.

 

Have a nice day.

 

Met vriendelijke groet/ Kind regards,

Sbooster

 

 

Wiebren Draaijer

[arcman]

Has anyone compared the Liberty to the Pro-Ject S2 side by side

 

Steven Stone reviewed the Pro-Ject S2 in the latest TAS and compared the Liberty Dac. Paraphrasing, Steven stated the S2 was not a big step downwards from the Liberty, more like a sideways step. 

[Kilauea50]

2 hours ago, arcman said:

Has anyone compared the Liberty to the Pro-Ject S2 side by side

 

Steven Stone reviewed the Pro-Ject S2 in the latest TAS and compared the Liberty Dac. Paraphrasing, Steven stated the S2 was not a big step downwards from the Liberty, more like a sideways step. 

I have had both.  While the S2 does sound good, the build quality is horrible.  I have had 3.  The usb just stops working.  The first unit was playing and suddenly I had no music. I had not touched it since it was connected to a preamp.  I moved it to make sure the cable was plugged in ok and the whole jack fell out.  Audio Advisor replaced it and the second unit lasted about 6 weeks before the USB just stopped working.  I sent it back and they replaced it under warranty.  I decided then to get the Liberty.  The build quality is just so much better.  I saw a number of posts on the Roon forums of the S2 jack failing.  I would encourage you to get the Liberty if the $500 is doable

[arcman]

2 hours ago, Kilauea50 said:

I have had both.  While the S2 does sound good, the build quality is horrible.  I have had 3.  The usb just stops working.  The first unit was playing and suddenly I had no music. I had not touched it since it was connected to a preamp.  I moved it to make sure the cable was plugged in ok and the whole jack fell out.  Audio Advisor replaced it and the second unit lasted about 6 weeks before the USB just stopped working.  I sent it back and they replaced it under warranty.  I decided then to get the Liberty.  The build quality is just so much better.  I saw a number of posts on the Roon forums of the S2 jack failing.  I would encourage you to get the Liberty if the $500 is doable

Actually, my next one may be a Brooklyn level dac. I like the digital readout. Not that the S2 is exactly easy to see from a distance without binoculars. My S@ seems built like a tank. I've plugged, unplugged and moved numerous times trying it on different systems.  I have an early version, so quality control may have had more of a focus with initial run of units. Good to know you like the Lyberty

[creativepart]

I see no build quality issues with the S2. Perhaps folks are using it as a portable? I keep mine on my desk, directly under my iMac screen. I run it from a SoTM SMS-200 via USB. So, it's network cable from the router about 8' away from the desk, to the SMS-200 on my desk via Audioquest USB to the S2. From there the S2 is connected via 10' RCA cables to my Musical Fidelity A5 Amp.

 

I switched to Roon about 4 months ago and love the way everything sounds.

I still have a Benchmark Dac1 USB that I compare the Pro-Ject dac to every month or so. But I always come back to the S2.

I do keep thinking that I should buy a different DAC to compare things too. I'm thinking a Schiitt Modi Multibit would be a good next purchase. But I'm also very interested in the Brooklyn Liberty.

[Kilauea50]

34 minutes ago, arcman said:

Actually, my next one may be a Brooklyn level dac. I like the digital readout. Not that the S2 is exactly easy to see from a distance without binoculars. My S@ seems built like a tank. I've plugged, unplugged and moved numerous times trying it on different systems.  I have an early version, so quality control may have had more of a focus with initial run of units. Good to know you like the Lyberty

The Liberty sounds really really good.  I am very impressed especially given it's price tag.  I had to call Mytek right after receiving it because I couldn't get it to pass native DSD so they worked with Andrew at SGC and Sonore to figure out the issue.  There have been several firmware updates since receiving it which allows you to make the necessary changes through the Mytek control app on a Mac or Windows (Mac in my case).  For those considering it, I have seen no negatives with it.  It is just a pure dac and perfect for those who don't want the bells/whistles 

[asdf1000]

On 2/13/2018 at 8:45 PM, Miska said:

It is not basic DAC, it has MQA decoder, but doesn't give access to DAC chip's filter settings. So probably it is running all PCM all the time through the poor MQA filter? Well, running it with DSD input all the time avoids that, but still...

 

The same with feeding the DAC with PCM353/384kHz (software up-sampling like HQP)? You by-pass the MQA filter?

 

[Miska]

2 minutes ago, Em2016 said:

The same with feeding the DAC with PCM353/384kHz (software up-sampling like HQP)? You by-pass the MQA filter?

 

Possibly maybe, I don't know and I don't have one to test with...

 

[asdf1000]

3 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Possibly maybe, I don't know and I don't have one to test with...

 

 

But with your Brooklyn, and with MQA enabled, what happened when you fed it PCM384kHz from HQP?

 

Could you still see the effects of the MQA filter on the analogue output?

[Miska]

1 minute ago, Em2016 said:

But with your Brooklyn, and with MQA enabled, what happened when you fed it PCM384kHz from HQP?

 

Could you still see the effects of the MQA filter on the analogue output?

 

I don't have Brooklyn anymore and first thing I did was to disable MQA support. And during the short time I had it I didn't spend much time or effort with PCM inputs.

 

[exdmd]

While USB input on both the DAC+ and Liberty was fine I eventually sold both because the sound quality on the Toslink in was very poor compared to USB. At both my home and office I have a television on my multimonitor stand connected to the DAC by Toslink. Optical in on both the Brooklyn DAC+ and Liberty was hard to listen to. Sound was thin with glare. Why Mytek could not make the SQ on optical in equal to USB is a mystery but I eventually replaced both units with a Yggdrasil and Bifrost. While I was easily able to hear the difference between most 44 and 96 files of the same recording I can't say the same when going from 96 to 192. I have both Tidal and Qobuz now and have the Tidal desktop player set to do the first unfold on MQA masters to 96. If a friend asks me my opinion of the Brooklyn DAC+ now I tell him to buy a Yggdrasil. Sound quality on all inputs is the same on Yggy and Bifrost.