My seven year old, heavily used, Mytek Brooklyn is now only working with USB and AES. Is it time to consider a change? Most preamp/DACs are out of my range. I could use my Chord Qutest, but it is feeding a power amp. Would a pre amp be advisable? Any not too expensive recommendations? The power amp is a Masterclass - couldn't possibly afford it's partner from Sugden. I gather there is a danger of diminishing performance by using inferior preamps.
Is it time for a new DAC?
- Thread starter Brian S
- Start date
Thanks for this. Bit out of my range. I did look at Bel Canto - as you know, I'm a fan of the CD player despite the slot loading. Bought blind I didn't expect slot loading. I will keep recommendation in mind.
lawrence001
Basic Member
What connection do you use, optical or spdif?
allthingsanalog
pfm Member
Cheeky plug, I’m selling an immaculate Bryston BDA-2! 
Harvey63
pfm Member
That's a nice DAC.Cheeky plug, I’m selling an immaculate Bryston BDA-2!
Hi, I do usually stream to USB. The failure of spdif, both, entailed me being unable to use my CD player.
My concern is really that the failure of three ports might herald more failures in the near future.
Cheeky plug, I’m selling an immaculate Bryston BDA-2!
I have had a BDP1 and a BDP2 in the past and know of the reputation. But I am considering something new or with warranty - longevity concern - mine not that of the DAC.
Thanks
Alex S
carbon based lifeform
If you don't have another use for the Qutest, a perfectly respectable dac, I'd consider a preamp. Given the flexible voltage of the Qutest, a passive might work well for you, and they are far cheaper than an equivalent active. My passive recommendation is Khozmo: https://khozmo.com/product-category/preamplifiers/ but there are plenty of others. There is also Hattor, same company as Khozmo but fancier/more expensive. These can be configured with an active stage to augment the passive: http://www.hattor.com/dualmono_preamp_the_big.html If you don't see exactly what you need off the shelf, an email to Arek/Khozmo/Hattor and he can build whatever you want.
Thanks for this.
Thanks for this. My Qutest is actually part of another set up. But I am curious regarding pure DACs and perhaps pre amp.
Alex S
carbon based lifeform
Brian, I see from another thread you have four dacs. Mytek, Qutest, a Topping - which one? And the fourth?
FWIW I have four in use too. The Topping D70 pro Sabre, possibly with the Pre90 if you’d routinely drop below-35dB or so on the Dac’s digital volume, would probably work extremely well balanced to the Masterclass. I use the combination to active monitors.
FWIW I have four in use too. The Topping D70 pro Sabre, possibly with the Pre90 if you’d routinely drop below-35dB or so on the Dac’s digital volume, would probably work extremely well balanced to the Masterclass. I use the combination to active monitors.
Very basic Topping: E30. Chord Hugo TT.
Ideally, of course, the USB in the Brooklyn would go on working. The failure of both spdif and the optical has created my sudden scepticism. I probably preferred the Mytek to the others. The use of colour indicators in the Chords mean bugger all to me.
Thanks again for info.
Unless my confidence is restored in the Mytek I suspect my first move will be to trial the Eversolo. Thanks - totally new to me.
I had a Brookly DAC and was very happy with it. At least in the first few years. However, after a few years, more and more pixels of the OLED display began to fail. Just under two years ago, strong distortions began to occur in the audio output. At first it was rare and the error only lasted for a short time. Later, I had to switch off the DAC and it worked again. And soon after, the disturbances occurred permanently. So the search for a successor began. Its predecessor was an Antelope Silver. It still works. And I wouldn't bet that I could identify it blindly from the Brooklyn (before the fault occurred). The Antelope was unfortunately limited in resolution and did not understand DSD. After some time of research, especially at Audio Science Review and at Archimago's Musings, I risked the experiment and bought a Chinese DAC. It turned out to be a small SMSL M300. I chose it because of the features I wanted. In terms of sound, I expected it not to sound and to reproduce exactly what is in the data. If a manufacturer masters the technology or implements what the manufacturers of the converter chips specify, it is possible around 100$ (like the Topping D10). If DACs are more expensive, they may have their own sound. But these are more distortions, which some assume would be the expression of a better sound.
I became critical when I read that the Brooklyn Mytek was fiddled with in this way. If you switch from digital to analogue volume control, the DSP adds K2 or K3 distortion to make it sound more analogue... I couldn't hear the difference, but my confidence in the "most authentic reproduction possible" was shaken.
If your Brookly is still working fine, I would sell it. The life of the OLEDs is limited and without a display it is difficult to change settings. The failure of the audio part is probably an isolated case, I haven't read about it in any forum. Topping, SMSL and Loxje are the manufacturers who have mastered the technology, have sufficient quality and are still reasonably priced. Gustard and Matrix would be excellent manufacturers at a higher price.
Ronald
I became critical when I read that the Brooklyn Mytek was fiddled with in this way. If you switch from digital to analogue volume control, the DSP adds K2 or K3 distortion to make it sound more analogue... I couldn't hear the difference, but my confidence in the "most authentic reproduction possible" was shaken.
If your Brookly is still working fine, I would sell it. The life of the OLEDs is limited and without a display it is difficult to change settings. The failure of the audio part is probably an isolated case, I haven't read about it in any forum. Topping, SMSL and Loxje are the manufacturers who have mastered the technology, have sufficient quality and are still reasonably priced. Gustard and Matrix would be excellent manufacturers at a higher price.
Ronald
tuga
Legal Alien
You've been well and truly brainwashed.