Today (day 23 of burn-in and day 8 on direct USB from RPi) I had a brief visit from my friend to have a listen to the MK2 .
He was not here for over year, but knew my system very well (also it’s latest instance with modded MK1).
I know he has better ears than me and also he often notices other things than me, so I was curious to hear his opinion.
We listened to couple from the same pieces as usual - music we both like and know by heart.
He was impressed by soundstage depth, out-of-room width and also experienced for the first time extended soundstage height from reproduced music - he will come back already this Friday for extended session to hear more
When we were playing Sweet Baby from Macy Gray , although I had only 2nd row seat (just behind sweet spot), I could still hear her voice was better articulated than with MK1 and the space (1 mic recording in church) was just fabulous.
I have a PS SACD to the Mk2 Dac by I2S, then to a Prima Luna pre & amp.
When I turn all my equipment on put my ear up to the tweeter, it sounds like a black hole, ie: nothing gets out.
I think both camps are right. The noise is measurable and repeatable, and the sound is glorious. I own the MkII and couldn’t be happier (well, maybe if I had a $25,000 DAC). I shrugged when I saw the review.
Outlier observations that are inconsistent with the accepted paradigm are too often swept aside. What they represent are “learnable moments” (to twist the cliche) for those who are curious.
In the Paul / Ted video discussing the DS Mk2 there is a lot of talk about how low noise gives better detail retrieval and a blacker background. There is also a lot of talk of efforts to use low noise components and implement careful design to achieve this.
What happened between that video and the actual performance of the Mk2? Were different components used? Was the design not verified?
I’d completely understand if the talking point was that a higher noise design was implemented because it was sonically preferable but that seems at odds with the statements in that video.
Funny I just rewatched the video again last night. I find it quite interesting, even as a non engineer, but I too was thinking about the quest for low noise and the results.
Still a great sounding Dac and I’m hoping for future improvements in Sonics and noise.
I have a question, perhaps @jkrichards can answer. (Especially as I’ll have his transformers, hopefully soon).
Since I’m now using my MKII XLR out direct to the BHK300 (with great results) I was wondering if I can also use the rca out at the same time to feed my subs?
I’m currently feeding the subs via speaker level, but have found in the past when using a preamp with multiple outputs, that the subs sounded better feeding line level in.
We don’t recommend using both XLR and RCA at the same time. With the nickel transformers we feel they sound better going through a preamp instead of using the DS as a preamp however all systems are different so it may work better for you.
I found the opposite, with much better sound feeding my (single) sub via speaker level from my BHK300. Maybe some further tuning of your sub is required (crossover, level of output, position)? I’ve also heard that XLR + RCA outputs should not be used simultaneously.
Thanks (@jkrichards) for the info. Is there Any downside to using an XLR Y adaptor to split the output to feed amps and subs? I know it’s not ideal, but maybe if it works well I can build a custom cable with and extra xlr pigtail soldered on.
Philip what I found on my system was there was much more texture and information when feeding my Velodyne DD10+ subs via preamp vs. BHK300 output.
A definite no to the design changing. I’m guessing you were not following along from the beginning, but over 100 MK2 DACS were already out in the wild when that video was recorded, and I myself ordered one four days before that video was published. You know our lot, not having a reputation for being neurotic at all. You can’t imagine the beta testers and us early birders just about beat a dead horse with paranoid questioning on that subject before ordering
My impressions of the unit were very much in line with pretty much all of the beta testers’ experiences. Those were the simple days… Sheesh! Insert a few measurements and look where we are now. I do find the apparent disconnect between “noise” in the figurative, empirical, and analytical sense to be fascinating—possibly why everyone seems to have a different opinion. All I can say is before all this blew over, I definitely felt the MK2 gave me substantially blacker backgrounds than my DSJ and was so much more relaxing. Still is, although that’s not to say it might not have some audible noise if I put my ear to it. I hear nothing at listening position and it’s still as relaxing and great to listen to, so apart from my technical curiosity, the noise is irrelevant to me.
I would not use splitters. Also you don’t want to add the extra impedance load to ether the amp or the DS. We use a custom built SUB bass unit that my son built to feed the subs. It also has phase and volume control for the subs with 4 XLR balanced and 4 RCA single ended outs. The best part is it doesn’t effect the original signal at all.
Ted has answered this very question before. No it will cause an unbalanced condition to use both RCA and XLR simultaneously. The output is transformer coupled.
I just thought about another option. You might try using XLR and RCA together as long as you set the RCA to the higher output level (RCA Balanced) in the user menu in the MK2.
This would only work if your sub doesn’t ground the RCA.
Thanks for the input. I did watch the whole video and I know Paul and Ted were talking about how everyone who tried the DS Mk2 loved it.
I find that I am rather sensitive to noise based on past listening and currently have an Okto and love it. Just trying to understand the difference between the Stereophile review and owner testimonials. I have been very able to recognize differences in DAC noise and this has been very well correlated with noise floor measurements.
