Mytek Brooklyn+ = damn good digital

Sound Dragon

Yawns and sets his couch on fire!
Subscriber
From my system thread, I wrote "On another front. I am really digging what the Mytek Brooklyn+ is doing with my digital playback in the main rig. I really feel like my digital sound has been elevated to a new level. Between Roon and the Bluesound Vault 2 feeding into the Brooklyn Dac, I am getting so close to the music. I know MQA has its detractors and that is fine. I am loving most of the MQA albums on Tidal tremendously. If not for my obsessive need to have physical media, I could live with it as the main source if I absolutely had too."

I stand by this statement very much. The Mytek restores a lot of what the Bluesound seems to omit. A testament to the Bluesound vault 2 and its internal DAC, as I really didn't miss it all that much. That is until I got it back in spades with the Brooklyn.

Previously I had an iFi iDSD with external power supply and thought it sounded great (which it did) but always suspected that there was more to coax out of digital playback than it was providing. It also didn't seem to like being connected directly to the Vault 2 as it would lose connection and require me to unplug the coax cable and reconnect it to reestablish the link between the devices. It got old quick and was simply not what I wanted to do every day.

Having gone on another Audio bender and gorged on some new acquisitions, the Mytek Brooklyn entered the Lair for a trial (who am I kidding?). Having heard the original Brooklyn Dac at A fellow Akers house and being completely blown away by it, I knew I was in trouble. What it did in his system was noticeable and present with such a tangible improvement over what his BluesoundNode 2 could do. The music through the Brooklyn was so in your space and full that it was truly an enlightening experience for me. It came so close to his Vinyl playback that it was downright scary at times

I knew then that I would also be acquiring one and added it to my to buy list. He likes to say that when Digital is good its really good and he is not only right but really right. Thos was months ago but the impression of the Mytek Brooklyn stayed with me all this time that I sold off my other dacs knowing that it was the only one I would try out next in my main system.

Set up on the device is fairly straightforward. The instructions are pretty clear. It uses an apple remote which I found a little strange but since I have a few Apple TVs in the home, its not a deal breaker. I performed all the configurations through the navigation options on the device itself though. I will configure the remote at some point. At this stage, I am a sucker for a remote control. The display on it is so freaking cool. I am a very visual audio nut and it appeals to visual aesthetic tremendously. It has to look good or be interesting.

As to how it sounds? Well, its only been 2 days but I can already say that it is the best DAC I have ever owned. While I no longer have any other dacs to compare it to, I have owned iFi, Schitt Gugnir, and Bifrost. Topping and a few others I can't remember right now. None of them have left me with the sense of satisfaction quite like the Mytek. It completely lives up to its reputation. Not to say that they were bad per se. Far from it as with each step I got closer and sometimes further from my destination.

But I really feel that the Brooklyn has me there. It also makes me fear what going higher up the ladder would do. I am nowhere near that point and am content to stay here and explore for a good long while. But my mind did wonder there for a quick second before I reeled it back in. If anything, I will be saving up for a Mytek Liberty for the 2nd System as I am so satisfied with what the Brooklyn does. I know I need that Mytek voodoo in that system as well.

The Koolaid has been drunk. Truly for me, this is a good place to be with the digital side of things. I have not yet found any real negatives with it, though I am sure there are some to be found if I look hard enough It may also be the fact that I am only really using the Brooklyn+ as a Dac and not as a Pre or phono stage which it can also do. I would encourage anyone in the market at this price point to consider the Brooklyn or its little brother the Liberty.
 
Last edited:
The Topping uses the 9038 and the Mytek Brooklyn + the 9028. However, I felt that the Original Brooklyn which uses the sabre 9018 sounded better than my Topping D50. The Topping specs better and honestly sounds great. But there is something that the Mytek folks are doing that's really different and in my experience special. The good news is that we get to enjoy these pieces at every price point and at $250, I can't fault the Topping at all. It is a really good Dac for a really good price. But I do like the Mytek better and will choose a 9018 based liberty dac in my 2nd system over another D50.
 
I have the original Brooklyn and must say I'm super happy with it. I use it as a full function preamp/dac. The phono section is good too.

I've had trouble getting it to recognize MQA from Tidal.
John
 
Last edited:
I have the original Brooklyn and must say I'm super happy with it. I use it as a full function preamp/dac. The phono section is good too.

I've had trouble getting it to recognize MQA from Tidal.
John

Hearing the original Brooklyn Dac was a real ear opening experience for me. It is a really piece of kit!
 
I have the original Brooklyn and must say I'm super happy with it. I use it as a full function preamp/dac. The phono section is good too.

I've had trouble getting it to recognize MQA from Tidal.
John

are you updating the firmware regularly? I wish I could remember what I did but I also originally had the MQA issue with TIdal but have since been able to make it work. Play with the settings and see what comes.

Ron - I'm jealous of that system!! You're at a great place - time to sit back and enjoy, brother!
 
are you updating the firmware regularly? I wish I could remember what I did but I also originally had the MQA issue with TIdal but have since been able to make it work. Play with the settings and see what comes.

Yes, my firmware is up to date. I think it is settings in Tidal. Just need to work with it more.
Thanks
 
Last edited:
I really enjoyed your write up. I am looking for a DAC to get into streaming, I am all vinyl right now. I have looked and looked thru many reviews and pretty much come up with the Brooklyn and the mcintosh D150 (mainly because all my other gear is mc). The knock on the D150 for me is no MQA. Is the Brooklyn Roon ready?
 
I really enjoyed your write up. I am looking for a DAC to get into streaming, I am all vinyl right now. I have looked and looked thru many reviews and pretty much come up with the Brooklyn and the mcintosh D150 (mainly because all my other gear is mc). The knock on the D150 for me is no MQA. Is the Brooklyn Roon ready?

The Mytek is "Roon Tested."
https://roonlabs.com/partners.html

(Roon Tested devices from our partners have been profiled and tested by both Roon Labs and the device manufacturer for maximum compatibility.
Roon will recognize these devices and send them audio optimized for their capabilties.)
 
I use the Bluesound Vault2 and Node2 which are both Roon Ready devices. I have not tried the Mytek as a Rood device directly.
 
Hey rocknroll1,
The Brooklyn is also a quite good phone preamp, both MM and MC settings. I use it with my Denon DL304 which is very low output and it works very well and sounds good. It lets me have a complete control center for the entire sound system in that one little box. And, with remote control. Maybe I'm just getting too lazy in my dotage.
John
 
My Brooklyn+ arrived today--wow! The improvement over the DAC in my McIntosh MA9000 is staggering. It has better clarity/detail, more body, no fade-ins with FLAC files or strange noises between tracks when streaming, and not to mention MQA! One of my Tidal MQA recordings is 24/384--sounds incredible. (a recital of Bach piano pieces called "Inside Polyphony" played by Christian Gloven.) I think I need to reinstall the control panel as it doesn't seem to do much--I recall some error message quickly popped up during installation. Anyway, it's an amazing piece of gear.
 
My Brooklyn+ arrived today--wow! The improvement over the DAC in my McIntosh MA9000 is staggering. It has better clarity/detail, more body, no fade-ins with FLAC files or strange noises between tracks when streaming, and not to mention MQA! One of my Tidal MQA recordings is 24/384--sounds incredible. (a recital of Bach piano pieces called "Inside Polyphony" played by Christian Gloven.) I think I need to reinstall the control panel as it doesn't seem to do much--I recall some error message quickly popped up during installation. Anyway, it's an amazing piece of gear.

The Brooklyn+ has taken me off the search for better in the DAC dept. I met the Mytek crew at the NY audio show last fall and got the sense that it’s not just about the numbers but how the whole package sounds. It’s just a great DAC and one of my favorite pieces of gear in my rig. Enjoy it in good health bud!
 
I have the original Brooklyn DAC and I’ll be looking to move on from it in the next year or so, but only for the Brooklyn+.

I’m a big fan of this DAC and I’m happy to have you now in the club. Hearing what really nice digital sounds like is a total game-changer.



Anyway, it's an amazing piece of gear.
 
Back
Top Bottom