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Music Hall's DAC 25.2

I found the following review on AudioGon:

"Mullard CV 2493, Great Britain (no shield, getter disc, gold pins) This tube lacks a splatter shield with just a small metal wire holding a solid metal disc with dimples around its perimeter above the upper mica spacer. The sound of this tube is very different from the 6922 above, with a less pronounced bass and less vivid highs. It does have a very nice midband, however, combined with a deep & dimensional soundstage. If you find the 6922 Mullards (and Amperex 6922s to follow) too pronounced at the frequency extremes this tube could be a valid choice representing a viable tuning alternative... "

I've also spotted someone rave about a 6922 Telefunken tube over the Mullard CV2493, but then you're talking about double the price or more.
 
I brought (12) new Mullard CV2493s back from Europe. I use them in my First Sound line stage, my Decware CSP2 HP amp, and the DAC 25.2. I have found no 6DJ8, 6922, 7302 tubes I like better. I let Mr. Go (First Sound) borrow a few and he emediately bought 4 for himself.

Nothing against other Mullard tubes but these have a totally different sound than a classic Mulllard 6DJ8 series tube.

I have no long term experience myself but rummor has it these also last a very, very long time.

I don't want to create an excess demand for these tubes, and drive the price up, but they are very fine. I would grab them if you can.

The CV2492 is said to be a slightly lower spec, easier to find, sound similar if not the same, and a great value.

MullardCV2493.jpg
 
I am considering one of these MH 25.2 DAC to use with my SB Touch in my main rig. Is anyone using a touch with this DAC and what are your thoughts on it?

I am thinking of moving my Jolida CD player to fund this purchase. I am pretty happy with the sound of my Jolida with Ei goldpins in it but I have not really turned it on since I bought the Touch.

Thanks,

Scott
 
Sir MLS said:
I am considering one of these MH 25.2 DAC to use with my SB Touch in my main rig. Is anyone using a touch with this DAC and what are your thoughts on it?
Click to expand...

I don't know what a SB Touch is but if you're planning on buying this DAC, now is the time. Music Direct has them on closeout for a great price.
 
The burson discrete op amp mod to my dac is finished, and after some burn in time I'd say it was well worth it. It sounds much smoother and richer, both in character and price. A friend of mine did the mod and told me he thought it really sounded great. There is a higher level of detail, but not bright in any sense. It now has a much smoother presentation without any hint of harshness at all regardless of what I play in the source component, which is temporarily a Denon DVD3910. I'm using a Siemens 6922 with it.
 
Number 6 said:
The burson discrete op amp mod to my dac is finished, and after some burn in time I'd say it was well worth it. It sounds much smoother and richer, both in character and price. A friend of mine did the mod and told me he thought it really sounded great. There is a higher level of detail, but not bright in any sense. It now has a much smoother presentation without any hint of harshness at all regardless of what I play in the source component, which is temporarily a Denon DVD3910. I'm using a Siemens 6922 with it.
Click to expand...

With that tube and the Burson upgrade, man, that must sound sweet! I didn't know you could do the discrete op-amp upgrade in this DAC. Enjoy. :music:
 
Mr. Lin said:
With that tube and the Burson upgrade, man, that must sound sweet! I didn't know you could do the discrete op-amp upgrade in this DAC. Enjoy. :music:
Click to expand...

Thanks, I hope to have my pc music server hooked up to it sometime soon. Future mods are planned for the power supply and clock.
 
Number 6 said:
The burson discrete op amp mod to my dac is finished, and after some burn in time I'd say it was well worth it. It sounds much smoother and richer, both in character and price. A friend of mine did the mod and told me he thought it really sounded great. There is a higher level of detail, but not bright in any sense. It now has a much smoother presentation without any hint of harshness at all regardless of what I play in the source component, which is temporarily a Denon DVD3910. I'm using a Siemens 6922 with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review of the op amp mod. There are alternating opinions on the value of the discrete modification. When added to the cost of the MH it may not compare to buying a higher spec dac in the first place?

What makes the trade better is to use audiogd discrete op amps which are much less expensive than the burson.
 
myu701 said:
I found the following review on AudioGon:

"Mullard CV 2493, Great Britain (no shield, getter disc, gold pins) This tube lacks a splatter shield with just a small metal wire holding a solid metal disc with dimples around its perimeter above the upper mica spacer. The sound of this tube is very different from the 6922 above, with a less pronounced bass and less vivid highs. It does have a very nice midband, however, combined with a deep & dimensional soundstage. If you find the 6922 Mullards (and Amperex 6922s to follow) too pronounced at the frequency extremes this tube could be a valid choice representing a viable tuning alternative... "

I've also spotted someone rave about a 6922 Telefunken tube over the Mullard CV2493, but then you're talking about double the price or more.
Click to expand...

I have an 180 degree different opinion on the CV2493. I find it has better performance over the total Hz range compared to the standard Mullard 6922 and much more than the Amperex 6922. The Amperex (both BB and OG) sound dark in comparison. I have also tried several versions of the Telefunken 6922 and they also did not compare to the CV2493 in my systems.

These comparisons are not just based on the DAC25.2 but also on my First sound line stage and Decware CSP2. The improvement is not as dramatic on the DAC as the line stage and HP amp. The CSP2 through Beyerdynamic DT880/600 HPs is great to compare the sound signature of tubes.

Granted different equipment will provide different results. I don't like using my DAC to adjust sound signiture as I want it to leave nothing behind. Same story on my line stage. I do find myself tuning on my amps with tubes just for a new effect. Amperex BB spend a lot of time in my Decware for example.
 
stoutblock said:
Thanks for the review of the op amp mod. There are alternating opinions on the value of the discrete modification. When added to the cost of the MH it may not compare to buying a higher spec dac in the first place?

What makes the trade better is to use audiogd discrete op amps which are much less expensive than the burson.
Click to expand...

After the discrete op amp mod, I'm not sure there is anything under $1000 that sounds as good. There is one over $1000 dac I would love to own though, the dbAudioLabs Tranquility dac. I've heard it several times and it is really amazing with an incredibly smooth presentation.
 
Number 6 said:
After the discrete op amp mod, I'm not sure there is anything under $1000 that sounds as good. There is one over $1000 dac I would love to own though, the dbAudioLabs Tranquility dac. I've heard it several times and it is really amazing with an incredibly smooth presentation.
Click to expand...

According to the hi-fi magazines DACs are getting better and better, even at the lower price points. My choice would probably be the YBA DAC that Stereophile reviewed a few issues back, namely because the conclusion of the review was that it only lacked little things here and there in the sound quality that one can get by spending multi-thousands of dollars on a new DAC.
 
Sir MLS said:
How much were the opamps if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks,
Scott
Click to expand...

The Burson opamps (the MH 25.2 needs three of them) cost me $292.00 from Parts Connexion, plus the cost of gettnig them installed. There might be a cheaper alternative, the Burson opamps were the only ones I was aware of. After the mod I found the dac to be much richer sounding with no hint of harshness whatsoever. I think it might still need some break in time though. My impression is that it could still use the clock and power supply upgrades. I base that on the sound I get from my cd player (Musical Fidelity A308 with Black Gate and Dexxa mods) which I still prefer over the dac. My cd player still has a bigger soundstage and a higher resolution, but after mods its total cost is about $4k. I wouldn't expect the 25.2 to replace it over night. However, I think the MH 25.2 still has a lot of potential for improvement. I'm really amazed at the big improvement in sound I got from the opamp upgrade. It's just difficult to keep putting these things into words.
 
Mr. Lin said:
According to the hi-fi magazines DACs are getting better and better, even at the lower price points. My choice would probably be the YBA DAC that Stereophile reviewed a few issues back, namely because the conclusion of the review was that it only lacked little things here and there in the sound quality that one can get by spending multi-thousands of dollars on a new DAC.
Click to expand...

Mr. Lin, I noticed you have a Musical Fidelity A3.5. Have you considered some mods to that player? Based on my experience it should respond very nicely!
 
Number 6 said:
Mr. Lin, I noticed you have a Musical Fidelity A3.5. Have you considered some mods to that player? Based on my experience it should respond very nicely!
Click to expand...

Honestly I didn't know there were any mods available for it. When I opened it up to see what I might be able to do myself, I saw that everything is surface-mount electronics, very small. Even the toroidal transformer isn't very big, which I was a little disappointed about - but the sound of this CDP is anything but disappointing (see my thread comparing my three CDPs in the equipment reviews forum). My point is that there's nothing in it that I could personally work on, it's beyond my knowledge and skills, but if another company offers the service...

It's something I would consider, to a point. I've read that the A5 is something very nice, but even used it's out of my price range right now. I payed $600 for my A3.5, and I believe the A5 used goes for roughly $1200, maybe a little less. So at a certain point it would probably be wiser to just get an A5. But my dream of owning a Naim CD5X with one of their external power supply upgrades does take precedence over the MF, truth be told.

I should just consider myself really freaking lucking to have not one, but three awesome CD players at this point. :D
 
Hi guys,

Yesterday i get a brandnew 25.2:banana:

I connected it with my Apple TV 3 and my Denon DVD 3910.

Now i'm not sure if the tube works, because it glows very very low....but i hear music, when the DAC is powered on.

Am i right if the tube is gone i cannot hear music with my Music Hall DAC?
 
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