Alternative to hiFace EVO Two

Mr Underhill posted:

I have decided to go the whole hog and buy a Mutec MC-3+USB

I'm waiting to hear your impressions, when you hear the Mutec. I think I will go that way.

Just ordered, I'll report back in due course.

M

Mr Underhill posted:

Audio Breeze (with Talema) & Gustard U12

In terms of sound quality the Audio Breeze DU-U8 (AB) in my system delivers dynamics and a wider soundstage. The music does grab you and makes you listen. So a straightforward slam dunk?

Not quite....

M

I did some thinking and digging. The Audio Breeze (AB) is connected to the microRendu (mR) which is powered by an IFI PSU (9V).

The IFI is supplying more power than required, and is known to get the mR rather warm.

The AB runs warmer than the U12, and last Wednesday was a hot and close evening.

I suspect that the mR was running too hot - I have no direct evidence of this, and it never got so hot that I couldn't comfortably touch it.

However, on checking I found that the AB does not need to see any power from the USB cable, unlike the U12.

I made a data-only usb cable, using a bog standard cable I had to hand. Firing up the AB I noticed the mR did not get hot as quickly, however, I also bought a fan to use until the 6V Sbooster arrives, which will allow the mR to run much cooler. The result, no pops.

The sound quality lift of the AB over the U12 is easy to hear in my system. Be interested to see if the Mutec MC-3+USB can improve on this; oh, and the Mutec does need to see power via the USB.

M

The MC-3 has arrived, very efficient.

Got it up and running, will leave it a while before trying any critical listening.

My intention is to:

>Run as straight MC3 to compare with U12 & DU-U8; then
>mR > DU-U8 > MC3+.

My thinking for the later is that the DU-U8 doesn't draw any power from the mR, so I can use a data-only cable. Then AES > MC3+USB > AES Bel Canto,

I'll report back in due course.

M

Eagerly waiting

I was hoping to give an update on my trials with the Gustard U12 and PUC2 but being Summer and having been rather busy I haven't had much chance to do so yet.  So far the Gustard U12 is in the system and doing a good job, no hiccups, but it's probably now time for a full system and speaker rebuild this autumn before doing some proper comparisons.  

Mr Underhill posted:

The MC-3 has arrived, very efficient.

Got it up and running, will leave it a while before trying any critical listening.

My intention is to:

>Run as straight MC3 to compare with U12 & DU-U8; then
>mR > DU-U8 > MC3+.

My thinking for the later is that the DU-U8 doesn't draw any power from the mR, so I can use a data-only cable. Then AES > MC3+USB > AES Bel Canto,

I'll report back in due course.

M

I am looking forward to your report! I understand that tha MC3+ does not have/need a PSU, right? It would be great if you also could check whether the way you connect the MC3+ to the mains (through the same power strip that you use for the other components or via a dedicated power strip) has an impact on the sound quality. Have fun! nbpf

Hi nbfp,

Yes the MC3 has an onboard SMPS PSU. Apparently this is not of the very highest quality but when replaced with a LPSU there was felt to be little if any lift in performance.

M

Hi Wotan,

This is going to take a bit of time. I used the Mutec (M) out of the box via the USB and was a bit underwhelmed. It sounded to me like upscaling, smooth and without bite - but this was absolutely straight out of the box. I therefore decided to put plan B into operation while the M acclaimatises, i.e.:

NAS > mR (usb data-only)> DU-U8 (AES)> M (AES)> Bel Canto 3.5vb.

This works VERY nicely. Bundles up the advantages of the Oppo Sabre DAC and gifts it to the Bel Canto, and further focuses the music. I'll give it another day or so before I do a DU-U8 vs Mutec comparison.

M

Mr Underhill posted:

Hi nbfp,

Yes the MC3 has an onboard SMPS PSU. Apparently this is not of the very highest quality but when replaced with a LPSU there was felt to be little if any lift in performance.

M

...in one thread, in another replacing the internal PSU lead to earth shattering performance!

M

Thanks for sharing 

I ran a few test tracks through the stand alone Mutec which is sounding much better.

Introduction
Ideally I would have preferred the Sbooster to have arrived before doing this, but time is dragging on. I did buy a Maplin PSU 7.5V 2A, the advantage being that the microRendu would run cooler. Interestingly the higher wavelengths became far more highlighted, the rest of the soundscape just became rather sharp and unlistenable. Moving back to the IFI was a great relief.

I have created a shortened playlist below including some problem tracks. My intention was to demo the Gustard U12 (U12), Audio Breeze (Telema) DU-U8 (DU-U8) and Mutec MC-3+ USB (M) using both Logica Music Server (LMS) and Synology Media Server via Kazoo (SMS) - but to retain my sanity this review only reports on the results via LMS and using my Bel Canto using the single ended outputs.

Recordings
Tapestry, I feel the Earth Move, Carol King, 44.1
Tarzan, Son of Man, Phil Collins, 44.1
Rite of Spring, 1st Movement: Introduction & Augurs, Reference Recording, Ejij Oue, Quboz - 44.1 (flac)
Solo, Ode, Nils Frahm, Quboz - 44.1 (flac)
Star Trek Themes, Hella Bar Talk / Enterprising Young Man, City of Prague Philharmonic, Quboz - 44.1 (flac)
The Best of Sting & The Police, Walking on The Moon, Police, 44.1
Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell, Meatloaf, 96/24 LP HSM

Why?
Tapestry - As much as I love this album I have always felt it is poorly recorded, as a result I have a few copies on vinyl and CD always hoping things would improve. Carole King sounds to me as though she was recorded in a deadened box.
Tarzan - Through both the Focals and Living Voice lots of ssssss on the vocals. Was listening at home to a pair of Genelecs a couple of weeks ago, vocals sounded absolutely fine!
Rite of Spring - Love it when the persussion bursts onto the scene.
Solo - BIGGGG piano. Interesting bass and resonances.
Star Trek - Love Enterprising Young Man, great percussion.
Police - I love Copland's work on the cymbals. Yesterday I fitted a cheap 7.5V PSU to the mR. The cymbal work became highlighted and awesome, I heard variation in the cymbals that I had not heard or been aware of before, unfortunately the rest of the sound was rather bad!
Bat Out of Hell - Operatic and poorly recorded.

Listening Notes
Gustard U12
Tapestry - Good dynamics. Bass sounds bloated and imprecise, although you can follow it easily enough. Unfocused.
Tarzan - Good dynamics. Bass sounds bloated and imprecise, although you can follow it easily enough. Unfocused. Backing vocals amorphous.
Rite of Spring - Excellent. Orchestra well laid out, which I thinks adds brilliantly to this piece as disjointed instruments almost compete for attention. Good detailing, reed rattle, great percussion - dramatic with resonance.
Solo - Wierd instrument LARGE piano - nice body and resonance.
Star Trek - All good stuff, but I know that more is available here. The persussion is there and dynamic, yet a bit flat and without resonance that makes this exciting.
Police - Cymbal work present and correct, but detail I know is there is missing.
Bat Out of Hell - Bit heavy with detail hiding in the general wall of sound. Backing vocals back there in the fog somewhere - how many? Instruments appear and fade back into the general miasma.


Audio Breeze DU-U8 (Telema)
HiFi USB
Tapestry - Sharper. Good dynamics. Bass more precise and easier to here in detail. More focused.
Tarzan - More dynamic as you can here the detail of what is happening. Ssssss even more pronounced, almost painful. Hear Phil backing himself, just about.
Rite of Spring - Excellent again, but with the persussion it almost hangs in the air reverberating, really good.
Solo - Again extra resonance. Takes it from being slow and a bit boring to an experience.
Star Trek - Aware of the underlying percussion in the start, before the fireworks start. Percussion just more present and correct.
Police - Cymbal work present and correct, more detail but I know there is more. More dynamic. Sting in the background more of an individual voice.
Bat Out of Hell - Heaviness reduced and the fog is clearing. Backing vocalists a bit clearer. Instruments easier to follow.


Data-only USB
Tapestry - More detail. Hear what the individual players are doing, sounds like an ensemble.
Tarzan - More detail. Ssssss perhaps less pronounced. Hear Phil backing himself more clearly, has more body.
Rite of Spring - Instruments more precisely placed, and aware of what other instruments are doing quietly in a supporting role. Brings the thing to life.
Solo -
Star Trek - Aware of more detail, e.g. piano.
Police - Cymbal work present and correct, with all the detail.
Bat Out of Hell - More like it. Can hear the speed at which the musicians are going - exciting. Cymbal work far clearer.



Mutec MC-3+ USB (AES)
I played a couple of tracks I know well when I first switched over. This is now sounding far better than when new out of the box.
Tapestry - Sharpness reduced. Still a flawed recording, but it sounds as though I can just listen into the recording and follow the instruments.
Tarzan - Detail plus reduced SSSsssss.
Rite of Spring - Instruments have a tad more body? Just sounds like music! Love the percussion!
Solo - Even more resonant.
Star Trek -
Police - Cymbal cleaner & sharper.
Bat Out of Hell -

The Mutec seems to focus what you are listening to, so that things that might fall into background hash are resolved to the source instrument or voice. This allows you to easily follow what was produced.


So, does the DU-U8 chained to the Mutec add now, or take away?
It works for me as the Mutec draws the full 0.5V, which warms the mR while I am using the 9V IFI. Using the data-only cable ....
mR (data-only USB) > DU-U8 (AES)> MC-3 (AES)> BC
Perhaps a bit more detail, but a bit sharper.

I will revisit this when my Sbooster eventually arrrives.

Conclusion
Any of these three DDCs will not let you down. The DU-U8 is a clear step up on the U12 in my system for similar money. The Mutec is even better, but for a greater price differential.

A further potential advantage of the Mutec is that its clocking ability can be further enhanced using a reference clock, which can also be used with an appropriately equipped DAC, such as a DCS; and of course of you want the full effect two chained Mutecs is apparently the way to go!

If you are not already wedded to USB then I would strongly advise reading up on the Rednet 3 or D16. When these are used people frequently put the output through a Mutec.

A world of possibilities!

M

Mr Underhill,

Thank you very much for this great work, which to me is a big help.

I am increasingly tempted to try the Mutec. Just one more question: Have you tried play any DSD file with the Mutec? allow DSD playback via S/PDIF?

Thanks again 

Hi Wotan,

No. I did process some PCM files to DSD and play them back via the Oppo 105D, using mR NAA & HQ Player. I think they sounded like  upscaled PCM, smoother but stripped of some life. As I have concluded the Bel Canto sounds better than the Oppo, especially with the Mutec, I am not intending to repeat the experiment.

However, I have downloaded some high bit-rate DSD & PCM files of the same music and one trick the Mutec has is converting DSD to PCM ....I'll have a play.

I have converted my HiFI USB cable to data-only. That reduces the sharpness and to my ears sounds more textured.

M

Mr Underhill posted:

I ran a few test tracks through the stand alone Mutec which is sounding much better.

...

Thanks for the detailed report Mr. Underhill! Best, nbpf