Mytek new DAC/Streamer/Pre

It looks to be a very interesting device. It is a true preamp too as it has a MC phono input.

It does have a lot of features Mark. This is a significant step for Mytek at $20K.

I'm hesitant ... this kind of feels like a half-baked product to me, especially at $20k. "Yay!" I can get my hands on the physical product in Q1 2021, but I have to wait until Q4 2021 for full functionality? And that's assuming that the firmware delivery timelines don't slip. Because software development timelines never slip. Especially speaking as a software engineer.

Not trying to be negative, and perhaps this new Mytek will be a truly marvelous product, but firmware rollouts to achieve full functionality feel like a red flag. Happy to be proven wrong.

Very attractive looking piece.

It’s kind of incredible that nowadays everyone is trying to charge the price of a small car for their gear. Totally out of proportion IMHO.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I feel kind of this way about it...:doubtful:, but also willing to wait and see, but a ESS DAC chip (ok two) seems not high enough level for a $20k product. When a company that specializes in value products jump into the big boy pricing products the results are not always pretty (figuratively).

But who knows, maybe they will pull off some magic :fingers:.

I also agree, I would not want to purchase an expensive items and then have to wait for firmware updates to make it fully functional.... as Tino said, and also as a software developer, we all know that software development schedules never ever slip ....

“we all know that software development schedules never ever slip ....”

Yeah. Software engineers can crash any project schedule that is dependent on software development. Software always lags hardware.

mep said:

“we all know that software development schedules never ever slip ....”

Yeah. Software engineers can crash any project schedule that is dependent on software development. Software always lags hardware.

Click to expand...

Let's not rule out the "value adds" that pointy haired bosses add to the mix. If I had a nickel every time marketing dictated what features to add as a MUST HAVE FEAture only to remove them six months later because it turns out that there wasn't as much customer demand as they predicted ... well, I'd have a lot of nickels!

Randy Myers said:

I feel kind of this way about it...:doubtful:, but also willing to wait and see, but a ESS DAC chip (ok two) seems not high enough level for a $20k product. When a company that specializes in value products jump into the big boy pricing products the results are not always pretty (figuratively).

But who knows, maybe they will pull off some magic :fingers:.

I also agree, I would not want to purchase an expensive items and then have to wait for firmware updates to make it fully functional.... as Tino said, and also as a software developer, we all know that software development schedules never ever slip ....

Click to expand...

ESS chips are far from cheap in DAC world. But as Charlie Hansen used to say, the DAC chip itself is only responsilbe for 10% of the sound.

Elberoth said:

ESS chips are far from cheap in DAC world. But as Charlie Hansen used to say, the DAC chip itself is only responsilbe for 10% of the sound.

Click to expand...

+ 100

Understand that, but no $20k piece of equipment uses off the shelf ESS chips, and the 9038 can be found in DACs under $1k, so they are pretty inexpensive. I have nothing against ESS. I have had several DACs with ESS chips including the 9038. Point being if you want to play with the big boys you better use big boy toys. Anyway, I will with hold opinions, just making an observation.

For that kind of money you buy a Lumin X1 and a quality tube preamp like the Backert Rhumba 1.3, LTA MicroZotl or the Supratek Cabernet and still have money left over plus you have a streamer and software that you know works along with a full function preamp. Both pieces would be from companies with experience at what they do and real support from years in the business. Up to this point Mytek's only experience in the streamer arena is to buy a card from Conversdigital the same as the one used by PSA, Ayre, Krell and others running on mConnect software.

Esoteric K-01Xs uses AKM 4497EQ and cost $22k.

The problem is ESS chipset has gotten a bad rep based on sub $1000 chinese manufactured DACs which mainly packaged their reference design in a box.

IMO, we need to judge a DAC by its sound and not what chip it uses or not uses internally.

True, however the chip certainly plays a big role . My point was, most of the big boys don't use off the shelf... Msb, dCS, T+A, Lampi, etc...

The DAC chip does play a role but its not big, that is what Charlie Hansen said - the DAC chip itself is only responsible for 10% of the sound. I can't agree more. The same chip can sound profoundly different in well implemented circuit - the power supply, clock topology, the output - they all have equal share to the final sound of the DAC.

The Lampi Amber3 uses 9038 and I can say that it sounds phenomenal for the price

I will definitely give you that. But my main point is that when a companies reputation has been mainly made from a $2k DAC (yes I know they have other products, such as the Manhattan), and they are trying to jump into a $20k product people are naturally thinking about their most famous $2k product. So they should make sure the new product is something pretty special... and starting off with an off the shelf chip does not instill great confidence.

Randy Myers said:

I will definitely give you that. But my main point is that when a companies reputation has been mainly made from a $2k DAC (yes I know they have other products, such as the Manhattan), and they are trying to jump into a $20k product people are naturally thinking about their most famous $2k product. So they should make sure the new product is something pretty special... and starting off with an off the shelf chip does not instill great confidence.

Click to expand...

ESS 9030PRO is arguably one of the best DAC chips available today, at any price. Going custom R2R route or similar, does not mean the DAC will sound or measure any better.

The DAC chip itself is one of the few hundred elements needed to build a DAC. Power supply, clocking, digital filtering, analog output stage - they all matter much more than the DAC chip itself.

The ESS 9038 chips can be found in many ultra high end DACs, like the top of the range Accuphase DP-950/DC-950 SACD player - and that is pretty spectacular sounding unit. One that costs $50.000 or so.

Elberoth said:

The DAC chip itself is one of the few hundred elements needed to build a DAC. Power supply, clocking, digital filtering, analog output stage - they all matter much more than the DAC chip itself.

Click to expand...

I have not disputed this what so ever.

Again, I am saying jumping into the big boys realm from the value oriented realm is a huge jump for a company. When a company has always built some of the most expensive gear on the planet of course no one will notice if they use an off the shelf chip, I simply assume they are making up for it elsewhere. It is assumed they build other areas in their products over the top. But when a company jumps to a product roughly ten times more expensive than what their most famous product previously cost yet uses the same chip it is rather suspicious.

Just because a few big boy extreme products use the same chip does not equate in this scenario. Accuphase and Esoteric, for example, have always made ultra expensive gear. That is their market. If either of these built their reputation on $2k products and then all of a sudden offered a $20k product using the same chip I would be just as suspicious of them.

Also, when this "value" oriented company throws everything and the kitchen sink into this new, and arguably ultra expensive product, I become even more suspicious.

With very few exceptions, higher end DACs do not use off the shelf chips, and those that do had previously built their reputations from making ultra high end products through out their lineups.

Randy Myers said:

I have not disputed this what so ever.

Again, I am saying jumping into the big boys realm from the value oriented realm is a huge jump for a company. When a company has always built some of the most expensive gear on the planet of course no one will notice if they use an off the shelf chip, I simply assume they are making up for it elsewhere. It is assumed they build other areas in their products over the top. But when a company jumps to a product roughly ten times more expensive than what their most famous product previously cost yet uses the same chip it is rather suspicious.

Just because a few big boy extreme products use the same chip does not equate in this scenario. Accuphase and Esoteric, for example, have always made ultra expensive gear. That is their market. If either of these built their reputation on $2k products and then all of a sudden offered a $20k product using the same chip I would be just as suspicious of them.

Also, when this "value" oriented company throws everything and the kitchen sink into this new, and arguably ultra expensive product, I become even more suspicious.

With very few exceptions, higher end DACs do not use off the shelf chips, and those that do had previously built their reputations from making ultra high end products through out their lineups.

Click to expand...

I guess we need to define "ultra expensive." If you want to call the new Mytek "ultra expensive," what do you call the MSB Select II?