L.K.S Audio MH-DA004 - probably sounds bad

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by listen4joy, Aug 19, 2017.

  1. listen4joy

    listen4joy New

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    i want to brought some attention for this dac.
    this dac is recently clash some hype waves in the other site. altough the thread is still new
    it woke up my attention to open thread about this one.
    i read some people praise him a lot.
    look like this chinese dac is one of those unknown gems that uses 2 Dual ES9038pro chips that cost only 1500$, and it seems to be a very good product.
    a person that i know posted impressions on the LKS on the other site,he had the vega before and he said this dac
    if someone have some impressions about this one, or if someone will buy one
    and can give some impressions and if there is hope in high end affordable teritorry to bring some
    high end dacs that kick high on their high bracket. it better for the community to have a lot
    of alterntaives , not that i have something against Yggdrasil, but maybe there is more dacs
    in decent price ranges that can give a great value for $.
    what i like about this site that people here examine things without politics or paid Reviews
    and people give real opinions about products. hope there will be some intrest to for review.
    also , the new audio gd-r2r 7 look like a promising dac that maybe
    can be alternative to Yggdrasil at 2400$ price point.
     
  2. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    It probably sucks like all the other "giant killer" Chinese Sabre DACs.
     
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  3. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    Labeling something as a giant killer is one guaranteed method to make people here incredibly skeptical of a product, especially if you haven't owned both products you're talking about.

    While I've hated 99% of all Sabre DACs I've heard, I would be extremely reluctant to buy at $1500 DAC from China sight unseen from an unproven manufacturer.

    If you want to dive headfirst into the Sabre pool, get an Audio-GD NFB-7.38 for less and you're at least guaranteed good power implementation and quality components.
     
  4. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    The title alone is borderline "How to Win Friends and Influence People" forum fodder. A piece of equipment should be evaluated on its own merit, not as some head fi fangasm material. I'm sure the title was done to get attention, but here, it sends the wrong signal.
     
  5. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Title changed to be more appropriate
     
  6. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    And it's already populated with the usual suspects for breathless hype of Chinese DACs of this nature. Pre-audition hype, no less! And I see the cardboard and string mod-master is already on the case too ... no doubt a little such tweaking and they'll have this thing sounding better than the original performance.

    P.T. Barnum has some choice words that predict this eventuality.

    Well, "interest" might be a strong word - but I'll do it if one happens to cross my path. Someone else is going to have to "do a Barnum" first and send it my way though.

    Be burned too many times by these types of things not to be hugely skeptical, I'm afraid.

    If the Singularity 19 DAC was anything to go by, I wouldn't hold out much hope there. But perhaps the new R-2R 7 is a completely different animal. From what I understand it uses different converter modules, which probably can't help but improve things. But, again, I'm not going to put my money on the line to find out based on prior experiences in this realm.

    --

    And with the whole "giant killer" thing, you have to pay extra close attention to those making such claims. Partly because they seem to have a habit of doing it with whatever their personal FotM is, partly because they only ever seem to listen to gear that they regard this way, but mostly because they're almost always wrong. Giant killers are super-rare. I've come across maybe half a dozen in more than 30 years in the hobby ... and that's if we include every class of equipment ... right down to discrete parts like cartridges.
     
  7. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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  8. CKKeung

    CKKeung New

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    LKS 004 is quite popular in Hong Kong.
    There have been many local user reports and comparison vs other DACs.
    Employing two ESS9038Pro, its sonic performance is better than Oppo Sonica whereas the latter has more functions/more versatile.
    Even a fully modded (Level 3) Holo cannot win a 004 sonically.
     
  9. bengo

    bengo Friend

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    Different topologies equals different sound, not betterest or worstest. Although most folks here seem to prefer R2R DACs like the Holo over any delta-sigma, and especially over ESS (Sabre) based DACs.

    Do yourself a favour, get a listen to an R2R DAC like Soekris, Schiit, Holo, Metrum, random TDA1543 shit from ebay, etc. Some of these are also cheap. Maybe then you will understand that not everyone is just comparing different Sabre implementations to each other.
     
  10. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Beats headphones are pretty popular too. And those people like them too, though for other reasons than what people here would give.
     
  11. Lenny

    Lenny Insecure and possibly deaf

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    I'm new here and I'm surprised to read such negative comments on a DAC you haven't heard. I have one and I think it's really fine. Most of my listening has been to classical music on vinyl. The LKS is the first DAC I have ever used that gives my vinyl front end some real competition. I can't compare it to many other DACS because, as I said, I have been listening mostly to vinyl. But there have been many favorable comparisons around the internet comparing to other DACS, some of them quite a bit more expensive.

    What an awful title to this thread!

    I'd be happy to provide more information and impressions if anyone asks.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2017
  12. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    Like there are no turntables that sound like crap.
    I'm listinening to vinyl doesn't mean anything to anybody.
     
  13. Lenny

    Lenny Insecure and possibly deaf

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    My, my, what a friendly place.

    First they disparage a DAC they have never heard.

    Then they tell me that my analog front end might "sound like crap."

    Well, here's a list of DACs that someone on some forum have so far said is out performed by the LKS 004. Some are more, some are less, expensive:

    GUSTARD DAC-X20 Pro Super Ultimate
    modified Schiit Yggdrasil
    modified LKS 003
    CA DACMagic
    EE MiniMAX Plus
    EE Supreme
    vega dac
    holo spring level three
    bluesound vault2
    sonica dac
    mytek brooklyn
    auralic altair
    Auralic Vega
    T+A DAC 8 DSD
    Level 3 Holo
    Marantz SA-10
    One correspondent writes that the T+A DAC 8 is better than the LKS in DSD mode, but the LKS outperforms in the PCM mode.

    But I'm certain this won't impress the deniers!
     
  14. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    The mantra of this forum is to remain skeptical. You can judge all you want but most DACs that have been declared giant killers by the press, other reviewers, etc suck. We're skeptical here until enough trusted members have declared it a winner.

    I'll be honest, most people on other forums are looking for the next best thing and haven't owned the same good system long enough to make a good comparison. In your shoes I'd be skeptical of claims that this is better than X, Y, Z, etc DACs until you have had enough time to compare yourself.

    It's okay to like it. It's not okay to be insecure because you don't understand the culture here.
     
  15. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Zero is correct in his post. He just didn't add to read this thread first: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/must-read-for-new-members.3/

    Based on your post, it doesn't look like you did.

    Are there actual links to these "reviews"? Is it anyone we know whose actual reviewing skills people here trust? If not, you're not any different than the OP.
     
  16. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    Not really, but that's not the point of this place. The equipment comes first. And respect for opinions on equipment has to be earned. If along the way you start to hang out with folks here, then the "Friends" part might kick in. You're in New York, you have an advantage in that respect. But if you are just looking for a great knowledge base about audio equipment, then you are in the right place. You might end up saving money and time as I have.
     
  17. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    @Lenny As different as this place is compared to other forums, you will start liking it if you lurk around enough. Better to have a healthy dose of skepticism than to spend money on unproven stuff. Well, i learned it the hard way after making a bunch of bad purchases following lauding reviews in other forums & youtube videos. It's useful to be questioned and criticized, esp. by folks who know their stuff.
     
  18. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    WTF this actually exists???
     
  19. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    There is someone on some forum named GUTB and he said...

    Things just don't work that way.
     
  20. GanGreinke

    GanGreinke Friend

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    Funny you should mention GUTB. When I saw the Gustard X-20 Pro Super Ultimate, I was wondering if that was the name of an X-20 that had been modded using the methods outlined by Ric Schultz.

    Coincidentally, he has also created a guide on how to mod the DA004 as well, and he appears to recommend a lot of the same "tweaks."
     

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