DAC shopping.....

[jcotner]

I'm shopping for a new DAC for my system.
My top two contenders now are the Lynx Hilo and Mytek DSD.
They are both considered mastering quality and the Hilo
has the added benefit of an 192KHz ADC.
Anybody think there is better than this in this price range.
I don't really need multichannel converters for my normal
work flow and think my money can be best spent on a great
stereo DAC.
Oh and if you use either the Mytek or Hilo please chime in.
Thanks.

[Kubi]

Don't know either, but good on 'ya - having my Benchmarks makes a huge difference.

Haven't had use for 192k yet. For the most part am still in 44/48k land. I did taste blood working with 88.2/96k recently, but for the time being it's impractical for most of my projects to go there, let alone 192k.

[Prime Mover]

Don't know either, but good on 'ya - having my Benchmarks makes a huge difference.

Haven't had use for 192k yet. For the most part am still in 44/48k land. I did taste blood working with 88.2/96k recently, but for the time being it's impractical for most of my projects to go there, let alone 192k.

Interesting thing I noticed in the latest edition of Mastering Audio (Bob Katz), he seems to theorize that the improvement of 88.2/96 over 44.1/48 may be due to the employment of higher quality converters and low-pass filtering, not necessarily the sample rate itself. He and some other engineers ran various experiments, but came up with conflicting results.

I sure hope that it turns out that 44/48 could be made to sound just as good as 88/96, it seems like a complete waste of processing power and harddrive space. My machines couldn't handle my projects at 88/96.

Hopefully RadioGal will chime in, she's done a lot of study in that area.

[Kubi]

Actually, we probably shouldn't hijack this thread!

OP wanted to see if there are any testimonials on the converters he's eyeing, Lynx Hilo or Mytek DSD. Or other recommendations in his price range.

I like my Benchmarks a lot, but can't make recommendations since I have never heard the two he mentions.

[kgdrum]

@ the OP
I think GearSlutz has a bunch of threads about the Mytek and Lynx Dacs.

[jcotner]

@ the OP
I think GearSlutz has a bunch of threads about the Mytek and Lynx Dacs.

They do and I've been through them, but you need to understand that I consider my fellow DP users a lot more like family and value the opinions more than just web trolling. These are so called "mastering converters" and I would imagine not the common equipment for a lot here but this is a lot of money for me and would like to gather all the input I can.

[HCMarkus]

Whatever you think you might like, I'd recommend you buy from a dealer that will let you compare candidate converters side by side. Id' also recommend you include a modestly priced unit in the review... It is very easy to succumb to the placebo effect when it comes to audio.

[mhschmieder]

Both are excellent and quite different in purpose and design. I was at AES so saw quite a few new models. There's more emphasis right now on 2-channel D/A than 2-channel A/D. I guess the multi-channel A/D is so good now that there's less reason to upgrade a dedicated 2-channel "overdub" module after initial tracking.

The Mytek has gone through a lot of revisions over the past few years of announcements. The final design has pulled back some features and added others. My personal feeling is that the right choices were made and the half-rack size addresses some of the contact plate issues and heat buildup issues of the old third-rack module form factor.

The Lynx HiLo will be more future-proof in a way, but Mytek does firmware updates as well. The Lynx has it over Mytek in having a screen-based interface that allows for more functional changes in updates, but I personally prefer mechanical knobs. Also, the Mytek is easier to rack and merge with other hardware modules in a spartan setup. I think the Lynx is meant more for desktop than portable recording. The Mytek will be cheaper in some markets, at least.

[mhschmieder]

I know the OP also wants testimonials on the SOUND of these converters.

What I was getting at with my initial comment is that these would be my top two choices (for under $2500), and I could be happy with either. I'd have to compare side-by-side (obviously can't do that at AES) to REALLY state the differences for real, but my perception is that the Mytek is the most transparent and truthful overall, but the Lynx might have slightly superior imaging and frequency range extremes. The listening environment wasn't identical though so I'm hesitant to say with finality that either unit is superior to each other; I do however feel safe in saying that BOTH are superior to anything else on the market under $2K.

[jcotner]

I know the OP also wants testimonials on the SOUND of these converters.

Thanks for the input. There is a fair amount of side by side talk amoung the Audiophiles, but you would have a much better concept of the operating enviroment.

The big reason for me to consider the Hilo is my A/Ds are 96Khz and 2001 vintage. I'd have to add A/Ds to the Mytek and it seems like maybe a good option because the Hilo is $800 more than the Mytek. 99% of the time I only need a stereo pair to track one of the synths into DP. I only intend to have one great D/A in the system for tracking and mastering so I want sonic transparency.

I did consider some of the MOTU options, because I already have a 424 card, but since I have to change out the G5 and then would have to buy a new 424 card; so I wasn't quite so hot on the MOTU path. I also think that maybe the MOTU converters aren't quite of the Mytek or Lynx caliber either.
Black Lion might make them sound better but Magic D tells me MOTU won't work on them after the Black Lion mods.

BTW mhschmieder did you used to live in London some years ago. If I have you confused with somebody else, forgive the question.

[jcotner]

Well the Lynx Hilo it is. A 15% discount got me off the fence. If one can get past the price the Hilo does quite a bit of stuff. For tracking in the analog (or S/PDIF) synths I can route the inputs back to the monitor outs as well as driving either USB or digital outs to DP, so I've got very low latency monitoring all in one box. Being able to play DSD for me is a plus since I have a ton of SACDs. I hope this turns out to be a wise choice.