MHDT Labs R-2R NOS Tube DACs

Animated gif of them: http://www.basshead.club/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/atlantis_comparison.gif

 

your link did not work for me, got a site not found error

 

Bah... I'll have to bug support about that. I'll upload it on another site:

 

Just got some 6н26п tubes.

 

For anyone wondering, these were the upgrades done to one of my Atlantis dacs:

• Output capacitors are Russian K40Y9 1uF/200V (paper in oil)
• Main power caps are ELNA SILMIC 2200uF/35V instead of Nichicon Fine Gold 3300uF/35V
• All 100uf Nichicon MUSE caps replaced with Elna Silmic II 100uf/35V
• RCA digital input now uses Murata DA101C transformer instead of cap input
• Digital input cap: 0.01uf WIMA FKC instead of SMD 0.01uf
• Audio grade fuse: 1A 250V slow blow
• Larger toroidal transformer
  • 53VA
  • I/P:0-115V 0-115V 50/60Hz
  • O/P:15V-0-15V 0.7A
  • 8V-0-8V 2.0A

 

Did you make these changes yourself, or did you have someone else do them for you? (If so, who?! )

I think, if I was going to undertake mods of that scale, I'd probably take the transformer external, unless the upgraded one exhibits less mechanical vibration (though I'm using a Stockholm 2, not an Atlantis).

With the Stockholm, I found useful gains using StillPoints under the thing ... not that I stuck with them, they cost more than the DAC and the bloody thing kept sliding off them every time I turned it on. But, for the most part, it seemed they were helping with transformer vibration not exciting any microphonic of the tube buffer.

 

A friend helped me out. I'm trying to convince him to help with a second at some point buy it'll probably be a while.

As for vibration, PM me your address and I'll send you some nice pads that can be had for cheap.

 

The Atlantis+ has been taking the mainstage at home. It's absolutely outstanding. More detailed and clear than the stock unit, with the slight tradeoff to my ears of less treble rolloff (so, a good thing for most people). The standard Atlantis is going on a mini-tour to a few folks. When it returns, the Atlantis+ should be fully burned in and I'll be able to do a proper A/B comparison.

 

Is Atlantis+ MHDT Lab's current TOTL DAC? How does it fare against other R-2R DAC's in its price range, notably Gungnir Multibit?

 

That is Bert.

 

The Pagoda is really the current top (specifically the balanced version).

I posted a comparison on HF of the three that I'll copy here.

Compared to Gungnir Multibit, these are all a bit warmer. The Pagoda with a Bendix or Sylvania tube is probably the exception, as it can get semi bright with those tubes. Either way, they're always non-oversampling.

Copy/paste go!

The Setup

Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB -> MHDT Labs Stockholm V2 w/ AEG tube -> Garage1217 Project Horizon III w/ 6N6P tube.

This weekend I'll try it out at home with the ampsandsound Mogwai amp, but I'm using the Stockholm at work for now.

Some Thoughts

Stockholm = Hot Cheerleader
Pagoda = Hot Librarian
Atlantis = Hot Girl Next Door

They're all hot! Different flavors.

The Stockholm is the most euphonic tuning of the three. Warmer, weightier sound with an undeniable musicality. She's gorgeous and popular, and teases the hell out of you. But damn she's fun. You lust after her.

The Pagoda is the most detailed and accurate, but it has a wild side. She's intelligent, calculating, and utterly capable of rendering you hopelessly in love. She also makes more money than you.

The Atlantis is a little more unassuming, but give it the right tubes and it sings. She's beautiful without makeup and unaware of how pretty she really is. Her kindness, honesty, and sense of humor enrapture you and make your heart skip. You can't stop thinking about her.

Meaningless Rankings
These rankings are based on what I perceive as the character of the DAC itself, absent of tubes (I've rolled so many that I can roll ~3 tubes and know roughly what the DAC is imparting on the character at this point).

These differences are subtle. All three have a rich, organic, natural musicality and all render instruments with a gorgeous timbre. Differences are +/- a few percent, with gaps tightened or even closed depending on the tubes used.

Detailed: Pagoda > Atlantis > Stockholm
Organic: Pagoda = Atlantis = Stockholm
Timbre: Pagoda = Stockholm = Atlantis
Musical: Stockholm > Pagoda > Atlantis
Soundstage Width: Pagoda = Atlantis > Stockholm
Soundstage Depth: Pagoda = Stockholm > Atlantis
Accurate: Pagoda > Atlantis > Stockholm
Dry: Atlantis > Pagoda > Stockholm
Warm: Stockholm > Atlantis > Pagoda
Liquid: Stockholm > Pagoda > Atlantis
Adaptable: Atlantis > Stockholm > Pagoda
Bright: Pagoda > Atlantis > Stockholm
Speed: Pagoda > Atlantis > Stockholm
Vocals: Atlantis > Pagoda > Stockholm
Euphoric: Stockholm > Pagoda > Atlantis
Thickness: Stockholm > Pagoda > Atlantis
Smooth: Stockholm > Atlantis > Pagoda

Some advantages of each:

Atlantis: The Atlantis is the most responsive to tube changes of the three, imparting the least of its own flavor to the music. It can range from bright and dry with a Bendix tube to warm and liquid with a GE Triple Mica.

This is a blessing and a curse. If you give it a bright tube, it can become too bright. If you give it a warm tube, it can be too rolled off. The Pagoda and Stockholm are less responsive to tube rolling--you can nudge each in different directions with tube changes, but you're not going to roll a tube and suddenly think, "well, my dac sounds like crap."

That said, the relative rankings can be shifted significantly by rolling tubes.

Stockholm: Absolute musicality. This is probably the most fun to listen to of the three. You aren't going to hear as deep into the music as the Pagoda, nor can you effect as much change with different tubes as you can with the Atlantis

But, it has a gorgeous, toe-tapping sound. I listened most of the day at work to it and swapped in a GE Triple Mica tube to get my bearings. That tube makes the Stockholm too warm and syrupy, so you're likely best going with a Bendix/AEG/Sylvania tube or their ilk with this dac.

Pagoda: The refined approach. Euphonic? Yes. Detailed? Yes. This is the brighest of the three both to my ears and as far as measurements are concerned (-1dB at 20kHz as opposed to -2dB for the Atlantis and Stockholm.

It's technically the most impressive of the three and will get you the audiophile-desired clarity, accuracy, and refinement that many people want. But, it also deliver sit with an organic timbre just like the Stockholm and Atlantis.

Further comments:

The stock sonic emphasis goes something like this in overall frequency response. Again, keep in mind that this is +/- a few percent.

Treble = Pagoda | Mids = Atlantis | Bass = Stockholm

Based on my basshead preferences, that would usually mean I'd lean toward the Stockholm as my preferred choice. But life is complicated, mkay?

Bass impact is superior on the Stockholm, and the Pagoda even punches quite hard. However, what makes me lean toward the Altantis is that it's a freakin' chameleon.

Rolling tubes in the Atlantis can yield significant changes. I generally use GE Triple Mica tubes in the Atlantis, as it thickens the sound a bit (removes the dryness) and adds nice weight to the bass. And, most of the weight is lower in the bass regions toward sub-bass, so it doesn't muddy the sound at all. The Stockholm with the same tube gets a little too muddy and encroaches on mids.

I finally bit the bullet a bit ago and grabbed Tesla 6CC42 Pinched Waist D-Getter tubes. They're harder to find than Western Electrics, but they're around the same price. These tubes are outstanding to my ears. They add many of the qualities of the Bendix in clarity and detail without emphasizing treble as well as much of the euphoria of the Western Electric tubes without going too smooth. The bass is also well extended. Highly recommended with an Atlantis and Pagoda, perhaps not with the Stockholm.

If you fancy yourself a modder, you can mod these DACs with various upgrades. The Pagoda seems largely upgraded as is, and the Stockholm has a few more bells and whistles than the Atlantis. I upgraded one Atlantis, which added additional detail and clarity to the sound while retaining its largely mid-focused character. It also has the larger toroidal transformer, but (as Jiun pointed out to me in an email), it's really only necessary for their balanced DACs.

Where was I going with this?

Ah yes.

The Stockholm wins in overall musicality between the three DACs. The Pagoda wins in overall audiophile-ness. The Atlantis wins if you want a tube-rolling DAC and enjoy optimizing sound.

Frankly, if you have an MHDT Labs DAC, you win. Differences between any good DAC are minimal. Differences between R-2R DACs designed and built by the same manufacturer a smaller still.

If I hadn't modded one of my Atlantis DACs, I'd have probably sold one and purchased a Stockholm to have two different flavors.

 

Great write-up, @Marvey. Mids are definitely the strong point of the Atlantis. If you have a chance, roll in the GE Triple Mica. It eliminates the dryness, adds sub-bass extension, and makes it even more romantic and tube-like.

The Atlantis+ I have adds to the detail and dynamics a fair bit over the stock Atlantis, but it's still essentially the same tone.

 

Probably relying on cheap digital receivers and not too beefy power supply.

 

The GE Triple Mica has medium detail, medium soundstage, excellent bass, super musical, rich mids, good extension. It's my favorite to listen to.

I had a (not burned in) Tesla Pinched Waist in there because people traditionally prefer it and it's fancy. I still haven't burned one of those in but really should.

Might as well leave the GE in there for when you send it off to the next person.

Now that I have two badass DACs I'm not in a huge rush to get it back, so take your time (but I'll probably sell that one after it comes home unless I prefer my modded Atlantis to the Sonic Frontiers DAC... At which point I'll mod the tour DAC too).

 

MHDT has a new 4x TDA1545A DAC called the Canary.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/122010816689

Mine arrived while I was in Cancun.

 

@Luckbad you never managed to tell us your thoughts on the Canary, thanks.