Former MHDT Havana Lovers: What did you move onto?

mhdt SS Constantine is NOS I believe and despite going second hand for under $500 generally and having heard some very expensive and top notch digital in other reference systems, I find it hard to fault whereas teh Paradisea though lovely sounding in teh right system does demonstrate some clear deficiencies and biases, at least with the stock GE tube (warm/soft but musically engaging, slightly rolled off bass, limited dynamics) although tube rolling does make a big difference as I would guess it might as well with the Havana.

I had the Havana and Bryston in my system side by side for quite a while and I thought the Bryston was better and have that as my DAC in my main system right now. I also have the Paradisea which I replaced a 3500 Wavelength Cosecant a few years ago with (I thought the Paradisea sounded better) even thought the Cosecant was 5X the price. I still think the Paradisea is really nice sounding and I ended up keeping that for my bedroom system. I just bought a Benchmark DAC for my shop system that I am upgrading so that should be a sharp contrast to either the Bryston or Paradisea. I think both the MHDT DACs are the kind where when you back and forth vs a more resolving DAC you are thinking ohhh the reverb trails aren't as long or I can hear the triangle way in the back but the thing is they seem to just flow better and make music good to listen to when you are not worrying about resolving every little nook and cranny or being in that kind of critical mode. If you like the listen ultra critical maybe some of the others are better but for just great musical flow the MHDTs are pretty great especially for the money I think.

I would agree in general with Ejlif's assessment.

I was eyeballing the Benchmark after owning the Paradisea but decided to try the Constantine first for less than half the cost and have not budged since.

The Paradisea sounds lovely even with stock tube in my second family room A/V system. Tube rolling is required to use it in my main rig otherwise things get too "tubey" sounding. WIth NOS Tung Sol tube in the Paradisea, the sound is more SS like and similar to the Constantine, but I think the Constantine is still better, at least in my rig.

I listen to a lot of rock/pop/electronica. That is where I find it harder to live with a tube DAC in my big rig. Its less of an issue in my lesser rig. If these kinds of music are not a concern, then a tube DAC is perhaps an easier choice. Of course a lot depends on the rest of your rig and getting the right balance end to end accordingly. Even the best most expensive DAC will not shine unless the whole end to end synergy is taken into account.

Well, I've got a Calyx 24/192 DAC on the way!

I also got the V-Cap OIMPs installed in my Havana. They only have about 24 hours on them but there is definitely a significant level of added clarity (and in turn inner detail) and immediacy. At this point things sound a little shut in narrow, but soundstage expansion is supposedly one of the hallmarks of these caps so I'm not worried. Interestingly it also sounds a little warmer, which may not be the best thing for this DAC.

I'll post my impressions of the Calyx once it's burned in.

Well, the Calyx is burned in and it is sounding marvelous! The scale is a great deal larger than the Havana and Bel Canto -- wider, deeper, and taller. In terms of timbre and tonality, I am more than satisfied coming from the Havana. Inner detail and articulation, image precision, dynamics, and bass definition are all great improvements over the Havana and Bel Canto. Despite the high level of detail it is not hard, etched, or bright in any way. On the contrary, some may find it too soft, but I think it is just right. Transparency and noise floor are also very good. Build quality is superb.

I am very happy and will not upgrade until I can try something like the Berkeley Alpha DAC or something else in the $5k+ range, but that is a long ways ahead. I am not even using an outboard power supply, which is now available from Calyx.

By the way, no longer using the Placette, but that was after the Calyx came in. Also upgraded my power amp twice and the Calyx is in no way outmatched by the rest of my gear. In fact, I am planning on upgrading the speakers and pre before the DAC:

W4S STP-SE
Luxman M-600a
Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor M
REL B2
Audience AU24e speaker cables and IC (DAC -> pre)
JPS Superconductor 2 IC (pre -> power)
Audience powerChord e

Some helpful links about the DAC:

http://www.digitalaudioblog.com/2011/02/review-calyx-dac-24192.html

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/calyx3/1.html

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Calyx-vs-QB-9-and-winner

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Weiss-202-vs-Calyx-And-winner