The MDA1K is dead... LONG LIVE THE MDA1K!

[-E-]

I'll preface this writing by first stating that I have been searching to replace the MDA1000 for some time in my system, mostly because of the moving trend to incorporating USB connectivity, new DACs that are supposed to blow your mind, and also picking up a separate pre-amp with dual balanced outputs so I can run the main amp and a sub (or pair of subs) without killing off some db by going the unbalanced route. I have been listening to several DACs, including the new McDACs found in the MCD line of players.

So then, off I was yesterday to dteam702 (Dewey)'s home, where he has a very immaculately kept rig that consisted of SF Futuras powered by MC601's, the C500C+T, Nordost cables, and the DAC that has been on my radar for awhile: the W4S DAC-2.

Just to have some fun, I disconnected the MDA1000 from my rig and lugged it over to Dewey's place, along with loading up the laptop with enough high-res (96/24, 88/24) and then standard-res (44.1/16) music files to be able to properly A/B the two units together both connected to the C500 (as to allow a DAC-only comparison).

After a fantastic afternoon with my gracious hosts watching (read: screaming at) some great football games over some great food and drink, the sun went down, the kids were put to bed, and then Dewey and I went to work messing with the connectivity to make sure we could quickly and easily swap back and forth between the MDA1000, the W4S DAC-2, as well as switching sources from the Laptop to his Sonos (modded).

Let me reiterate: my audio goal of the evening (football goal satisfied by watching Brady lose) was to find a reason to ditch the MDA.

As we started to go back and forth with some tracks, from Enigma to Gladys Knight, from Adele to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue... over and over again the depth, soundstage, and overall re-creation of the music was nothing short of a night-and-day difference between the two DACs (also to remember, the W4S chip is the same used in the MCD1100, and a "superior" chip to the one used in the swanky new D100).

And by night-and-day difference I mean drastic. We were listening to two completely different systems. The overall tonal warmth of the Futuras with MC601's and the C500 tube pre delivers a sublime match of grace, force, and detail - an iron fist in a velvet glove if you will. Until you mess with the DAC. One DAC was... "analog-y" and the other was "digital-y." How do you express it any other way? One DAC gave you a bit more bass but lost overall definition, with a narrower soundstage, almost shrinking the speakers... speakers that are no joke in either footprint or how much sound they can produce to fill a room. The other DAC, while not as prominent in the bass, was incredibly smooth, open, with a mile-wide soundstage that became three dimensional - as in you could hear and pinpoint where the singer was, where the drummer was, where the guitars were on stage, from front to back (not just left to right).

We kept going back and forth between the DACs, comparing more and more tracks in various bit depths and sampling rates - just to make sure we weren't kidding ourselves. The MDA1000 shined.

Our heads were shaking in disbelief that this old, non-USB, not-able-to-receive-a-192khz signal DAC was sounding so amazing. At any volume level, ear fatigue was eliminated while definition and detail was improved.

Until I can find a true competitor for the MDA1000 (and at a reasonable price), it stays. Any 192 material I will just have to transcode down to 96/24 and "suffer."

So, there we have it - long live the MDA1000.

[bdowell]

Great post. Thsnks

[JBT]

I still love mine!!! My MCD1000 is gone simply because of SACD, but make no mistake about it, the MDA is a Mcintosh statement piece!!

[Pyro]

Glad to hear your results. I really like my MDA1K.

[bakerman]

Nice little shoot-out review. I read it as, even though the MDA1000 was the preferred DAC, both DAC's were very close in sound quality. As a DAC2 owner I'm impressed that a 1.5K DAC competed with a DAC that cost around 8K in 2006.

[dteam702]

Great write up E, you now got me wanting to replace my W4S for the MDA1k..

[-E-]

I'm actually thinking of replacing the HiFace with the HiFace EVO now just to get AES/EBU connectivity... with the MDA1000.

Damn me for experimenting...

[joeinid]

Sounds like you guys had a great time. I'm sure it was a blast. Thanks for sharing.

[dteam702]

Originally Posted by joeinid

Sounds like you guys had a great time. I'm sure it was a blast. Thanks for sharing.

We had a blast Joe..

If you're ever in town look us up

[Jerome W]

The MDA1000 has a unique, beautiful, highly musical sound. I'm not surprised by your findings.
Thanks a lot for sharing !