I recently placed a Mutec MC3+ USB between my ND5XS2 and Chord Qutest and was stunned by the improvement it has brought. I was super skeptical beforehand since I thought the bnc out of the nd5 was already very good but only now I realize what the Qutest is capable of.
Suddenly there is more space between instruments, blacker background, more acoustical information within the recording, punchier and tighter bass, sweeter less harsh treble and a sound that makes me relax more. I sold my Hicap DR recently and for the less money this is a bigger upgrade.
For everyone with an external DAC I recommend to try this decide. Great bang for the buck!
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Did anyone try the mutec between nd5xs2 and nDac?
Curious about that too.
According to several reviews it’s a great addition to any DAC they used to test it.
Not more enthusiastic mutec users on here?
I used one between an original ND5XS and an nDAC. I was shocked at the difference it made - one of the biggest one step upgrades that I’ve ever made.
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Hi Chris, very interesting to hear about this. As I do not have sufficient space in my cabinet to add a full blown power supply, I was looking for an alternative way to further upgrade my system and the Mutec might just be it.
I agree. It’s stunning what it does to your transport.
Especially since I believe clocks are such an undervalued item to upgrade.
Thank you for posting this. Innuos recommended to me the Mutec as a way to connect the Zen Mk3 to the BNC connection of my 272. I was primarily interested as a way to stream Qobuz without having to upgrade my system or use some other 3rd party software. I haven’t made the leap yet, but it is on my radar. But it does read like there are sonic benefits.
This is puzzling to me as the nDAC loads the incoming PCM signal into a buffer and then re-clocks the data stream with it’s own clocks. I’m therefore struggling to understand how it is that the Mutec re-clocking the signal before it enters the nDAC (only to then be re-clocked again) improves the nDAC’s performance so much.
Naim must be doing something fundamentally wrong if adding a Mutec between their streamer and (legacy) DAC improves the sound in such a dramatic fashion. It makes me wonder what a Naim streamer actually brings to the party compared to a “generic” steamer such as the Zen Steam (which is what I have).
I wrote that I was “shocked” at the improvement the Mutec brought to the sound of the nDac and this in part was due to me not expecting much difference. I can only suggest that a reclocking buffer isn’t a 100% solution to problems with the input data stream. Far newer DAC designs than the nDac are also found to benefit from the Mutec or other DDC’s available. I also use a Gustard U28 in front of an A26 with great results.
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