The Mystique V2 SE arrived yesterday and I got it plugged in and decoding audio as soon as I could to warm it up. I finally listened today for about 2.5 hours after it had been warming for ~26 hours.
Iāve got a standard list of songs I use that all have some feature or aspect that I use to check the capabilities of my system, itās mostly Nine Inch Nails and metalcore but thereās a few other random outliers as well.
Right away, there was an immediacy to music that Iāve never heard before. And it was such a live, organic sound that legitimately sounded, at times, like I was in the studio listening as the songs were being played live. Kick drums in particular have such a fast, satisfying thud with great impact/slam that feels and sounds like itās in the room.
And the bass synth is missing its sharper edge almost entirely. Instead, through the Mystique, it sounds like an analog synthesizer is plugged into an amp and it takes on the characteristics of that riff when the song is played live; itās much bassier and doesnāt usually have the sharper sawtooth edge that OS DACs really emphasize. It sounded more like a live instrument being played rather than a programmed synth and I havenāt heard it sound like that since 2005-2006 when touring member Alessandro Cortini was playing the bass riff live during every performance.
It is such a fast, punchy DAC. Summer of 2021, I auditioned the Atlantis, Orchid, and Pagoda balanced DACs from MHDT Labs, and the Atlantis (AD1862) w/WE396a tube was by far my favorite for the same reason. The Pagoda balanced had a wider soundstage and better layering/separation, but bass was bloated as fuck to the point of it being unlistenable and the highs were weirdly harsh and sharp. The Atlantis just sounded right. At first, I thought it was lean, but bass was just so tight and well-controlled that it might it clear how bloated and poor performing other DACs are.
Thatās exactly how I feel with the Mystique as well, but itās even better than the Atlantis, despite using the lesser AD1865.
In addition to that, the stage is so unbelievably wideā¦wider than any other DAC Iāve ever heard. There was stuff coming from at least 10ft outside the walls. And when I closed my eyes, the speakers just disappeared.
This DAC has once again shifted by entire paradigm. I thought the Lampi L4+/G4+ was the most holographic Iād ever heard and I guess it was until this DAC. This makes the Lampi sound flat and somewhat constrained both horizontally and vertically.
The Mystique sometimes had shit coming from the far right/left of the ceiling, both in front and behind. And while still not 5.1, this DAC is the closest 2.0 has ever sounded to surround. The Downward Spiral was released in 5.1 for the 10th anniversary in 2004, so I have that as a reference, and there were certainly times where things sounded like they were nearly completely behind me.
And the layering/separation is second to none Iāve ever heard before. The stage is so deep and tall, both of which I thought Iād experienced before but this has shown it was not what I thought it was. I cannot believe how many little sounds and layers Iād never noticed before were suddenly completely present with their own space carved out in the mix. Itās so engaging.
Itās not perfect, though. Highs are definitely missing sparkle. Cymbals are present but often lost in louder/more aggressive mixes. They often sound behind and below the rest of the mix. It reminds me a lot of how the HD6XX and Atticus handle cymbals. Iām going to experiment with a high shelf in Roon to see if that can help at all and Iām also going to use REW to get new room measurements to see if that has any major effect.
This DAC is also extremely unforgiving of bad source material. A few more modern metalcore releases (The Ghost Insideās Get What You Give and Every Time I Dieās Radical) both sound excellent through the Lampi and my modded GDA-600, but they sounded borderline harsh and poorly mixed through the Mystique. Radical in particular, produced by current metalcore golden boy Will Putney, goes hard on the mids, bass is a bit anemic, and highs are very much in the background. Itās crazy this sounds good through other chains after hearing it here.
But for material that was recorded/mixed/mastered well, this DAC is absolutely amazing. Iām really excited to continue listening to this DAC and I definitely think Iām a fan of the Mojo sound.
For those who own newer and higher-end models, do those have better highs? Iām not looking for like Schiit-level oversampled highs, I just want them to be a bit more engaging and sparkly and present in the mix.
