It was the pre-Apex 2.0 - the Apex was a non-starter on price grounds. It was very, very good, but I was surprised that it improved significantly with the addition of a decent streamer, replacing the on-board connection (Auralic Aries G1.1), which of course added to the cost of the system. The...

When I was auditioning DACs, I was doing so without preconception as to architecture (I've had both ESS and AKM as well as TDA1541 DACs), but it was interesting that, after a lot of auditioning, I ended up with a shortlist of three, all of which were custom FPGA architectures: the Bartok, the...

My understanding is that all signal processing is carried out by SHARC FPGAs, with the signal then fed to a discrete FIR DAC.

All very nice indeed, but my favourite is the Black Art series from Bruichladdich - each release is slightly difference, but they're the finest whiskies I've ever tasted - I've got the 3 and 4 releases (I think they're on 9 now)

…and here's the flight case. There's also a larger 'system' remote for Mola Mola - about €700 IIRC - you'll see it on their web site.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! What system are you using it in?

I leave mine on all the time - it uses an OCXO which apparently runs at 75ºC, so takes a while to stabilise if it's coming from cold. Pulls about 22w

We've obviously had the same discussion with Mola Mola (they're very good at responding) and that also backs up my experience that - the one time I tried the i2s input, I couldn't hear any difference. I would though be interested in trying a Red or an Aries in the system, just to see if there is...

I also run my MMT through a tube/valve amp (Octave v110SE) and find that I do prefer the sound via the Octave preamp section rather than running the MMT in preamp mode into the Octave’s power amp section. As I and others have noted, the MMT is remarkably consistent in its handling of different...

Very much my experience. What made the MMT a standout was just the engagement and - for want of a better word - musicality it offered, rather than any tiny detail relative to another. And this was to the extent of, on my firing it up in my system for the first time (it was on audition loan from...

Interesting - I haven't auditioned either your #1 or #3 dacs (and, having just checked their prices, I know why!). The MMT does appear to hold up well against ANY competition, which is good to see. My own rating (against not inexpensive, but more peer-priced and lower) currently goes something...

Apologies for my gratuitous use of acronyms: HQP is HQ Player, very highly regarded upsampling/filtering software that runs either discretely on Mac/Win/Linux or as an embedded tool on Linux. It can either run a DAC directly if that DAC supports it (look for NAA in the spec) or via Roon (which...

You’re right, it doesn’t: having extensively used HQP with my previous DAC, and found that it made a big difference, I found that HQP with the MMT made effectively no difference to the sound. Jussi the developer of HQP also suggests that the architecture of the MMT is highly invariant to...

I run Roon on a Mac Mini to feed the Tambaqui via Ethernet. But I’ve also run via HQP on USB & i2s

Having an integrated server/streamer makes sense, but I’ve found that the Tambaqui’s built-in streamer (which identifies as Pi-based) is of very good quality. I’ve not found any improvement over it with Pi2AES, Auralic or a couple of other streamers I’ve tried. The only thing I’ve found that...

Just checked mine - it’s fine. Maybe just a slight misalignment in case assembly? I’ve not taken mine apart so am unsure of how it’s held together

I was using HQP heavily with my previous DAC and, yes, I would like to see it. However, the fact that the MMT does its own upsampling to PWM rather makes HQP superfluous. Jussi confirms that, and my own tests of HQP with the MMT (via USB) show little to no effective improvement

Please post the outcome - I’m thinking of either the Holo Red or the Denafrips ARCE. Have you established the I2S pinouts needed to connect the Red to the Tambaqui?

Very interested to hear that - that was exactly my reaction to the Tambaqui, even against such very distinguished competition. Even at ex-demo price, it's the most I've ever spent on a hifi component (I usually buy ex-demo or mint s/h), but don't regret it for a moment - it truly is...

Would be very interested in your view of the T&A vs the Tambaqui. I didn’t get a chance to try that DAC, but I was comparing to the Chord Dave, the DCs Bartok and the Teac UD-701n - all very good DACs (and the Teac is great value for money) but the MMT - in my system and for my and my partner’s...

I too have resisted DACs at that price point up to now. Then a dealer lent me a Tambaqui to compare at home with the Teac UD-701n and my Gustard A26. Suffice it to say that I’m now two weeks into Tambaqui ownership: it truly is an astonishing piece of kit. You have been warned 😁

I’ve given up on the A26 following progressive failure of the streamer and a near-complete lack of support by Gustard. In fact, the streamer side of this DAC appears to be a cheapskate afterthought to and otherwise good piece of kit. No more Gustard for me - it’s gone back and been refunded by...

I had to borrow a Windoze machine to upgrade - the A26 just wouldn’t appear on the Mac USB bus. Gustard eventually told me that the Mac-based instructions for upgrading the R26 do not work for the A26. Although the streamer board on the A26 is proving so unreliable, and Gustard’s support so poor...

Updated to 1.42 having scrounged the loan of a PC (you wouldn’t believe how few people around here have windows machines), thought it was fixed, but then it pulled the same stunt this afternoon -couldn’t be seen on the network and wouldn’t come back until hard power cycled.

Same as you, and same network setup. But, in the last few days, It's started either distorting badly then cutting out, or just cutting out. At that point it won't respond to the controls and has to be power cycled.