Optimized
For
44.1KHz To 88.2KHz and 176.4KHz
SUPER 24
BIT 192
KHZ DAC
BY MHZS
"WHICH
BETTER THAN CS OR BB DAC"
Wow, this looks
mighty cool. Vacuum Tube Player. That's what we have
been asking all the time. Tube player and high-end audiophile. It seems
like this is it.
I am not so sure
what HDCD TUBE CD stands for, but I trust them it is a
hell of a feature.
But thank God for
the Accurate Optimized Output !!!!
WHAT
IS MOST EXCITING that they have a
new, unknown, proprietary DAC
chip !!!
To the
non-believers - I will repeat their claim:
SUPER
24
BIT
192 KHZ
DAC BY MHZS
"WHICH
BETTER THAN CS OR BB DAC"
Do
you get it folks? no more domination of Burr Brown,
Crystal Semiconductors, etc. Since these two companies are best, I
guess that as a result of MHZS innovation - the other makers like
Analog Devices, Sony, Matsushita, Philips, Wolfson - they can all start
packing their bags.
Boy it had to be
a big effort to make a completely new chip. It took
the other industry peers 20 years to optimize their DAC circuits to
arrive at wonderful DACs like CS4397, AD1855, BB1794 and Wolfson 8740.
And imagine -
Texas and Sony have unlimited resources, laser machinery, deep-blue
computers, R&D teams of the size of a university. And yet the
MHZS clever Chinese people managed to jump start ahead of all others
and revolutionize the industry.
One thing
puzzled me though, a suspicion crept in my mind - why only
their own maker - MHZS - uses this chip. I guess, that Revox,
Levinson, Krell, Harmann, Marantz , Bang-Olufsen - should be lining up
at the MHZS door to get OEM of that chip.
But nooo - MHZS
is a no compromise company - they made better than BB,
Better than CS (or maybe this means - better than Birgitte Bardot
and Claudia Shiffer - could well be !)
Do they have
economies of scale? Return on R&D - if selling
just hundreds of CD players - not millions ?
Mr. Fikus - you
are too picky, too nosy, stop looking for flaws on the
beautiful face of MHZS player.
I was so excited
- I started reading interesting reviews on the web.
My
comments are in red.
FROM AUDIO X-SELL
The
MHZS CD 88 is the answer to
audiophiles who
still yearn for the sound of
vinyl but enjoy
the convenience of CDs. The
4 vacuum tube
technology blends the
warmth of
classic tube sound with the
benefits of
cutting-edge circuitry.
Hugh!
this is getting interesting.
It blends, cutting edge, the warmth of the classic - very elaborate
description. I wish I could write this good.
Analog and
Digital Wizardry
MHZS CD 88 uses
two 12AX7s for signal processing, a 6Z4 and WY2 tube
for rectification.
Interesting
and innovative - tube
is used for signal processing.
Along with
the CD 33, and the CD 66, the MHZS uses its own chip
design, which allows for filtering, conversion and
upsampling in
one single chip.
See
!!! I told you how innovative
the new own chip design is. No more "me too " crap. Innovate you lazy
people !
This
greatly contributes to the unmistakable sound of this CD
player. The special low pass filter contributes to the pure and natural
tonal
quality that
breathes new life into every CD.
This
is almost too much of the
good stuff. The filter is special, and it contributes !!! The
quality which breathes new life is pure and natural. And not just some
CD, but EVERY CD.
Selecting the
upsampling frequencies on these players allows you to
change the characteristics of the digital filter resulting in
different sound
presentation each frequency (44.1 kHz, 88.1 kHz and
174.1 kHz) The fully balanced design with high-quality
XLR-type
connections takes maximum advantage of the MHZS’s impressive
audio capabilities.
Ultra-Quiet
Power Supply
Like other MHZS
products the CD-88 boasts an exceptionally quiet power
supply. The oversize torodial core transformer
contributes to
the silent background, allowing musical details to
emerge with realistic nuances intact.
Could
life get any better than
this? Oversized transformer contributes to the silent background.
Can
you just imagine how loud must
be the background on different transformers than oversized MHZS ??
Other features
include a quality detachable IEC power cord and
replaceable rear panel fuse. The gorgeous brushed aluminium front
panel is
available in black or silver and includes a well laid out
complement of controls plus indicator lights, fluorescent
display and
unique blue light and window over the vacuum tubes.
I
will have mercy and NOT comment
on the blue LEDS that back-light the tubes. What I think of this
"decor". And they call this player "for professionals". Professionals
in
WHAT if I may ask?!?
The whole description is so sexy, like new Audi S8
advertisement.
Solid Transport
The MHZS CD 88,
like the CD 66 is a top loading unique with a SONY
transport and Phillips controller of exceptional quality
aimed at
rotating your CD with minimal error correction. The reduced
error correction allows for a more life-like
presentation of
details especially in the lower registers.
Oh
no, lets listen to this beast !!
FROM DIYGENE - ebay
-MHZS
CD-88F 2008 Latest High End top loading Tube based CD Player (HDCD
compatible)
-SONY 213Q transport, Philips SAA78241 servo chipset, low jitter
version
-MCap capacitor, MultiCap and ELNA silmic capacitor
-MHZS self developed 8217 chipset which perform filtering, conversion
and upsampling in one single chip
DIYGENE
is also very excited - they
underline self developed chipset. I am really impressed.
From US distributor -
Pacific Valve
(Chicago)
Outputs
RCA and XLR
Balanced
Digital Outputs:
Coax and Toslink
Frequency
Response: 20Hz~20KHz (+-5dB)
Harmonic
distortion : <0.005%
Dynamic range :
100dB
Output Voltage :
2.3Vrms
I
am not too impressed with 20 Hz
- 20 kHz range, especially the low range. And plus-minus 5dB than means
that this player can have ups and downs on characteristics of 10 dB
peak to peak ? Wow. This is a promise of a no compromise design.
Vacuum tube CD
player, the
CD 66, that sets a new standard in CD playback.
I
am absolutely sure of that.
Equipped with 2
12AX7 vacuum tubes, the CD 66 extracts every last
detail from Compact Disk.
This
is very good news. I am not
sure how they arrive at 2,3 V rms output of the player with a DAC that
has 3,1 V on the output, then connected to op-amp, that amplifies the
signal roughly 20 x and then a 100 x amplification of 12AX7. But I must
be patient to understand.
The CD MHZS CD
66 uses MHZS’ proprietary 24 bit DAC chip, capable
of a sampling frequency of up to 192 kHz,
"..the
MHZS CD 88 removed
some of the “raspy” digital qualities in the
midrange and extended the bottom end significantly"
Wow, I know how my ex girlfriend
extended the bottom end significantly, but how the MHZS removed some
qualities while extending the bottom end - I have no clue.
"Onlinemart
- Leshelemart" from
Hong-Kong
goes even further in poetic expression of his joy with the MHZS -
apparently the excitement spreads around the world like a bush fire -
it is addictive and contiguous:
(spelling below
is original)
This baby can
produces a stunning nice sound you've ever heard.
Cool metallic
Hi-End appearance, internal built with 2 CLASS A 6N3
tubes along with SONY laser pick up and PHILIPS servo system.
*
Can boost your CD signals from 44.1KHz
into 88.2 KHz or 176.4KHz.
*
Sony 213Q highly accurate laser pick up,
stable and excellent signal picks up.
*
Special designed 24Bit 192KHz D/A.
*
Uses OPA2604 to totally filtered the
digital sound.
*
Simulates sound close to the original
singers.
*
8 independent A .C voltage regulator to
produce high power and detailed sound.
*
Covered with 1.5mm steel plate to
minimize the vibrations and makes sound pure.
High quality
model for professionals in auction now. Take your chance
before somebody took it home at a flea market price!!
Wow! I am
speechless !
From
Lampizator:
The pictures below tell all the sad end of this story. I made minimum
comments because I do not have vocabulary for what I think about MHZS.
A disclaimer - I was JUST ABOUT to purchase the MHZS to check it, when
some friendly person from the web (Greg) whom I shall be grateful -
sent me this photo which prevented me from feeding these thieves from
MHZS:
From Kiko
(who had the curiosity and guts to open the can.
Bravo Kiko !!!)
Now I have
absolutely no prejudice against China. And especially I have
nothing against Chinese people trying to make success on the highend
arena. I like the Music Angel, the Lampucera, and many wonderful
products like Zhalou etc. But this is an absolute scandal. These people
are liars and deserve to be condemned. They think that the western
customers - whom they are obviously targeting - are a stupid bunch of
morons whom they can cheat and rob blind.
We will not take
this shit.
THEY NOT GONNA
LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK.
Making fake stories and
selling them to naive western crowds reminds me - with striking
similarity - to the policemen of China preparing to wear Tibetan
buddhist clothes - with heads shaven bald. They will make riots and
hope to let the western journalists film the "vicious Dalai Lama
clique"
being violent and aggressive. Just look at this photo from Lhasa a
month ago.
Apparently, in
China things not always are what they appear to be.
PCM
1742KE - make no mistake
about it - is the
cheapest DAC ever made by Burr brown. So by definition it is Better
than BB. ;-)
Even B-B own white paper claims it is a boombox DAC not even mere hi-fi.
From BB paper:
APPLICATIONS
AV RECEIVERS
DVD MOVIE PLAYERS
DVD ADD-ON CARDS FOR HIGH-END PCs
DVD AUDIO PLAYERS
HDTV RECEIVERS
CAR AUDIO SYSTEMS
OTHER APPLICATIONS REQUIRING 24-BIT
AUDIO
As you can see, this DAC (which maybe even plays well, I am not
arguing) has already a preamp inside with proper 3,1 V output stage.
Why would anybody want to add an opamp (no need for conversion I/U)?
Maybe they added an op-amp to give me something to write about?
Anyway, to be able to call the player tubed, they also added the God
Knows What For tubes - which sadly - can not re-create what is
lost in the op-amp.
As I explained - if the op-amp makes shit out of music, adding a tube
does not help. It makes the shit squared.
Please - stay away from this player. Even if it is not really bad
player, the people who sell it are liars and do not deserve to be
respected.
There is so many wonderful products out there which are honest, even
from China - for the same price you can buy the shanling 300 which is
miles above this MHZS.
Also for the same money (circa 600 USD) you can have one of the
best DAC units ever made - just LOOK AT THIS WONDER!!!
DAC : http://www.diyhifisupply.com/diyhs_satch.htm
and inside:
http://www.diyhifisupply.com/kits/SatchTopB1000x793.jpg
Actually I think that I will end up having this dac (with lampizator)
as my new reference.
I have no more
time to waste for this MHZS player. Enough said. I
will go to take a walk. It
is springtime in Poland and 20 degrees for the first time this year.
A MONTH LATER
(may 08)
It was only a question of time and the MHZS CD66 has landed on my
work-bench. I decided to try to improve its sound, even if I can't
improve the bad taste that the hidden cheap DAC leaves.
There are so many people out there who have this CD and some rescue
advice will be a nice gesture, or so I think.
So I opened it up and took a looong second look.
1. Packing: this player is packed professionally, I must say - I am
VERY impressed. It is fit for a flight from Asia, it is almost
UPS-Proof!
2. AC cable - is the shittiest cable that exists. Its cross section can
be only seen under microscope. Change it for real copper PC cable at
least.
3. First look - it looks great, the brushed aluminium top plate is
great, but it STINKS with machine oil ! I mean it stinks real bad.
4. The blue light - totally horrible. But killable - just put black
tape over the led.
5. Sound out of the box: actually very good. Well worth the 500 USD it
costed. NOTHING I could detect that's wrong with the sound. It is not
too exciting either. it would be a 10/10 for people who know no better.
6. internal execution: the PCB engineering is FANTASTIC. It is so good
that I must say - it is in top of my list. First class PCB layout, part
quality, power supply, regulation, filtering, star grounding, neatness,
etc. It is an abyss between MHZS and the Vincent shit. And only one
opamp per channel - VERY good for a chinese monster.
7. Tube arrangement - I was shocked to see European tubes - ecc83 from
JJ. No golden dragon. Hmmm...
The use of two tubes is questionable - while the first one is a plate
follower - triode amplifier, the second is a cathode follower buffer
- unnecessary in my subjective opinion.
I removed the second tube (closer to back wall) and the sound
marginally improved while power consumption dropped.
The anode supply is 80 V DC which is VERY LOW but typical for chinese
CD
players.
The heaters are dead on 6,3 V REGULATED DC. Bravo ! Good job.
8 MODIFICATION: I opted for the simple, lazy man modification. So no
real LAMPIZATOR inside - we use the tubes already built in.
I bypass the whole unnecessary op-amp stage and filter. The Burr Brown
PCM DAC has internal op-amp and built-in output stage ready to go.
I took the signal IMMEDIATELY after it leaves the black Lenin Mausoleum
sarkofag. (there is no direct access to DAC legs because it is mounted
on surface - no soldering points on under-side of PCB.)
I connected the signal directly to two foil caps after cutting them off
the PCB on one side - the side closer to DAC.
From coupling caps the signal goes to tube in standard way. It hits the
two stereo grids - legs 2 and 7.
The second tube is just unplugged.
At this stage you can change the supplied ECC83 to 81. It is more
dynamic sounding.
I soldered the wire to triode - anodes - legs 1 and 6 - and send the
signal via a capacitor (min 0,47 uF, min 100 V) to RCA (after removing
RCA cable to PCB).
The RCA ground got wired to star ground screw in the middle of PCB.
That is ALL FOLKS. The player now is a direct DAC amplified by a single
ended triode straight to outputs. Pure, simple, kosher, musical and
elegant. Not the best tube operating point but nonetheless a real tube.
The sound is less loud than before, it becomes 2 x as wide, 2 x as
deep, and 2 x as high as before. The trebles are less of tsss
tsss tsss and more a freely hanging, slowly decaying real sounds. The
voices emanate from natural background. Sound is easy, non aggressive,
pleasant, generally - very nice. Definitely better than already very
good original. The mod just improved the only aspect that was wrong
with the original - being very closed in and civilized - and made it
free, open and wide while keeping all the good aspects. I swear to God
that I hear that the opamp is gone. The difference is like between an
orange drink and orange juice.
A great clock circuit. Very professional.
The PCB is full of well designed voltage regulators - one of the most
important things ! One large cap, one LM chip, one smaller cap, and
each electrolyte with the bypass. Bravo. Good job.
Under the mechanism (spring suspended) is a black and heavy block on
which it all is mounted. VERY GOOD approach. Heavy slab and light
mechanism on springs. Bravo.
The laser is a SONY KSS-213Q. Very cheap and flimsy but it reads.
Arrows point to ferrite noise blockers - very RARE touch, to be found
only in the finest designs !!! Bravo.
The transformer is probably 4 x oversized, which is unnecessary but it
doesn't hurt.
The AC power input has great filter of RFI noise - a CLC type with a
ring and common mode filtering. Just like my SILK filter. A high end
feature. Bravo.
New solution proposal
from June 3rd.
My lampization signal stealing points - see below on the photo:
These stealing points are the CLOSEST to the DAC chip.
I would CUT the traces leading up and to the right from there.
I recommend to REMOVE the opamp.
These are two stereo points where we take the signal AFTER tube stage
and send it to RCA sockets via a good capacitor at least 1 uF by 63 V.
The tube operating points are another story altogether. They arte
WRONG, as well as wrong is the selection of tubes. Horribly wrong.
ECC83 is the LAST tube I would recommend here. Who needs 100x
amplification here ??? 2x is plenty!
the real scheme of non-radical solution - to be done in 20 minutes.
Success GUARANTEED. Just look below. The part we CAN'T SEE on the other
side I painted with yellow and blue crayons. So to do this mod we need
two caps (output) and 4 pieces of wire. The input caps we can steal
from the player's PCB.
The similar tweaking goes on on another HIFI forum:
http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/1283078/0
http://shop.hififever.com/popup_image.php?pID=237
And I took one image from them:
What we have here is from the left: a DC blocking cap (ugly
cheap electrolyte) followed by op-amp which is a low pass filter,
followed by anode follower triode with local; feedback via resistive
network, followed by triode in cathode follower buffer followed by a DC
blocking C14 and a high frequency killing C=330pF.
I would change the R1 to 15K, R2 to zero, the R=1K in cathode - to 500
Ohms, the R=5k6 to 1K, the cathode follower 33K in cathode - to 1K. C14
to 2uF PIO or MKP, 330pf out, and power B+ caps from 100uF to 220 uF or
more, .
Short-bypass all op-amp section , from DAC chip to the left side of C8
and C7.
Add a 0,22uF cap between first and second tube.
Alternatively, just bypass the first triode and go to second tube grids
directly. From DAC via one cap to tube two, leg 3 and 7
respectively.
.... to be continued ...
The new output - my MKP 2,5 uF caps.
The horrible blue led for lightening of the CD compartment.
DEAR MHZS. IF YOU ARE READING ME - can you please build a new player,
with good dac WITHOUT A CAN and choose BB-1794 or CS4397 and without
opamps and with one good triode? It will become your biggest market hit
ever. Please ....
Enter MHZS CD88G
November 2008
I have no idea if they were paying attention at MHZS but probably they
did.
Not enough to make a DAC to Tube direct player, but at least they
stopped faking the genuine MHZS DAC chip under the metal can.
What a progress ! I must applaud it . MHZS - you are going in the right
direction. Keep going. And by the way - your front panel with goldish
decor is super cool. I rteally like it now !!!
Just look at the LATEST product from MHZS - the MHZS CD-88G proudly
displaying the Burr Brown chip origin .....
No more mysterious can above DAC chip !!!
Still - 6 opamps - 3 per channel.
BACK
Look - the mysterious
can covers
the new DAC !!!!