MicroMega MyDAC Audiophile Asynchronous USB DAC (Black)

I had been wanting to purchase a DAC for awhile. I read several great reviews for the MyDAC and thought this is the one. I can't say I was disappointed either. The MyDAC has great sonic characteristics for the money. I would say it has a very smooth sound no harshness at all. Great detail on percussion etc. I did some AB comparisons using the DAC in my Denon AVR and found that DAC in my Denon sounded flat compared to the MyDAC. I would recommend this product for someone looking for a DAC for under $500

I am dumbfounded right now.... I ordered this unit based on very good reviews but wow, is this thing going back. I use USB off a PC to my DAC. I have tried several sub $1,000 DACs out there and saw that the Micromega MyDac does 24/192k via USB. I thought... super.... as most of my files are 24/192k ripped from dbPoweramp. Well, the install went incredibly smooth and playback started fine and was reading the 24/192k. Then I switched to another track (that happened to be 24/96k) and POP! A pretty significant popping sound from the speakers.... not mild.... VERY noticeable. I thought this cannot be right, something is wrong. I restarted the PC, restarted the JRiver software and turned off the MyDac and unplugged the USB and power cord. Turned everything back on and still doing it. It is even popping sometimes in the middle of a song. I cannot believe there is not more discussion about this issue.... WOW. Extremely dissapointed.

This well reviewed DAC did not sound better than my Oppo 93, so I sent it back.

I have all of my music on computer, and run the Mydac via USB to my receiver for passthrough to an external amplifier. 2.1 sounds great. I took off a star because of the difficulty upgrading the firmware and getting the drivers to work with Windows (although I am using WHS 2011 which is not very polished). I had to do it manually as the exe file provided by MyDac errored repeatedly in the device manager as unknown. Once set, though, all I can say is wow. I never knew what I was missing. Just for info, you have to provide the serial number on the back of the unit to download the drivers and a firmware upgrade. Their online directions want you to install a 1.2x driver, then firmware upgrade (always scary) then a 1.5x driver to take full advantage of the DAC's bitrate (USB 2). The 1.2x driver loaded fine, as did the firmware. I kept getting errors on the 1.5x driver, and finally went into the device manager of windows, and manually pointed to the downloaded 1.5x driver which then installed correctly. That's a lot of work if you aren't familiar with windows gobbledeegook. No driver downloads necessary if you are using a Mac. 1/30/14 Windows 8 is not 'unknown driver' friendly. Either is the Mydac. Hold the Shift key during restart to access ability to install unsigned drivers. I am dinging this dac another star because of usb drops at 24/192 settings (pops and static). This on multiple computers, 3 operating systems, and various cables. Troubleshooting this, I have learned a lot about digital audio and the myth and potential harm to sound at these settings. The static disappears at rational settings. The article on xiph '24/192 music downloads are very silly indeed' is quite enlightening. I stand behind the sound of the Mydac (at rational rate levels) but it can't perform as advertised because of USB dropout. After reading this article and performing some of the tests there, however, I see no point in those settings anyway. Judge for yourself.

This has excellent sound - a really noticeable improvement over the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic. Hopefully, it won't die in less than 3 years as the Cambridge did. (In fact I've also bought 2 cambridge amps, both of which failed. No more Cambridge...the English still don't know what quality control means.) I'd like this even more if it had more inputs and outputs, including balanced. (This is what was good about the Cambridge DAC Magic.) Update: THe unit has developed a very short, but loud static blip that sounds every time the unit picks up a new stream from one of its inputs. Not a disaster, but very unpleasant.

I purchased the black version for $249 (great deal) and while it's certainly not the best DAC around you would be hard-pressed to find a better DAC at that price. I preferred it to the Peachtree Audio Dac-iT, which wasn't bad, but the Micromega was better.

My MyDAc developed mains hum on its output. I have twice tried to contact the manufacturers to see if repair is possible, and they failed to reply. The information that the manufacturers give on their website about distributors in the UK and Ireland is bogus. I would not recommend this item because of poor backup by its manufacturers.

I have listened to all the usual suspects: Peachtree DAC-It-X iFi iDSD Nano Schiit Modi Audioquest Dragonfly There's just something about the MyDAC that stands out from that crowd. If you're thinking about the Peachtree unit, be sure to give this one a listen first. While the iFi unit really shines with DSD streams, the MyDAC wins with PCM. Oh, and none of the clicking or popping reported by others appeared on this unit. Hooked to Mac via USB, it's flawless.