Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC Review | RT Reports...

[@zaldam]

I think it's remarkable reviewers still find it worthwhile producing new evaluations of Tambaqui. How many years since it became available? It must be quite unique in this regard. And there hasn't been an update that I am aware of. A living legend this Mola Mola Tambaqui!

[@supercompooper]

A living legend of continual advertising in their magazine that's for sure

[@thomasmartin2219]

@@supercompooperNeither Mola Mola nor GTT Audio (U.S distributor) advertise in The Absolute Sound.

[@5starmaniac]

It is worth it

[@KtsStone80]

Consistently one of the best DAC’s you can buy. I’ve heard worse DAC’s for more money. Having this thing in the system is a game changer.

[@richardharris3781]

Your review absolutely aligns with my own experience- I’ve had the Tambaqui for nearlyb a year now, and am still enthralled with it. I recently had the opportunity to compare it with the very latest Bartok Apex, Rossini and Lina DACs. They are all superb DACs, but the Tambaqui (for much less Mola Mola Moola) totally holds its own.

[@sean_heisler]

FYI, the shape of the chassis was inspired by the shape of a fish if you view it from the side.

[@sonusbonum]

Totally agree...!

[@jaysullivan9545]

Nice job!

[@ArrivingElsewhere]

For 13 grand this thing should be able to covert 0's and 1's to 2's.

[@jmbuchela5424]

For 13K, I expect that thing to serve me breakfast

[@anonymohipp9097]

Thank you. Great review. I'd love to hear your thoughts on a comparison between this DAC and the Bartok Apex when you receive it back from the upgrade. I expect that both are great, but would love to know how they differ in terms of sound.

[@rewingtaylor]

The Tambaqui is a bit smoother sounding. The Bartok Apex reproduces the spatial cues a bit better. I would say the Bartok produces better dynamics and bass impact.These are things that you probably wouldn’t notices unless you can compare both DACs side by side. The differences are not that great. If I didn’t own a Bartok I could happily live with the Tambaqui. The decision for many comes down to weather or not sonic differences are worth the price differences.

[@anonymohipp9097]

@@rewingtaylor Thank you very much!

[@fizywig]

Add an innuous network player to cost, and a good pre- amp to Tambaqui cost for fair price to price comparison with dcs bartok.

[@timkolacny967]

"...non-fatiguing DAC..." - as someone who lived with this DAC for almost two years, that was not my reality. I even had it paired with the Grimm MU1 (said to further smooth it out and give it analog qualities) with a $20K tube amp and just couldn't spend more than 30 minutes or so with it where I could listen to my analog front end all day. I finally gave up on it and bought a used AMR DAC and am much happier.

[@rustygates3367]

And your experience is totally different to myself's and all reviewers that have tried the MMT.

[@trevorparmer5231]

Clearly a room / set issue, don’t blame the gear.

[@a.s.2426]

I agree that it is indeed a fairly fatiguing DAC. Mine is sitting here in front of me, disconnected. Admittedly, I have a fairly extreme proclivity for listening fatigue. I replaced the Mola with a Playback Designs MPD-8 and zero fatigue. Incredible DAC.

[@danijel-c]

DP777SE?

[@anonymohipp9097]

Has anyone compared the MMT with the Holo May? Both have received great reviews.

[@anonymohipp9097]

@johngian1961 Thank you!

[@tomclark7551]

I have one. Only complaint is the App for Android often fails to find the DAC. Ive alerted Mola Mola and all they said is one day the will release an update..

[@gtrguyinaz]

Good review… this dac costs a fortune…. Not on my want list because of price… combine this with 2k transport etc.. ?

[@zaldam]

Perhaps a used one? And yes, a good streamer (5k?) lets it shine even brighter...

[@joeb4349]

A good review, but a question. When you are listening to CDs or SACDs, is your player being used as a transport only? If so, are you outputting the raw file into this DAC? If not, is the player's output outputting a file that has already been processed by the DAC internal to the player? In this latter case the raw file would be processed twice, first by the internal DAC and then by the Tambaqui. If this question sounds like I'm confused a bit it's because I am.

[@reestyfarts]

An elegant treatise on acquiring an all digital system with amps sending a PWM signal to your speakers with no DAC chip in the signal path.

[@rewingtaylor]

All of my SACDs are ripped as DSd files and stored on my NAS. 3:34 3:41

[@rewingtaylor]

I don’t have a disc transport in my system everything is stored on my NAS

[@middleearthltd]

+1 to old news, way too expensive, nothing new presented, and drone-like presentation. Clearly a means to an end for magazine subscriptions as noted. Would be interested in a review the new Chord when it finally gets released or review of anything new, DAC or otherwise. So it can compete with DACs costing more than $13k. No doubt some DACs costing far less can compete with it. A/B DAC comparisons show that DACs at most any price do a pretty good job of DA conversion and it is hard to tell the differences, as a general matter, regardless of price. Closer to the 5 figure cables “differences” that some prefer especially if your system is resolving enough even if most/all could not AB and discern the differences. Proper implementation and output of the analog signal has been achieved so there are a lot of fantastic options thankfully. I expect anyone with a budget that includes this DAC would be very happy with it. I am glad that nice things like this exist even if it is not in my budget.

[@a.s.2426]

Confusing.

[@kabes-us]

Appreciate the review but does it have to be so monotone? It’s the cure for insomnia.

[@CarlVanDoren61]

$13K lot of cake 🎂 to eat 😮 Discrete class A output stages?

[@jfdjkdjfkjdk]

First

[@bikeman7982]

All DACs produce analog sound, not just 'analog lke'. I've never heard 'digital sound'. Its hard to hear representations of 1s and 0s.

[@a.s.2426]

Pointless comment. The reference is to vinyl.

[@bikeman7982]

@@a.s.2426 So, this DAC adds vinyl surface noise, pops and ticks? :)

[@a.s.2426]

@@bikeman7982 I get your point, but it's not adding much to the discussion, which I assume you already know.

[@a.s.2426]

@@bikeman7982 Get your point, but it's not adding anything to discussion -- which you surely already know.

[@a.s.2426]

@johngian1961 Agreed. Go back to the original (ridiculous) post to see the context of my response.

[@1leisure1]

"analog-like sonic profile" lol. Ya, audio is pretty analog sounding.

[@KtsStone80]

Some digital players sound grainy, edgy and have a glare to them. Especially the really high resolution ESS stuff. It isn’t that off of a comment.

[@bikeman7982]

@@KtsStone80 I've heard a few ESS based DACs and they all sounded natural to me. Its all in the implementation.

[@a.s.2426]

Huh?

[@felinthorn4977]

This dac is over 4 years old and has been eclipsed by dac’s at and well under this pricepoint. As for the reviewer, I am sure your prose sir is excellent, but you do not have anything to offer the auditory or visual arts. Good grief you could not transfer energy holding onto a transformer in a power station.

[@trevorparmer5231]

Eclipsed how? Assuming you’ve not a Tambaqui? Or the others that have “eclipsed” it…..

[@a.s.2426]

Eclipsed by what, exactly?

[@rustygates3367]

Eclipsed by nothing. Not by any chip dac especially. I used to own a Topping E70. Not even on the same planet for anything.

[@a.s.2426]

@@rustygates3367 Agreed. That said, there are better DACs than Tambaqui but it's not been eclipsed at its price point. I own a Tambaqui but also have a PBD MPD-8, which is significantly superior but also costlier.

[@rustygates3367]

@@a.s.2426 We all hear different. I auditioned both the MPD-8 and Tambaqui at the dealer in Melbourne AU prior to ordering the Tambaqui. The MPD-8 has a wider soundstage and is "lusher" but lacks the clarity, incisiveness and speed of the Tambaqui (which btw still sounds so very analog because of what I learned later - it's perfect measured impulse response production and apodizing filter). Different sound.