Watch me BUILD a Mytek Brooklyn Bridge

[@bassandtrebleclef]

First, I had no idea this company was a Polish company. Second, this type of video is fascinating and I'd imagine most viewers agree. Watching high end audio equipment being created and seeing the care people have for it is really satisfying.

[@marcus1970]

Oh yes... More factory visits, more assembly footage please, fascinating (and fiddly) really enjoyable.

[@pchlars5666]

Great video. Shows a bit of audio magic. Awesome work by HEM guys too. Greetings from Poland.

[@lorenbanks8852]

Beautifully shot video as usual from Jana. One of my favorites videos that you have made!

[@sidvicious3129]

The John Darko Signature Series Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, signed by John Darko. You should have tried to take that one home. I want one!!!

[@martyp2138]

Great video and very nice of the company to allow you access for assembling a unit - hope you got to keep the finished product or signed inside the case somewhere as an Easter egg for someone!!

[@polymusegal]

Well done....Really enjoy your content and constantly changing how you report these great audio components. Bravo!!

[@mmdusa]

Thanks John and Jana! I loved seeing the factory. Now let's head over to the Hegel factory for a peek inside. Cheers!

[@leemartin2978]

I’m sure it’s not practical, but what a great business idea if it were made available to potential customers that could reach this same destination. If you’ve had a hand in the assembly, you already feel connected and part of your new purchase. Production quality of these videos is fantastic , really very engaging . Top job

[@preiter20]

Awesome video John and Team! I love your apprehension putting it together!

[@koszyklbn]

That piece should go for charity auction. Mytek and Darko please make it happen !

[@pblnlpalu]

Great Job John! I hope they gave you your own build item as a present! You earned it!!!!

[@djsoulfilter]

Loved seeing this type of video!

[@ddrenth]

This was so great! What a nice opportunity provided by HEM/Mytek also. Thank you for sharing this with us!

[@Gren4te]

Oh the asmr at 03:00. Lovely. Can listen to that all night.

[@NAVMAN987]

Way back when, i built a few Tube Amp kits. Had a lot of fun doing so. This was a great video!!!!

[@ujean56]

With John as the assembler you can order one of these on December 23 and have delivery by December 25... 2026.

[@rvenden]

I agree: I want to buy the “John Darko Edition”! Great video, John. Also, very well shot. Kudos to Jana. Thanks very much! Roger in Wisconsin.

[@markcarrington8565]

John Darko, the Edd China of the audio world! Great stuff 😀

[@Sampardhanani]

What a treat. Thanks John.

[@ToddCaldwell1]

That video was great fun! Kudos to Mytek (HEM). I hope more vendors let John Darko DIY!

[@deevnn]

One of your best yet.

[@kennymchardy]

Great vid John 👍

[@hushpuppykl]

That’s so cool! Great video. I love my Brooklyn Bridge. It’s a great piece of kit. Even better with a LPSU.

[@drewrobertson6286]

This reminded me of when I built my first Horizontal Stabilizer Actuator for the Finish Air Force learjet 60. It was quite nerve racking but fun. Great job filming!

[@estebannemo1957]

Old world craftsmanship.

[@radkokosoTT]

Nice job there John!

[@DarkoAudio]

Backstory: darko.audio/2019/12/onsight-hem-electronics-makers-of-mytek/ Cover art firmware update coming next week: 9th November or soon thereafter. PLAYLISTS in the description box. How come some of y'all don't read the description box?

[@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120]

Thanks Mr. DARKO 😆 , a lil bit out of my price range, but i like to keep up with amazing audio regarless of the price point!

[@TheDealer1228]

This seems like such a cool experience.

[@markphilpot4981]

That’s neat John that they let you assemble one! Not made for large handed people. Boy do I know about that! Very fun video!

[@chriss8971]

Loved this video. Great production, presentation and content. If these guys hoped to sell more products by allowing you to do this, it was a smart move. But then they are obviously very smart.

[@CharlesCartierMurdoch]

nice choice of music here too, great video man!

[@SteveAbrahall]

Nice to see how they do it (nicly shot and put together btw) - interesting did they talk to you about ESD (Electro static discharge) earthing the device? I'd have thought they might have got you to wear a grounding strap.

[@eelabob]

I worked in electronic manufacturing for years , the marble tile with grounded desk mat would be OK if a foot strap or anti static flooring was used.

[@filipog4]

Great video! I'm proud of Polish engineers!

[@75Krusty]

I have the bit older Mytek Brooklyn Bridge. And got myself an Ariston RD-40 turntable to connect to it. Music is good. But I can hear a low power hum in the background. I have a MM pickup and also set the Brooklyn to MM. Plus connected the Record Player's ground to the ground of the Brooklyn. Adjusting a bit on the knob on the ground, I can hear this is were I suspected the noise came from. Any idea how to remove that annoying low frequency hum/noise? BTW: I have connected the Brooklyn to an external power supply. Thanks.

[@indranilmitra6535]

how you dont have a million subs at least is beyond me. very classy videos. and the music

[@MWeston2]

Very nice. I love tour videos!

[@noelwhittle7922]

Ha! @ 13:19 .. a little salute to Bowie, genau das gleich, every time I do a major upgrade to a music system Bowie is always the first music I play, and LOW is the most common album I choose. Cool.

[@cornerliston]

I wonder what the price difference would be if: 100 % manufactures in China 100 % manufactures in Poland

[@MoizAudio]

Better build quality and QC in Poland..and no suicide nets outside the building. ..why do they have suicide nets outside chinese factories?

[@vincovici6107]

The answer is .....NONE......Companies look to manufacture in China to pocket more money. The best example could very well be Levis. In the 90's they moved manufacturing from San Francisco to China and did not change the price of the products. In fact the product price has changed little in the 20 years since, adjusted for inflation. I am aware that new product lines have been introduced at lower price points in this time line. I will let the quality of those products speak for themselves.

[@redjr16]

Cool video John.

[@dell177]

My first job we buil;t power supplies and everything was done in house - boards were etched and stuffed with parts, chassis were formed from raw stock and then it went to QC and test. At another job we bought assembled boards from a contract assembler and then installed into a purchased chassis before going into test. The build quality from assembly hoses is usually very good but you have to stay on top of them to make sure things don't go astray, best to have the assembly house close by so you can get there fast if questions arise. Do you know if the power supply they use is linear or switchmode?

[@behemothinferno]

I'm surprised they don't use a toroidal transformer but instead opted to go for a switch mode power supply at that price point!

[@jyrkih6960]

behemothinferno Because SMPS’s are actually better. You can make them good if you don’t go for the cheapest crap.

[@jyrkih6960]

Ouch! That depaneling looked really bad. That’s a way to crack components on the board. The PCB was bending a lot!

[@thegeton]

Yeah, normally there would be a jig/fixture with a shear/brake adjusted to snap that perfectly with less effort. Just sayin'...

[@AdamJRichardson]

Does HEM stand for "Highest Ever Mesh back on an office chair"? Fun vid and congrats on wiring it up right the first time!

[@ysk249]

Very interesting video and the music. I've been using the Brookly DAC for a year and this DAC was the game-changer in my audiophile journey. This DAC gives me a full, rich, warm, and impressive 3D sound. However, it's overly complicated to use/control for an average audiophile and if you are not careful, you can damage your system. I've already blown two woofers while playing with this DAC.

[@patrikbjorling4391]

How?

[@ysk249]

@@patrikbjorling4391 I was playing with the bypass function. I didn't know what bypass function was supposed to do and it bypassed the volume control and the output was really loud. Also, there are 3 different ways to control the volume and the user manual doesn't clearly explain how to to use them.

[@dharmachile999]

Underneath the top plate is a sticker reading, “Built By Darko “.

[@Vikings_FAN_05]

This is what you can call Quality Control. Good Job. Hifiman, can you see that?

[@rickym.5271]

Whats the name of the song playing while John started screwing in the circuit board and around the XLR connections?

[@DarkoAudio]

All music is detailed in the description box's playlists.

[@rickym.5271]

@@DarkoAudio ... Thank you

[@rickym.5271]

@Shallow Depths ... Thank you 👍

[@75Krusty]

Think I saw somewhere that the app "mconnect" controlling the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, were able to stream from Spotify. But I only see Tidal and Qobuz. Have they removed the Spotify option, or does it have to do with some Spotify Premium or it has to be the full "Mconnect" instead of "mconnect lite" app? Or some other witchery I have to do?

[@grahammiles5695]

Don’t touch the chips! Zap!

[@jorgebacani1901]

not worried at all with static discharge?

[@pegasusandharley]

Well done 👍

[@randalllawkin]

I've been lied too!!! I thought this was made in Brooklyn 😂

[@BughunterX]

Oh, is this assembled in Poland?

[@garywilkinson1927]

Did you have any bits left over

[@Berteau76]

Thanks for the laugh!

[@dlorbieski]

Very interesting.....thanks for sharing 👍👍

[@johnmckay428]

legend, thanks.

[@jrlx86]

The thing that strikes me is the connector quality vs the bit that connects the connector to the board. The board itself probably just industry standard traces (copper?). Then piddly little wires connecting to gpio headers, not dissimilar to what you find in a regular computer. Also doesn’t seem to be much in the way of separation between power and the other circuitry. I just wonder if you truly need super high quality interconnects when the internal connections are comparatively... basic. Great video as always though!

[@joshua43214]

I can't speak for Mytek, but I know that PS Audio spends huge amounts of time on board and chassis layout. Physical space between power and other parts is not what is important. They use very sensitive instruments to measure EMF/EMI around the board and chassis. Lots of time moving stuff around to find the EMI dead spots where you can put sensitive electronics. As for the connectors. They will not be removed or moved after assembly. High quality connectors are probably better than soldering for digital. Those piddly little wires are better than big wires as well for digital signal, typically 22ga is what is used. If this was a power amp, then wires and connectors would be different. I won't get into the debate about interconnects, other than to mention that high quality wire used in data transmission is very expensive. A good interconnect will have a minimum cost if good commercial wire and quality robust terminals are used. Figure $3.00/foot or more for a wire good enough for cable TV, $15.00 or so for commercial terminals. Add in assembly and QA, and you are in the $60.00 range for something good enough to use for TV. Double that or more for milspec/aerospace.

[@giorgivashakidze4805]

Hi, Can I leave it in "standby" mode for a long time or do I have to switch it off completely almost every time?

[@iansharp1171]

A masterpiece!

[@adelkharisov]

I am on the market. Just realized that Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ combined with a pair of Genelec 8040 and cables cost same money as a pair of Genelec 8341A SAM. Why I have to buy it?

[@michaelhametner9780]

Are the people assembling the product actually grounded? Using something like an anti static wrist or footband? I'm wondering as I didn't see anyone wear one. Having worked in electronic manufacturing I've seen the massive damage electrostatic discharge can cause. Products might not be damaged immediately, but can die a lot earlier as the usually would.

[@SoCalFreelance]

Rubycon caps, good stuff.

[@Campbell1.]

John, you left a screw out! ha ha

[@vmstranger]

You should have asked for the serial number... Would be interesting to find out where it ends up. :)

[@brandonburr4900]

No camera or video sign and pan over to John breaking the rules with his camera lol. I cringe at the moment I'm gonna have to break away the discrete diode section from my power supply pcb like John did. Supposedly they are pre scored pcbs but still need to use force and pray😀 John, did the have you take any static discharge precautions when assembling? Makes me what to build my diy pass labs whammy class a headphone amp and preamp and the new noir 2 transistor class a headphone amp😀 thanks john!

[@stephanej.871]

Just by curiosity, what headphones were they using to test their products?

[@yuvals6409]

John, you are superbly talented! How about starting a company of your own? You have the knowledge, you have the expertise...go at it! :-)

[@Smood47]

I think he'd rather be a journalist thats always trying new gear and new products

[@donr62]

What’s the serial number of that unit...just wondering lol

[@sjc1204]

Now I have to go listen to Brendon Moeller.

[@bobdeluxeandtheideals1356]

🔥🔥🔥

[@ccwnyc5671]

Is this shot on Poland or Brooklyn?

[@rsbonini1]

Twisted pair pigtail feeding a coaxial RCA connector which carries a single ended analog signal? Am I missing something because that seems a terrible idea?

[@Audiojunkabus]

have you actually heard it ?

[@enkrypt3d]

what song is that on this vid?

[@theflyingdutchman7127]

Nice video

[@cestusfr]

i was expecting more.

[@billybastar4022]

Thank you for maintaining the guy code by not using an instruction manual😁

[@topside3]

Has anyone hear compared the Brooklyn Bridge to an Auralic Altair?

[@giuseppemalaspina5274]

After 16 months of use the screen stopped to work. I've contacted mytek through website without receiving any support. I'm really disappointed for that.

[@attilav.8749]

The lack of ESD protection on employees make me thinking. For the price range they sell and the name that has been hyped so much in the last few years i would expect at least Electrostatic Discharge coat on every single employee.

[@LordVictorHalgaard]

Wish I could get my hands on one of these... it's one of the only products which do exactly everything I need... Especially after my old source randomly died on me >_>

[@davidfriedman5154]

Did the cover art firmware happen?

[@DarkoAudio]

Not yet.

[@joedavenport3263]

John, looks like you could build your own. Did they at least give you the one you built?.

[@DarkoAudio]

I already have one. :)

[@paznewis107]

Should have been an Xmas prize draw!

[@juanignacio8476]

12:03 Windows 7 baby ;)

[@thegrimyeaper]

12:14 Benjy Bronk

[@khalid969]

I really don't understand the difference between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Brooklyn Dac+. The Bridge can stream MQA music using only a tablet, but you can also stream MQA music on the Dac+ using a computer!! So Why would I pay an extra $1000 for the Bridge? Is it because that the Bridge is doing what the computer is doing, only better?

[@lumntoob999]

The bridge is everything the dac+ is, including a dac, but it's a steamer as well. The only thing it loses is the aes/ebu connection on the dac input and in place is the steamer. You can still hook a computer up through USB if that is what you are asking about.

[@lumntoob999]

It's the same between any dac and streamer or streamer/dac. Just look up what streamers are, you basically had it right when you said they do what the computer does. It is suppose to be an improvement over a dac and a computer but dacs have also gotten so much better with USB connection lately.

[@rowanwattlol]

Because you can have your computer streaming music to it over wifi from another room.

[@kwilj]

8:57 Looks like Alfredo was on Tinder

[@ampatsutsaysison3161]

You should wear cotton gloves when handling circuit board and static arrester also must be strapped in your skin...

[@supermegauser]

8:02 🤦‍♂️

[@glennaa11]

interesting. it's basically just assembling a computer

[@tmomedrano]

so lucky... i wanna do this in PS audio.. and me and darren meyers, paul can smoke sa "plants".

[@ampatsutsaysison3161]

Good to know its not manufactured in china...

[@cyphermote6857]

It will probably be more reliable - remember your iPhone is manufactured in China.

[@gordonclaxton8916]

John... Show all the equipment that can be configured w/ the bridge and where it connects and the purpose of the connections and the most compatibility of other equipment w/the bridge... Dude.. Come on... Leave the esoteric bull for the nerds...

[@DarkoAudio]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmeTgmyvjraiecU

[@carolineleonard8214]

Stonking idea. Has to be a reviewer/adventures in HiFi first............ Perhaps Devialet will let me have a crack at one of theirs! I will say that you might starve if you are paid by the unit.:):)

[@digeratimaster]

Nice video I would love to visit the factory and build my own I'm an expert wireman and tech

[@tontonzeed]

Wow FPGA are everywhere !

[@interesting7906]

I thought this shit was designed and made in amerika, I am wrong again!

[@turbomustang84]

No wonder I buy most of my gear from USA and China the European countries will hire anyone......

[@jrlx86]

Robbie's Incoherent thoughts: wtf over 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@jimalbruzzess2445]

Very cool!!!! Nicely shot as well. Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦🤘🤘🤘🤘