Mytek Audio seems to have recovered from the formidable challenges that the brand had to sustain when, just before the global pandemic, the US company was forced to look for a new manufacturing base, after its original OEM factory in Poland decided to enter the market with its own brand of products and compete directly with its former client.
In a story worthy of a cheesy South American telenovela, Mytek Audio's founder Michal Jurewicz saw the company's roots from his native Poland to force a complete reboot of its business. A former tech engineer at the famed Hit Factory and Skyline Studios recording studios, Jurewicz founded the company in New York City in 1992, after starting to develop its own studio headphone monitoring systems and analog-to-digital converters.
From that experience, Mytek expanded to high-end home designs, manufactured in Poland by HEM, which became also the brand's distributor in the region. After cutting ties with HEM and establishing new manufacturing facilities in Poland, Mytek maintains its headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, but also created Mytek Europe in Warsaw, Poland, to closely support business in the region, and liaise with its local manufacturing operations.
With this new structure, Mytek managed to completely renewed its catalog including the new Empire line, with the flagship Empire Streamer DAC and Monoblock amplifier presented at High End Munich 2022, the refreshed Manhattan line, the small and portable Liberty Line, already with four products, and finally the Brooklyn range, which so far includes the Brooklyn Amp+ and now the Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core.
According to Mytek, the Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core simplifies the setup of a Roon-based system, requiring only an Internet connection, a Roon subscription, and speakers with amplifiers. It can also be bundled with the matching Mytek Brooklyn AMP+ to power the speakers (300W per channel into 8 ohms). Users can control the system through a smartphone or tablet or the built-in iPhone style touch screen. The device comes in a 64GB or a large 4TB internal music storage, and is available in two color finishes: silver and black.
The new Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core supports all the high resolution streaming services supported by Roon, such as Tidal or Qobuz, and files stored in NAS network drives. An auxiliary Bluetooth 5 input provides instant connectivity for all other Internet music and radio sources. Inside, the server features an Intel i5 processor, the Roon Core, and the Mytek OS operating system based on Linux.
The DAC electronics on the Brooklyn Bridge II use Mytek's own implementation of an ESS Sabre ES9028Pro 8-channel chipset that can convert PCM data streams up to 32-bit/384kHz, as well as DSD256, DXD, and MQA with a built-in hardware decoder. According to Mytek, this is the same HAT (Harmonic Audio Tuning) DAC technology developed for the flagship Empire Streamer, which allow users to switch the sound characteristics of the D/A converter between highest precision or a warmer sound signature.
The Intel i5 CPU provides plenty of power for seamless Roon Core server operation and allows for managing large music collections and operating multiple zones streams in a multiroom environment. The Linux-based Mytek OS handles preamplifier and computer/network connectivity functions with a modern, iPhone-style user touch screen menu. The DAC stage and the CPU are powered from separate linear power supplies featuring a large, oversized toroidal power transformer with automatic adjustment to line voltage.
The Roon remote app on a smartphone/tablet is used for browsing and playing the music, while the Mytek OS app can also be opened on any mobile device to conveniently emulate the front panel touch screen of the Brooklyn Bridge II.
Mytek expects to start shipping the new Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core units in quantities from May 2023, with pre-orders available through selected dealers and in the Mytek US and EU online stores. The 64GB model retails for $3995 USD, while the 4TB model sells for $4795 USD. Both models include 2 months of free Roon subscription, power cord, Wi-Fi antennas, and a USB cable.
www.mytek.audio
