For the most part, I used this input and for a quick comparison one of the optical inputs. Of course this DAC is super pricey and out of the reach of many (including me). One name that was thrown around by a few people I know is the Rockna Wavedream. as my Select II sits it would list for $116,450. I like Aqua Formula xHD and Totaldac Six. Sent from my SM-G928V using Computer Audiophile mobile app. You absolutely can say that you prefer other DAC's to the Berkeley Alpha Reference. The MSB simply sounded more real to my ears and offered a more convincing soundstage and tonality and all the tiny informations in the music where integrated in the musical flow whereas the DAVE simply sounded flat and not realistic to my ears and even lacked those tiny informations. I havent heard the Rockna. Fully agree that it could come down to personal preference @RoriHope you have arranged auditions. As I listen to this tune a few times it strikes me that the Discrete is just that (discrete), it doesnt seem to add a great deal of itself to the file it is playing. Right now my favorite music player is from the same manufacturer of the Phasure NOS1a DAC: Stealth LPS running XXHighEnd software; again with the same caveat that I haven't heard a lot of the other highly regarded music players in my system. I suppose that the vast majority of people who listen for pleasure at home are looking for a balance between the two, and whilst I still maintain we are most likely to hear the biggest effect in a system by changing transducers, every element in the chain of sound will affect the final sound and, in a digital system, I think the DAC you choose can have a huge effect on the final sound. However, there are two inputs for external PSUs and a little doodad/adapter that allows the use of one external PSU. The world's largest high-end audio community. This latter track is a good track for me to play when listening to new kit as it is basically a drum machine and an acid box and this latter did sound just like a 303 there in the room. There ain't no Coupe deVille hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box. What I do know is that the MSB brings an excellent level of performance by way of neutrality to a system that allows other parts of the system to do their thing its sort of the digital equivalent of a very (very) good cartridge. It is an unassuming but very nicely put together component that has had a great deal of thought put into the architecture of the parts that make it up. Btw, my MSB friend and I used the internal analog preamp for MSB and built-in digital preamp for DAVE. The LED display, slaved to the audio clock, is refreshed between data processing to drastically reduce electrical interference. Yes, you read that right, the Select DAC is the best part of 121,000! In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. Then just stay with the basic Premier unit, and the power supply that comes with it. MSBs top-level DAC is 121K and there are other brands out there offering very expensive options, but the truth is that the vast majority of people will never feel the need to spend that kind of money (even if they could) to eek out that last-minute bit of detail. Is this what passes for high end? I don't think any of us have heard the Dave, and we don't have any interest. The DAVE DAC does not perform anywhere near where it should. MSB Technology Discrete Modular DAC Page 2. Looks like your budget goes up to ~$20k? Do diamonds shine on the dark side of the moon? Since opening our doors in 1986, weve been driven by one goal: to craft an unrivaled listening experience for music lovers across the globe. There is no such thing as a "FPGA DAC"! Gbel High End [Divin Noblesse], [Divin Marquis], ([Epoque Aeon Fine]). Anyway, the MSB Discrete is a machine that I consider to be highly resolving and a true HiFi product with regard to the definition I quoted above. But DAVE also seems to me to highlight the original recording so if the recording is flat, the playback sounds flat (still with great accurate timbre) but if the recording really showcase the soundstage and the 3-dimensionality of the instruments and vocals, DAVE really portrays that well. It doesnt get too hot to touch. All in all the Discrete DAC is beautiful looking, minimal, easy to set up (its all but plug and play if you turn both the PSUs on) and it feels like a proper bit of audio engineering. I'm looking for suggestions between $10K - $12K. the Extreme has some special optimization for USB. connection to the dac chip. By With a better matched preamp presence may be acceptable. First let me preface my comments by stating that I have not heard a lot of high end DACs in my system. Check out our support page and technical specifications > Click Here, 10100007 - Discrete DAC with Supply- Gallery - 1200px, 10100007 - Discrete DAC with Supplies - Gallery - 1200px, 10100006 - Discrete DAC - Gallery - 1200px, 10100003 - Discrete DAC Badge - Gallery - 1200px, 10100005 - Discrete DAC MSB Logo - Gallery - 1200px, 10100004 - Discrete DAC Jack Panel - Gallery - 1200px, 10100008 - Discrete DAC Basemetal - Gallery - 1200px, 10100009 - Discrete Supply Options - Gallery - 1200px, 10100010 - Discrete Supply Cover - Gallery - 1200px. This is disabled if you are outputting to a preamplifier. I'm super happy with my Esoteric N-01, which is a noticeable step up in quality/musicality from the DAVE - as yes the DAVE sounds a bit "thin" (though extraordinarily detailed). In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. The world's largest high-end audio community. Copyright Hifi Pig and Hifi Pig Magazine, Big Pig Media LLP. How does the PS Audio DirectStream DAC compare to the Chord DAC? Cs | Critical Mass CS2s -> components, Isoacoustics -> speakers + subs | Adona Eris II rack on Herbie's titanium footers | Fully treated and dedicated 2 channel room. The MSB Renderer was developed using an in-house hardware design running an ultra low noise A5 processor for optimal audio playback performance. Complete electrical isolation The in-house discrete design is then constructed into its own shielded CNC pocket for optimal isolation. DACs Overview - MSB Technology Thanks for the interesting reply, cmarin. This hobby is "highly subjective", influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions; therefore you can A/B a million different components and come to a completely different conclusion on how it sounds compared to another listener. Others might disagree but these are my findings. California crafted in-house from an aluminum billet, the enclosure feels solid yet refined. Euphony Summus, EtherRegen, MSB Discrete. I found it big bold brash and dynamic but hard cold glary and fatiguing - all the old fashioned things I hated about early digital. Thanks for the suggestion ecwl. and the MSB Select II has a huge advantage over other dacs with its modularity and in-house development which promotes, in a very timely way, keeping the product at the very tip top cutting edge of digital interface developments. This is a dealers email comment to me about comparisons he did. The BADA Ref is a great DAC and I understand the new version takes it to even another level. Elegant design. Were constantly improving digital input modules to stay at the forefront of the high-end audio industry, ensuring youre always equipped with the most current digital file formats and interfaces. The MSB Discrete DAC is an American made Digital to Analogue Converter costing 11,000 plus an extra 1650 for the second external power supply. I know it is a standard talking point by some to suggest that Chord DACs aren't as good with DSD as PCM. As I said, its an odd one to describe but you do hear it as it brings a sense of rightness to rhythm tracks. It is a pretty DAC but usability is left behind. The Discrete DAC, the successor and highly improved replacement to the now-famous Analog DAC is the MSB DAC that everyone has been waiting for. This puts it up against some serious competition! It would be absolute suicide for an audio distributor to The clock can be seen as being the heart of the DAC and once again the clocks are made in-house. The only thing that I'd really like to see added here is an Aries Cerat. IMHO an audio recommendation in a forum is just an advice on what is worth listening and the reason why we think so. I would,however, like to say we are highly selective over the brands we represent and believe they are excellent value. I'm also a very patient person and can wait for the right bit of kit at the right price to come up secondhand. 2. However, the extra PSU does add to the cost considerably! After that you are GOLDEN. This is a very odd one to describe but came to the fore on tracks like Pan Eros from World Of Drums and Percussion. MSB DACs also use a processing chip to handle oversampling and digital filtering (not sure if this chip is an FPGA or other type processing chip, but it is a high speed digital processing chip). At some point you have to be content in this hobby. Digital: Jay's Audio CDT2 MK2 CD transport, Modified MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda DAC. It's better than the MSB Analog I listened to. Of the ones you mentioned I'd be most tempted by the Emm Labs DAC 2x though if you can get a used higher-end Esoteric, you should jump on it. How does it compare? Roon/Jriver 22 -> Ayre QX-5 Twenty -> Ayre AX-5 Twenty -> B&W N802D (Transparent Cables). However, to get this level of separation and detail within the soundscape the DAC is clearly having a very important role to play. Playing Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jacksons Your Daddy Loves You from the Winter in America album gave me the same impression of a reach-out-and-touch soundscape with incredibly well-defined positions in the mix and a whole load of detail the over-driven sound of the electric piano at around a minute forty really stood out as being faithful to the recording; a case of high-fidelity highlighting a low-fidelity artefact? Mola Mola dac and the Total dac. Our products include our in-house designed viton feet, but any audiophile M6X1 foot can be installed to personalize your system. The remainder 2 DAC | Audionet Pre G2 preamp | Audionet Max mono blocks | Vivid Audio Giya G2 Series 2 | 4 JL Audio Fathoms | Echole ICs /SCs / Siltech Classic 550L jumpers, Shunyata PCs / Eth. You are using an out of date browser. dacs and server competed against much more expensive dacs and servers sound wise It's UPDATE VIDEO THREE for the Chord Electronics DAVE DAC REVIEW I have spent a lot more time with the DAVE Dac, still using. It would only sound like sales so we and as I said earlier there is no "best" when it comes to dacs or Chord Msb Dac Dave Vs Discrete [FZ8OTP] - amministrato.to.it This DAC is 11,000 and as such, it is a considerable investment to make, but I would suggest that this is not stupid money for the kind of transparency and clarity it brings. Audiogon Discussion Forum I think people buy what they like. As it stands, the Discrete offers a very good solution should you be a music lover that plays only digital files and you can go straight into a power amp. I believe it comes down to The modular nature of the Discrete and other MSB DACs is very clever and I assume this goes a good way towards giving it such a neutral and detailed sound, where no one part is interfering with what the other is doing. With two prime DACs, we yield an unprecedented level of detail, reproducing the musicality, soundstage, and texture of an original performance, bringing the artist to you. 2 are upscalers , not upsamplers. Digital Audio Forum: DAC, Transports, Digital Processing Forum, 4x20A circuits | Audioquest Niagara 3000 | Paul Hynes SR4T + HDPlex HD500 PSUs -> Music PC w/JCAT XE nic, HQPlayer, Roon, Tidal / Qobuz | HDPlex HD100 PSU -> OCX clock + EtherRegen | Aqua Acoustic Quality LinQ streamer | Aqua Acoustic Quality Formula xHD Rev. Fixed. II cannot do anything but award this DAC our highest award, but that award goes with the caveats that it should be used directly into an amplifier and that Id like to have had the options for analogue inputs. I agree with your statement. had if for 2 years now. Equipment used: - Roon - 3-in 1-out XLR switchbox - Goldpoint SA2X Attenuator - Benchmark AHB2 Amplifier - Hifiman Susvara headphones (Also used Arya and HD800S but for the most part susvara) Video review of DAVE + Mscaler here: digital 149728-117859 MSB select II vs all dacs ? Besides that the MSB looks so much better. The only true way for the end user to know what they prefer is through listening in their own system. This is the main advantage of DAVE (i.e. Dedicated Line DSD/DXD | Audirvana+ | iFi iDSD Nano | SET Tube Amp | Totem Mites, Surround: VLC | M-Audio FastTrack Pro | Mac Opt | Panasonic SA-HE100 | Logitech Z623, DIY: SET Tube Amp | Low-Noise Linear Regulated Power Supply | USB, Power, Speaker Cables | Speaker Stands | Acoustic Panels, You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. You must log in or register to reply here. I would say go for one of the other MSB ModelsThe Reference is half of the Select dac and the premier and discrete dacs are stunning performers for their price level Just in case it's not obvious, toetapaudio is a Mola Mola Dealer. MSB Technology Premier Digital-to-Analog Converter There are so. Of those, I've only heard the DAVE. Still would like to listen to the Soulution 760 DAC, Mola Mola DAC, Trinity DAC, MSB Select DAC, and maybe the Light Harmonic Da Vinci DAC, Gryphon Kalliope DAC, TotalDAC of some kind, Phasure NOS1A DAC, Esoteric Grandioso DAC, TAD DA1000 DAC, Audionet DAC, Chord Dave DAC . If so I'd recommend the Aqua Formula xHD and the TotalDAC d1-Seven. MSB Discrete DAC - What's Best Forum How hot does the Chord DAC get? MSB Technology's Discrete DAC was the best DAC I'd heard in my systemuntil the MSB Premier showed up. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends.. Thank me laterLoL. In my assessment the Makua offered a more open and spacious sound. Only hifi shops and shows hear and there. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The SQ from DAC headphone output is lower than the best headphone amplifier but that kind of amplifier costs close to DAVE itself. but with digital things change quickly, and a month ago I got a new server, the SGM Extreme. It's pretty funny how everyone gives their personal pet recommendation with the utmost confidence that the buyer will like it. It is just as important as the DAC itself. Many of these were already in a shootout on Audiogon with the same requirements - has to sound stellar on 16/44.1 tracks: I agree that the DAVE plus Blu 2 is spectacular, but not in a "hi fi" sense. It is worth every penny. Mind you, I have chipless DSD with 1 bit processing, so the bar is set VERY high for me. The dCS Bartok was also interesting but, based on my research, I kept coming back to Bricasti. I actually like the simplicity of this and it is very intuitive to use when you get into setting up and menu diving, though diving is over-egging it a bit as the Discrete is a doddle to set upif you do it right, but more on that in a while. And thinking more about it, the differences at the time could have been small because the noise level in my system at the time of the comparison were relatively higher than they are now. The MSB simply offered more of everything and to my ears proved again that a true multi bit converter/ladder DAC is superior to delta/sigma or FPGA DACs. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. And the Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC with new PSU. The Discrete DAC Features - MSB Technology The Discrete DAC Refined sound. It is bested easily by DACs at $150. Great Dac but for me a NOS DAC (Metrum Adagio) won the contest over all the others Dacs I have tried so far. The Dave as a DAC actually sounds decent. DAVE is the most advanced DAC Chord Electronics has ever made. It seems to take in zeros and ones and then somehow make sense of these and just convert them into faithful reproductions of the recording though me not being at the recording of any of the records I listened to, thats my assumption coming into play. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends. This effect was evident on track after track but didnt feel like it was overly exaggerated. For sure with Hugo and Qutenot even debatable. I agree with what you are saying but "far too often" the So I personally prefer to listen to different DACs just like I prefer to listen to analog as well as digital. us, over a 2 day test period come to the exact same conclusion. Thanks. of the 5 systems are completely different, our rooms are completely different Impedance 100 Low Gain setting. Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile. - MQA decoding. Didn't like it at all. I have listened to MSB Analog DAC and Diamond DAC IV but not in the same setup as DAVE. As a matter of fact, I'd appreciate getting your impressions. The only other items in the chain were the Stack streamer and a pretty well-sorted network setup. The DACs are individually shielded and thermally-bonded and multiple units are used per channel, which MSB tells us increases performance and lowers output impedance. They both use FPGA for their decoding. I have great synergy in my system and see no reason to listen to every new DAC out there. So take it for what it is. Anyway, I switched out the valve power amplifier and put in its place the Krell KST100 (all fully fettled and brought up to a better than new spec by Krell in the States) with my intention being to see what effect was the DAC and what was down to the amp basically isolating the effect to a component. Each clock is made up of two independent clocks but only one is used at any given time so as not to add unwanted noise to the circuit. Everyone hears differentlyI heard the Dave with the Blu and I prefer it without it. Over the air updates will ensure that your renderer always has the latest capabilities and ultimate convenience. johndoe21ro Australian Business Number 38 650 151 296, Digital Sources, DACs, and Computer Audio, Chord Dave vs Mola Mola Makua/Tambaqui vs Emm Labs Dac2x vs Rockna Wavedream. $16K Signature DAC sound? Thanks. Thanks guys! This all-American theme is continued in the companys PCB Shop where they use circuit boards produced for them in Silicon Valley, which are then made ready for the automated adding of the smaller components and hand-fitting bulkier components before washing and inspection. Very resolving, tone is on the cold side of neutral but otherwise pretty free of digital nasties compared to the cheaper Chords, and the stage is flatter than Keira Knightley.
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