The headamp is powerful but not involving. At $20,000 I recommend the MSB Premier DAC with two power supplies (KeithRs system). To build a simple and good system). I think is a good general rule of thumb, but there are some very transparent passive pre-amps out there. what Im saying is that comparing dacs also must take into account of all the interface advantages of each particular dac. My friend who owns the Diamond DAC IV prefers the MSB. I can see the problem with this unit. Im getting a bit away from the review proper, but Im sure you can see why I have added that little diversion. Hope to try different formats on both DACs to see what works best in my system. However, its also very nice to listen to in this system, though I would say it is more accurate/true to the original DAC than our LAB12 DAC or perhaps our Lampizator BIG 7. So, essentially, around the back of this DAC we have XLR output modules, dual power inputs (more on this in a moment) the digital input module (XLR, RCA, and two optical), and the USB input. As you pursue higher levels of playback, an MSB upgrade path is always available to help drive your own desire for innovation. How does the PS Audio DirectStream DAC compare to the Chord DAC? retail client forgets that most audio stores and audio distribution companies But even with great preamps, a great DAC in a low noise environment, will produce a more transparent sound going direct to the amps than through the preamp. "OK, it would be. You are using an out of date browser. for instance, the Select II is modular (customers can easily change modules in seconds)so it has the ability to quickly modify its inputs to allow for optimization of various interfaces. as my Select II sits it would list for $116,450. Search: Msb Discrete Dac Vs Chord Dave. I havent heard the Rockna. I have had Dave in my system. Stay updated on Bloom Audio at their. Bespoke Audio Ultimate Silver TVC passive preamp, Totaldac xlr version D1-Drivers x2, Eisteddfod 340 & 840 amps, Magico S5 speaker, MSB Select DAC, MSB Select Transport, Nakamichi 700 XLE cassette deck, Taiko Audio Extreme Server, Tripoint Troy Signature NG groundbox, PLiXiR Elite 1500 isolation transformers. At some point you have to be content in this hobby. I hope you understand. Id imagine that upscaling refers to increasing bit-depth (like from 16 to 24 bits) which adds "vertical" resolution to the waveform in theory, improving amplitude resolution making subtle low-level detail more natural and audible (among other things) if done correctly. Congratulations on the upgrade and enjoy it in good health. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends.. Dealer's should be required to state they're a dealer every time they post or have a disclaimer in their username. its that good. I have heard the Dave and EMM Labs DAC2x up against aMakua that I subsequently purchased. Thank me laterLoL. Elegant design. 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. 1 - MSB Discrete 2 - dCS Bartok 3 - Mola Mola Tambaqui 4 - Chord DAVE (add the M Scaler later) 5 - Keep my Ayre QX-5 Twenty, do nothing Thanks! T&A Dac8 (for DSD512) or Lampi Atlantic for any native rate DSD playback. other dacs I have enjoyedin no particular order; I would not call this second tier; but I prefer what hear from my Select II to what Ive heard from these. of the 5 systems are completely different, our rooms are completely different as far as direct comparison with other dacs the closest Ive done is listening to the Select II at shows and then listening to other top dacs in other systems at shows. The other stand out dacs that we like are the However, there is nothing wrong with "taking" recommendations, which help me build a list that I can use to research then find a way to audition my shortlist. Conversely, you could spend a lot more and not gain a great deal in real terms. For such a high entry price I wouldn't take the gamble to go on some recommendation by a stranger whose tastes I don't know. The Discrete DAC, The Premier DAC, The Reference DAC, The Select DAC II, Theater Master. Amplification: Cyrus Mono x300Signatures. To cut a long story short: A burnt in MSB Analog DAC with Power Base demoed side to side to a burnt in DAVE was no challenge for the MSB. JavaScript is disabled. frequency response graphs, CSD waterfall plots, subjective gear reviews. There is no dark magic involved. Of course your opinion on sound quality is your own, and valid, but to suggest that the reason for the difference is because the Chord is an "FPGA DAC" is technically incorrect. connection to the dac chip. the Extreme has some special optimization for USB. Wherever I read I see unanimous praise for the MSB Select II. This kind of sound really appeals to me and was really excellent to experience on lots of tunes, but was especially evident on tracks from Rumours with every part of the mix being identifiable as unique. We have what I consider to be a pretty resolving system, but we also listen to music a fair old bit for pure pleasure and so theres a valve amp currently feeding our chosen reference loudspeakers though thats not to say this system isnt highly resolving in its own right. Additionally, MSBs robust in-house design enables the finest quality playback of PCM and native DSD, while our low impedance circuitry drives your amplification directly without adding coloration or buffering noise. The Dave as a DAC actually sounds decent. This is the main advantage of DAVE (i.e. There is the option to add a streaming module to the Discrete and if I was in the market for a digital streaming solution, then this is where I would be going. There are separate optimal PCM and DSD modes for playbacks and bit perfect playback is how DAVE performs optimally as the FPGA up samples and noise shapes everything to 104MHz 5-bit. The Prime DAC Module. Watts is avidly not reading this in anticipation of the video version he won't watch. In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. Concluding that there is some kind of problem with using an FPGA vs. what MSB does is not technically supportable. I would just add budget and the other components in the system are major factors to consider. And I make Best DAC Quality Ranking list. Perhaps you should consider the Accuphase DC-37 currently for sale in the classifieds? Vega DAC 6/10 As dynamic as the Weiss, but a little too edgy in sound emphasised presence made female voices a bit hard on the ear. Taiko Audio Extreme > Sablon Audio Reserva Elite USB2022/Sablon Audio Reserva Ethernet2020> Aqua Formula XHDV2 > Sablon Audio King Sablon Interconnects > LDR pre > PuLSar45 DC SE amp > Sablon Audio Reserva speaker cables (pigtailed) > Avantgarde Duo Omega( Duelund xover). Mike, Scott has been absolutely wonderful in his support, despite my purchasing the Found-Music 2A3s used (from Art S.) He has visited once and is planning another visit after the trip your way. 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. Fair enough if you know some of the posters here and their listening preferences. And this is where I had a problem with this DAC, though mostly the problem was of my own making. luxury apartment hotels paris. Have you thought about hooking up a Blu2 to Dave? Aurender W20-> Lampizator Pacific SE -> Ayon Crossfire III or Circle Labs A100 -> Avantgarde Acoustic Trio LE 26 with 4x REL Carbon Special ,SACD Player: Audio Aero La Fontaine. Fully agree that it could come down to personal preference @RoriHope you have arranged auditions. This is a company that is All American and fiercely proud of that fact. 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. To be 100% honest we have A/B tested most of the dacs mentioned If you send me a dave i will happily be your 4th friend who also owns a dave. It is bested easily by DACs at $150. Chord states "DAVE is the most advanced DAC we have ever made. Please specify coaxial S/PDiF or optical S/PDiF. The PSUs are available to match. Also, it is worth noting I heard the v1 DAC 2X, not the v2. in this forum and they are all very good dacs. It seems to me that manufacturers are jacking up the price for the perception of quality. This unit came with two power supplies and Ill be playing with the DAC with one and with two to compare and contrast. An FPGA does not have analog output, in the Chord DACs, the FPGA handles digital processing only, not conversion from digital to analog. 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. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. 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. For the most part, I listened to the MSB through our LAB12 and Krell KST100 amps and TotalDAC D100 speakers. Given your appreciation of the Pacific Microsonics DAC, I hope you'll get a chance to hear the Berkeley in your system as well. http://www.computeraudiophile.com/members/mikejazz/, funded this campain: http://igg.me/at/geekpulseaudio/x/5216671. I'm looking for suggestions between $10K - $12K. There's 340 pages packed with HiFi Reviews, Industry Interviews and much more. What is available on models higher up the MSB food chain is the ability to add an analogue module so that you can use the unit as a true preamplifier and DAC. The evolution of the original irreverent and irrelevant and non-authoritative site for headphone measurements, i.e. MQA decoding First let me preface my comments by stating that I have not heard a lot of high end DACs in my system. Im sure it does have a flavour of its own, but from my standpoint, it sounds like a very neutral and transparent DAC. I like Aqua Formula xHD and Totaldac Six. Tellurium Silver Diamond USB and Chord Blu. September 6, 2016 in DAC - Digital to Analog Conversion. Like the Lab12. Links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Hifi Pig and Big Pig Media with appropriate and specific direction (link) to the original content. Up to 4X DSD The dCS Bartok was also interesting but, based on my research, I kept coming back to Bricasti. However, the extra PSU does add to the cost considerably! A fully balanced, ultra-high precision, discrete ladder DAC architecture ensures each note tells a story. Chord Dave DAC "Sealed Box Brand New" Never Opened !! Others might disagree but these are my findings. When a dealer post something you have to take it with a enormous grain of salt. dacs and server competed against much more expensive dacs and servers sound wise Compared to some other similarly priced DACs ($10 - $15k MSRP) I prefer the Discrete with 2 Discrete PS. 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. In my listening tests, I could detect no attribute that made it sound special. @ricred1, youre right to point that out. Ultimately, reducing noise in a system or improving room acoustics can have a bigger effect. Since opening our doors in 1986, weve been driven by one goal: to craft an unrivaled listening experience for music lovers across the globe. However, there are also products that manage to straddle both sides of the electric fence (whilst being careful not to electrocute their nether regions) and give us a tremendously enjoyable reproduction of a recording whilst remaining true to the source material. They're very back ordered and are a pro unit with balanced only outputs and no remote but oh my do they sound spectacular. prefer to keep our test results among ourselves. Well this is going to set the cat amongst the pigeons for sure. Once you add the second discrete PS, and a module or two for it to work, the price goes over $23-24K. Mola Mola dac and the Total dac. The LED display, slaved to the audio clock, is refreshed between data processing to drastically reduce electrical interference. However, to get this level of separation and detail within the soundscape the DAC is clearly having a very important role to play. You'll be shocked by how much you lose by going through a separate preamp. I found it big bold brash and dynamic but hard cold glary and fatiguing - all the old fashioned things I hated about early digital. The Base module is used on the two lower DACs (including this one) and then the Preamp Output Stage for the top two DACs in the range. Click here to download your copy, At 11000 plus taxes as tested the Lampizator Big 7 is certainly no budget DAC, but does it deliver on sonic ability? Yes, you read that right, the Select DAC is the best part of 121,000! Almost all gear I hear is pretty good and some are great but the most expensive ones are not universally the best to my ears. I've tried it in my system and I don't like it. Anyone make that comparison? personal preference. 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. MSB Technology's Discrete DAC was the best DAC I'd heard in my systemuntil the MSB Premier showed up. Up to 32 bit 768kHz I have a PS Audio DSD ATM and it is also on the warm side which is good, but I'm thinking I need something more neutral due to my speakers being fairly warm and full bodied in their own right to take my system to the next level. 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. So take it for what it is. It's easy! November 11, 2020 in Digital Sources, DACs, and Computer Audio. Putting price aside, what are your thoughts about the Hugo TT as an integrated DAC+amp? He liked the Mola Mola Tambaqui over these others listed below. Our products include our in-house designed viton feet, but any audiophile M6X1 foot can be installed to personalize your system. With two prime DACs, the MSB Discrete yields an unprecedented level of detail that reproduces the musicality, soundstage and texture of an original performance, bringing the artist to you. See what the reviews are saying. And I've learned to be careful and not generalize how a component will sound based on show conditions or other systems. Sonically, it is akin to the old straight wire with gain only in the digital realm. Check out the awards + accolades. This latter recording gets played to death at shows, but that doesnt detract from it being a very good tune and a very good recording, though I have been known to take the piss a bit when it gets played for the tenth time in a day at audio events. You must log in or register to reply here. have had the opportunity to A/B many more pieces of equipment than any consumer Hifi Pig is part of the Big Pig Media LLP group of companies. This ranking is just my subjective thinking. What makes you want to upgrade from DAVE? home system and listening for that end result. johndoe21ro I wanted to know for anyone who has heard it have you also heard a DAC that approached it in sonic performance? And if I had to guess (given I haven't heard both), I'd guess it outperforms the Tambaqui. The Dave is VERY lovely on PCM, and pretty decent on DSD, but DSD is not its raison d'etre. It has the option for two PSUs and once you hear with both it becomes a necessity to have both. I agree with what you are saying but "far too often" the Never use!! Click to expand. This is because one PSU is supplying juice to modules including the screen and USB input etc but not to the output module. I could easily live with any of these. Others might disagree but these are my findings. Looking forward to the your additions to the list. No matter what ice cream you prefer, I prefer something else. Supported Formats (Depending on Input) 44.1 kHz to 3.072kHz PCM up to 32 bits 1xDSD, 2xDSD, 4xDSD, 8xDSD Accepts DSD via DoP on all inputs, Digital Inputs 1x RCA Coaxial 1x XLR 1x Word-Sync Out 2x Toslink 2x Isolated slots for optional modules, XLR Outputs Voltage: 3.57 Vrms Maximum Impedance 300 High Gain setting Impedance 150 Low Gain setting. us, over a 2 day test period come to the exact same conclusion. 2001-2023 Head-Fi.org. We used PCM (16/44,1 to 24/192) and DSD 64 and 128 for the comparioson. Theres just a sense that with the MSB in the line that everything is timed correctly and rock solid. The in-house discrete design is then constructed into its own shielded CNC pocket for optimal isolation. will every hear. Its not bombarding you with information, but it is a notably more defined sound with regards to the spatial information and the way that elements sit in the mix a tad more solidity and more of a sense of the stereo image being wider and deeper and with instruments and sounds occupying a definite space of their own. Mola Mola is another well built great sounding The main reason we took on Rockna was because their dCS Bartok>Chord DAVE>MSB discrete discreteR2R R2R DAVE BartokdCSBartok And in the case of a great DAC with great amps in a system with very low noise, going direct to the amps can be magical. The Base module has two outputs (high and low) depending on whether you are outputting to a preamplifier or directly to a power amplifier. The Pro USB is offered as a stand alone module for users who already have an MSB DAC that is equipped with a Pro ISL input as well as a starter kit with a Pro ISL input and everything you need to get up and running. Roon/Jriver 22 -> Ayre QX-5 Twenty -> Ayre AX-5 Twenty -> B&W N802D (Transparent Cables). For the most part, I used this input and for a quick comparison one of the optical inputs. Is it better than the Chord DAVE that I raved about a few years ago? Like the rest of the main body of the DAC and the PSUs, the remote is hewn from a block of aluminium.
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