There is scale on bigger productions and intimacy on smaller-scale recordings and pieces, It wont make a pigs ear into a sows purse, but its majestic on really good recordings, Its very detailed but not harshly so actually, its a very easy component to fit in a system and live with, Its not cheap and you will want both PSUs once you compare with just one, No analogue inputs to make it the heart of a full system, You know that MSB have stuff that is out of reach financially and potentially better, Price: 11,000 plus 1,650 for a second power supply. My first serious audio system was Garrard turntable, Fisher Int(SS), ADS bookspeaker bought on 1978. sounds like a more transparent Chord Dave to my ears. Along with an integrated clock, changing this card allows switching between single-ended and balanced outputs. The other thing I've learned about the Chord Dave is it can sound very different depending on the interconnect and/or power cord used. Some very good advice here. Impedance 100 Low Gain setting. Thanks. 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. Yeah, im thinking a post lock-down GTG is in order. Good points by all. Different songs will sound better with different sources - Different horses for different courses. By 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. 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. Did you audition all of them in the same place with the same system? - Roon Endpoint. there are others I know about but Ive not heard them recently. I wish you would have had the Totaldac D1 Seven to try. Sound Media Group Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Less experience with Dave on DSD, plus Rob claims to no longer decimate. digital 149728-117859 MSB select II vs all dacs ? The Discrete DAC, The Premier DAC, The Reference DAC, The Select DAC II, Theater Master. Moving away from the actual sound of the music, one of my main takeaways from listening to the Discrete was the sense of timing it brought to music. The Hugo TT2 is intended to bridge the gap between the range topping DAVE and budget Qutest rack mounted offerings. After that you are GOLDEN. What else should one expect? I don't think any of us have heard the Dave, and we don't have any interest. More sharing . They are all excellent DACs and at that level of performance, it's ultimately about system synergy, personal preferences and the limitations of our hearing. Everyone hears differentlyI heard the Dave with the Blu and I prefer it without it. I havent heard the Rockna. There is a real sense of spectacle and scale when the MSB is in the system. I have Chord Dave and Blu2 too. Whatever, the Discrete is a superb bit of kit that Id really love to take up residence in the system on a permanent basis, but thats not going to happen. Chord Dave vs Mola Mola Makua/Tambaqui vs Emm Labs Dac2x vs Rockna Wavedream IGNORED Chord Dave vs Mola Mola Makua/Tambaqui vs Emm Labs Dac2x vs Rockna Wavedream . A modular I/O card keeps even the discrete DAC flexible, repairable, and upgradeable. Digital: Jay's Audio CDT2 MK2 CD transport, Modified MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda DAC. Besides that the MSB looks so much better. its that good. MSB Technology [Select DAC II Full Option] Chord [Dave] Myek [Manhattan II] I had A-B test about 2 months. 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. DAVE is the most advanced DAC Chord Electronics has ever made. Once populated, the circuit boards are made into modules and then placed inside the casework. which make some people prefer this one to MSB Select II Point 85 Chord Dave and Mscaler (or Blue II transport) This one give transparent and 3D soundstage with excellent details. Some silly sausage plugged a white power cable into a black device. For sure with Hugo and Qutenot even debatable. I can see that in an A/B comparison, many other DACs sound more impressive than DAVE/Blu2. comes down to knowing what you are actually trying to achieve in a high end Does anyone have formula for that? Focusing on our network renderer and USB input, your audio tech will be on the cutting edge. @ricred1, youre right to point that out. What did you think with the Chord Dave vs Emm Labs Dac2x? I still did not found better audio source. 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. I wired it all up and the unit lit up but I could get no sound out of it whatsoever. 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. One of the things I jotted down in my notes during this time was the sense of scale the Discrete brought to the music I was listening to big music sounded BIG and more intimate recordings had their own scale too. I haven't heard MSB or theDenafrips DAC. That is not to say that a preamp doesn't produce value with respect to other sound quality characteristics that may affect the personal appeal of the musical reproduction (e.g., soundstage), or that the extra transparency won't reveal system issues, but there is no question that transparency is higher when going straight to the amps. How r they comparing to the MSB Select 2 and Trinity? Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends.. For some folk, a highly resolving and accurate system may well be described as being over-analytical, and on the other side of the audio fence, some will suggest that some systems sound nice but flawed. Many competing DACs will have a more comprehensive display at this price and, more commonly still, an app designed for intuitive access via smartphone and/or tablets. An exploration of Chord DAVE, MScaler, Qutest, and Holo May, HQPlayer Mola Mola is another well built great sounding I've owned a PS Audio Blimey my RME ADI 2 DAC looks to have better performance at a fraction of the cost, /===============================================================/, DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players, Audio Interface, Combination Audio DAC and Headphone Amplifiers. the Select II pushes the analog to be its best. After reading that review, and remembering the reverence APL had back in the day, alongside the Stahl Tek and Trinity dacs that were the heavy hitters 10-15 yrs ago, I was just curious as to whether . For example, the chassis for the products are made from North American-sourced metals, and then that is machined using Haas CNC machines that are built in California. Its an interesting setup with everything from design through to milling the chassis to building the circuit boards being done in-house. Specifications: Type: Digital to analogue converter with volume control. The AC modules are fully balanced at every stage, have no buffers, IV converters, or transistors in the signal path, and have no active devices used in the conversion process at all. I've had many world class DACS in my studio over the years and the Crane Song is as good as any no matter the cost. There are a lot of people that absolutely love the M-scaler. I expected a lot better. Once you add the second discrete PS, and a module or two for it to work, the price goes over $23-24K. 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. That statement makes sense in an analog paradigm. CH Precision C1 DAC. Its headphone amplifier is good but no match for higher powered units. The Chord Qutest DAC has the same DAC architecture and filters as the Chord Hugo 2. Not sure why you would spend so much on a DAC when the Crane Song Solaris is available at $1,949. those surpass any other digital choice. Not a bad idea Snoop! But MSB Select 2 is regarded by many as the best thats why for something 1/10 of the price to compete in anyones eyes is quite an accomplishment. Then just stay with the basic Premier unit, and the power supply that comes with it. definitely up there with the best dacs in the world. Hmm.. Cheers @Stereophilus When we set out to make the MSB remote, the design was built from the ground up. No matter what ice cream you prefer, I prefer something else. To each their own, but I think Chord sounds cold and artificial. I think my DAVE sounds great with everything. Sonically it is very much as its name suggests and converts files faithfully and without loss or (importantly) embellishment. JavaScript is disabled. 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: The formats that is used in comparison test is all 16bit / 44.1KHz, not DSD The Result : 1st : Select DAC II Full Option - 100% 2nd : Trinity DAC - 90% You'll be shocked by how much you lose by going through a separate preamp. SO/ROON/HQPe: DSD 256-Sonore opticalModuleDeluxe-Signature Rendu optical--Bricasti M3 DAC--DIY Purifi Amplifier-Focus Audio FS888 speakers-JL E 112sub-Nordost Tyr USB, DIY EventHorizon AC cables, Iconoclast XLR & speaker cables, Synergistic Purple Fuses, Spacetime system clarifiers. 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). You might want to consideradding oneof Chord's Upscalers, either HugoM scaler, or the Blu Mk. How does the PS Audio DirectStream DAC compare to the Chord DAC? Fair enough if you know some of the posters here and their listening preferences. 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. Chord Dave DAC "Sealed Box Brand New" Never Opened !! Others might disagree but these are my findings. JavaScript is disabled. I havent heard the Rockna. Audiogon Discussion Forum 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. One name that was thrown around by a few people I know is the Rockna Wavedream. There hasn't been any direct comparison of them with Select II, Trinity DAC, CH D1/C1, Totaldac D12 etc in Hong Kong yet. The remainder Btw, my MSB friend and I used the internal analog preamp for MSB and built-in digital preamp for DAVE. Gbel High End [Divin Noblesse], [Divin Marquis], ([Epoque Aeon Fine]). I agree price is necessarily indicative of quality or performance. How does it compare? The only true way for the end user to know what they prefer is through listening in their own system. Im getting a bit away from the review proper, but Im sure you can see why I have added that little diversion. Also; recently MSB introduced a new interface that optimizes USB and adds fibre to reduce noise, the MSB Pro USB. Is it too hot to touch? If I got a great $20K DAC for less, I would not object. I like all this attention to detail and the MSB website suggests a company that is massively proud of its American heritage and of the products they make. Never say never, but I reckon 99.9% of folk would get to the Discretes level of performance and not be able to justify another 110K to achieve, what I am guessing would be marginal gains though I have not experienced the Select and so cannot say for sure that this would be the case and it may be a total revelation is sonic engineering. Strangely from this company is lack of any anti-aliasing on the text causing pixels to not be seen in the fonts chosen! The lo-res display also makes menu ]set-up fiddly because it doesn't have enough space to display words. With a better matched preamp presence may be acceptable. It is a pretty DAC but usability is left behind. I'm looking for suggestions between $10K - $12K. Im outputting directly to the LAB12 (and later a Krell KST100) power amp and so a digital volume algorithm is used where the digital volume control is left at a relatively high output so as not to encounter loss at lower volume levels. Our digital testing has been done over the last 20 + years Conversely, you could spend a lot more and not gain a great deal in real terms. 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. MSB Technology's Discrete DAC was the best DAC I'd heard in my systemuntil the MSB Premier showed up. Thanks for the suggestion ecwl. Elevator Pitch Review: Built in America, the MSB Discrete is a modular DAC that also acts as a preamplfier, though, as supplied, it has no analogue inputs. The Discrete DAC Features - MSB Technology The Discrete DAC Refined sound. It has the option for two PSUs and once you hear with both it becomes a necessity to have both. This puts it up against some serious competition! I hate to repeat myself, but there are no absolutes in audio, only preferences. In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Since opening our doors in 1986, weve been driven by one goal: to craft an unrivaled listening experience for music lovers across the globe. Jon Hopkins Music For Psychedelic Therapy was a beautifully enveloping experience, made all the more so as sounds come and go in the soundstage in a somewhat more solid way than without the usual DAC. 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. I did try with just the one power supply and the Discrete remained a very strong performer with the differences being a very slight loss in the sense of separation and definition when listening intently. It's not just a matter of being polite, it's also about acknowledging that what we hear and what we prefer is uncertain and changes; that the comparisons were made at different points in time wherein my system had varying levels of resolution/ noise; the fact that making a change requires greater energy and usually more money than staying with what you have; and that sometimes the differences between components are not significant or actionable. 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. Ill go through the modules included in the Discrete DAC and explain a little about each. fake by any means necessary jacket. But it need good system matching. But of course, I love window shopping and perusing top tier systems including illustrious more familiar gear like Lampi, TD, MSB, Ares Cerat, Aqua. MSB Discrete Dac with one additional basic power supply. They both use FPGA for their decoding. 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.