msb discrete dac vs chord dave

Regular readers will appreciate all that is taken from the MSB website and I make no apologies for not really understanding the electronics. 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. Cs | Critical Mass CS2s -> components, Isoacoustics -> speakers + subs | Adona Eris II rack on Herbie's titanium footers | Fully treated and dedicated 2 channel room. In my listening tests, I could detect no attribute that made it sound special. - Up to 32 bit - 768kHz. The remainder so these are less preferred. The Discrete Power Supply feeds the DAC with dual low-noise power streams that are linear and independent. 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. To build a simple and good system). Then we have the Integrated Clock module and Im starting to get the whole modular approach to the design of the MSB DAC. Were honored to be recognized by the industry for bringing you the most lifelike sound we can. Our publication is supported by its audience. Guess what I am trying to say is: preamps are important. I can see that in an A/B comparison, many other DACs sound more impressive than DAVE/Blu2. will every hear. I hope you understand. Also, it is worth noting I heard the v1 DAC 2X, not the v2. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates. EAR FILLERS HiFi Pig Playlists on Qobuz, Transatlantic Dispatches: A New World Disorder, Astell&Kern Launch Three New Products At High End Munich 2022. I called the distributor and we went through everything again. let me know when it's on, I'll make my way down if I can. I listen mostly to classical music, particularly with symphonic work, I prefer DAVE to MSB. Not sure why you would spend so much on a DAC when the Crane Song Solaris is available at $1,949. In that price range, you would be mad not to add the MSB Premier DAC to your list as well. those surpass any other digital choice. Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile. I would,however, like to say we are highly selective over the brands we represent and believe they are excellent value. I agree price is necessarily indicative of quality or performance. It is not hard to audition these DACs in Melbourneand this is your best way to work out your own preference. 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. 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. When we set out to make the MSB remote, the design was built from the ground up. Perhaps you should consider the Accuphase DC-37 currently for sale in the classifieds? We feel 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. I agree with your statement. There seemed to be a little more separation of instruments in the mix of whatever I was listening to than with the LAB12 DAC and Pre in the signal path and a slightly leaner edge to the music more clearly etched, perhaps? 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. There are some tonal differences too, but what you prefer will depend on your other equipment and the music you like. Toggle signature. Less experience with Dave on DSD, plus Rob claims to no longer decimate. Ill not get into the whole detail of this here but the MSB website does have an excellent (and interesting) explanation of jitter and why having a very low jitter clock is favourable to having a very accurate clock theres a link at the bottom of this review. The other issue is preference. Up to 32 bit 768kHz I'm not an absolutist, and frankly, I could be happy with any of the DACs I mentioned. 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. us, over a 2 day test period come to the exact same conclusion. sounds just like the Dave. Thats why were thrilled to offer up to 100% trade-in value for existing MSB products when upgrading to a higher performing series. Or arm yourself with a nice bottle of red and pay a visit to@Stereophilus. In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. 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. 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. You are using an out of date browser. It is bested easily by DACs at $150. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends. The Dave is VERY lovely on PCM, and pretty decent on DSD, but DSD is not its raison d'etre. there are others I know about but Ive not heard them recently. more might come to mind and I will add them. I may need to reset expectations a bit lower: This is an update to some old DAVE vibration control posts. the Extreme has some special optimization for USB. To be 100% honest we have A/B tested most of the dacs mentioned 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. With a better matched preamp presence may be acceptable. sounds like a more transparent Chord Dave to my ears. Great Dac but for me a NOS DAC (Metrum Adagio) won the contest over all the others Dacs I have tried so far. Others might disagree but these are my findings. I also looked at the MSB Discrete DAC but everything thing was an extra cost option (USB, AES/EBU, power supply, etc.,) and expensive. I can see the problem with this unit. I've also learned that a DAC's performance will depend heavily on the music player. The biggest question about this device is, Yeah listened to the same HEk V2 and Chord Dave with. The next module is the display which is a cool and easy-to-read LED that is slaved to the audio clock. 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. The in-house discrete design is then constructed into its own shielded CNC pocket for optimal isolation. While were committed to long lasting products that hold their value, we realize audio systems are always evolving. The reasoning behind the two clocks dealing with different frequency families is that music is mostly recorded within multiples of the 44.1kHz family or the 48kHz family and having a clock dealing with each family minimises loss. I've had some excellent preamps in my system (Dartzeel, Absolare, Robert Koda, Kondo). Sonically it is very much as its name suggests and converts files faithfully and without loss or (importantly) embellishment. The clock can be seen as being the heart of the DAC and once again the clocks are made in-house. This unit came with two power supplies and Ill be playing with the DAC with one and with two to compare and contrast. I say take what everyone post when a grain of salt, because an individual's preference may be different than yours. @shkong78 Thanks for sharing your listening impressions of the Lampizator Pacific vs the MSB DACs as well as what you miss about the Pacific vs your Chord combo. This is a very odd one to describe but came to the fore on tracks like Pan Eros from World Of Drums and Percussion. Good points by all. MSB are an American brand headed up by the brothers Jonathan and Daniel Gullman and located in Silicon Valley, California where they design and build a range of amplifiers, transports, and DACs. A fully balanced, ultra-high precision, discrete ladder DAC architecture ensures each note tells a story. Ill go through the modules included in the Discrete DAC and explain a little about each. Stuart Smith finds out. In terms of sound quality, it's the best digital front end I . If you take a look at their website you will see that the machining shop is a fully equipped facility designed to meet the needs of a company producing high-quality cases in which the electronics will be fitted no off the shelf or cheap bent metal cases here! Stuart Smith finds out. Thats not allthe CNC unibody aluminum chassis provides the discrete power supply with optimal thermal performance and an elegant design aesthetic. Astrostar here, said it completely blew away any dac he had before, and mind you, he has the entry level AC model. Let us do the work of refurbishing and finding your current electronics a new hometheyll continue to be enjoyed for years to come. 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. Your web browser does not support iFrames. And differences at that level can be good. Click to expand. Well build a personalized offer for your existing MSB products that count towards a new DAC or amplifier. The evolution of the original irreverent and irrelevant and non-authoritative site for headphone measurements, i.e. connection because it eliminates some parts and gets you closer to a direct There's 340 pages packed with HiFi Reviews, Industry Interviews and much more. Thanks for the suggestions Wisnon. Do diamonds shine on the dark side of the moon? The DAC comes equipped with a single power supply, but can be augmented with a second discrete power supply to enable optimized power isolation between all major components. 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. It matches Chord Dave and Mscaler on dynamics with slightly more bass slam. As a contented Qutest user, I would have hoped for "improved", performance from the Dave. state his/her experience and preferences. 5 other people who only have 2 things in common with our system. There ain't no Coupe deVille hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box. Once complete there are measurements and functional tests before the final products are inspected, cleaned, and packed up ready to be shipped, but not before a white glove inspection by either Jonathan or Daniel. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/a-dac-that-crushes-price-vs-performance-ratio. 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. I think my DAVE sounds great with everything. This is a dealers email comment to me about comparisons he did. It's just more financially viable to me for the performance and price ratio. The DAVE is very resolving, but thinner tonally in comparison to the EMM Labs. As a matter of fact, I'd appreciate getting your impressions. Just go for an internal Asus card to fit in a PCI slot you should be able to get bit perfect optical output thanks for confirming suitability of current setup. comes down to knowing what you are actually trying to achieve in a high end I can only comment on the Emm labs, if u can get a DA2 I think you will be happy "An audiophile is only done when they go to the great brick and mortar store in the sky" Ron Resnick The MSB Renderer was developed using an in-house hardware design running an ultra low noise A5 processor for optimal audio playback performance. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. personal preference." Anyone make that comparison? Along with an integrated clock, changing this card allows switching between single-ended and balanced outputs. ), Chord Hugo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp), DAC Noise Modulation: Chord DAVE vs Topping DX7 Pro+, Digital To Analog (DAC) Reviews and Discussion, Amplifiers, Phono preamp, and Analog Audio Review. Was it a speaker setup or headphone setup? If I had been responsible for coding that display I would never tell anyone. The Hugo TT2 is intended to bridge the gap between the range topping DAVE and budget Qutest rack mounted offerings. The MSB Renderer was developed using an in-house hardware design running an ultra low noise A5 processor for optimal audio playback performance. I expected a lot better. The MSB Discrete, as I mentioned, came with two power supplies but you can operate it with just one with the supplied doodad. Too objective for subjectivists; too subjective for objectivsts. 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. The headamp is powerful but not involving. My first serious audio system was Garrard turntable, Fisher Int(SS), ADS bookspeaker bought on 1978. CHORD Dave could be the most expensive deeply design DAC in the world and if you find it not your taste there is the best off the shelf DACs like akm4499 in Topping D90 for 699$ that could be even better than Dave. It was a speaker setup (as in my signature.) California crafted in-house from an aluminum billet, the enclosure feels solid yet refined. I cant help with comparisons of two of these DACs, but I did hear the Tambaqui up against the dCS Bartok and it was a pretty close call, but ultimately the dCS sounded more analogue and more immersive, I have heard the Dave and EMM Labs DAC2x up against aMakua that I subsequently purchased. Ps Audio Directstream Dac Vs Auralic Vega Founded in 2004, Games for Change is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers game creators and social innovators to drive real-world impact through games and immersive media Here is the list : Trinity Designs [Trinity DAC] TotalDAC [d1-Six] Aqua Acoustic Quality [Formula xHD] MSB Technology [Select DAC II Full Option . Since this forum is mainly USA based and we are in the UK, I have very little to gain business wise here. 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. that it is difficult to say you have the best in regard to dacs but Rockna is Focusing on our network renderer and USB input, your audio tech will be on the cutting edge. The SQ is amazingly good. Cs | Critical Mass CS2s -> components, Isoacoustics -> speakers + subs | Adona Eris II rack on Herbie's titanium footers | Fully treated and dedicated 2 channel room. 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. I wired it all up and the unit lit up but I could get no sound out of it whatsoever. lastly; what I compare my MSB Select II to every day is my top level vinyl and top level reel to reel tape. So yes it's a question of being polite, but it's also about acknowledging the limitations inherent in making absolute pronouncements about differences between high performing components. Is this what passes for high end? Pass Labs INT-60. 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. 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. Directstream, Bricasti M1, Jeff Rowland Aeris, Chord Dave, and today I Whats Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. Needless to say given everything talked about so far, the Prime DAC modules are made in-house and they have been making and designing discrete ladder DACs since 1999. 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. I'm looking for suggestions on DACs I should listen to as possible replacement of my Chord Dave. This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of CHORD DAVE combination DAC and headphone amplifier. 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. This is disabled if you are outputting to a preamplifier. Our digital testing has been done over the last 20 + years Height with feet: 68 mm Weight: 8.2 kg, Accessories included: Manual Remote control Aluminum MSB USB charging cable 4 X Spikes and Cups 4 X plastic inserts Power connector splitter, MERASON FRROT DAC REVIEW The Merason Frrot DAC costing 995 isn't the first thing that comes to mind when we think of Switzerland. Hmm.. I like Aqua Formula xHD and Totaldac Six. There is no dark magic involved. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 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. This ranking is just my subjective thinking. However, Id argue that there is sort of two trains of thought on this subject; one where theres absolute fidelity to the source material at all costs, and another that sounds great though to the listener but perhaps not absolutely true to the original source and I dont think its unfair to say that both these positions have their place in the world of playing tunes at home. Digital: Jay's Audio CDT2 MK2 CD transport, Modified MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda DAC. Some very good advice here.

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