MSB Diamond IV Select dac

CKKeung

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Jun 17, 2011
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A lot of people think that the price of MSB Diamond IV Select dac is insanely expensive.
Reading its description in MSB website reveals nothing special to justify the high price.

However, here is a recent interview of Larry Gullman in an European hifi website :
http://www.audio-activity.com/msb-larry-gullman-interview.html

Larry was doing an European tour/roadshow, comparing directly the Diamond IV vs Diamond Select IV to audience.
He claimed that the performance difference between the two was large and there were some special secret gadgets installed in the Diamond Select IV.

Have any brothers here auditioned the Diamond Select IV?
Any insider info on its new circuitry/software?

Thanks!
 
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Ultimate Audio

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Jun 28, 2012
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LL21

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CKKeung

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Elberoth

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It looks just like the regular DAC IV Diamond Plus ... I wonder what the changes are.
 

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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What's the paint stick laying on top?
 

Elberoth

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This is just a filler inbetween the heatpipes (which are flattened, but not perectly square) and the big copper slab that sits on top of the DACs and takes the heat out of them.

The older, pre-Plus Diamonds had a different heatsink - it was a big, single slab, which connected the DACs to the left heatsink. In the Diamond Plus models, they had shortened the slab and added those heatpipes instead. Not sure why.

 

MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
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A lot of people think that the price of MSB Diamond IV Select dac is insanely expensive.

Count me among them. No DAC is worth more than a luxury automobile. I doubt it costs any more to build than my Lumin which does a great job, and retails for $7200. The $108,000 dCS stack is absolute insanity for people with money to burn, and MSB, IMO, think they might as well play in that pond too.
 
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microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Count me among them. No DAC is worth more than a luxury automobile. I doubt it costs any more to build than my Lumin which does a great job, and retails for $7200. The $108,000 dCS stack is absolute insanity for people with money to burn, and MSB, IMO, think they might as well play in that pond too.

I have listened to a dCS stack and IMHO this combo was able to evidence a sound quality that no other comparable system could show. I can not see any insanity in any one rich or passionate enough buying and enjoying it, although I must recognize that the comments of a few friends when they see my SoundLabs's size and aspect are not too kind ...
 

Ken Newton

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Dec 11, 2012
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The question of worth for extreme luxury goods regularly appears with respect to high-end audio. Such questions often verge on judgments of the morality of some purchases, as much as the rationality. The worth of a thing is in the mind of the buyer. FYI - I'm not wealthly, nor anywhere close. All luxury goods seek to offer benefits beyond the basic utility of their function. Luxury goods not only typically offer superior (if only marginally) product performance, but psychological benefits, such as aesthetic appreciation and prestige. It would be faulty for anyone to suggest that only the utility of a product matters.

We are human beings. We appreciate beauty, and craftsmanship, and passionate artistic expressions. Luxury goods speak to our passions. Music inherently offers aesthetic benefits, as music is art. Perhaps, the real question is, what is art worth? My biew is that we might as well ask what a reminder of our individual humanity is worth? For many of us, a reminder of our humanity is worth a great deal, even though only a very few of us can afford to pay for highest levels of such reminding.

While an $100,000 DAC may be perceived as poor value, in terms of it's basic utility, that is hardly unique to the luxury audio goods market. An Rolls Royce offers the same basic utility as an Honda Accord, however, the difference in utility value is hugely in the Accord's favor. None the less, if I should love cars, and have sufficient wealth that the value question is moot, then I might purchase an Rolls Royce for it's superior aesthetics and prestige. Being an audiophile, however, I might instead be inclined to buy an $100,000 DAC.

From an macroeconomic persepctive, large consumer expenditures by the wealthy are among the best things they can do with their wealth. Purchasing stimulates economic growth, because the wealth used then passes to others, who then also make purchases, further spreading that wealth. This absolutely is not equivalent to burning that money to light a cigar. Lighting a cigar with $100,000 would be stupid and morally questionable. Pouring that amount in to the economy via a luxury product purchase is a different matter entirely.
 

MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
275
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Nothern California Wine Country
The question of worth for extreme luxury goods regularly appears with respect to high-end audio. Such questions often verge on judgments of the morality of some purchases, as much as the rationality. The worth of a thing is in the mind of the buyer. FYI - I'm not wealthly, nor anywhere close. All luxury goods seek to offer benefits beyond the basic utility of their function. Luxury goods not only typically offer superior (if only marginally) product performance, but psychological benefits, such as aesthetic appreciation and prestige. It would be faulty for anyone to suggest that only the utility of a product matters.

We are human beings. We appreciate beauty, and craftsmanship, and passionate artistic expressions. Luxury goods speak to our passions. Music inherently offers aesthetic benefits, as music is art. Perhaps, the real question is, what is art worth? My biew is that we might as well ask what a reminder of our individual humanity is worth? For many of us, a reminder of our humanity is worth a great deal, even though only a very few of us can afford to pay for highest levels of such reminding.

While an $100,000 DAC may be perceived as poor value, in terms of it's basic utility, that is hardly unique to the luxury audio goods market. An Rolls Royce offers the same basic utility as an Honda Accord, however, the difference in utility value is hugely in the Accord's favor. None the less, if I should love cars, and have sufficient wealth that the value question is moot, then I might purchase an Rolls Royce for it's superior aesthetics and prestige. Being an audiophile, however, I might instead be inclined to buy an $100,000 DAC.

From an macroeconomic persepctive, large consumer expenditures by the wealthy are among the best things they can do with their wealth. Purchasing stimulates economic growth, because the wealth used then passes to others, who then also make purchases, further spreading that wealth. This absolutely is not equivalent to burning that money to light a cigar. Lighting a cigar with $100,000 would be stupid and morally questionable. Pouring that amount in to the economy via a luxury product purchase is a different matter entirely.

Thank you Ken for a an extremely thoughtful and well written response. Therefore, I must retract my previous post. You are correct.
 
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audioblazer

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May 13, 2010
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It's almost a year since MSB came out with Select & the pricing is such that it include free upgrades within the 1st year . Well , I have not heard of any upgrade since then . Any news on upgrade ?
 

Priaptor

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Jan 28, 2012
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It's almost a year since MSB came out with Select & the pricing is such that it include free upgrades within the 1st year . Well , I have not heard of any upgrade since then . Any news on upgrade ?

WELL, what may be the MOST significant upgrade, namely their plugin modules for new USB that includes DIRECT DSD and 4xDSD as well as their new plugin module that is a music server has been released. OH, I forgot, in their infinite wisdom, they released it ONLY, at least for now, to those who bought the Analog, for 12x less than the Select.

BUT, those who paid for the 80K plus version of the Diamond, promised all the new magic sauce and the first to get upgrades have to wait behind the lucky 7K Analog buyers who are now enjoying what may be the biggest upgrades MSB has released in the last year.

You have to love it. I am sure there is some "logic" behind this, but I doubt it.
 

audioblazer

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May 13, 2010
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"You’re buying into a program." So explained MSB's Vince Galbo about their new Diamond Select DAC ($59,900) which is a DAC and a program. Essentially for the first year after you make your purchase, you will receive any and every upgrade that MSB can imagine for free. Even if that means they deliver a brand new chassis in the event that an upgrade warrants more space than the current chassis can accommodate. The Select program lasts for 10 years and starts life as a fully loaded Diamond DAC IV. Then, according to MSB, "These upgrades are free for the first year and simply the difference in cost between your DAC and the current select DAC for the remaining years. Guaranteed, no questions asked. Upgrade as often as you like. This DAC is kept in stock in matte Black and ready to ship. Custom colors are available but require 6 weeks lead time." Interesting, no? For the guy who has everything but wants more...

Still waiting after almost 1 year
 

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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audioblazer,

Did you get one of the MSB Select?
 

audioblazer

Member Sponsor
May 13, 2010
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Unfortunately Yes. Bought in to the hype of free upgrade & the 10 years upgrade program
 

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