MSB Select II arrival
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
Al, I have written so many posts on analog vs digital, I am not going to expand again. It means everything, flow, liquidity, tone, soundstage, realism, ease, depth, bass, decay, is superior. I know you don't consider analog that way, but the best thing is it is not specific. Specific is where only the treble was better or one recording sounded better on X attributes and the other on Y attributes. There is no such requirement here. If I was given 100k, I would pick up that analog set and pocket the rest from that store. Without a second thought. MY biggest problem with Lampi Pacific is that pragmatism says ignore, invest in analog, while audiophilia says upgrade.
That was an additional data point for you guys to investigate on your own, and was taken out of context.
Whie I agree that analog can sound absolutely fantastic, I just cannot agree with your statement. I have had superlative experiences with digital as well.
Why should I give it a rest? Better, better, better, I prefer, I prefer, I prefer...
...not only boring but misleading, and not doing the equipment any justice. If you choose not to go into specifics, then please don't voice any opinions.
You know the parameters. You want an essay each time? You haven't read my posts enough to know?
Bee in your bonnet , nobody's holding a gun your head and asking you to read his posts . ... It's his opinion and everybody is entitled to one . Whether you choose to read into them or not is your prerogative , but no point in thrashing and quivering all over em . Pass them by if it's not right with you ....
Btw, since SGM was mentioned, Bill who reviewed it is now with the new Lampi server, revamped (i had not liked the previous one), and he is just loving it more. I haven't heard this yet. For Al details will be specifically mentioned later when people feel like writing
X2, I've heard both sound absolutely fantastic.
Also, On a slightly sideways note - has anyone compared the MSB Select to the TotalDAC 12? For me, the TotalDAC12 was the best digital I've heard over Aries, MSB, DCS, Esoteric, etc....
About this digital versus analog and even what is possible with digital:
When you buy a 45 rpm record from the same pressing you get the same very low distortion sound as everyone else buying this disc (close to master tape sound). Obviously, the playback is only as good as the turntable, cartridge, arm, cable and phono stage. When you download a high rez file (no way a 16/44 can ever sound as good as analog) what are you getting? How many computers, cables, etc. has the signal gone through to get to your computer? Does your cable company sound as good as another? Have you tried super linear power supplies on your modem or router? Do you have the world's best Ethernet cable from your modem to your download device? Have you treated the connections and also damped them? If you have not done all the above then how good is your download? Has anyone tried any of this? How do you download? I believe that every single person downloading has a different and sometimes very poor download. It is now common knowledge that digital signals can get screwed up very easily. How can you compare a physical record with a screwed up download? This is not fair. Have any one of you actually recorded live using high rez digital and played the master directly back into your system? My sense is that it is out of this world crazy good. Even my $230 Sony battery powered 24/96 recorder sounds amazing played back out of it analog outs.
Laser read discs are not even worth mentioning. You have to sand the edges, black the edges and the whole top, apply CD enhancement fluids to them and then demagnetize them and de-static them.....and then the de-static/demagnetizing effects only last about 10 minutes as the spinning CD creates more static on it. There is one digital physical media that is worth pursuing.....the SD card. It is a pure memory device and has no packeting like usb. If you could receive a direct copy of high rez burned to an SD card by the recording company on a super low jitter battery powered server and then mailed directly to you then you would have the equivalent of a 45 rpm record or even a master tape. You could play back this card using a SD card player built into your MSB DAC.....now we are talking!!!!!! Other playback options would be the $800? Japanese group buy SD player, the Tascam $1000 recorder (modified, of course) or if you rich you could buy one of these: http://www.lessloss.com/laminar-streamer-sd-player-p-207.html Note the discount if you buy more than one! he he. Imagine calling Reference Recordings and having them make you a one off SD card of their high rez master. You don't want to get it from HDtracks or whomever because it has to be sent via internet to them and they download it and put it on their monster noisy servers that are not run on batteries......you want the SD material right from the original source. When you buy a 45 rpm record that was mastered by whomever it does not matter who you buy it from.....it is always the same........not so with digital. Go to the source.
I understand that an SD card source is not coming. No one has anything to play them on and they are so small they are not easily identifiable. Plus they are not sexy like a turntable. And they are not convenient like downloading and streaming. But.....oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....what a sound you would have.....and then the digital versus analog listening tests would be meaningful.
So, has anyone tweaked their downloading hardware? Any thoughts?
When you buy a 45 rpm record from the same pressing you get the same very low distortion sound as everyone else buying this disc (close to master tape sound). Obviously, the playback is only as good as the turntable, cartridge, arm, cable and phono stage. When you download a high rez file (no way a 16/44 can ever sound as good as analog) what are you getting? How many computers, cables, etc. has the signal gone through to get to your computer? Does your cable company sound as good as another? Have you tried super linear power supplies on your modem or router? Do you have the world's best Ethernet cable from your modem to your download device? Have you treated the connections and also damped them? If you have not done all the above then how good is your download? Has anyone tried any of this? How do you download? I believe that every single person downloading has a different and sometimes very poor download. It is now common knowledge that digital signals can get screwed up very easily. How can you compare a physical record with a screwed up download? This is not fair. Have any one of you actually recorded live using high rez digital and played the master directly back into your system? My sense is that it is out of this world crazy good. Even my $230 Sony battery powered 24/96 recorder sounds amazing played back out of it analog outs.
Laser read discs are not even worth mentioning. You have to sand the edges, black the edges and the whole top, apply CD enhancement fluids to them and then demagnetize them and de-static them.....and then the de-static/demagnetizing effects only last about 10 minutes as the spinning CD creates more static on it. There is one digital physical media that is worth pursuing.....the SD card. It is a pure memory device and has no packeting like usb. If you could receive a direct copy of high rez burned to an SD card by the recording company on a super low jitter battery powered server and then mailed directly to you then you would have the equivalent of a 45 rpm record or even a master tape. You could play back this card using a SD card player built into your MSB DAC.....now we are talking!!!!!! Other playback options would be the $800? Japanese group buy SD player, the Tascam $1000 recorder (modified, of course) or if you rich you could buy one of these: http://www.lessloss.com/laminar-streamer-sd-player-p-207.html Note the discount if you buy more than one! he he. Imagine calling Reference Recordings and having them make you a one off SD card of their high rez master. You don't want to get it from HDtracks or whomever because it has to be sent via internet to them and they download it and put it on their monster noisy servers that are not run on batteries......you want the SD material right from the original source. When you buy a 45 rpm record that was mastered by whomever it does not matter who you buy it from.....it is always the same........not so with digital. Go to the source.
I understand that an SD card source is not coming. No one has anything to play them on and they are so small they are not easily identifiable. Plus they are not sexy like a turntable. And they are not convenient like downloading and streaming. But.....oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....what a sound you would have.....and then the digital versus analog listening tests would be meaningful.
So, has anyone tweaked their downloading hardware? Any thoughts?
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Fascinating. Thank you for that Ric. I had never considered any of this. As MikeL wrote up thread, digital still has a lot of room for development.
Ric,
with all due respect, this is completely off-topic.
open your own damn thread.
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