The MSB Select Transport - My new toy for the new year of 2019

[CKKeung]

The Chinese New Year in 2019 was on 5th Feb.
Chinese/Hong Kong people welcome spring and what it brings along: warmer weather, plants, new beginnings and fresh starts and for me, a new MSB Select Transport.

Its sturdy aluminum case is bigger than the wheels of my car. The shipping weight is 50lbs!
However, it doesn't have a handle and I nearly broke my back when carrying it to my home.


Inside the case, the transport was protected by a cotton bag:


I won't mention the spec here. Please refer to MSB website : http://www.msbtechnology.com/transports/select-transport-specs/


The remotes are similar : Select remote (left) ? UMT Plus remote (right) ?


The chassis is CNC from a big billet of aerospace aluminum alloy. Look at the contours. So beautiful!

Two kinds of footers are included :

 

[CKKeung]

Some audiophile friends asked me : why buying a transport in this "Era of CAS/Streaming"?
My answer is simple :
1. I got nearly 10,000 CDs, many SACDs and some DVD-audio & BR-Audio discs and I am too lazy to do ripping.
2. I have auditioned uncountable number of traditional disc transports and CAS servers/streamers over the years but IMHO there are only a few of the latter which can fight with flagship grade traditional transports.
3. I think that all serious audiophiles should have at least 2 frontends. For me myself, they are traditional disc transport and CAS server.

A photo showing my new Select Transport and its grandfather (UMT Plus) on my hifi rack :


After the young and energetic Gullman brothers have taken over MSB, their new products such as Select II/Ref/Premier/Discrete DACs are ground-breaking.
So are the new new Select & Reference transports!

The Select Transport is a quantum leap over my UMT Plus : it significantly better in ALL aspects.
Not only are the hifi factors (resolution/dynamics/soundstage ...etc) exemplary, the musicality factors (density/fluidity/continuousness ...etc) are also outstanding.
It's difficult to do direct comparison of the heavy and expensive flagship grade transports but IMHO the Select Transport is on par with other top transports such as the Metronome Kalista Series.

While writing this post, I was listening to the following reissue SACDs I bought from Japan.
So enjoyable they are! Long live the traditional transports and SACD!





Can the performance of the Select Transport be further enhanced?
Yes of course! I am now testing various groundboxes on it. The first one is Taiko Audio Setchi D2. I will try other brands too and update all of you on WBF later.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Congratulations! I am sure that MSB transport is a very high quality product!

PS: If I ever got into digital I would go the physical disc/transport route too.

 

[pke10000]

Is there anyone who knows how to connect to Youtube streaming?
In Youtube, there are so many movie and music clips, I'm falling in love with it these days.
MSB's old transport included Youtube and Oppo 203/205 has an HDMI input to connect Google's chrome cast.
But MSB removed it.

I tried it by several apps, but almost app did quality down for streaming and in-convenient to use.
Please let me know how to connect Youtube.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Some audiophile friends asked me : why buying a transport in this "Era of CAS/Streaming"?
My answer is simple :
1. I got nearly 10,000 CDs, many SACDs and some DVD-audio & BR-Audio discs and I am too lazy to do ripping.
2. I have auditioned uncountable number of traditional disc transports and CAS servers/streamers over the years but IMHO there are only a few of the latter which can fight with flagship grade traditional transports.
3. I think that all serious audiophiles should have at least 2 frontends. For me myself, they are traditional disc transport and CAS server.

A photo showing my new Select Transport and its grandfather (UMT Plus) on my hifi rack :
After the young and energetic Gullman brothers have taken over MSB, their new products such as Select II/Ref/Premier/Discrete DACs are ground-breaking.
So are the new new Select & Reference transports!

The Select Transport is a quantum leap over my UMT Plus : it significantly better in ALL aspects.
Not only are the hifi factors (resolution/dynamics/soundstage ...etc) exemplary, the musicality factors (density/fluidity/continuousness ...etc) are also outstanding.
It's difficult to do direct comparison of the heavy and expensive flagship grade transports but IMHO the Select Transport is on par with other top transports such as the Metronome Kalista Series.

While writing this post, I was listening to the following reissue SACDs I bought from Japan.
So enjoyable they are! Long live the traditional transports and SACD!
Can the performance of the Select Transport be further enhanced?
Yes of course! I am now testing various groundboxes on it. The first one is Taiko Audio Setchi D2. I will try other brands too and update all of you on WBF later.

i can tell you that the Stechi D2 and the Tripoint Elite w/Thor SE both seem to improve the Select II dac in my system.

not tried the Select Transport 'yet'.

 

[asiufy]

Is there anyone who knows how to connect to Youtube streaming?
In Youtube, there are so many movie and music clips, I'm falling in love with it these days.
MSB's old transport included Youtube and Oppo 203/205 has an HDMI input to connect Google's chrome cast.
But MSB removed it.

I tried it by several apps, but almost app did quality down for streaming and in-convenient to use.
Please let me know how to connect Youtube.

It was Oppo that removed software from the firmware of their machines, not MSB. That was only one of their frankly puzzling decisions...
They did add Roon endpoint compatibility, so you can use that transport as a true Roon endpoint. Just add a Roon Core elsewhere on the network, and you're all set.

 

[pke10000]

It was Oppo that removed software from the firmware of their machines, not MSB. That was only one of their frankly puzzling decisions...
They did add Roon endpoint compatibility, so you can use that transport as a true Roon endpoint. Just add a Roon Core elsewhere on the network, and you're all set.

I know.
I'm looking for any dlna app which can transfer without quality down.

 

[Bodhi]

Congratulations CKKeung! That is a uber high end transport bro & should have good synergy with your MSB Platinum IV Plus dac. I heard the MSB Reference dac with Femto 77 clock upgrade + dual mono powerbases at the Melbourne International Hifi Show which sounded smooth, resolving & natural. It is a very enjoyable sound. I also enjoy spinning cd's & have invested in a high end cdp which brings me a lot of enjoyment.

Looking forward to following your journey with grounding conditioners also .

 

[spiritofmusic]

So I'm not the only one who is proud to spin CDs?

 

[Mdp632]

So I'm not the only one who is proud to spin CDs?

Me as well. Too many variables in computer audio. As a purist , physical media will always win. For now...

It took 30 years for cd playback to get this good. So , network and computer audio still has a ways to go. But the gap is closing and many here probably will never go back to physical media as having an iPad plus roon and millions of songs at your fingertips is quite convincing.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Mdp, CD playback was pretty good from mid 2000s upwards. My Emm Labs CDSA SE from 2008 set the bar quite high. My Eera Tentation, €9k (2009 design, bought in 2013), was stellar, and still is. I get everything I could want from this cdp, it finally converted this listener to the joys of digital, doing everything w 16/44.1 that the best tts do w vinyl.
Despite ongoing exposure to top class streaming via my friend's SGM2015/Aqua Formula XHD, I still feel that physical disc playback has a definable edge.

And no, I haven't made a direct a/b in his system or mine, my opinion is half mental comparison/half bias.

 

[Blue58]

Mdp, CD playback was pretty good from mid 2000s upwards. My Emm Labs CDSA SE from 2008 set the bar quite high. My Eera Tentation, €9k (2009 design, bought in 2013), was stellar, and still is. I get everything I could want from this cdp, it finally converted this listener to the joys of digital, doing everything w 16/44.1 that the best tts do w vinyl.
Despite ongoing exposure to top class streaming via my friend's SGM2015/Aqua Formula XHD, I still feel that physical disc playback has a definable edge.

And no, I haven't made a direct a/b in his system or mine, my opinion is half mental comparison/half bias.

LOL!

 

[Al M.]

Me as well. Too many variables in computer audio. As a purist , physical media will always win. For now...

It took 30 years for cd playback to get this good. So , network and computer audio still has a ways to go. But the gap is closing and many here probably will never go back to physical media as having an iPad plus roon and millions of songs at your fingertips is quite convincing.

Yes, I am a CD spinner too. I have witnessed all the drama around the right computer/server implementation. The forums are full with discussions of problems and their "solutions" -- until the next "solution" comes along. On another forum I recently read about someone who lost almost all his files due to a NAS drive failure -- 24 hours of terror until he knew everything was fine after all.

No thanks, none of that nightmare, I'll stick with physical media.

 

[Mdp632]

Yes, I am a CD spinner too. I have witnessed all the drama around the right computer/server implementation. The forums are full with discussions of problems and their "solutions" -- until the next "solution" comes along. On another forum I recently read about someone who lost almost all his files due to a NAS drive failure -- 24 hours of terror until he knew everything was fine after all.

No thanks, none of that nightmare, I'll stick with physical media.

I agree. So , how can usb audio with all of the third party gimmicks and boxes and now network and the insane lengths people are going to remove distortion from those methods.

Sometimes the best sound is the most simple in its implementation.

But , again YMMV

 

[microstrip]

Me as well. Too many variables in computer audio. As a purist , physical media will always win. For now...

It took 30 years for cd playback to get this good. So , network and computer audio still has a ways to go. But the gap is closing and many here probably will never go back to physical media as having an iPad plus roon and millions of songs at your fingertips is quite convincing.

Yes, for now physical media seems to win. But I am not sure it will be for very long ...

I have been using top spinners for many years and the enjoyment I got from them easily pays for their stupid prices - most of the music I listen exists in redbook. But if I had to buy a new spinner today I would have to thing twice ...

Congratulations, CKKeung!

 

[asiufy]

It took 30 years for cd playback to get this good. So , network and computer audio still has a ways to go. But the gap is closing and many here probably will never go back to physical media as having an iPad plus roon and millions of songs at your fingertips is quite convincing.

Perfect analysis. While some see the progress of "computer audio" as a "nightmare", full of "drama", some of us see as an exciting development in high-end audio. Every development counts, while we all try to understand what matters more in this new field.

 

[spiritofmusic]

LOL!

You don't know this friend of mine, do you Barry? LOL

 

[KeithR]

But the gap is closing and many here probably will never go back to physical media as having an iPad plus roon and millions of songs at your fingertips is quite convincing.

Yes, my collection doubled in three years when I started with Roon (vs 15 years of cd collecting). its like having LPs on an iPad as well with the information at hand.

I also just ripped a new CD for fun and compared with the Roon version - no difference. ymmv. Yes, I use a proper commercial Innuous server. The DIY area of computer music is dead now which is excellent.

 

[KeithR]

On another forum I recently read about someone who lost almost all his files due to a NAS drive failure -- 24 hours of terror until he knew everything was fine after all.

No thanks, none of that nightmare, I'll stick with physical media.

Your house could burn down too with all your media. What is your backup plan? Yawn.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Oh Keith, didn't you know?
Al has conscientiously built a new house and amassed a back up CD collection if as you say his current house and disc library burns to the ground. Only logical thing to do LOL.