MSB Cascade compared to Wadax Studio

[caesar]

...we're gonna get in trouble if we don't get back to Cascade and Wadax! BTW: I heard the Cascade last week with the Olympus and it was excellent.

It's funny to see here manufacturers and distributors trying to curry favor with taiko.

Maybe some kissing butt, but MSB is a serious digital engineering company that has a rich history. As are the dcs guys and Xavier Guadalupe, or whaever his name is from Wadax, vs taiko garage built diy. I can only imagine how much it pains serious companies like MSB to work to get their gear to play with Taiko when they can be selling their own. But considering the zealotry of online popularity, a great business move.

 

[Kingrex]

How can you not have time to wait for a DAC to break in. Just turn the DAC and peramp on. Open HQ player and put an album on loop. Change the album each day. In 16 days you will have 400 hours of play on the DAC. Its not like breaking in a amp or a fuse in a amp where there is music coming out the speakers.

 

[Synaxis]

That is just insanity!

I have always wondered who gives money to the Nigerian Prince on the internet.

Wait, you mean those people I sent money to aren't really Nigerian royalty?

 

[Kingrex]

It's funny to see here manufacturers and distributors trying to curry favor with taiko.

Maybe some kissing butt, but MSB is a serious digital engineering company that has a rich history. As are the dcs guys and Xavier Guadalupe, or whaever his name is from Wadax, vs taiko garage built diy. I can only imagine how much it pains serious companies like MSB to work to get their gear to play with Taiko when they can be selling their own. But considering the zealotry of online popularity, a great business move.

Isn't this twice in this thread your taking pop shots at Taiko? Built by a person without a engineering degree does not mean the product is hobbled in some way. Lots of people enjoy it. A lot of people have compared Taiko to Aurender and Antipodes and find the Taiko is right there or better.

A degree means you went to school and passed some classes. That does not mean you learned anything. There are very few people that rise to the top and seem to get it. The degree doesn't help them be a human that rises. It opens doors. But most stagnate.

 

[Alrainbow]

Rodney is in some ways like me , while burn in has its moments how long becomes suspect of reality
I think most would agree if we left a given system alone for a few weeks our brains become the norm it looks for
now the moment of change causes our brains to have to re Learn all we new over that time period.
Want to try this just don’t make any changes I mean none for a month
then change one thing and your off learning all that over again.
I do this in audio life , ear buds , headphones and everything

 

[Alrainbow]

How can you not have time to wait for a DAC to break in. Just turn the DAC and peramp on. Open HQ player and put an album on loop. Change the album each day. In 16 days you will have 400 hours of play on the DAC. Its not like breaking in a amp or a fuse in a amp where there is music coming out the speakers.

Ps audio did the same hundred of hours to make one like there dacs.
how much is too much ? Lastly it’s a pci express audio card ! like many others we have used. Have anyone tried there old creative labs cards on a good headphone or dare say speakers. try it let me know how that goes.
one big thing to consider is jitter in totality
if the pci express card is inside the mainboard the entire system is connected to all the same devices inside
no usb cables , much less conversions taking place
so it does make sense.
now how does Msb and the rest of the godly dac makers feel lol well keep reading posts
I think taiko is smart to offer it

 

[rau]

Ps audio did the same hundred of hours to make one like there dacs.
how much is too much ? Lastly it’s a pci express audio card ! like many others we have used. Have anyone tried there old creative labs cards on a good headphone or dare say speakers. try it let me know how that goes.
one big thing to consider is jitter in totality
if the pci express card is inside the mainboard the entire system is connected to all the same devices inside
no usb cables , much less conversions taking place
so it does make sense.
now how does Msb and the rest of the godly dac makers feel lol well keep reading posts
I think taiko is smart to offer it

If 400 plus of break in is needed to sound it's best maybe the manufacturer can put these analog cards on a testing board and put 600 hrs on them ? So when one turns on there 95k unit they don't want to stick a ice pick in there ear .

This isn't a Takio discussion and should get back on track . I do want to mention that MSB has the best tech support to date for me . Takio US support is now being handled by Vassil which was long over due , but Vassil is doing a great job .

 

[nenon]

Not sure how a MSB / Wadax thread turned into a Taiko discussion, but since it did, here are a few clarifications:

1. Wait time: No one has waited two years for an Olympus.
2. Bugs: None have been reported, and we’re not aware of any.
3. Refunds: First I’ve heard of this. If true, it’s a dealer policy. If anyone has been refused a refund, contact me or Taiko support. Taiko doesn’t make money from deposits.

The Olympus is a highly complex machine, extremely difficult to build. Many early adopters ordered without ever seeing or hearing one, purely on trust in Taiko’s track record. The volume of these pre-orders was one of our biggest challenges.

Those early adopters received a heavily discounted price, an extra €5K off, and full retail trade-in value for their Taiko Extreme. Yes, there were bumps along the way, but we learned, adapted, and came out stronger.

I was so impressed by Olympus - and what’s coming next - that I left a 20-year executive IT career to run Taiko’s business management, service, and support in North America. My goal is to set the standard for customer service in high-end audio.

Once the backlog is cleared and I take over sales, every Olympus will be in stock in Chicago, ready to ship the next day. I’ll personally fly out to install each one and meet every customer. That’s how I believe we should be selling in North America.

As for sound quality - I’ll let our customers speak for that.

-Vassil

 

[microstrip]

It's funny to see here manufacturers and distributors trying to curry favor with taiko.

Maybe some kissing butt, but MSB is a serious digital engineering company that has a rich history. As are the dcs guys and Xavier Guadalupe, or whaever his name is from Wadax, vs taiko garage built diy. I can only imagine how much it pains serious companies like MSB to work to get their gear to play with Taiko when they can be selling their own. But considering the zealotry of online popularity, a great business move.

Well, I do not care about the degrees of the people behind products, but I praise technical information and transparency. One thing that I appreciated in Taiko when I got the Extreme was having Emile answering my tricky questions and discussing the server technical aspects and performance, as well as the excellent after sales service and upgrades - although I was disappointed with the amateurish XDMS process. However I disliked the XDMI interface secrecy, and my interest in the Olympus never developed.

Companies have their different marketing styles and strategies. Wadax, although being my neighbors, only releases very limited and mysterious information, mainly targeted at people who do not care about serious technical aspects - not my cup of tea. Fortunately, my sonic preference, dCS , is an extremely transparent company and I get all the technical information I want about their products and even the developers CV's. For some time MSB had an excellent site, filled with technical aspects, white papers and measurements - I learned a lot from them about digital. Unfortunately it is now replaced by the usual low quality poetic marketing verbose about their products.

Just my limited perspective, YMMV, surely.

 

[wil]

Lastly Msb and it seems taiko are on an endless journey of this is now and Wait till the new improvements come out.
really how can someone pay ultra high cost and as it arrives it’s old news. Where is the feel good part start and last at all.
Msb is an admired brand I agree but things move too fast and future promises of upgrades are false promises most times
think sel 1 no one talks about that product
odd to me.
How much money waisted so quickly
anyone in design of digital knows the elephant in the room.
source so how many years before Msb finally made a product to fix this ??
Then only make the product for current products that are out there as new products are also available now. And then we’ll sorry your new old digital director can’t work on new or most any other non Msb products
I think in honesty Wadax while Uber expensive still is a product that was made and completed then sold.
going back to the compare that I felt should not have happened still shows me Wadax makes a product that’s finished in that add on upgrades are just that an add on if one of wants too.
it’s a one box and your done if you want to.

Every dac goes through upgrades. The v2 dac card on Olympus will be a simple switch.

 

[Synaxis]

my sonic preference, dCS , is an extremely transparent company and I get all the technical information I want about their products and even the developers CV's.

Don't forget dCS also likes to intimidate, harass, and get lawyers involved to go after reviewers whose personal opinion they don't like. They lie when caught in their first press release and then when emails are released by the victim showing the lies, dCS needs to release an additional "clarification" statement.

 

[wil]

Wil , I know people have sold their DACS in favor of the analog card . Almost all stated it took a long break in period . I'm curious which DACS you have had ? I currently have the Horizon 360 and MSB Cascade

I’ve owned the following DACs: Nagra Reference, Lampi Horizon, Wadax Reference, Aries Cerat Ithaka.

These are all excellent and all sound different.

The Taiko Olympus with dac card v1 and Taiko Router have my system sounding the best I’ve heard it here. I’m definitely through shopping around.

Other positive contributions to the present sound are QRD room diffusion and Aries Cerat Ageto Pre and Essential amps.

There is a lot of (innocent) misinformation from some posters on this thread — along with Ceaser’s empty and gratuitous pot shots (which hopefully no one is foolish enough to take seriously).

 

[caesar]

Isn't this twice in this thread your taking pop shots at Taiko? Built by a person without a engineering degree does not mean the product is hobbled in some way. Lots of people enjoy it. A lot of people have compared Taiko to Aurender and Antipodes and find the Taiko is right there or better.

A degree means you went to school and passed some classes. That does not mean you learned anything. There are very few people that rise to the top and seem to get it. The degree doesn't help them be a human that rises. It opens doors. But most stagnate.

not disagreeing. I listened to taiko extreme and recently to olympus with their dac. the extreme gets destroyed by $3k cd transport from china despite the $30k price tag. the olympus taiko dac is horrendously analytical. With that said, I am glad the alter kakers who bought it are enjoying it

 

[caesar]

...
As for sound quality - I’ll let our customers speak for that.
...

Dear sir, I wish you much prosperity selling your digital. Especially outside this forum. I hope your career move works out. But this is an audio discussion forum. Why can't others, who have heard your stuff, discuss their experiences with it?

 

[caesar]

Well, I do not care about the degrees of the people behind products, but I praise technical information and transparency. One thing that I appreciated in Taiko when I got the Extreme was having Emile answering my tricky questions and discussing the server technical aspects and performance, as well as the excellent after sales service and upgrades - although I was disappointed with the amateurish XDMS process. However I disliked the XDMI interface secrecy, and my interest in the Olympus never developed.

Companies have their different marketing styles and strategies. Wadax, although being my neighbors, only releases very limited and mysterious information, mainly targeted at people who do not care about serious technical aspects - not my cup of tea. Fortunately, my sonic preference, dCS , is an extremely transparent company and I get all the technical information I want about their products and even the developers CV's. For some time MSB had an excellent site, filled with technical aspects, white papers and measurements - I learned a lot from them about digital. Unfortunately it is now replaced by the usual low quality poetic marketing verbose about their products.

Just my limited perspective, YMMV, surely.

You are a better man than me. I find the orgiastic taiko threads disgusting. It's the worst of audiophile herd behavior that is distorting the marketplace. From my perspective, a bunch of clueless rich guys being taken advantage of by a semi-clueless DIY guy. YMMV

 

[caesar]

Back to Wadax vs. MSB: does anyone understand how wadax is able to finish the notes better in their presentation while MSB Cascade has a nicer sonic signature? Is it a feature or a bug?

 

[Tuckia]

Dear sir, I wish you much prosperity selling your digital. Especially outside this forum. I hope your career move works out. But this is an audio discussion forum. Why can't others, who have heard your stuff, discuss their experiences with it?

I’ve been running the analog dac card in the Olympus for over three months now. The first couple hundred hours of run in are not too good. 400 hrs is the minimum threshold to start listening to it seriously. There is steady improvement for the next couple months. This is my experience. Some can speculate all they want about user acclimation etc. I believe my experience over their unqualified speculation.

Engineering is the prostitution of science. Sort of a coarse digital of scientific analog. A degree is a piece of paper. Wipe your ass with it. Oh yeah, I’ve got one too. From a top 10 engineering university. It’s about the man and what he does. I’ve met plenty of dangerous dip-shits with degrees.

For you, I’d like to demonstrate F=MA from a distance of 24”.

 

[caesar]

I’ve been running the analog dac card in the Olympus for over three months now. The first couple hundred hours of run in are not too good. 400 hrs is the minimum threshold to start listening to it seriously. There is steady improvement for the next couple months. This is my experience. Some can speculate all they want about user acclimation etc. I believe my experience over their unqualified speculation.

Engineering is the prostitution of science. Sort of a coarse digital of scientific analog. A degree is a piece of paper. Wipe your ass with it. Oh yeah, I’ve got one too. From a top 10 engineering university. It’s about the man and what he does. I’ve met plenty of dangerous dip-shits with degrees.

For you, I’d like to demonstrate F=MA from a distance of 24”.

sir, your feelings hurt because someone doesn't share your taste?

 

[rau]

Back to Wadax vs. MSB: does anyone understand how wadax is able to finish the notes better in their presentation while MSB Cascade has a nicer sonic signature? Is it a feature or a bug?

Curious what you have for a system? It seems like all you do is talk neg on many brands .

 

[caesar]

Curious what you have for a system? It seems like all you do is talk neg on many brands .

I have 4. And I hate analytical high fi drek, so took a long time to get there.

But since the Taiko mob is now threatening violence ("For you, I’d like to demonstrate F=MA from a distance of 24”, we can discuss those at another time