MSB Select II arrival
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
beats $42k
Nice, that's 77 years on Tidal THEN.... (18.5K). And the ability to listen to everything at Redbook res pretty much in an instant. Only saying.....
Ha! I knew that was coming!
If this transport beat a good server and/or an Ethernet card, I'm prepared to eat a healthy chunk of crow
And following that there should be a controlled direct comparison with MQA.
Well, that can be done anytime, if one has an MQA-compatible DAC and a Tidal subscription, no?
I've done several of those comparisons over here...
I don't want to take this way too OT, but do you have any specific requirements so the comparison can be considered "controlled"?
cheers,
alex
If the MSB Select II is MQA compatible, then I would compare an MQA file streamed on Tidal to the same music from a physical disk on the MSB transport and not have the listener(s) know which is which. Perhaps a friend doing the switching with a variety of music and at least two or three people doing the listening. I don't think anything more rigorous than that. I'd also try to have the transport and DAC on the same type of shelf or footers so those don't influence the outcome.
Ah, got it now, transport x MQA, not just stream x MQA.
Well, that can be done for sure once get one of those beauties in! We already have an order in for the transport, so it's looking good
cheers,
alex
Ah, got it now, transport x MQA, not just stream x MQA.
Well, that can be done for sure once get one of those beauties in! We already have an order in for the transport, so it's looking good
cheers,
alex
Yes, the suggestion is because of the comment up thread about the high quality of digital playback from a disk in the transport. You had commented a while back that you prefer the MQA playback to regular file, so it seems the next step would be to directly compare the transport/physical disk playback to the streaming/MQA file playback. Of course, some members might then be curious for Mike to compare the preferred digital medium to his analog.
Reference demo in Lithuania
I found an interesting demo of the MSB Reference DAC with a Lithuania dealer. It was a fed by an 'optimised' Laptop via USB and pitched against the Audio Note DAC 2.1 (4,600 euros) and Audio Note CDT 3. I believe they also tried the UMT as well with the MSB DSC. The Audio Note won.
What this tells us I have no idea. The AN DAC 2.1 which I know well, is not the most transparent DAC in the world, or is it the best Audio Note DAC either. I wonder if the horn hybrid speakers used were super sensitive and already very forward / detailed? Or was the demo biased? Anyway, read the review and see what you think of it. You can view it translated in Chrome by clicking the translate tab.
Translation of part of the review here:
True, during the interview, the Belgian spokesman Frank Vermeylen was calm as a Belgian. When comparing the MSB Reference DAC and the MSB The Data CD V CD with SAK Audio Note DAC 2.1x Signature (4600 Euro) and Audio Note CDT Three CDs, everything was clear from the start. Still, the belgium was calming me softly: MSB should warm up . Does not warm up? Then you blame the interlocking and power cables, etc. Do you know that sensing feeling when you are ashamed not for yourself but for the other? Finally, I offered to finish the circus and show what MSB Reference DAC really was and what it was worth.
http://www.e-studio.lt/nuotykiai-tesiasi-naujasis-sak-msb-reference-dac/
I found an interesting demo of the MSB Reference DAC with a Lithuania dealer. It was a fed by an 'optimised' Laptop via USB and pitched against the Audio Note DAC 2.1 (4,600 euros) and Audio Note CDT 3. I believe they also tried the UMT as well with the MSB DSC. The Audio Note won.
What this tells us I have no idea. The AN DAC 2.1 which I know well, is not the most transparent DAC in the world, or is it the best Audio Note DAC either. I wonder if the horn hybrid speakers used were super sensitive and already very forward / detailed? Or was the demo biased? Anyway, read the review and see what you think of it. You can view it translated in Chrome by clicking the translate tab.
Translation of part of the review here:
True, during the interview, the Belgian spokesman Frank Vermeylen was calm as a Belgian. When comparing the MSB Reference DAC and the MSB The Data CD V CD with SAK Audio Note DAC 2.1x Signature (4600 Euro) and Audio Note CDT Three CDs, everything was clear from the start. Still, the belgium was calming me softly: MSB should warm up . Does not warm up? Then you blame the interlocking and power cables, etc. Do you know that sensing feeling when you are ashamed not for yourself but for the other? Finally, I offered to finish the circus and show what MSB Reference DAC really was and what it was worth.
http://www.e-studio.lt/nuotykiai-tesiasi-naujasis-sak-msb-reference-dac/
Last edited:
Why?
Majesty insult?
Heresy?
No of course not! None of those things. More like blasphemy.
It seemed to me the writer might have had a bit of a hometown bent, if you will. Especially with comments like this:
But who knows, just a guess on my part. I have not heard the specific Dac in question and I have not heard an Audio Note Dac in my system or performed a direct comparison to my MSB.
No of course not! None of those things. More like blasphemy.
It seemed to me the writer might have had a bit of a hometown bent, if you will. Especially with comments like this:
But who knows, just a guess on my part. I have not heard the specific Dac in question and I have not heard an Audio Note Dac in my system or performed a direct comparison to my MSB.
" ... Audio Note CD players and CD carriers are being designed and manufactured in Lithuania ..." ???
Not in UK?
No of course not! None of those things. More like blasphemy.
I'll be damned. I forgot that one...
" ... Audio Note CD players and CD carriers are being designed and manufactured in Lithuania ..." ???
Not in UK?
Yes that surprised me too. I wasn't aware Audio Note was sourcing there...???
Two new DACs from MSB Technology: the Discrete DAC, and the Premier DAC. Base prices are $9,950 and $19,500 respectively, or 1/4 and 1/2 of the base price of the $39,500 Reference DAC.
http://www.msbtechnology.com/dacs/
For owners of the $89,500 base-priced Select II DAC (like me), the good news is that the lower priced offerings won't systematically accelerate the depreciation of our "obsolescence-proofed" digital darlings! ;-)
http://www.msbtechnology.com/dacs/
For owners of the $89,500 base-priced Select II DAC (like me), the good news is that the lower priced offerings won't systematically accelerate the depreciation of our "obsolescence-proofed" digital darlings! ;-)
Last edited:
QuadDiffusor, Welcome again to WBF and congrats on the arrival of your MSB Select II. love to hear what you think about it.
agree that the MSB product line-up direction and modularity should support long term value retention and performance at all price points. I sure feel good about it. as digital interface choices evolve MSB is uniquely positioned to offer upgrades at all levels. which ought to attract more buyers to the brand, and allow for optimal performance/value to be maintained.
no one has a crystal ball.....all we can do is connect the dots based on what we see.
Last edited:
Mike,
I have been a long time MSB customer and couldn't be happier about their upgrade processes and their desire to keep their customers. Yes, there was a small blip/mistake among the initial Select, but that has all been resolved I believe to all prior customers' satisfaction. The ability they afforded me to move from my IV to V and ultimately to the Select II was a great "deal" despite the cost, was much cheaper than what most companies do, which is sell it and buy a new one; like Wilson did with the Alexia I-->II and so many others in this industry.
Even if there should be a Select II-->III many years into the future, if past experience is any indicator of the future, I think we picked a great company to stay current.
On another topic, since I haven't posted here in awhile, I need to tell people just how amazing my system is now sounding. My friend Elliot, the USA distributor for Gobels and dealer for CH-Precsion, until his studio is open in March, placed a CH Precision M1 in my system as well as all Gobel cables replacing my Nordosts. Since it was a shotgun approach with cables, it was difficult to fully assess. The M1 is awesome and works great with the system and meshes amazingly well with the Select. Oliver from Gobel recommends 100 hours for his cables. Well, it has now been a month and half with his cables and last weekend was a new height for my system. It all just broke in and just amazing. While I will be keeping some of the cables, right now, money is an issue so I can't do it all.
While I am no longer an analogue person, I just can't imagine my digital system not impressing even the most die-hard analogue guys as I know Mike has attested to many times on this thread.
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |