I can leave my hand on it as long as I want to. Thank you all for your answers. CH Precision C1 DAC. I know it is a standard talking point by some to suggest that Chord DACs aren't as good with DSD as PCM. those surpass any other digital choice. Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator, https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/absolute-top-tier-dac-for-standard-res-redbook-cd. Guess what I am trying to say is: preamps are important. It matches Chord Dave and Mscaler on dynamics with slightly more bass slam. Search: Msb Discrete Dac Vs Chord Dave. I'm super happy with my Esoteric N-01, which is a noticeable step up in quality/musicality from the DAVE - as yes the DAVE sounds a bit "thin" (though extraordinarily detailed). Perhaps thats a bit of an odd example for me to use as its a bit World Music but you are also made aware of the rightness of timing on percussive techno tracks. and the MSB Select II has a huge advantage over other dacs with its modularity and in-house development which promotes, in a very timely way, keeping the product at the very tip top cutting edge of digital interface developments. That statement makes sense in an analog paradigm. Hope to try different formats on both DACs to see what works best in my system. of the 5 systems are completely different, our rooms are completely different And I make Best DAC Quality Ranking list. digital front ends. Since opening our doors in 1986, weve been driven by one goal: to craft an unrivaled listening experience for music lovers across the globe. Still would like to listen to the Soulution 760 DAC, Mola Mola DAC, Trinity DAC, MSB Select DAC, and maybe the Light Harmonic Da Vinci DAC, Gryphon Kalliope DAC, TotalDAC of some kind, Phasure NOS1A DAC, Esoteric Grandioso DAC, TAD DA1000 DAC, Audionet DAC, Chord Dave DAC . Superior conversion begins with clean and stable low-noise power. We await Phase 2 where all DACs are assessed using upsampled data via your Lumin U1 to establish ranking and the preferred format through each. other dacs I have enjoyedin no particular order; I would not call this second tier; but I prefer what hear from my Select II to what Ive heard from these. For the most part, I listened to the MSB through our LAB12 and Krell KST100 amps and TotalDAC D100 speakers. Is it too hot to touch? what Im saying is that comparing dacs also must take into account of all the interface advantages of each particular dac. Were constantly improving digital input modules to stay at the forefront of the high-end audio industry, ensuring youre always equipped with the most current digital file formats and interfaces. With the MSB there has been a great deal of attention paid to ensuring the signal stays as pure as possible and is not affected by other parts of the DAC or outside sources; modular construction, dual power supplies, isolation of USB etc. Click to expand. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Directstream, Bricasti M1, Jeff Rowland Aeris, Chord Dave, and today I it just complimented my system better than those other two. When we set out to make the MSB remote, the design was built from the ground up. ), Chord Hugo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp), DAC Noise Modulation: Chord DAVE vs Topping DX7 Pro+, Digital To Analog (DAC) Reviews and Discussion, Amplifiers, Phono preamp, and Analog Audio Review. Mind you, I have chipless DSD with 1 bit processing, so the bar is set VERY high for me. Check out our support page and technical specifications > Click Here, 10100007 - Discrete DAC with Supply- Gallery - 1200px, 10100007 - Discrete DAC with Supplies - Gallery - 1200px, 10100006 - Discrete DAC - Gallery - 1200px, 10100003 - Discrete DAC Badge - Gallery - 1200px, 10100005 - Discrete DAC MSB Logo - Gallery - 1200px, 10100004 - Discrete DAC Jack Panel - Gallery - 1200px, 10100008 - Discrete DAC Basemetal - Gallery - 1200px, 10100009 - Discrete Supply Options - Gallery - 1200px, 10100010 - Discrete Supply Cover - Gallery - 1200px. When you get the chance to hear Chord DAVE, try playing files bit perfect instead of upsampling them to DSD256 with HQPlayer. definitely up there with the best dacs in the world. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Others might disagree but these are my findings. @yyzsantabarbara, your dealer quote is interesting, I suspected that the Mola Mola was that good. Let us do the work of refurbishing and finding your current electronics a new hometheyll continue to be enjoyed for years to come. But of course, I love window shopping and perusing top tier systems including illustrious more familiar gear like Lampi, TD, MSB, Ares Cerat, Aqua. One of the things I jotted down in my notes during this time was the sense of scale the Discrete brought to the music I was listening to big music sounded BIG and more intimate recordings had their own scale too. But then we have to apply the law of diminishing returns. The good DS (delta sigma) dacs that aren't hard or harsh, are a bit of a yawn, and lack bringing out the life (boogie factor) of the music, but in a . @astewart8944--two years ago in Feb of 17 i did audition the original Formula dac in my system directly compared to the Lampizator GG 1.5 and the Nagra HD and preferred the Formula for its greater space, lower noise, and more neutral and fast presentation. Hifi Pig is part of the Big Pig Media LLP group of companies. I think is a good general rule of thumb, but there are some very transparent passive pre-amps out there. Well, you may not have heard a lot of high-end DAC's in your system, but the one's you've listed are pretty darned good. To build a simple and good system). Blimey my RME ADI 2 DAC looks to have better performance at a fraction of the cost, /===============================================================/, DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players, Audio Interface, Combination Audio DAC and Headphone Amplifiers. which make some people prefer this one to MSB Select II Point 85 Chord Dave and Mscaler (or Blue II transport) This one give transparent and 3D soundstage with excellent details. How does it compare? It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $14,000. In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. Like the rest of the main body of the DAC and the PSUs, the remote is hewn from a block of aluminium. Click here to download your copy, At 11000 plus taxes as tested the Lampizator Big 7 is certainly no budget DAC, but does it deliver on sonic ability? Sonically, it is akin to the old straight wire with gain only in the digital realm. I understand that audio stores and distribution companies have the opportunity to A/B a significant amount of equipment. In that price range, you would be mad not to add the MSB Premier DAC to your list as well. dCS Bartok>Chord DAVE>MSB discrete discreteR2R R2R DAVE BartokdCSBartok "OK, it would be. The SQ is amazingly good. I believe it comes down to Over the air updates will ensure that your renderer always has the latest capabilities and ultimate convenience. However, there are also products that manage to straddle both sides of the electric fence (whilst being careful not to electrocute their nether regions) and give us a tremendously enjoyable reproduction of a recording whilst remaining true to the source material. Id imagine that upscaling refers to increasing bit-depth (like from 16 to 24 bits) which adds "vertical" resolution to the waveform in theory, improving amplitude resolution making subtle low-level detail more natural and audible (among other things) if done correctly. Thanks for the interesting reply, cmarin. The Dave is VERY lovely on PCM, and pretty decent on DSD, but DSD is not its raison d'etre. I'm looking for suggestions between $10K - $12K. September 6, 2016 in DAC - Digital to Analog Conversion. The PSUs are available to match. I can see that in an A/B comparison, many other DACs sound more impressive than DAVE/Blu2. So, essentially, around the back of this DAC we have XLR output modules, dual power inputs (more on this in a moment) the digital input module (XLR, RCA, and two optical), and the USB input. Not a bad idea Snoop! Dealer's should be required to state they're a dealer every time they post or have a disclaimer in their username. Supported Formats (Depending on Input) 44.1 kHz to 3.072kHz PCM up to 32 bits 1xDSD, 2xDSD, 4xDSD, 8xDSD Accepts DSD via DoP on all inputs, Digital Inputs 1x RCA Coaxial 1x XLR 1x Word-Sync Out 2x Toslink 2x Isolated slots for optional modules, XLR Outputs Voltage: 3.57 Vrms Maximum Impedance 300 High Gain setting Impedance 150 Low Gain setting. but with digital things change quickly, and a month ago I got a new server, the SGM Extreme. The main reason we took on Rockna was because their Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers, A healthy approach to understanding measurements, After being asked for the 308th time, Merv lists top 5 headphones, $1000 to the first to design a headamp using discrete components with better measurements than Magni 3+, http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/chord-dave-29757/#post579518, (You must log in or sign up to reply here.). That is not to say that a preamp doesn't produce value with respect to other sound quality characteristics that may affect the personal appeal of the musical reproduction (e.g., soundstage), or that the extra transparency won't reveal system issues, but there is no question that transparency is higher when going straight to the amps. Chord Dave Replacement. Im getting a bit away from the review proper, but Im sure you can see why I have added that little diversion. The only other items in the chain were the Stack streamer and a pretty well-sorted network setup. Just go for an internal Asus card to fit in a PCI slot you should be able to get bit perfect optical output thanks for confirming suitability of current setup. I wish you would have had the Totaldac D1 Seven to try. I recently bought a DAC with a digital volume control precisely to bypass the preamp, but when I compared the two approaches there was very little between them. will every hear. The BADA Ref is a great DAC and I understand the new version takes it to even another level. If you have a turntable, for instance, the Discrete will have to act as a standalone DAC and go into a preamplifier/integrated amplifier which will then add its own flavour to the mix. The LED display, slaved to the audio clock, is refreshed between data processing to drastically reduce electrical interference. Only hifi shops and shows hear and there. I hope you understand. They both use FPGA for their decoding. It could sound analytical or hot coupled with bright combination of speaker and amplifier. There hasn't been any direct comparison of them with Select II, Trinity DAC, CH D1/C1, Totaldac D12 etc in Hong Kong yet. At $20,000 I recommend the MSB Premier DAC with two power supplies (KeithRs system). I did have the BADA Ref in my system for a short audition, and the Trinity And CH Precision C1 for a longer stay during a previous iteration of my system. Any owners around here? Fair enough if you know some of the posters here and their listening preferences. Looks like your budget goes up to ~$20k? Chord states "DAVE is the most advanced DAC we have ever made. the Extreme has some special optimization for USB. connection because it eliminates some parts and gets you closer to a direct this was how I originally decided to purchase the Select II as I was trying to hear another dac at shows that could do what I heard the Select II doing at a lower price. MSB are an American brand headed up by the brothers Jonathan and Daniel Gullman and located in Silicon Valley, California where they design and build a range of amplifiers, transports, and DACs. I agree price is necessarily indicative of quality or performance. It's easy! DAC Comparison Reference DAC Modules 4x Hybrid DAC Clock The Femto 33 Digital Inputs 4x User Replaceable Input Slots Optical and Coaxial input module Included Analog Outputs Preamp XLR Output Module - 150 Impedance RCA output available with external adapter Analog Inputs XLR Analog Expansion Modules RCA or XLR Input RCA or XLR Output There seemed to be a little more separation of instruments in the mix of whatever I was listening to than with the LAB12 DAC and Pre in the signal path and a slightly leaner edge to the music more clearly etched, perhaps? You could try some of the newer dacs that has gotten good reviews. Out of all of the DACs I've The biggest question about this device is, Yeah listened to the same HEk V2 and Chord Dave with. home system and listening for that end result. Rori Rori is definitely welcome. Im sure it does have a flavour of its own, but from my standpoint, it sounds like a very neutral and transparent DAC. It's too damn expensive, full stop. T&A Dac8 (for DSD512) or Lampi Atlantic for any native rate DSD playback. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. If you send me a dave i will happily be your 4th friend who also owns a dave. Stuart Smith finds out. so these are less preferred. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends.. I have listened to MSB Analog DAC and Diamond DAC IV but not in the same setup as DAVE. I dont know as that was years ago and I dont have one here to test against. The clock can be seen as being the heart of the DAC and once again the clocks are made in-house. In comparison to spdif which feels more 3D but relatively smaller sound stage, with better separation, vocals are more focused/accurate, everything sounds more evenly balanced.
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