November 11, 2020 in Digital Sources, DACs, and Computer Audio. The headamp is powerful but not involving. Get a Lampi Golden Gate Dac and match it with the RK5u4g rectifier and PX25 DHTs or the RK242 DHT. This is the main advantage of DAVE (i.e. I have heard the Dave and EMM Labs DAC2x up against aMakua that I subsequently purchased. That's just too money for the performance. Elevator Pitch Review: Built in America, the MSB Discrete is a modular DAC that also acts as a preamplfier, though, as supplied, it has no analogue inputs. For such a high entry price I wouldn't take the gamble to go on some recommendation by a stranger whose tastes I don't know. I don't think any of us have heard the Dave, and we don't have any interest. HiFiMan Ananda, SR Orange fuses, Taiko Audio Daiza platforms, Startech FMC optical network link, Oyaide EE f/s2.0 V2 mains spurs, Akiko Audio tuning sticks, GIK Acoustic TriTraps/panels. Can it output a Low or High Voltage on a single pin in a bitstream? If you currently have an MSB DAC or amplifier that you lovebut are looking to experience more from your systemplease reach out to your local dealer. To each their own, but I think Chord sounds cold and artificial. 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. That statement makes sense in an analog paradigm. All in all the Discrete DAC is beautiful looking, minimal, easy to set up (its all but plug and play if you turn both the PSUs on) and it feels like a proper bit of audio engineering. I have enjoyed my time with the MSB Discrete DAC a great deal. But the majority of the time all 6 of There is no such thing as a "FPGA DAC"! comparing top dacs directly is a bit challenging, even if you have them both together. had if for 2 years now. fake by any means necessary jacket. Any specific reason you wanna replace the Dave? Out of all of the DACs I've Vega DAC 6/10 As dynamic as the Weiss, but a little too edgy in sound emphasised presence made female voices a bit hard on the ear. EAR FILLERS HiFi Pig Playlists on Qobuz, Transatlantic Dispatches: A New World Disorder, Astell&Kern Launch Three New Products At High End Munich 2022. But of course, I love window shopping and perusing top tier systems including illustrious more familiar gear like Lampi, TD, MSB, Ares Cerat, Aqua. As it stands, the Discrete offers a very good solution should you be a music lover that plays only digital files and you can go straight into a power amp. In terms of sound quality, it's the best digital front end I . I've also learned that a DAC's performance will depend heavily on the music player. All rights reserved. This is purely speculation based on browsing the internet over the years and internalising pro/con reviews from users. As you pursue higher levels of playback, an MSB upgrade path is always available to help drive your own desire for innovation. The Discrete DAC, The Premier DAC, The Reference DAC, The Select DAC II, Theater Master. How r they comparing to the MSB Select 2 and Trinity? The other thing I've learned about the Chord Dave is it can sound very different depending on the interconnect and/or power cord used. Thank you for posting! But digital, potentially, can change things. Jon Hopkins Music For Psychedelic Therapy was a beautifully enveloping experience, made all the more so as sounds come and go in the soundstage in a somewhat more solid way than without the usual DAC. there are others I know about but Ive not heard them recently. Once populated, the circuit boards are made into modules and then placed inside the casework. Of the ones you mentioned I'd be most tempted by the Emm Labs DAC 2x though if you can get a used higher-end Esoteric, you should jump on it. Lots of time it MSB thrives off the innovation required to meet consumer demands. There are separate optimal PCM and DSD modes for playbacks and bit perfect playback is how DAVE performs optimally as the FPGA up samples and noise shapes everything to 104MHz 5-bit. DAVE stands for 'Digital to Analogue Veritas in Extremis', a moniker that best reflects the product's . It would be absolute suicide for an audio distributor to Edited November 11, 2020 by seadog. Then just stay with the basic Premier unit, and the power supply that comes with it. Thank you all for your answers. Going by the performance of the Mola Mola Makua (pre with dac module) it will be extremely good. The Discrete DAC Features - MSB Technology The Discrete DAC Refined sound. The DAC has two modes; multi-bit PCM and single-bit discrete DSD mode. I can see that in an A/B comparison, many other DACs sound more impressive than DAVE/Blu2. Over the air updates will ensure that your renderer always has the latest capabilities and ultimate convenience. Even at very low listening levels, it was clear that the MSB was delivering a clean analogue output to the ampand Im aware that sounds a bit vague. Chord Dave vs Mola Mola Makua/Tambaqui vs Emm Labs Dac2x vs Rockna Wavedream IGNORED Chord Dave vs Mola Mola Makua/Tambaqui vs Emm Labs Dac2x vs Rockna Wavedream . And I make Best DAC Quality Ranking list. The Pro USB was developed to offer a multi part USB solution that features complete electrical isolation and all the performance of MSBs proprietary Pro ISL input. I haven't yet come across one DAC that is best and will completely dominate other great DACs across all audio evaluation parameters. The BADA Ref is a great DAC and I understand the new version takes it to even another level. You must log in or register to reply here. Check out the awards + accolades. I like all this attention to detail and the MSB website suggests a company that is massively proud of its American heritage and of the products they make. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $14,000. It has the option for two PSUs and once you hear with both it becomes a necessity to have both. luxury apartment hotels paris. They are all excellent DACs and at that level of performance, it's ultimately about system synergy, personal preferences and the limitations of our hearing. After a year of listening to various components I'm content. Mola Mola dac and the Total dac. The modular nature of the Discrete and other MSB DACs is very clever and I assume this goes a good way towards giving it such a neutral and detailed sound, where no one part is interfering with what the other is doing. DAVE is the most advanced DAC Chord Electronics has ever made. Theyre not limited by audio formats, sample rates, or even speed. What I do know is that the MSB brings an excellent level of performance by way of neutrality to a system that allows other parts of the system to do their thing its sort of the digital equivalent of a very (very) good cartridge. It would only sound like sales so we As a matter of fact, I'd appreciate getting your impressions. Digital Audio Forum: DAC, Transports, Digital Processing Forum, 4x20A circuits | Audioquest Niagara 3000 | Paul Hynes SR4T + HDPlex HD500 PSUs -> Music PC w/JCAT XE nic, HQPlayer, Roon, Tidal / Qobuz | HDPlex HD100 PSU -> OCX clock + EtherRegen | Aqua Acoustic Quality LinQ streamer | Aqua Acoustic Quality Formula xHD Rev. Like the rest of the main body of the DAC and the PSUs, the remote is hewn from a block of aluminium. So true jr, the discrete R2R Multibit dacs like the Terminator the Holo, MSB, Total ect ect have a life and a boogie factor to the music that DS dacs lack, and yes they do show up bad recordings. 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. I'm really anxious to hear more opinions about this DAC and noticed that DAVE hasn't got a thread of its own (only together with Mojo). I've tried it in my system and I don't like it. I expected a lot better. I agree with what you are saying but "far too often" the 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. It features the very best conversion technology available, using proprietary techniques never seen before, making DAVE the most advanced DAC/preamp amplifier in the world. Everyone hears differentlyI heard the Dave with the Blu and I prefer it without it. As the noise in my system keeps getting lower, the PM2 keeps reaching deeper to find even more musical engagement and purity in standard 16/44 files. While it's an easy setup to wrangle at a show, it does seem like it wasn't doing either component any favours! Digital: Sonore opticalModule > Uptone EtherRegen > Shunyata Sigma Ethernet >Antipodes K30> Shunyata Omega USB> Gustard X26pro DAC < Mutec REF10 SE120, Amp& Speakers: Spectral DMA-150mk2 >Aerial 10T, Foundation: Stillpoints Ultra,ShunyataDenali v1 andTyphon power conditioners,Shunyata Delta v2 and QSA Lanedri Gamma power cords, QSA Lanedri GammaRevelationinterconnect,Shunyata SigmaEthernet,MIT Matrix HD60speaker cables, ASC isothermal tube traps, Stillpoints Aperture panels. There are some tonal differences too, but what you prefer will depend on your other equipment and the music you like. There hasn't been any direct comparison of them with Select II, Trinity DAC, CH D1/C1, Totaldac D12 etc in Hong Kong yet. 5 other people who only have 2 things in common with our system. Auction bid 7 150 25 . It is bested easily by DACs at $150. The more observant of you will have read this and noticed that there is no mains inlet. It is worth every penny. This one has similar sound signature to MSB Premier But it is half notch below MSB Premier on dynamics, details, soundstage. Digital Audio Forum: DAC, Transports, Digital Processing Forum, 4x20A circuits | Audioquest Niagara 3000 | Paul Hynes SR4T + HDPlex HD500 PSUs -> Music PC w/JCAT XE nic, HQPlayer, Roon, Tidal / Qobuz | HDPlex HD100 PSU -> OCX clock + EtherRegen | Aqua Acoustic Quality LinQ streamer | Aqua Acoustic Quality Formula xHD Rev. Its weighty, it feels perfect, its not overly ostentatious and its perfect! dac at a reasonable price. Nice. At this kind of price, it puts Chord DAVE as being direct competition and I said that DAVE was the best DAC Id heard back in 2018. The only other items in the chain were the Stack streamer and a pretty well-sorted network setup. Triangle Magellan Concerto 2< AQEverest< Vitus Audio SS-010 Mk2< AQDragon High Current< AQWELXLR< ChordQutestDAC w UpTone JS-2 & AQ Dragon Source < AQDiamond USB< InnuosPhoenix USBwAQ Dragon Source< AurenderN100H & AQ Dragon Source< NetGear GS105GESwitch w UpTone LPS1.2< Supra CAT8 Ethernet Too many amps> Too many headphones. Sound Media Group Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. There are some tonal differences too, but what you prefer will depend on your other equipment and the music you like. The Dave as a DAC actually sounds decent. The lo-res display also makes menu ]set-up fiddly because it doesn't have enough space to display words. I did try with just the one power supply and the Discrete remained a very strong performer with the differences being a very slight loss in the sense of separation and definition when listening intently. Bespoke Audio Ultimate Silver TVC passive preamp, Totaldac xlr version D1-Drivers x2, Eisteddfod 340 & 840 amps, Magico S5 speaker, MSB Select DAC, MSB Select Transport, Nakamichi 700 XLE cassette deck, Taiko Audio Extreme Server, Tripoint Troy Signature NG groundbox, PLiXiR Elite 1500 isolation transformers. However, Id argue that there is sort of two trains of thought on this subject; one where theres absolute fidelity to the source material at all costs, and another that sounds great though to the listener but perhaps not absolutely true to the original source and I dont think its unfair to say that both these positions have their place in the world of playing tunes at home. I could easily live with any of these. Sounds shrill on my workstation and work laptop. Firstly, that was a very impressive list of high end components you have listened to. Thank you, Mike. I submit dealers use the statement "component X competes against much more expensive components" far too often. but with digital things change quickly, and a month ago I got a new server, the SGM Extreme. It is a manual step which I forgot. Whether its a software update or a leading-edge modular component, were here to help the most valued aspect of MSBour customers. But dont take our word for it. I can only comment on the Emm labs, if u can get a DA2 I think you will be happy "An audiophile is only done when they go to the great brick and mortar store in the sky" Ron Resnick It's UPDATE VIDEO THREE for the Chord Electronics DAVE DAC REVIEW I have spent a lot more time with the DAVE Dac, still using. Can I ask how you procured all those DACs? So this was headphones straight out of the DAVE? 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 . I've had some excellent preamps in my system (Dartzeel, Absolare, Robert Koda, Kondo).