The Prime DAC Module. Thanks. As a matter of fact, I'd appreciate getting your impressions. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rothschild-70aab85/, Headphones and Personal Audio with Pitch Perfect Service. A modular I/O card keeps even the discrete DAC flexible, repairable, and upgradeable. StereoNET (Australia) is part of an international network of publications owned wholly by Sound Media Group (Australia). I havent heard the Rockna. 5 other people who only have 2 things in common with our system. You are using an out of date browser. This unit came with two power supplies and Ill be playing with the DAC with one and with two to compare and contrast. Australian Business Number 38 650 151 296, Digital Sources, DACs, and Computer Audio, Chord Dave vs Mola Mola Makua/Tambaqui vs Emm Labs Dac2x vs Rockna Wavedream. I'm looking for suggestions on DACs I should listen to as possible replacement of my Chord Dave. I've also learned that a DAC's performance will depend heavily on the music player. I haven't yet come across one DAC that is best and will completely dominate other great DACs across all audio evaluation parameters. Is it too hot to touch? I hate to repeat myself, but there are no absolutes in audio, only preferences. The Discrete DAC we have here is the baby of the four DACs MSB produces, with the top-of-the-range Select DAC boldly proclaiming to be the worlds finest DAC. "To be 100% honest we have A/B tested most of the dacs mentioned Actual auditioning of the unit prior to purchase is paramount. luxury apartment hotels paris. Didn't like it at all. but with digital things change quickly, and a month ago I got a new server, the SGM Extreme. very important and our preference connection is an i2S connection. for instance, the Select II is modular (customers can easily change modules in seconds)so it has the ability to quickly modify its inputs to allow for optimization of various interfaces. As you mentioned imaging better, incredible PRaT with MSB. It is a manual step which I forgot. The lo-res display also makes menu ]set-up fiddly because it doesn't have enough space to display words. It's not just a matter of being polite, it's also about acknowledging that what we hear and what we prefer is uncertain and changes; that the comparisons were made at different points in time wherein my system had varying levels of resolution/ noise; the fact that making a change requires greater energy and usually more money than staying with what you have; and that sometimes the differences between components are not significant or actionable. I hear the new Ayre QX-5 Twenty gives the DAVE a run for its money at $8950 but that is just hearsay. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends.. and our ears are completely different. The Discrete is a genuine high fidelity DAC and a fabulously built one to boot, add in the modular input flexibility and you have a pretty stunning product with excellent future proofing. The Discrete is around 11,000 whilst the Select is 120,750 with its power base. The Discrete DAC, the successor and highly improved replacement to the now-famous Analog DAC is the MSB DAC that everyone has been waiting for. DAVE is the most advanced DAC Chord Electronics has ever made. But then we have to apply the law of diminishing returns. If you take a look at their website you will see that the machining shop is a fully equipped facility designed to meet the needs of a company producing high-quality cases in which the electronics will be fitted no off the shelf or cheap bent metal cases here! Auction bid 7 150 25 . MSB Technology Discrete Modular DAC Page 2. By That's the negative to going my route I guess. Ill go through the modules included in the Discrete DAC and explain a little about each. There are some tonal differences too, but what you prefer will depend on your other equipment and the music you like. The modular nature of MSB products allows you to have the bits you want and leave out those you dont, The display is a bit basic but it does what it needs to and you can see it from the other side of the room, Detail and transparency are the main features, Allows a real insight into the makeup of a track, Brings a sense of timing being bang on the money, Detail isnt a result of the higher frequencies being artificially pushed, Both PSUs are not absolutely necessary but once you remove one you want to put the other back in. I could easily live with any of these. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 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 I agree with your statement. Well build a personalized offer for your existing MSB products that count towards a new DAC or amplifier. Have you thought about hooking up a Blu2 to Dave? sounds just like the Dave. Did I mention the remote is perfect? You absolutely can say that you prefer other DAC's to the Berkeley Alpha Reference. @ricred1, youre right to point that out. Ok, I looked a prat but it proves that the separate PSUs are actually doing something rather than being there for show, though they do look rather cool in themselves. The only true way for the end user to know what they prefer is through listening in their own system. The more observant of you will have read this and noticed that there is no mains inlet. By clicking links on our site, we may earn affiliate commission, but our editorial remains entirely independent and unbiased. What is available on models higher up the MSB food chain is the ability to add an analogue module so that you can use the unit as a true preamplifier and DAC. The USB module is completely electrically isolated and is again a standalone module capable of 32 bit#768kHz, MQA decoding and 8X DSD. When connecting to the MScaler, Dual-BNC was used on the chord dacs with shawline digital BNC cables. Mind you, I have chipless DSD with 1 bit processing, so the bar is set VERY high for me. So I saw the DAC lighting up and it looked fully functional, right down displaying the bit rate etc of the file playing, but no music. In my assessment the Makua offered a more open and spacious sound. But DAVE also seems to me to highlight the original recording so if the recording is flat, the playback sounds flat (still with great accurate timbre) but if the recording really showcase the soundstage and the 3-dimensionality of the instruments and vocals, DAVE really portrays that well. Personally we have A/B 76 different digital front ends. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 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. You must log in or register to reply here. I'm doing this off the top of my head. I just heard DAVE directly connected to MacBook Pro via USB without any expensive cables, headphone amplifier, power conditioner. I could not so, after 2 years of trying, I bought it. It doesnt get too hot to touch. Btw, my MSB friend and I used the internal analog preamp for MSB and built-in digital preamp for DAVE. I submit dealers use the statement "component X competes against much more expensive components" far too often. The MSB DAC comes with one external PSU as standard. Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator. As a contented Qutest user, I would have hoped for "improved", performance from the Dave. Our products include our in-house designed viton feet, but any audiophile M6X1 foot can be installed to personalize your system. I can see that in an A/B comparison, many other DACs sound more impressive than DAVE/Blu2. I expected a lot better. Chord Dave Replacement. retail client forgets that most audio stores and audio distribution companies Yeah, you and me both- the look I got wasn't as funny as the one I got from the Sennheiser stand when I asked if they had any HD600 or HD650, instead of all those Momentums and so forth, but still. Main Menu us, over a 2 day test period come to the exact same conclusion. Strangely from this company is lack of any anti-aliasing on the text causing pixels to not be seen in the fonts chosen! Chord states "DAVE is the most advanced DAC we have ever made. An FPGA does not have analog output, in the Chord DACs, the FPGA handles digital processing only, not conversion from digital to analog. Of those, I've only heard the DAVE. MQA decoding Now, this is an important and quite a cool lesson in what is going on with the two PSUs. I have Chord Dave and Blu2 too. Over the air updates will ensure that your renderer always has the latest capabilities and ultimate convenience. In that time, weve pushed the industry forward with each product weve built, redefining whats possible. Of course this DAC is super pricey and out of the reach of many (including me). And this is what separates the very good from the excellent piece of audio equipment. This is disabled if you are outputting to a preamplifier. I believe it comes down to Sources: Hiby R6, Fiio x3II, Fiio x5II DACs: Dave, Yggdrasil, Hugo, Hugo TT, U12. I auditioned a DAVE (not deconstructed) and TT2 and found all Chord products lacked the musicality of MSB. Also; recently MSB introduced a new interface that optimizes USB and adds fibre to reduce noise, the MSB Pro USB. And yes, you can improve it more by adding nice power source and cable. 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. This is the main advantage of DAVE (i.e. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $14,000. Look, says I theres obviously a fault with this unit as its lighting up, I can see it on the network and I can send tunes to it via the Stack streamer and Roon! We went through everything and I was getting ready to pack it up and send it back when I reached around the back of one of the PSUs and switched it on MUSIC!!! I wish you would have had the Totaldac D1 Seven to try. Only hifi shops and shows hear and there. There is the option to add a streaming module to the Discrete and if I was in the market for a digital streaming solution, then this is where I would be going. I don't want to waste hifi shops time too much knowing I'll be going second hand either. In that price range, you would be mad not to add the MSB Premier DAC to your list as well. The only thing that I'd really like to see added here is an Aries Cerat. Sit back and be immersed. You'll be shocked by how much you lose by going through a separate preamp. Search: Msb Discrete Dac Vs Chord Dave. I had the DAVE for 3years, it is an amazing DAC. So take it for what it is. At $20,000 I recommend the MSB Premier DAC with two power supplies (KeithRs system). Fixed. Looks like your budget goes up to ~$20k? You are using an out of date browser. Mola Mola dac and the Total dac. I was upgrading it in this order and still could not believe every time it sounded better. I would have loved if you heard them in the same system for a direct comparison. However, there are two inputs for external PSUs and a little doodad/adapter that allows the use of one external PSU. 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. To cut a long story short: A burnt in MSB Analog DAC with Power Base demoed side to side to a burnt in DAVE was no challenge for the MSB. There is no such thing as a "FPGA DAC"! You could try some of the newer dacs that has gotten good reviews. The Can it output a Low or High Voltage on a single pin in a bitstream? If you send me a dave i will happily be your 4th friend who also owns a dave. The only true way for the end user to know what they prefer is through listening in their own system.. How does the PS Audio DirectStream DAC compare to the Chord DAC? @smodtactical I would not take price as any arbitrator of quality, especially nowadays. 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. Thanks guys! September 6, 2016 in DAC - Digital to Analog Conversion. I wired it all up and the unit lit up but I could get no sound out of it whatsoever. 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. JavaScript is disabled. Not a bad idea Snoop! Guess what I am trying to say is: preamps are important. Less experience with Dave on DSD, plus Rob claims to no longer decimate. Regular readers will appreciate all that is taken from the MSB website and I make no apologies for not really understanding the electronics. The end users ears are the only ears that count. The Discrete Power Supply feeds the DAC with dual low-noise power streams that are linear and independent. Roon Endpoint This is a very odd one to describe but came to the fore on tracks like Pan Eros from World Of Drums and Percussion. Were honored to be recognized by the industry for bringing you the most lifelike sound we can. The end result is a digital experience defying expectations. Once you start playing a tune the DAC works out the sample rate and chooses the correct playback clock.