Hmm not entirely sure,
listen to say MBL older and latest digital filters.
Are you 100% positive, that the digital filter was the ONLY design change between those DACs ?
Hmm not entirely sure,
listen to say MBL older and latest digital filters.
Are you 100% positive, that the digital filter was the ONLY design change between those DACs ?
Adam your right in where you are going with this from your POV, but as I said it is not just analogue or digital, it is both.
If filters all sounded the same (...)
But point in my example, I am not aware of any SS analogue stage that can make a rich/lush sound while maintaining exceptionally low distortion and FR remaining flat (and the digital aspects measured excellent as well) especially when talking about a source product when both use the same chip but very different filter implementations.
I spent a good deal of my time at the Consumer Electronic Show in the MSB suite. Their class amps were there and sounding great as always and the speakers were quite good. Only the Zanden suite rivaled their sound using their second most expensive, Signature Dac V, as I recall. The newest is $90k! They played several cuts when I first walked in and took a seat. The first and second were ones I use always as was the fourth. I was shocked by how good their sound was despite the crappy rooms at CES. I would love to hear their Analog Dac versus my AMS music server and modified Mytek dac with no opamps.
At CES this year I spent an inordinate amount of time in the MSB room. It had the best digital sound I've heard. I have owned dCS gear and sold it and the same with other quite expensive lines. I have never heard any other than the MSB that sounds worth a damn in comparison. My Archiving Vinyl AMS music server and dac, I think, would surpass the MSB, but, of course, they were only playing cds with their transport. I am playing quad DSD from my music server.
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