It’s all so quiet at MSB DAC development…

[Mike Lavigne]

Give it another 1-3 years Mike, you will have a New DAC then you will say the same thing........))))

it took 5 years with the MSB for that to happen, and 9 years with my Playback Designs. we will see......

 

[andromedaaudio]

and this is 1/2" 15ips tape with appropriate very low gen equivalent source.....

Hybrid lol

A hybrid would then be 1/2" 15ips tape transport with a modern " digital gainstage ? " , Merril audio tape head preamp

 

[bryans]

Honestly I have never understood the whole digital vs. analog. Maybe I'm on an island by myself but saying one format is better than another doesn't compute with me. I have some LPs that I love better than downloads/CDs/streaming and the other way around.

Again I'm sure I'm on an island by myself which is OK with me.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Honestly I have never understood the whole digital vs. analog. Maybe I'm on an island by myself but saying one format is better than another doesn't compute with me. I have some LPs that I love better than downloads/CDs/streaming and the other way around.

Again I'm sure I'm on an island by myself which is OK with me.

You are right you cant honestly compare them as analogue uses better " fuel "

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Honestly I have never understood the whole digital vs. analog. Maybe I'm on an island by myself but saying one format is better than another doesn't compute with me. I have some LPs that I love better than downloads/CDs/streaming and the other way around.

Again I'm sure I'm on an island by myself which is OK with me.

since my early audiophile days in 1994-1995 i've seen vinyl/analog as the reference for music playback enjoyment as it was the source for most of the music most important to me. and yet, digital was where lots of access to music was, and over time it has improved it's performance. so this compare has been an important part of my hifi/audiophile/music loving experience. it was always a priority/obsession/passion to attain the best performance of each. pushing both formats in parallel. then around 2006 i added RTR tape.

i have positive enjoyment with the comparing of the formats, as well as the pursuit of pushing both makes all my listening better. and it fuels the commercial and creative energy behind performance gains in the playback gear and media. digital<->analog is not the only driver, but it's a big one.

if i was starting right now, not sure i would do vinyl again. vinyl media access and expense is a big hurdle not sure i would try to do again. but i'm glad i did it.

 

[bryans]

You are right you cant honestly compare them as analogue uses better " fuel "

View attachment 89281

Yes I have always been a fan of R2R. But given I literally can't find anything I like or want to purchase on R2R, this is like racing fuel. Somebody buys it so it is available. Just a small number I guess. If nothing else, the look of R2R is

 

[andromedaaudio]

racing fuel

Top fuel

 

[Audire]

Just to share my experience, please do feel free to comment, disagree and discuss.

I have always been a digital person and I often found digital media performs better than LP. However recently I have been investigating the analogue"LP" side of the world and I think the fight of "analogue vs digital" really does not exist at all. It all comes back to the music whether it had been recorded / master in digital or analogue. An analogue mastered music will not sound great in digital as the bottle neck is the AD and the mastering, and vice versa a digitally mastered music will not sound great in LP as the bottle neck is in the DA ( pretty sure they are not using a Select II as the DA ). And there are tones of mastering differences when in different era. ie. for old recordings, no one will apply a de-noise filter as noise are pretty acceptable back then, but when you listen to a modern recording, the background must be dead silence and hence some kind of de-noise filter or gate must have applied. And lots of important information had been lost tbh ( a good example is modern recording of strings like violin and viola ).

obtaining and maintaining a well preserved analogue media ( LP ) is a pain in the ass job. But if you have some recording or music which you like from the pre-digital era, you don't have much choice... ={

How are you enjoying your Westminster Lab?

 

[lscangus]

How are you enjoying your Westminster Lab?

Very well actually =]

 

[Audire]

Very well actually =]

Gorgeous system. The Vivids are nice too. Congrats.

 

[Armsan]

At last, news from MSB. Digital Director. Hope to listen it in Munic.

 

[divertiti]

At last, news from MSB. Digital Director. Hope to listen it in Munic.

Would love to hear your impressions, particularly if they would do a comparison between that and the current Pro USB/ISL input

 

[Armsan]

Would love to hear your impressions, particularly if they would do a comparison between that and the current Pro USB/ISL input

They weren´t making comparisons, unfortunately. But, for me, it was one of the best sounding rooms. Very clear, detailed and balanced. The Estelon lacked some body and bottom end that, for sure, the DAC were sending them. BTW the MSB rack is gorgeous.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I listened extensively to the 'MSB Estelon set ups .
I thought the white MSB gear looked awesome clean in the white custom rack
I ll post some pics
Sounded nice to my ears
Great looking gear MSB

 

[andromedaaudio]

I included the pics

 

[QuadDiffuser]

If you get the chance, please post a photo of the rear module and links between the Digital Director and the Select II DAC - curious how they’re connected!