MSB Select II arrival
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
Aziz,
I did have the Aqua La Diva CD transport (now sold) until a few weeks ago, to go along with the Formula dac. it was very good (but not quite as good as the SGM) but it's i2S interface is not compatible with the Select II.
when I did compare the Aqua transport and the SGM, at first it was very close, with the SGM ahead by a hair. then there were software advances with HQ Player which pushed the SGM clearly to another level.
MSB would like for me to try one of their transports once I've settled on whether I will be staying with server/usb or switching to the new Ethernet renderer. so I will be going down the transport road again. MSB thinks the transport still has advantages.
we will see.
Thanks, Mike.
I have read many posts on different forums claiming, that no file transport can compare to a sota CD transport soundwise. Personally I do not believe this is to be the case, and your experience confirms this. In any case, taking into account a relatively large number of available quality DSD content and Tidal, limiting yourself just to CD playback nowadays simply is not practical in my view.
Aziz
I have read many posts on different forums claiming, that no file transport can compare to a sota CD transport soundwise. Personally I do not believe this is to be the case, and your experience confirms this. In any case, taking into account a relatively large number of available quality DSD content and Tidal, limiting yourself just to CD playback nowadays simply is not practical in my view.
Aziz
Aziz,
agree; my gut tells me that even ignoring higher rez files for a moment, that files have a higher upside than a cd/sacd transport.
OTOH as I listen to this MSB Select II, it is hard to discount anything MSB tells me. they have broken the code on digital performance......and so I will follow them down the transport path and keep my mind open. they are working on next level transports.
getting back to higher rez, both PCM and dsd, the best of these take things clearly to a level transports cannot reach in certain ways.....particularly space, note decay, ease, authority, and delicate texture and complex layering of music. this is based on my experience up till now, we will see how it plays out.
IMHO it is again a zone of no absolutes, where there is no winner in all aspects. Some DXD or DSD files have all positive features you refer and we do not find equally in redbook, physical or file, and a top spinner has a others where it shines, such as involvement and being rhythmically more life like. Our choice will depend on how we valuate these aspects - in two words, our preference.
Hi Mike.
I am using the D1 from CH Precision and to my ears the transport outperforms the Aurender N10 when I listen to the same CD`s ripped to the Aurender. I am also using the CH Link cable between the C1 dac and the D1 and that might contribute to what I hear as well. A good transport (I am sure that the MSB is right up there with the D1) in your system will definetly sound very good and I think that you are in for a very good listening experience. Well worth trying!
JP
My D1 also plays SACD and that pushes the sound to an even higher level. All this said, the Aurender N10 is a very fine product and I am very happy with its sound.
That does not surprise me at this point. Could you please gives us some details as to what you think the transport does better?
Let me first say that I like the Aurender N 10 very much, it sounds really good and its user interface is superb. I use an USB cable from the Aurender to the C1 dac, but I will try another digital cable in the near future because I suspect that it is a better connection than USB. But when I use the D1 transport it sounds more analog with more air and with more "body". Less "digital" although I can hardly say that I am bothered with a typical digital sound at home
. And of course the differences are minor, but I prefer the transport for really critical listening. It has also to do with the recordings of course and SACD sounds superior to Red Book, every time. All in all I am very happy that I bought the transport as well and CD`s and SACD can be bought at really good prices.It has also to do with my system. The Absolare and the Kaiser Kawero speakers sounds very organic, detailed and dynamic. I have also changed cables to Echole Orius and that lifted the system to another level again.
So without using to many "audiophile terms"; I am very happy with the transport
.JP
Thanks for your reply. Interesting what you say about more "body"; this is what others have reported for the dCS Vivaldi when using its transport as well. If you have an option other than a USB connection for the server, that is certainly worth trying.
That is interesting with ref. to more "body". But yes, that is my experience as well. One can always say that the improvements are minor of course, but in search for the ultimate (within a personal budget) small improvements does matter.
JP
Hi Mike,
Having played numerous red book CDs and SACDs through MSB's Universal Transport and Select II DAC at Axpona, I would say they cracked the code on this transport too. The secret sauce on the Universal Transport is its proprietary I2S connection, which allows the digital data to be pulled and clocked by the DAC rather than pushed by the transport. The result is one of the best sounding transports I've ever heard. No reason for a newer and more expensive MSB transport IMHO, although slight improvement might be gained by superior clamping. The MSB Universal Transport is a terrific component and a tremendous deal at its current price point. Really no need to venture any further.
Best,
Ken
when speaking about MSB Select II development territory, the above bolded part is the very last thing they have in their minds. my view is that their whole agenda is to go where none have gone before with digital performance.....which is what I am hearing.
how this plays out with the up-coming MSB transports we will have to wait and find out.
and I heard the UMT too at the L.A. Show and it was very impressive.....so I'm not disagreeing that that level was not already superb.
Peter from Audio Note explains why a transport is superior to ANY server setup. They make a transport that costs over 100,000. This is a very interesting video. I have talked to there dealer in California and he has had people bringing in there computer and separate servers and hooked them up and compared to a transport. He has said every person was flabbergasted because they all said they are just zeros and ones. Very clear difference to all. MBL has that connect between the transport and DAC which is key. Audio Note also has a special connection between the transport and DAC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BijKabByrZQ
Here is a sound sample of what this special kind of connection between the transport and DAC sound like.It is like listening to a turntable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyrRemcQ-rA
It has a tube right at the input in the DAC and at the output in the CDP, so not the same as a standard S/PDIF line. My lowly AMR DP-777 has a wide band tube at the S/PDIF input, and it does sound better than the standard S/PDIF input.
I can only imagine how good the Audio Note Fifth Element sounds. I wonder if any have been sold, or is it an icon product, i.e. what we can do when no budget constraints apply?
It would be great if we could have some 15 ips tapes recorded directly from an Audio Note Fifth Element DAC playing CDs. Than I could compare the tape played with the StuderA80 with the CD through the digital system.
Unfortunately IMHO he does not explain at all - he just talks about the "fragility of digital" - a subjective concept. As far as I know no one has ever explained why the spinning CD sounds better than files. Even manufacturers of excellent sounding transports end up saying they do not have a reason, although it really sounds better.
in my mind this quandary is not a quandary at all. this is about serious file playback performance is only now 5 or 6 years old and approaching some level of maturity. every 3-6 months file performance improves. we are discovering all the little things which pollute the processing of the files. and the whole disc data delivery is fully mature 35+ years in, 3-4 billion made already, and much simpler and less influenced by these things.
observe the price of a top flight transport, and then observe the competitive server product. only one problem; there are none....yet. when someone takes a server as seriously as transports have been taken, then we will have our result.
the SGM easily comes closest right now to this no holds bared approach on both the hardware and software side. and it's the one most competitive with transports. in my personal experience the SGM is better, but I've not heard many transports to have my experience more than a data point.
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