In my system, I initially thought the AES+Word Clock was better (perhaps because that was my predisposition), but after A/Bing without knowing which input was being used, I couldn’t distinguish a difference. Sometimes I thought I was hearing the AES input playing when it was in fact the Pro USB and vice versa. I’ve heard differing opinions from two of the largest MSB dealers in the States. Think it depends on one’s system and ears. One thing’s for sure, I’m happy that I’m not feeling compelled to spend $13K on the reference AES/EBU + Word Clock cables I currently have on loan!
New MSB Cascade DAC
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
I use the AES/EBU input connected to a streamer. Could you clarify what is the Cascade word clock?
The N30SA can be synced to an external clock in the Conductor software when connected to the MSB Digital Director’s AES/EBU and word clock inputs. In my set up, that external clock is the Cascade DAC’s femto clock.
Hey there, just our perspective on it, but I would not expect to hear better performance from the I2S module. It is specifically made for the Transports and SACD outputs. Certain servers may perform better bypassing their USB drivers or SPDIF connections, but that is not the expectation from our end. It should perform identically to the AES/EBU module it a well designed source.
Thanks, Daniel. To ensure I understand, is it your expectation that to the extent high end streamers eventually offer a direct fiber connection to the Cascade’s digital director (eg, Pink Faun, Taiko, etc), you’re not expecting that type of connection to be superior to using a USB or ProUSB>ProISL connection?
And lastly, as it relates to your listening experience and MSB engineers’ measurement testing, is there any experience/evidence that the AES/EBU interface, when clocked by the Cascade’s femto clock (say in the example of the Aurender N30SA), should or does sound superior to the ProUSB>ProISL Cascade interface on a high end streamer server (eg, Aurender, Pink Faun, etc)? While everyone’s MMV, would specifically value your experience comparing these two interfaces on the Cascade.
And lastly, as it relates to your listening experience and MSB engineers’ measurement testing, is there any experience/evidence that the AES/EBU interface, when clocked by the Cascade’s femto clock (say in the example of the Aurender N30SA), should or does sound superior to the ProUSB>ProISL Cascade interface on a high end streamer server (eg, Aurender, Pink Faun, etc)? While everyone’s MMV, would specifically value your experience comparing these two interfaces on the Cascade.
Ah, misunderstood the I2S connection you were discussing. The direct fiber has great potential depending on implementation for a performance increase. I thought you were mentioning the HDMI based I2S solution we just released.
After the addition of the Digital Director, I have personally not found any SQ differences between these two inputs. Previously, there was a much more lively debate on this topic when it came to the Select and Reference DAC's.
Thanks, Daniel. I have blind A/B’d these two inputs extensively on Cascade, and I can’t tell a difference. Happy that your ear tells you the same, so I stop questioning mine!
Will be curious to hear how it performs in your system. Please share the feedback.
External confirmation can be reassuring, especially if you want to make sure the product you have is performing as intended.
Lastly, that quote refers to the Pro USB and AES compared in the Select and Reference, not the Cascade which is quite new still. The AES is still better performing over the standard Coaxial though, so please don't overlook that advice. Cheers.
And of course, it always can vary system to system. Trust your ears!
Hi Cincy,
Was wondering if you’ve compared the SQ of your system when using the Cascade as a preamp vs the L10? If you’ve made this comparison, would you mind describing the sonic differences?
Thanks,
Blake
Daniel, I have a question. My MSB Select II with director are going balanced into my Audio Research Ref 6 SE preamp. The dac is set to 100. What is the best setting where the dac is not using its own volume control? Why not have a way to switch it off when using a preamp. Also, if the dac is set to say 80 so you can use a higher volume on the preamp, will this effect performance? Thanks Jeff.
If an external preamp is used, the digital volume control can be completely disabled and bypassed - pass that 100 setting number to reach the option.
For most preamp use I recommend setting menu setting called "startup volume" to "volume disabled". You need to scroll up to past "100" in the "startup volume" menu.
For some preamps that clip their input buffers a setting of 90-94 can help significantly with those preamps. Its a fairly easy test, if your preamp sounds better on a loud track at 90 than at 100 then you can set the "startup volume" to between 90-94 for better compatibility with that preamp.
For some preamps that clip their input buffers a setting of 90-94 can help significantly with those preamps. Its a fairly easy test, if your preamp sounds better on a loud track at 90 than at 100 then you can set the "startup volume" to between 90-94 for better compatibility with that preamp.
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