New MSB Cascade DAC

[JamesonM]

After some productive discussions in Munich with Emile, we were able to lay out plans for a collaboration to provide a Pro ISL output for Taiko. As soon as we got back to California, we sent out a development kit and DAC for them to test with. It sounds like it is all hands on deck at Taiko to get this solution up and running. We will be providing the following Pro ISL output card which they will integrate directly to their XDMI interface. As soon as they have it working and we certify it meets our bit perfect performance with clock feedback functionality we will be sure to announce it here. This will bring Taiko integration to all Discrete, Premier, Reference, Select, Cascade, and Sentinel DACs with a Pro ISL input module.

Keep us posted on your progress @Taiko Audio !
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Hi everyone. I am a long time lurker. Some of you may know me from shows, PTA, Indulgr, etc. Discussion of the new Cascade finally pushed me to make an account.

MSB and Chord Electronics have always been my absolute favorites in digital for years now, and since the Chord Electronics released their M-Scaler outboard upsampler and will soon be releasing a higher level Quartet M-Scaler, I’ve always wondered what MSB’s DA section would sound like with Chord’s filters. Unfortunately, to use Chord’s filters requires an unusual dual-BNC input. I don’t believe there’s anything proprietary about it. If I recall correctly, it’s the same double-data dual-AES protocol dCS created/uses but using BNC connectors. I know this is a significantly bigger stretch than what I’m replying to, although it’s in a similar vein, but if there’s any way to fashion together an MSB input module with such an input, I’d be curious to hear the results.

I’m in the process of building a large listening room for my work at Indulgr, and the Cascade is definitely a top contender for reference gear I’d be interested in purchasing, but that’s for another thread.

 

[Daniel Gullman]

Hi everyone. I am a long time lurker. Some of you may know me from shows, PTA, Indulgr, etc. Discussion of the new Cascade finally pushed me to make an account.

I’m in the process of building a large listening room for my work at Indulgr, and the Cascade is definitely a top contender for reference gear I’d be interested in purchasing, but that’s for another thread.

Hello and welcome! I am quite new here as well.

Perhaps one day the filter software will be made into an app for file preparation or they will have a USB or network output on the M-Scaler that is compatible! Hope abounds. I don't see us developing an input module for a specific product, but perhaps they will develop it further and open up what it can work with. Probably sell a lot more units if they did.

If you are a car guy, and are in town for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, stop by the factory! Always happy to have visitors.

 

[JamesonM]

Hello and welcome! I am quite new here as well.

Perhaps one day the filter software will be made into an app for file preparation or they will have a USB or network output on the M-Scaler that is compatible! Hope abounds. I don't see us developing an input module for a specific product, but perhaps they will develop it further and open up what it can work with. Probably sell a lot more units if they did.

If you are a car guy, and are in town for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, stop by the factory! Always happy to have visitors.

Thank you for the welcome! I appreciate the response.

I do wish Chord would include a USB output on their upcoming higher-end upscaler, but that doesn’t seem to be present on the prototype they showed at Munich. I agree, they’d almost definitely sell many more units if they did make an effort to make them more compatible with other DACs. Looks like there are a few pro DACs that’ve used dual-AES in the past in addition to the Chord and dCS upscalers and DACs, but between Chord and dCS for outboard upscalers and a few pro companies for PCIe transports, there certainly aren’t enough devices out there for a dedicated input module to make business sense. I could probably fashion a solution together with one of these pro PCIe transports just to satisfy my curiosity.

I’m a huge car guy, and I’ll be at Concours d'Elegance if I can make it. I appreciate the invite, and I’d love to stop by! If not me, someone from my team will definitely be there.