[negura]

  I wonder how the Analog sounds with a UMT V (i2s) and Signature power base...  I suppose that would be the best the Analog could sound, correct (aside from replacing the signature with diamond base)?

 
Yes I think so too. I have only heard it with UMT + coax + Sig power base. I prefer this slightly to Quad USB, but I think I2S would be another level.

 

[Beolab]

Roy, what is your take on running headphones direct out of the MSB? Would you have enough current and what about impedance etc?

Simon !

Please post your impressions on the MSB Select II vs MSB Analog in this thread!

I know the the Select are miles better maybe but in what particular area does it outshine the Analog mostly is very interesting to hear

 

[ccschua]

all connection to inside the MSB is I2S. so if USB quad is used, its converted to I2S inside the module before connection to the MSB main board.

 

[ccschua]

I wonder what usb cable are you all using. I have heard lots of improvement in sound using printer cable as suggested by MSB Tech support. however the texture and imaging improve further with good USB. i reasearch the web and found that Lightspeed is probably the best value for money. 
 
i wonder if there is any other preference over the lightspeed. 

 

[isquirrel]

Simon !

Please post your impressions on the MSB Select II vs MSB Analog in this thread!

I know the the Select are miles better maybe but in what particular area does it outshine the Analog mostly is very interesting to hear

Sure that was my plan

, I have to work around MSB here so have to se when their schedule allows me to spend a few days with their Analog DAC. 

 

[Beolab]

A small brief where Norman Williams from Part Time Audiophile discuss his short listening impressions of the sound of Chord DAVE and the very small step up to MSB Select II DAC.
Its hard to pull any big gears out of it, but just a indication of which direction the wind blows at.. If this turn out to be true fact in the end, then the DAVE will be the High End bargain DAC of the year

http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2015/11/13/warsaw-2015-dac-ology/

 

[negura]

Did I just read impressions of DACs heard at a show in completely different rooms and setups?
 
I am sure that is what he has heard, but why is he commenting on the DACs out of anything... Surely what he was hearing is the result of a complete rig, with the sound of the DAC being one if not the most difficult to assess, as it is burried under and subject to a lot of (many times unknown) variables. I am not saying Dave isn't a great DAC and I am actually interested to hear it. It would be a first and nice step up for Chord since the Hugo imo.

 

[romaz]

My Chord dealer tells me he'll have the DAVE available to listen to in 2 weeks.  Lots of hype to live up to but if it does...
 
Interesting thing is Rob Watts is quoted as saying that the noise floor of his DAVE is an incredible -150dB resulting in increased depth and spatial info.  Well, the TotalDac d1-dual which has been out for a couple of years and sells for $2k less than the DAVE has a noise floor of -157dB so Chord is just now approaching a space that has been the domain of some DACs for years.  As for the Select DAC, its noise floor is an even more staggering -180dB?  Not really in the same league.

 

[isquirrel]

I have a lot of respect for Rob Watts, he has total freedom of design at Chord for the electronics part not the visual aspect. The 168,000 taps in the DAVE he has been working on for a long time. His science is based around time alignment thinking. However it is just one man's interpretation of the science and how he has applied it. I ran into trouble with his science a while ago whilst owning (what was this time last year the "new" Chord Hugo) when I bought a QBD 76 HDSD. To my ears I thought the older tech QBD 76 sounded much better, richer, considerably more midrange and real weight to the bass. In fact I recall offering the opinion that the Hugo was lean, sterile and fatiguing over any length of time. I was new to these forums back then and didn't think twice about making my views public. That didn't work out to well for me and I ended up retreating to Computer Audiophile for a while such was my crime. 
 
So apart from agreeing with Negura and Roy 100% I hope that the DAVE doesn't suffer a similar sonic signature. If that is the case then it would seem that either I am tonally hard of hearing or that Rob's science needs some more tweaking.

 

[Beolab]

My Chord dealer tells me he'll have the DAVE available to listen to in 2 weeks.  Lots of hype to live up to but if it does...

Interesting thing is Rob Watts is quoted as saying that the noise floor of his DAVE is an incredible -150dB resulting in increased depth and spatial info.  Well, the TotalDac d1-dual which has been out for a couple of years and sells for $2k less than the DAVE has a noise floor of -157dB so Chord is just now approaching a space that has been the domain of some DACs for years.  As for the Select DAC, its noise floor is an even more staggering -180dB?  Not really in the same league.

What about the noise shaper filter spec on the Total and MSB Select then? Rob say -350db
which i think crush all the competition in that aspect

 

[romaz]

What about the noise shaper spec on the Total and MSB Select then? Rob say -350db
which i think crush all the competition in that aspect

Not even sure what that is? Looking forward very much to hearing it regardless.

 

[isquirrel]

What about the noise shaper spec on the Total and MSB Select then? Rob say -350db
which i think crush all the competition in that aspect

Personally I don't really worry about "specs" what's important to me is how it sounds. In that regard all will be revealed in a few short weeks. MSB say on their web site how they avoided the traditional audiophile and conducted their listening tests with lay people which according to their material was a successful experience which is presumably why they mention it. Frankly I would like to think I am not completely silly in the head so asked around my own sowing circle prior to cancelling my wife's new car and buying a very expensive DAC.

 

[Yoga]

I've never understood the praise for the Hugo, it's awful. Hearing it through the Ragnarok was a hideous experience. Perhaps if paired with a very dark, liquid sounding amp it would equalise to decent neutrality and musicality. That's just sound fixing though, and two wrongs don't make a right, as they say. Whoever 'they' is
 
Interested to see of the Dave has a different sonic signature. It has its work cut out at the price though, some stiff competition.

 

[Yoga]

... prior to cancelling my wife's new car and buying a very expensive DAC.

 
!

 

[isquirrel]

I've never understood the praise for the Hugo, it's awful. Hearing it through the Ragnarok was a hideous experience. Perhaps if paired with a very dark, liquid sounding amp it would equalise to decent neutrality and musicality. That's just sound fixing though, and two wrongs don't make a right, as they say. Whoever 'they' is

Interested to see of the Dave has a different sonic signature. It has its work cut out at the price though, some stiff competition.

I ended up pairing them with an ALO Studio Six & Audiophilleo, and ultimately moved on. A friend has just got the big reference Chord Monoblock amps. They look great......