MSB select II vs all dacs ?

@mikelavigne  What DACs that were much cheaper than the Select 2 have ever grabbed your attention? Say something under $20k.

What DACs that were much cheaper than the Select 2 have even grabbed your attention? Say something under $20k?

i’m not sure i’m the right guy to answer that question, as it’s been a couple of years since i was really paying attention in that dac market segment. i certainly liked the Lampi GG, the GG1.5 and the Pacific (just a bit over $20k) plus certainly the Aqua Formula too.

there are a number of competent dacs in that $10k to $25k range and i can’t say any stand out......but i’ve not deep dived into them since i went with the MSB Select II.

right now other than the 7-box CH Precision and the NADAC i mention above the other dacs i’ve liked alot are the MSB Reference ($40k+) and the Trinity Dac ($50k+) which i owned in 2016. i’ve heard and liked the Aries Cerat Kassandra II at RMAF, which i think is around $40k, and there are 2 steps up above that version for up to $84k i’ve not heard.

i hope that helps. i’m sort of caught up in optimizing my Select II with my new Extreme server and listening to lots of music.

smodtactical,

I've had the Rockna Wavedream Edition,  not the Signature in my system.  My wife and I preferred the Chord Dave DAC and decided to keep it. Initially the Rockna Wavedream Edition appeared to have more detail, but lacked the open soundstage of the Dave. After comparing the two for several days it was apparent that in my system the Dave was more natural,  with details,  but the detail wasn't forward sounding.  Based on my conversation with a fellow audiophile,  the Rockna Wavedream Signature is on amother level, providing more detail, but retaining an overall forward sound. I decided not to pursue the Rockna Wavedream Signature. 

@ricred1  Would be interesting to compare it to the signature. Are you going to get mscaler? Im guessing comparing the signature to select 2 is a little silly probably.

@mikelavigne  What does the rest of your system look like if I may ?

smodtactical,

I tried the mscaler in my system and prefer the Dave by itself. There is something that sounds unnatural, not right to my ears when I inserted the mscaler. I went from a PS Audio Directstream DAC to Brcasti M1 to Jeff Rowland Aeris to the Dave. In addition, I've listened to Esoteric, Rockna, and the Mscaler in my system. Unless I come into a lot of money the Dave is my DAC of choice.