Msb dacs why not alot of postings

I don't know about being the best perhaps one of the most expensive.

I had one for about a decade.  It was a wonderful sounding unit and it only cost $7k after all the upgrades.  Now their pricing is much, much higher.  They probably still sound wonderful, I imagine.

@hilde45 yes you could get the Chord, Mytek, Benchmark, Bricasti, and maybe another ALL for the price of one top tier MSB. Will the MSB be that much better? Maybe but probably just different.

Because they are expensive. At least that’s the perception. It is also very exclusive brand, with extremely strict control on dealers to avoid discounting and territorial restrictions.

Having said this, the Discrete DAC is relatively affordable starting right below $10K. Once you add one of the modules, and the second power supply, you are at around $13,000. This is the DAC I have, with the ProISL ProUSB module combo and the optional second power supply, and I am extremely happy with it. If I ever had the cash to upgrade, it will certainly be the Premier. But unfortunately prices double from one model to the next. Then once you add the upgrade clocks, powerbase, then....

Anyways, if you can find something in Used market (current model that is), grab it! Truly SOTA, and definitely endgame territory for most.

i am now of the belief that in the last couple years the outboard DAC offerings have advanced substantially in terms of trickle-down performance benefits into lower cost units

this really shifts the point of diminishing returns / value curve to the benefit of more affordable units

like everything else in hifi (turntables, cartridges, amps, speakers...), more expensive is often still better, but just as often, it is just different, or only ever so slightly better, however better may be defined

just soooo many truly excellent dacs that are hard to better in the $1000-1500 range now - those who have any interest in value for money would be best served to put $$ into other parts of the chain over this price tier of DACs imho