MSB vs dCS Bartok

I went from a Naim 555 CDP to the NDS, although I kept the 555 CDP.  I actually preferred the sound of the CDP to the NDS server (CDs ripped to WAV).  I currently run the 555 server, which sounds better than the NDS.  The 555 server has a warmer, more analogue sound without a loss of micro-dynamics.

Interesting thread. Looking at  Nyquist mk2,  Bartok and MSB Discrete with ProUSB and built in extra PSU.  Have heard Nyquist MK1 and loved it but wasn’t listening to buy. Liked Bartok a ton too, but again a long time ago. Loved the Select when I heard it , but again never heard the MSB. Sucks as. I can’t audition like I’m used to. 

the extra power supply for the discrete is really mandatory in my opinion. Any component in the chain, always always opt for the one that has the best power supply implementation. And this case if the Discrete, just assume you need both out of the gate regardless of budget, find the money and get it. 

A decision to purchase a DAC at this price range requires research, many conversations, auditions, and more auditions.  I auditioned several DAC ‘s and decided, for me, I liked the sound of the MSB Premier ladder R2R DAC and the supporting implementation.   Yes, I made mistakes during the way but learned valuable lessons.  I wanted a USA company that supported their products with excellent customer support.  

I own the MSB Premier DAC, Premier Powerbase and Femto 93 clock and like it very much. The addition of this DAC substantially improved my audio system sound quality.  The Premier has four prime R2R DAC’s, 2 per side, a separate power supply and many other features. The Premier Powerbase offers two dual-link power connectors, supplying four isolated power supplies.  “MSB brochure say they use no off-the-shelf DAC chips, but instead makes their own converters.  Each of the four Prime DACs at the heart of the Premier is a fully balanced, discrete, ladder DAC.   MSB’s ladder DACs use precision-reconfigurable networks of resistors and switches to precisely convert your digital files into music”.

The MSB DAC connects to my Aurender N20 server using the Femto 93 clock to control the data transfer.  I use the Analysis Plus Digital Crystal cable for the word transfer, so my DAC controls the data transfer from my Aurender Music Server.  This word transfer from the DAC to my Aurender improves the sound quality.  

I also experimented with an USB and AES/EBU connections for 2 weeks.  After lots of switching back and forth, I prefer the AES/EBU connection.  This is the only option on my MSB DAC.  MSB offers several other options that you need to review and discuss with your retailer.  

The addition of the MSB Premier DAC substantially improved the sound quality of my audio system.  To my ears, everything sounds truly outstanding.  The music is clearer, less dark, better bass and sounds more like music.   I hope this helps.  

I’m about to have a home audition of an msb reference dac in my system driving a pair of ATC active scm300’s. This ref dac has the passive volume control, not the digital one.  Currently the ATCs are driven by a Tidal Audio Preos preamp/dac (ladder) directly. So I’ll be able to easily compare the msb direct into the ATC’s against via the preamp of the Preos. Source is a Melco N10 driving the coax input of the Preos via a Mutec usb/coax converter since the Preos has no usb input, only coax for digital. I’ll comment on the results once I’ve had the MSB in place for a few days. But I’ll tell you something, the MSB will have to pull something special out of the bag to better the Preos! Watch this space.