I have auditioned (in my system) both dCS and MSB. Out of the two, I would choose ... Berkeley Alpha DAC and Alpha USB. To my ears, it represents the biggest bang for the buck. AnalogDAC would be my second choice.
I use an Antelope Zodiac Gold DAC for this very same purpose. I was able to directly compare it to a well-regarded Weiss DAC (FireWire attatched), and I think that the Antelope sounded better. Plus, the Antelope supports almost any I/O option (except FireWire) and supports up to 384 kHz files, both in and out. It's a great product that doesn't receive enough mention, IMO.
Elberoth, if money was not a factor would you still pick the BADA over the MSB analog DAC?
AFAIK both DACs cost the same - BADA $4990 + $1890, AnalogDAC - $7k.
But yeah, even if the BADA was more expensive @ say 8k or 9k, I would still pick BADA, as it has better resolution, soundstaging, and also sounds smoother, more liquid.
I have only auditioned those DACs via USB input - no idea how they would compare via SPIDIF inputs.
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