MSB M500 Monoblocks

**Cincy2** · September 28, 2019, 07:24 AM

In all the 25+ years I've been involved in this hobby, I've had amplifiers designed by Dan D'Agostino exclusively except for one short flirtation with Halcro. There was always a meaty weight to the sound his products produced that appealed to me at an emotional level. When I demo'd the MSB Select II DAC and compared it to my beloved dCS stack, I was shocked by how much MSB had accomplished. After 10+ years with dCS, I traded their front end without a second thought. When MSB introduced new Monoblock amps, I had to take the chance that the same stellar engineering carried over to this product. Mike helped make this happen.

Up until this point in time, the D'Agostino M400's were the most liquid, quiet, detailed amplifiers I ever had in my system. If you want to enjoy this level of audio engineering, talk to Mike as I traded them as part of the deal. Did I make the right choice? It will take 4-6 weeks to find out. Tick, tick, tick.....

Eric

**XV-1** · September 28, 2019, 08:33 AM

Congrats

What is the cost of the MSB monos vs the M400's?

**Mike** · September 28, 2019, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

In all the 25+ years I've been involved in this hobby, I've had amplifiers designed by Dan D'Agostino exclusively except for one short flirtation with Halcro. There was always a meaty weight to the sound his products produced that appealed to me at an emotional level. When I demo'd the MSB Select II DAC and compared it to my beloved dCS stack, I was shocked by how much MSB had accomplished. After 10+ years with dCS, I traded their front end without a second thought. When MSB introduced new Monoblock amps, I had to take the chance that the same stellar engineering carried over to this product. Mike helped make this happen.

Up until this point in time, the D'Agostino M400's were the most liquid, quiet, detailed amplifiers I ever had in my system. If you want to enjoy this level of audio engineering, talk to Mike as I traded them as part of the deal. Did I make the right choice? It will take 4-6 weeks to find out. Tick, tick, tick.....

Eric

Congrats Eric. I absolutely love this amp. It has the house sound of the Select II. Just incredible. There will be no second guessing on this one.

MSB asked me for feedback yesterday, here’s what I wrote them:

“Thanks for letting us enjoy the S500 for the past week or so. We have had it running non-stop and tested it with the Discrete, Premier, Select II and an assortment of preamps. When combined with any MSB DAC, this amplifier is absolutely one of the best, if not the best, we have ever heard in the store - and we have some amazing amps here with Soulution, Gryphon, Constellation, etc.

The S500 sounds exactly like the Select II, incredibly natural and musical. The blackest backgrounds we have ever heard, combined with a full rich and never fatiguing sound. This amp is totally worth the asking price and when combined with an MSB DAC, a giant.”

**apdoc2004** · September 28, 2019, 11:06 AM

Mike,
What is the retail price of the MSB S500 stereo amp?
Thanks,
Anshul

**Mike** · September 28, 2019, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by apdoc2004

Mike,
What is the retail price of the MSB S500 stereo amp?
Thanks,
Anshul

$58,500.

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**UltraFast69** · September 28, 2019, 04:25 PM

Wow, that’s a change and believe the right choice given your DAC and Pre Combo.

I like the synergy of components made by the same manufacturer.

Look forward to hearing more about your new sound!

And someone will benefit having those M400’s, like you said they are no slouch!

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**Mr Peabody** · September 28, 2019, 04:26 PM

Nice, hope to hear the MSB set up someday

**mdp632** · September 28, 2019, 05:45 PM

Congrats on the amazing system. Even before the MSB amps :-)

I'm firm a believer in the system synergy point of view. At least to have the same pre+amp from the same manufacturer.

Although this hobby is so subjective that many will disagree but, having a system approach takes it the next level; especially with a top level manufacture/designer such as MSB and others.

**Alpinist** · September 29, 2019, 06:01 AM

Originally Posted by apdoc2004

Mike,
What is the retail price of the MSB S500 stereo amp?
Thanks,
Anshul

The MSRP of the M500 monoblocks that Eric is getting is $118,500. Congrats Eric!

Ken

**Cincy2** · December 11, 2019, 07:42 AM

The M500's are in the house. Getting some help from Mike this Friday to wrestle them into position and fire them up. More to follow with pics.

Eric

**joeinid** · December 11, 2019, 09:20 AM

Awesome!

Can’t wait for your updates!

**Mike** · December 11, 2019, 09:53 AM

Exciting!! Can’t wait.

**Elberoth** · December 11, 2019, 10:01 AM

Wow, congrates! I love my MSB M202 monoblocks. MSB is seriously underated as amplifier manufacturer. You can get the previous models like M202, 203, 204 or S200 stereo for a very reasonable money used and they still perform up with the best.

**Mike** · December 11, 2019, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Wow, congrates! I love my MSB M202 monoblocks. MSB is seriously underated as amplifier manufacturer. You can get the previous models like M202, 203, 204 or S200 stereo for a very reasonable money used and they still perform up with the best.

True, I do like how the new amps run a lot cooler. They won’t melt you out of the room. A necessary thing here in Florida.

**Elberoth** · December 11, 2019, 10:20 AM

That is the only downside to the old amps. They run very hot as they work in Class A (just like the big Pass monos or the Lamms 1.2R).

**Skanda** · December 11, 2019, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

In all the 25+ years I've been involved in this hobby, I've had amplifiers designed by Dan D'Agostino exclusively except for one short flirtation with Halcro. There was always a meaty weight to the sound his products produced that appealed to me at an emotional level. When I demo'd the MSB Select II DAC and compared it to my beloved dCS stack, I was shocked by how much MSB had accomplished. After 10+ years with dCS, I traded their front end without a second thought. When MSB introduced new Monoblock amps, I had to take the chance that the same stellar engineering carried over to this product. Mike helped make this happen.

Up until this point in time, the D'Agostino M400's were the most liquid, quiet, detailed amplifiers I ever had in my system. If you want to enjoy this level of audio engineering, talk to Mike as I traded them as part of the deal. Did I make the right choice? It will take 4-6 weeks to find out. Tick, tick, tick.....

Eric

Amazing, please share photos when you get a chance - those amps look beautiful as do the msb dacs.

BTW, just wanted to add that I read alot of your posts back in the day when i was vacillating on switching from raidho to magico. Your detailed posts on your journey really encouraged me to make the switch as well

**Cincy2** · December 11, 2019, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by Skanda

BTW, just wanted to add that I read alot of your posts back in the day when i was vacillating on switching from raidho to magico. Your detailed posts on your journey really encouraged me to make the switch as well

Glad that worked out for you. I haven't regretted the switch for a single second.

Eric

**Sean** · December 11, 2019, 01:40 PM

Eric, I bet you are super excited. Congrats on the sweet addition; I hope they’re everything you want!

I’m eager to see some pictures and to read your experience as you get these up and running.

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**walesi** · December 11, 2019, 05:23 PM

Eric, you’ve got my exact dream setup there. Congrats!

**Alpinist** · December 11, 2019, 07:29 PM

Congrats Eric on the M500’s! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Ken

**Ritmo** · December 12, 2019, 07:46 AM

Congratulations Eric! A full stack of MSB digital front end with their new amps driving the Magico M3s should be a delicious combination. Enjoy in good health.

**UltraFast69** · December 12, 2019, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Ritmo

Congratulations Eric! A full stack of MSB digital front end with their new amps driving the Magico M3s should be a delicious combination. Enjoy in good health.

+ 1

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**Cincy2** · December 13, 2019, 03:36 PM

Mike and Mike just left. Mission accomplished. We are burning them in for a day before any critical listening. If they sound half as good as they look I'll be very happy. Initial impression out of the box. Very very low noise floor. Percussion instruments incredibly snappy with a very quick attack. Cool running.

Eric

**Mike** · December 13, 2019, 03:38 PM

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**Kuoppis** · December 13, 2019, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

Mike and Mike just left. Mission accomplished. We are burning them in for a day before any critical listening. If they sound half as good as they look I'll be very happy. Initial impression out of the box. Very very low noise floor. Percussion instruments incredibly snappy with a very quick attack. Cool running.

Eric

Sweet setup, congrats. I do like their understated design.

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**Alpinist** · December 13, 2019, 04:05 PM

Eric,

Gorgeous looking amps. Amazing no holds barred system.

Congrats and Enjoy!
Ken

**MPW** · December 13, 2019, 04:35 PM

Absolutely state of the art system, setup, and room. Nicely done!

**Elberoth** · December 13, 2019, 04:47 PM

Wowzers!

**Ritmo** · December 13, 2019, 06:02 PM

Great looking world class system Eric!

Looking forward to your thoughts in a few days!

PS - Who’s the model guy posing in front of your system?

**UltraFast69** · December 14, 2019, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

Mike and Mike just left. Mission accomplished. We are burning them in for a day before any critical listening. If they sound half as good as they look I'll be very happy. Initial impression out of the box. Very very low noise floor. Percussion instruments incredibly snappy with a very quick attack. Cool running.

Eric

WOW!

This is an incredible setup, ENJOY in great health!

And shout out to Suncoast Mike and crew!

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**brodricj** · December 14, 2019, 02:49 AM

We go to so much effort with the racks and vibration isolation, yet those massive Q-sub drivers are pointed directly at the amps only 12" away. Hard to wrap my head around that juxtaposition.

**Mike** · December 14, 2019, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by brodricj

We go to so much effort with the racks and vibration isolation, yet those massive Q-sub drivers are pointed directly at the amps only 12" away. Hard to wrap my head around that juxtaposition.

The amps are far enough away and the subs are barely on idle.

**AJR** · December 14, 2019, 12:18 PM

Mike, I might have missed it, but how do they compare to Gryphon Mephisto?

**Jean Sibelius** · December 14, 2019, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

Great set-up and room. Enjoy the upcoming period.

**Dth31** · December 14, 2019, 01:02 PM

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. Would love those behemoths in my room. Jealous

**Darrel** · December 14, 2019, 01:59 PM

Truly beautiful setup. What is the room dimensions?

**Cincy2** · December 14, 2019, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Darrel

Truly beautiful setup. What is the room dimensions?

14' wide, 19' long and 10' high.

Eric

**hifinutt** · December 15, 2019, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Wow, congrates! I love my MSB M202 monoblocks. MSB is seriously underated as amplifier manufacturer. You can get the previous models like M202, 203, 204 or S200 stereo for a very reasonable money used and they still perform up with the best.

absolutely right , there are 2 very well priced msb amps on sale in uk at the moment . just sold my s200 sadly but hope to resume ownership one day

**Cincy2** · December 15, 2019, 04:01 PM

After about 48 hours of burn-in, I sat down for some critical listening this afternoon. A few caveats first. My baseline is the existing system with D'Agostino M400's. These were incredible amps that gave me a beautiful, lush, detailed presentation in combination with the other components in my system. I'm going to describe the differences I hear between that baseline and the system with the MSB mono's. There are so many variables (room dimensions, treatments, cables, speakers, front end etc.) it would be tough to draw any conclusions on what they would sound like in your set up.

Nonetheless, the MSB's are very special amplifiers. The initial impressions I had when I first turned them on have been confirmed and reinforced. The backgrounds are blacker than black. This has the effect of making every voice and image more pronounced. I also find that I can listen at a louder volume without fatigue. We set the gain on these to MAX for now and I will experiment by backing off as time goes on. Right now, the normal listening level as shown by the MSB volume level is the same as it was for the D"Ag's.

The second characteristic I noticed is low level detail. The background instruments deep in the soundstage or off to the right or left now have the texture and definition of the main images. Detail in general is off the charts even compared to the D'Ags. It is especially pronounced on percussion instruments. Piano notes have faster attacks. On xylophone, you can separate the thump the hammer makes on the key from the actual note. I have on file from a Chesky CD with a bluesman playing Bones. The sound of the woody impact is scary realistic.

The MSB's soundstage breadth and depth, bass definition (particularly on acoustic bass) and tonal accuracy all edge the D'Agostino's but not by much. Their accuracy and detail are what separate them by a wide margin.

The amps after running for two days are no hotter than the D'Ags were after running for an hour. The engineers at MSB did a great job of thermal management.

In sum, I'm very pleased with the purchase. My ears are no match for a professional reviewer or for many of you. I only know what I like when I hear it in my room, with the rest of my gear with my files. These amp I like. A lot. I've had Krell amps ever since the KSA-250 back in the 90's. Sad to say goodbye but the MSB's are the new stanadard for me.

Eric

**Kuoppis** · December 15, 2019, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

After about 48 hours of burn-in, I sat down for some critical listening this afternoon. A few caveats first. My baseline is the existing system with D'Agostino M400's. These were incredible amps that gave me a beautiful, lush, detailed presentation in combination with the other components in my system. I'm going to describe the differences I hear between that baseline and the system with the MSB mono's. There are so many variables (room dimensions, treatments, cables, speakers, front end etc.) it would be tough to draw any conclusions on what they would sound like in your set up.

Nonetheless, the MSB's are very special amplifiers. The initial impressions I had when I first turned them on have been confirmed and reinforced. The backgrounds are blacker than black. This has the effect of making every voice and image more pronounced. I also find that I can listen at a louder volume without fatigue. We set the gain on these to MAX for now and I will experiment by backing off as time goes on. Right now, the normal listening level as shown by the MSB volume level is the same as it was for the D"Ag's.

The second characteristic I noticed is low level detail. The background instruments deep in the soundstage or off to the right or left now have the texture and definition of the main images. Detail in general is off the charts even compared to the D'Ags. It is especially pronounced on percussion instruments. Piano notes have faster attacks. On xylophone, you can separate the thump the hammer makes on the key from the actual note. I have on file from a Chesky CD with a bluesman playing Bones. The sound of the woody impact is scary realistic.

The MSB's soundstage breadth and depth, bass definition (particularly on acoustic bass) and tonal accuracy all edge the D'Agostino's but not by much. Their accuracy and detail are what separate them by a wide margin.

The amps after running for two days are no hotter than the D'Ags were after running for an hour. The engineers at MSB did a great job of thermal management.

In sum, I'm very pleased with the purchase. My ears are no match for a professional reviewer or for many of you. I only know what I like when I hear it in my room, with the rest of my gear with my files. These amp I like. A lot. I've had Krell amps ever since the KSA-250 back in the 90's. Sad to say goodbye but the MSB's are the new stanadard for me.

Eric

Eric, you are too modest. You have a plethora of experience on very high level in high end audio. Therefore it is very interesting to read your thoughts.

What you describe related to increase of detail across the soundstage, sounds similar to my experience when switching to the Lansches.

I am intrigued by the MSB monos, and will try to hear them at High End next year in Munich. Happy for your positive experience with the purchase.

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**Cincy2** · December 21, 2019, 10:13 PM

After a week of burn in and at least an hour of critical listening each night, I think I have he measure of these amps. They do all the normal things exceedingly well as you would expect for a product in this price range. What they do better than any amp I've heard, has to do with how the sound is presented. Instruments such as piano, xylophone, drums, picked guitar, plucked bass, cymbals, anything with a percussive initial attack, EXPLODE out of the background with authority. The recording has to be good but if it is, the fast attack is truly remarkable and contributes to a level of enjoyment I have not experienced from any other variation of my system over the years. Synergy with the DAC and with the Magico tweeter contributes I'm sure but the level of speed and fidelity I'm hearing now was not present with my D'Ag's. Life is good!

Eric

**harri** · December 24, 2019, 07:57 PM

Can P20 handle those monoblocks and subs ? ( I am using P15, but I use Avantgardes and Ear 899 at the moment)

**Alpinist** · December 25, 2019, 05:07 AM

Originally Posted by harri

Can P20 handle those monoblocks and subs ? ( I am using P15, but I use Avantgardes and Ear 899 at the moment)

Excellent question. Eric, are the M500’s plugged into the P20 or directly into the wall outlet?

Thanks,
Ken

**Cincy2** · December 25, 2019, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by harri

Can P20 handle those monoblocks and subs ? ( I am using P15, but I use Avantgardes and Ear 899 at the moment)

My entire system is plugged into a P20 fed with a dedicated 20 amp circuit. The P20 is less than 50% loaded when the entire system including subs is running at my normal volume.

Eric

**Penthouse-D** · January 2, 2020, 07:57 PM

WOW! Absolutely beautiful. Congratulations. Listen in good health. I clearly made the incorrect career choice...

**kzhtoo** · January 2, 2020, 11:11 PM

Wow! Absolutely stunning system. How do you ever get other things done?

**Darryl R** · February 17, 2023, 09:39 PM

A new addition to the family. With special thanks to Mike and Eric for their recommendations. These amps are fabulous:

thumbnail_IMG_0572.jpg

**brodricj** · February 17, 2023, 09:41 PM

Eye candy. Nice color match with the Wilson's.

Thread: MSB M500 Monoblocks