Bones13
Active member
Nice upgrade. My Premier+DD not going anywhere, anytime soon. Please let us know how much of an upgrade it is.
New MSB DAC
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
- Thread Author
- #22
Back to MSB.Very nice! Were is your current MSB Premier + Digital Director going?
crwilli
Well-known member
MSB has one of, if not the best, trade-in programs in this hobby.Very nice! Were is your current MSB Premier + Digital Director going?
crwilli
Well-known member
Darrel
Active member
It should be an amazing addition to your listening. Congratulations.
u-sound
Well-known member
!!!!!!
seems to be an absolutely amazing product
- Thread Author
- #28
Congrats! So awesome. Looking forward to your impressions.
SCAudiophile
Active member
Congratulations Craig!
crwilli
Well-known member
Thanks Mike. I am loving it. The Palisade is already presenting substantially more spatial and low-level information than the Premier/DD. I am not sure what more I can hear from it.
The little things I heard from time to time that caught my ear - bloat in mid bass, overhang in deep bass notes, a cymbal not quite there, etc are gone.
The sound of my room now is just SO right and SORTED and CALM. It is shaping up to be one of the most consequential additions I have made to my room.
That is awesome Craig! Very happy for you.
Dizzie
Well-known member
I do not see the Palisade on the website.
Darrel
Active member
Dizzie
Well-known member
I was looking on the websites list of DACs. Apparently the Palisade has not made it there yet.
crwilli
Well-known member
Correct. It’s not on the Product page under DACs but it is on the Customer Support page. I am sure they will address that soon.
crwilli
Well-known member
MSB Palisade: 100 hours in
My Palisade has now been powered for about 100 hours, with the last 72 continuous. I’ve had a few interruptions because I live in lightning-prone South Carolina and I’m quick to unplug things when storms are coming.
For context, my system is an Antipodes Kala K50, Block Audio monoblocks and line stage, Kharma DB-11S speakers, and JL Audio F113v2 subs. I use Wireworld, Tubulus, and Shunyata cabling, along with Shunyata power and grounding equipment. The system is primarily digital, but I also have a Clearaudio Performance SE turntable with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge, which I use for pure fun.
Before the Palisade, I had an MSB Premier with the matching Digital Director. Before that, I used a Bricasti M21.
One thing I keep coming back to is noise. You don’t always know what you’re hearing until it’s gone. Your system can sound great, and then you make a change that seems to remove something you hadn’t realized was there. You sit back and think, How is that possible? How can it be better?
That was my experience when I added the Shunyata CGS and SGS grounding boxes. The improvement was night and day. Moving from the Bricasti M21 to the MSB Premier and Digital Director was another clear step forward. Each time, I would have bet that I was already getting everything my system could give me. Each time, I was wrong.
With the Palisade, I suspect there’s more going on than noise reduction alone. The system sounds more coherent, sorted, clear, clean, and deep. The improvement reminds me of the changes I heard when I moved from my Infinity Betas to Sonus faber Strads, and then to the Kharmas. Changing speakers can make a huge difference. Adding the Palisade has felt comparable. Everything seems better.
A recent example: Bruckner’s Seventh with Celibidache and the Munich Philharmonic. The flutes and piccolos sound so pure and lifelike. The orchestra almost “looks” like an orchestra, with its layers defined and resolved even when the full ensemble is playing. At about 12:40 in Part 1, the horns—or maybe trumpets—step forward with much of the orchestra, and it’s glorious. The sound is big, but still fully resolved.
I’ll keep listening and researching what might be behind the improvement. My guess is that it involves some combination of reduced noise, improved timing or lower jitter, and the Digital Director’s BTM technology. I can’t say how much each factor contributes, but the result in my system is unmistakable.
The Palisade is one of the most consequential additions I’ve made to my system and room.
Why the Palisade fit my system
I’m not 100% digital, and I need to integrate my subs. My Block Audio line stage has an excellent built-in phono preamp and a pair of XLR outputs that let me use the subs. I made a conscious decision to buy the Palisade rather than a Cascade because it fit my system and how I use it. The Block Audio line stage is first-rate, and its phono preamp is a big part of that.
If you have a great Line stage, the Palisade is a great choice and a savings from the Cascade
Further thoughts:
I’ve spent some time listening to the Palisade across classical, jazz and rock, and the thing that continues to impress me most is the size and uniformity of the soundstage. It extends well beyond the speakers and deep behind them, but still feels completely cohesive—not artificially stretched. Instruments occupy clearly defined places within that space and sometimes seem to pop out of the background.
On the Fournier Dvořák and Elgar cello concertos, I could really see into the orchestra. The cello was front and center, with the horns farther back, and the shifts between soft and loud passages were very apparent. Fournier’s cello sounded crystal clear and remarkably lifelike, although his performance felt more articulated and less fluid than the du Pré recordings I know.
With Charlie Haden and Antonio Forcione’s Heartplay, “Anna” sounded beautifully balanced. The double bass was full, rounded, tight and highly articulate, with less room overhang than I remember from the Premier. The guitar sounded detailed but completely natural, and I could clearly hear the resonance of its body. Each instrument occupied its own space without interfering with the other. The entire album felt like a warm blanket—very relaxed and easy to listen to.
Tool’s “Chocolate Chip Trip” was probably the most spectacular demonstration. It was the best I have heard that track sound in my room. I could hear and almost see every drum and tom being struck in a different location—left, right, high, low and even behind me. The surround-like effect from two speakers was remarkable and almost dizzying.
On the SHM-XRCD of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, the bass line on the opening track sounded just right. The horn was forward, the piano was slightly right of center, and the hi-hat appeared higher and farther back on the left. Halfway through the track, I realized my toes were tapping.
So far, the Palisade’s added resolution does not come across as etched or analytical. Tone is natural, bass is controlled, highs and lows are equally well defined, and nothing seems out of place. Compared with the Premier and Digital Director, the presentation is larger, clearer and more spatially precise—but also impressively balanced and musically engaging.
My Palisade has now been powered for about 100 hours, with the last 72 continuous. I’ve had a few interruptions because I live in lightning-prone South Carolina and I’m quick to unplug things when storms are coming.
For context, my system is an Antipodes Kala K50, Block Audio monoblocks and line stage, Kharma DB-11S speakers, and JL Audio F113v2 subs. I use Wireworld, Tubulus, and Shunyata cabling, along with Shunyata power and grounding equipment. The system is primarily digital, but I also have a Clearaudio Performance SE turntable with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge, which I use for pure fun.
Before the Palisade, I had an MSB Premier with the matching Digital Director. Before that, I used a Bricasti M21.
One thing I keep coming back to is noise. You don’t always know what you’re hearing until it’s gone. Your system can sound great, and then you make a change that seems to remove something you hadn’t realized was there. You sit back and think, How is that possible? How can it be better?
That was my experience when I added the Shunyata CGS and SGS grounding boxes. The improvement was night and day. Moving from the Bricasti M21 to the MSB Premier and Digital Director was another clear step forward. Each time, I would have bet that I was already getting everything my system could give me. Each time, I was wrong.
With the Palisade, I suspect there’s more going on than noise reduction alone. The system sounds more coherent, sorted, clear, clean, and deep. The improvement reminds me of the changes I heard when I moved from my Infinity Betas to Sonus faber Strads, and then to the Kharmas. Changing speakers can make a huge difference. Adding the Palisade has felt comparable. Everything seems better.
A recent example: Bruckner’s Seventh with Celibidache and the Munich Philharmonic. The flutes and piccolos sound so pure and lifelike. The orchestra almost “looks” like an orchestra, with its layers defined and resolved even when the full ensemble is playing. At about 12:40 in Part 1, the horns—or maybe trumpets—step forward with much of the orchestra, and it’s glorious. The sound is big, but still fully resolved.
I’ll keep listening and researching what might be behind the improvement. My guess is that it involves some combination of reduced noise, improved timing or lower jitter, and the Digital Director’s BTM technology. I can’t say how much each factor contributes, but the result in my system is unmistakable.
The Palisade is one of the most consequential additions I’ve made to my system and room.
Why the Palisade fit my system
I’m not 100% digital, and I need to integrate my subs. My Block Audio line stage has an excellent built-in phono preamp and a pair of XLR outputs that let me use the subs. I made a conscious decision to buy the Palisade rather than a Cascade because it fit my system and how I use it. The Block Audio line stage is first-rate, and its phono preamp is a big part of that.
If you have a great Line stage, the Palisade is a great choice and a savings from the Cascade
Further thoughts:
I’ve spent some time listening to the Palisade across classical, jazz and rock, and the thing that continues to impress me most is the size and uniformity of the soundstage. It extends well beyond the speakers and deep behind them, but still feels completely cohesive—not artificially stretched. Instruments occupy clearly defined places within that space and sometimes seem to pop out of the background.
On the Fournier Dvořák and Elgar cello concertos, I could really see into the orchestra. The cello was front and center, with the horns farther back, and the shifts between soft and loud passages were very apparent. Fournier’s cello sounded crystal clear and remarkably lifelike, although his performance felt more articulated and less fluid than the du Pré recordings I know.
With Charlie Haden and Antonio Forcione’s Heartplay, “Anna” sounded beautifully balanced. The double bass was full, rounded, tight and highly articulate, with less room overhang than I remember from the Premier. The guitar sounded detailed but completely natural, and I could clearly hear the resonance of its body. Each instrument occupied its own space without interfering with the other. The entire album felt like a warm blanket—very relaxed and easy to listen to.
Tool’s “Chocolate Chip Trip” was probably the most spectacular demonstration. It was the best I have heard that track sound in my room. I could hear and almost see every drum and tom being struck in a different location—left, right, high, low and even behind me. The surround-like effect from two speakers was remarkable and almost dizzying.
On the SHM-XRCD of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, the bass line on the opening track sounded just right. The horn was forward, the piano was slightly right of center, and the hi-hat appeared higher and farther back on the left. Halfway through the track, I realized my toes were tapping.
So far, the Palisade’s added resolution does not come across as etched or analytical. Tone is natural, bass is controlled, highs and lows are equally well defined, and nothing seems out of place. Compared with the Premier and Digital Director, the presentation is larger, clearer and more spatially precise—but also impressively balanced and musically engaging.
Darrel
Active member
Great to read about the improvements you are hearing in your system with the MSB Palisade DAC. I've been watching many of the MSB Youtube videos on their product, setup and upgrades (info to follow later). One point I noticed was the Femto clocks actually improve over time. Thanks for posting your early impressions.
crwilli
Well-known member
Yes, crazy to think it may improve over the YEARS!