Select 2 DAC vs dCS Vivaldi

Cincy2

Cincy2

Active member
Joined
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326
Location
Tampa FL
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Thanks to Mike at Suncoast Audio, I've had the pleasure of auditioning an MSB Select II DAC in my music room yesterday and today. Going into this, I had a deep prejudice for dCS gear. I've owned versions of their transport, DAC, upsampler and clock since 2003. I made several upgrades and was totally satisfied with the output they were sending to my amps....until now.

Before I talk about sound, I want to mention how easy this equipment is to set up. Basically one box with two power supplies. It took me five times longer to disconnect the clock cables, AES cables, USB, power cords etc. from my existing Aurender / dCS front end than it did to connect up the MSB and get music. Cat 5 into the renderer module, power cord to each of two power supplies and my two balanced outputs to the D'Ag mono's. Can anything that easy actual make good sound. In a word YES.

I read all the reviews and the threads here on the MSB but I think one thing that is missing is praise for their analogue output module. To my ears it is in the same class as any reference pre-amp I have used in the past 20 years. It gave an authority and body to the music missing heretofore. I ran my dCS stack without a pre amp also but compared to the MSB output now after comparing the two, it was pretty lean. I could never have reached this conclusion without the ability to hear both the dCS and MSB the same day. Great job MSB.

Now for the actual MSB DAC. More. That is all I can say. There was more detail, more space, more shimmer, more pinpoint location. The noise level must be lower because I could play louder without discomfort. Background details came alive with a delicacy and sweetness the dCS never delivered (even though I could have lived with it for the rest of my life - Thanks Mike). :)

This was also my first experience with Roon. Very easy to use. I love the little blurbs they give you on each album. Fun to read. Navigation is easy and I was able to do everything I needed to do without looking at the user manual (what self respecting man would anyway?)

Bottom line. The MSB Select DAC is an engineering tour de force. User replaceable modules so you don't buy anything you don't need. Easy set up. BIG display easy on old eyes. Pristine sound with guts when you need it.

One minor nit. The flight cases don't have handles or wheels. Probably because anyone who actually buys one of these will never need to use them again.
 
Congratulations! That’s quite an endorsement. Enjoy it in great health.
 
Cincy2 said:
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Thanks to Mike at Suncoast Audio, I've had the pleasure of auditioning an MSB Select II DAC in my music room yesterday and today. Going into this, I had a deep prejudice for dCS gear. I've owned versions of their transport, DAC, upsampler and clock since 2003. I made several upgrades and was totally satisfied with the output they were sending to my amps....until now.

Before I talk about sound, I want to mention how easy this equipment is to set up. Basically one box with two power supplies. It took me five times longer to disconnect the clock cables, AES cables, USB, power cords etc. from my existing Aurender / dCS front end than it did to connect up the MSB and get music. Cat 5 into the renderer module, power cord to each of two power supplies and my two balanced outputs to the D'Ag mono's. Can anything that easy actual make good sound. In a word YES.

I read all the reviews and the threads here on the MSB but I think one thing that is missing is praise for their analogue output module. To my ears it is in the same class as any reference pre-amp I have used in the past 20 years. It gave an authority and body to the music missing heretofore. I ran my dCS stack without a pre amp also but compared to the MSB output now after comparing the two, it was pretty lean. I could never have reached this conclusion without the ability to hear both the dCS and MSB the same day. Great job MSB.

Now for the actual MSB DAC. More. That is all I can say. There was more detail, more space, more shimmer, more pinpoint location. The noise level must be lower because I could play louder without discomfort. Background details came alive with a delicacy and sweetness the dCS never delivered (even though I could have lived with it for the rest of my life - Thanks Mike). :)

This was also my first experience with Roon. Very easy to use. I love the little blurbs they give you on each album. Fun to read. Navigation is easy and I was able to do everything I needed to do without looking at the user manual (what self respecting man would anyway?)

Bottom line. The MSB Select DAC is an engineering tour de force. User replaceable modules so you don't buy anything you don't need. Easy set up. BIG display easy on old eyes. Pristine sound with guts when you need it.

One minor nit. The flight cases don't have handles or wheels. Probably because anyone who actually buys one of these will never need to use them again.
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I will be honest I never get into the dCS vs. MSB comparison thing because they are both great products and both have their fans. Having said that, I am a HUGE MSB fan, voted with my $$ and got a Select II (have tried the Analog, owned the IV and V) and was very skeptical when I heard about their pre stage replacing my amazing REF10 preamp. When I got the Select II, I just played it through the REF10 and I kept telling Vince, yeah I will try it don't worry. Finally tried it after two weeks and it was over. The REF10 was put in the box and sold.

My most recent revelation with the Select II was the renderer versus their USB input. Once I put the Gobel Ethernet cable in, it was over for me. Just amazing.

You bring up a great point about the dCS. With all the additional boxes, you are also talking about alot more money on plugs, cables, etc.

In any case, your impressions mirror mine BUT to each his own.
 
Cincy2 said:
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Thanks to Mike at Suncoast Audio, I've had the pleasure of auditioning an MSB Select II DAC in my music room yesterday and today. Going into this, I had a deep prejudice for dCS gear. I've owned versions of their transport, DAC, upsampler and clock since 2003. I made several upgrades and was totally satisfied with the output they were sending to my amps....until now.

Before I talk about sound, I want to mention how easy this equipment is to set up. Basically one box with two power supplies. It took me five times longer to disconnect the clock cables, AES cables, USB, power cords etc. from my existing Aurender / dCS front end than it did to connect up the MSB and get music. Cat 5 into the renderer module, power cord to each of two power supplies and my two balanced outputs to the D'Ag mono's. Can anything that easy actual make good sound. In a word YES.

I read all the reviews and the threads here on the MSB but I think one thing that is missing is praise for their analogue output module. To my ears it is in the same class as any reference pre-amp I have used in the past 20 years. It gave an authority and body to the music missing heretofore. I ran my dCS stack without a pre amp also but compared to the MSB output now after comparing the two, it was pretty lean. I could never have reached this conclusion without the ability to hear both the dCS and MSB the same day. Great job MSB.

Now for the actual MSB DAC. More. That is all I can say. There was more detail, more space, more shimmer, more pinpoint location. The noise level must be lower because I could play louder without discomfort. Background details came alive with a delicacy and sweetness the dCS never delivered (even though I could have lived with it for the rest of my life - Thanks Mike). :)

This was also my first experience with Roon. Very easy to use. I love the little blurbs they give you on each album. Fun to read. Navigation is easy and I was able to do everything I needed to do without looking at the user manual (what self respecting man would anyway?)

Bottom line. The MSB Select DAC is an engineering tour de force. User replaceable modules so you don't buy anything you don't need. Easy set up. BIG display easy on old eyes. Pristine sound with guts when you need it.

One minor nit. The flight cases don't have handles or wheels. Probably because anyone who actually buys one of these will never need to use them again.
Click to expand...

Many thanks for sharing your impressions. Can you please clarify which version of Vivaldi were you using 1 or 2? Also, which cables were you using to connect the Vivaldi components? Thanks
 
ashandger said:
Many thanks for sharing your impressions. Can you please clarify which version of Vivaldi were you using 1 or 2? Also, which cables were you using to connect the Vivaldi components? Thanks
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I have a Vivaldi 1.5 :-). I have not performed the software upgrades for DAC but I did get the network hardware / software upgrade for the upsampler. All connections were made with Transparent Reference or better cables.

Eric
 
Kudos Cincy2 for a clear opinion. I can only second it, and I voted with my wallet having heard both systems.
Another great contribution at AudioShark - what a great community!
 
Cincy2 said:
I have a Vivaldi 1.5 :-). I have not performed the software upgrades for DAC but I did get the network hardware / software upgrade for the upsampler. All connections were made with Transparent Reference or better cables.

Eric
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Many thanks for the feedback
 
Cincy2, if you ever do a listening session here in Tampa let me know. Would love to hear that system, looks amazing.
 
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