MSB Discrete DAC - USB module settings for MQA on Roon

Audio Gear Talk
43

Oooh, very nice! Impressions, sound wise?

Love the curly ambrosia maple slab for your rack!

44

Thanks!

Rack is air dried maple wood from Mapleshade.

I am digging the sound of the ProISL. Especially the midrange timbre. It sounds so natural and has a certain ā€œthickness ā€œ I like

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45

Hi guys, sorry I am re-opening an old thread but this is a perfect place for me to ask my question as you guys have the exact same stuff.

I just got a MSB analog DAC with only one input and its the Quadrate USB. It does not have MQA. My source is an Antipodes Ex. (I am still trying to decide if I should use this Ex as both renderer and core or use my Intel NUC as my core and EX as just a renderer.)

Right now connecting the Antipodes Ex to the MSB analog dac using curious USB cable. Want to get the MQA option and here are my questions:

  1. If I get the Quad MQA USB, is it the same as the Quadrate USB with just MQA decoding present or is the USB itself upgraded? I just dont want to duplicate my existing input.

  2. If I get the network MQA, will it be superior to the MQA option presented by the Quad USB?

Any thoughts on the spdif input at all?

@grossmsj @Tony_Devitt @thyname thanks guys.

46

Welcome to MSB!

Sorry, I am not familiar with your Analog DAC (previous generation), but does it allow for the ProISL USB module / ProUSB combo?

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47

No unfortunately it does not allow the ProUSB module (per Jonathan). My options are

  1. Quadrate USB (which I already have)
  2. MQA USB
  3. Network option.

If I choose the network option, would it be better to use the Ex as the core and the network on the MSB as the renderer?

48

You probably will need to try for yourself. When I bought my Discrete DAC, dealer let me have the ProUSB module and the Renderer module. I preferred the ProUSB, so that what I kept.

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49

I have The Analog DAC. Iā€™ve gone through three input module changes. I originally had the ā€˜regularā€™ USB input module, and after a few years got the Quad USB. I felt that was a noticeable improvement in sound. Not earth-shattering, but enough to be happy with the purchase.
About a year ago I got the V.2 Network input with MQA. On balance, Iā€™m not really unhappy with that purchase, but Iā€™m not happy about it either. Sound-wise, the difference is very subtle. Its one of those changes that you might notice, but you wonā€™t remember it by the time you switch to the Quad USB, and vice versa. There may be a difference, but it isnā€™t as big, Iā€™d say, as upgrading from the USB to the Quad USB. As far as MQA, my opinion is there is no important difference between MQA and the same master feeding 24-bit. Maybe, just maybe, there are somewhat better cues to space in MQA vs 24-bit, but I donā€™t think I could pick them out blind. Pretty sure about that.
The reason Iā€™m not exactly unhappy is the following. First, I got the front end out of the room so I now just have the MSB DAC and its power supply, my Pass XA100.5 monoblocks, and the Rockport Atrias in the room. Very nice, clean look. This purchase also let me understand MQA is not a game-changer, and I can ignore USB cables. In fact, Iā€™m ā€˜curedā€™ of the whole cable chase on the digital side as Iā€™ve now heard there is just nothing there in my system. A pretty weird reason to not be upset about a $2,000 ā€˜washā€™ in sound quality, but there it is.
I wonā€™t generalize to what others might hear in other systems, but with MSB the digital processing is just so superb you arenā€™t covering up, or making up for issues further up to the source. Iā€™ve never found upsampling, or DSD conversion to give better sound than what MSB gives on its own. Itā€™s what you are paying for with MSB equipment I suppose.

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50

Choose the network option and use the MSB as renderer. Much better than any USB connection and the renderer uses the clock from your DAC.

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51

@Lorenzo_Mutti does the analog dac have a femto clock? Couldnt find that info anywhere.

52

Yes, the Analog DAC has a femto clock. I think itā€™s a 140 and not upgradeable.

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53

One other thing that come to mind as I was listening to music tonight:. Adding the Network Render V.2 allows you to control The Analog DACā€™s volume directly. Its just as though you were using the regular MSB remote. The ability to communicate via Ethernet with RoonServer and Roon Ready capabilities gives you much more direct control of the DAC.

54

Hi, I have the Discreet MSB DAC with an EX. I cannot comment on network vs USB for the Analog DAC but on the Discreet (like Thyname) I prefer the ISL (USB -> optical) vs ethernet.

On your question regarding how to use the EX: this is something that I am also curious about but I have not managed to find time to check so far. I use the EX as both server and renderer.

From one review of the Discreet DAC (i think it was on ā€œtheEarā€ā€¦) the reviewer claimed a significant difference when inserting a dedicated renderer between server and the DAC.

If you experiment with using it as just renderer please share your results.