MSB Platinum IV dac demo with and without the galaxy clock

[JohnThomas]

Ok the MSB is breaking in nicely (Platinum dac iv, Platinum cd iv, galaxy clock and Signature power base). Right now it's hook up to the Luxman 590 AX amplifier portion only with the Marten Django speakers. Each unit arrives covered in nice canvas bag. Each units weight is substantial, holding it in your hand makes you think there's some serious artillery under the hood. The stacking feature is a big plus for clean simplicity look. I'm wondering if I would even need to put Symposium roller blocks with the superballs under the whole unit since it has its on suspension system. First thing I did was unscrew the 14 screws on the Platinum dac and remove the galaxy clock that plugs snuggly into the dac and is held in place with one screw. It sure is impressive looking under the hood. I had a few snags in the setup process. First I had on the brain that the separate button on the Luxman disengage the amp from the preamp and I would be ready to use the volume control on the MSB. That was not the case. I had to remove the balance cables and use single ended cables into the Main in of the Luxman to the dac. Second snag was Pure music wasn't recognizing the MSB. I called Vince at MSB and he ask me what USB cable I was using. I told him Audioquest Diamond. He said that to use a cheap printer USB cable because the MSB doesn't recognize the expensive USB's because of all the cable companies fulling with the insides of the USB . I'm thinking he's full of it. So I then try a Synergistic USB cable and still no connection. Then I tried a printer USB printer cable and bam Pure Music recognizes the MSB. I then replaced the printer cable with the Diamond USB cable and we were up and running. My game plan is to listen to the MSB with its volume control and compare the cd player to the mac min then after a couple of days put in the galaxy clock and evaluate the dac again. First impression is the sound is totally different then to all the dacs I've heard before the list isn't long and I don't want to get into this one is better than that one. Right now I've been using Karen Souza "Essentials"and Andre Bocelli "Amore" cds as my reference points. The dac is not fast or slow sounding it just sounds right.There is not one ounce of sibilance in the treble and the bass has more punch to it then I had before. As of right now the two cd's seem to play a little bit louder than the mac mini (1 db) as well as I'm hearing a lot more information. The cd sounds about 5% to 10% better so far but was told once the clock comes into play the percentages go up. That's it for now.

[joeinid]

Thanks John!

Very interesting so far. Sounds like it could be the keeper.

[bart]

Thanks John!
Looking forward to your further impressions.

[Audio 1]

I really like the low profile stacking design of the MSB products.
Looking forward to your further evaluation

[JohnThomas]

Originally Posted by Audio 1

I really like the low profile stacking design of the MSB products.
Looking forward to your further evaluation

I like the stack effect also. Ok I switched up the cds playing The Fairfield Four and James Blunt right now. The cds sound better than the mac mini I say more like 20% better but it probably would be higher with a top notch system( whatever that is). Still going back and forth between the cd and the mini. Overall the sound has a lot more resolution but it still posses those analog qualities. Vince from MSB is sending me out a Diamond cable to hook the power supply to the dac. He say it makes a big improvement and is better than their stock cord. What else is he going to say. This cable comes automatically with the power base if you get the Diamond power supply. Ok it's 24 hours in the house and I'm getting the itch to throw in the galaxy clock. Ok just about getting close to some rock and roll cds

[Ritmo]

Very nice John. Like the look a lot. Keep us posted.

Mike

[bzr]

Nice to read your thoughts John. Having the MSB gear in my system is something that I can honestly say is most enjoyable. I now just sit & listen more, much more.That could be a marketing slogan for Vince, "It just sounds right"

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by bzr

Nice to read your thoughts John. Having the MSB gear in my system is something that I can honestly say is most enjoyable. I now just sit & listen more, much more.That could be a marketing slogan for Vince, "It just sounds right"

That's already taken .... by Conrad Johnson

[bzr]

Who.....? Thought it had familiarity.

[joeinid]