CD III Details


	The heart of the CD III is the 2nd Generation Discrete MSB designed and built DACs. All other manufacturers use DAC chips by Crystal Semi or Burr Brown. MSB builds our own much higher performance DAC shown at left. Separate power supplies are provided for each digital section (right).
		High quality connectors are used on the back of the unit and all the digital inputs you could want are provided. Note both balanced and single ended outputs, and our unique analog pass-through feature. Below left, optional volume modules can be added that allow the CD III to also act as a very high-quality stepped attenuator preamp, both for the decoded signals as well as the analog pass-through. The front panel knob works as an input selector when the volume control option is not installed.

	The CD III remains modular, with both input and digital filter modules new since the CD II. These exciting modules add many new features and vastly improved sound. Note improved power supply filters at right are new on the CD III.

How is the new CD III 2 box solution different from the original CD III? The combination of the CDIII transport and DAC III operates exactly like the original integrated CD III player. In fact, they use the exact same circuit boards. The only difference is that they are packaged in 2 boxes instead of one, and the digital connection is outside the box instead if inside. The advantage of separate boxes is obvious. The DAC is further isolated from the digitally noisy transport. Over the years, the transport can be upgraded without having to even touch the DAC portion of the pair. The two boxes do cost more to produce, but we are happy to offer them at the same price as the one box CD player because of the advantages of being able to produce, test, stock, ship and service the two very different parts of the CD player separately. We hope you enjoy the added flexibility as well.
How is the CD III different from the CD II? The biggest change in the CD III is the CD drive itself. The caddy drive was replaced with a Philips drive. This drive reads all kinds of CDs and CDRs reliably. The CD III has a number of fundamental improvements in the mother board as well as some new features. The mother board includes a new balanced clock transmission that provides a more accurate clock to the various internal parts of the DAC. It also contains lower noise power supplies further improving our signal-to-noise ratio. On the back panel, a new clock interface has been added. This allows multiple DACs to be synchronized and other more advanced features. The modules have also seen development, with a new input module which accepts the new AES3 192 kHz digital format, and a new very advanced MSB designed DSP digital filter. Both of these new modules are available as upgrades to earlier Platinum models. Platinum IIIs include the 2nd Generation DAC modules which were introduced late in the Platinum II series and are a must for maximum performance.

CD III DetailsBack

CD III Details
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