Product Review - Platinum DAC (and upgrades)
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MSB iLink Music Server Review
MSB's iLink system will change the way you think about the iPod, forever.

Published in Hi-Fi Choice, August 2009.


See the full review 
here. 

Amazed that no one has written any type of a review of the Link Dac III for
years, not to mention a later date review of the extraordinary version,
"Nelson," I will attempt to give input to the present day (circa 2009) usage of
a Link Dac III with the Upsampling board installed. 

The Link Dac III replaced a Link Dac I (which is still in use in another part of
my system); I use a separate power supply for each unit. I bought the Link Dac
III with the upsampling board from a friend who happens to be an incredible
audio engineer/repair technician. From my standpoint, this unit functions with
the utmost simplicity toward reproducing "honest" sound quality from a
recording. More or less, I have utilized the Link Dac III to decode the coaxial
signal from a Tascam recorder transport into an NAD T773 analog input, which has
adjustable gain up to + 12 db in analog format; this has allowed me to truly
hear the recording being made of my phonograph records (played on a Linn LP12
Valhalla, KAB Electroacoustics Technics 1200 MK V or Maplenoll Cleo), as well as
truly hearing other media formats that have been recorded to CD (often, I use
the Tascam recorder as a transport to play CD discs).

I find, still, the Link DAC III with upsampling to be one of the most enjoyable
pieces of equipment I have ever owned. Music is represented with good tonal
balance, especially bass, and soundstage never changes ---- even over the time
the unit has been used ----- the depth of image remains incredible.

Having reviewed the latest version of the MSB Technologies website, I've noticed
the higher priced components "taking over" the more affordable ones; This is
inevitable, after my comparing the affordable components to the top of the line
Link DAC Platinum ----- "You can see God through that unit." In these troubled
times of recession of economy, only the very wealthy can afford to "dabble" into
the MSB territory;this brings me to my point.

For any of you who haven't experienced the Link DAC III with upsampling (or the
Nelson), you will be amazed at the tonality of this DAC compared to the one
installed in your favorite disc changer, receiver,  single CD player or CD
recorder. For the kind of money MSB is asking for this unit, buy one if you can
hear a soundstage and can distinguish timbre in music. The Link DAC III is
honest. The Link DAC III with upsampling is amazing; for the price, there is no
other DAC on the market that will touch it.

I'm done now. 

Stanley R. Stephens, MEd. Early Childhood Education

the review was made by Riccardo Mozzi for the magazine Fedeltà del Suono n.
154, October 2008.

Please find the highlights in English, translated by Luca at MondoAudio:

"... the performance is absolutely stunning. This DAC approach the Music
better than other products recently appeared in my listening room"

"...the soundstage is proposed in an extraordinary way: all the players stay
in the right place, very stables, correctly defined and placed in a board
completely released from the speakers. (...) is quite its uncommon deep that
amazes, with the soundstage width that definitely exceeds the speakers
width. (...) there is more air around the players, and it's more clear than
my reference (...) The music genres that have great breath is correctly
reproduced with proper reverberation time (...) all is reproduced in the
right way that you don't need to point out some other characteristics like
dynamics, contrast and speed."

"... without any doubts the Platinum DAC III deserves a commercial success
due to its highest qualities: to buy and to hold for a long time."

I have been an audiophile since 1976. I later became a collector of vintage high end audio equipment. In 
the 30 years I can honestley say that until I installed the CD station III with signature DACs I never herd 
just how good CDs and all this equipment really is. I have since sold my entire album collection of over 
3000 albums and now strictley listen to CDs only. We all know how hard it is to become completely 
content with our systems. We also know that if the source is not RIGHT we cannot make fair judgement on 
any componet in our system and will never experience that feeling of contentment. SIMPLY PUT THE MSB 
PLATINUM CD STATION III HAS PUT EVERYTHING IN A NEW LIGHT AND IN MY OPINION IS THE FINEST 
SOURCE AVALIBLE TODAY BAR NONE AT ANY COST!!!
Glenn Pazian

Ever since the Platinum DAC got volume control it has replaced my preamp.

As Einstein supposedly remarked: "Keep everything as simple as possible, and as
complex as needed".
I agree wholeheartedly. Sound in digital form (ie numbers) has to be brought
along from a storage medium, be it CD or PC or you name it, to the DAC (Digital
to Analog Converter), where it's converted to the voltage that eventually moves
your speaker membranes.

This has to be done errorfree, but today's technology is quite capable of
producing stored numbers correctly - otherwise you'd had little chance running
your computer software reliably, which consists of numbers that have to be correct!

The DAC is the crucial point where one can spoil efficiently the reconstruction
of the original music signal. Remember: The stored numbers of a sine wave are
just points taken EXACTLY on the sine wave, at certain intervals.

Interlude:
Here you see btw, that when generating these numbers from the microphone voltage
when recording it's essential to have the very best ADC  - otherwise even the ultimate DAC  will
regenerate perfectly only the wrong voltages corresponding to the inaccurate
numbers ... Hence a new CD made with state-of-the-art ADCs and professional
master tapes will probably sound much more like the original music than old DDD
recordings (done with ADCs of earlier less accurate technology).

So let's assume the stored numbers on a CD DO represent faithfully the music
signal, because a perfect ADC process generated them;  let's assume furthermore
the numbers have been brought without error to the DAC's input - then the DAC's
task of "repainting" the sine wave or the music signal in general can be tackled.

Think of a picture of a sinewave with some dots on the curve - these are the
points represented by the stored numbers. If these points are inaccurate, say
moved to the right or left from where they should be (that means jitter in the
DAC clock) then you get an indented sinewave - bad! Distortion (graphically and
audibly) results. Or the points may be perfect in horizontal position, but
slightly off vertically - again distortion, this time caused by a DAC that is
not outputting the correct voltage.

So: what you want is a DAC that runs off a perfect stable clock (NOT from the
usual CD laser pickup derived clock, that jitters as a result of the principally
analogue laser working ? NOT from an inherently jittery SAT radio signal) that
instantly generates perfectly correct voltages... Then your reconstructed dots
lie exactly where they should be on the music signal curve - and that means: the
original audio signal can be truthfully restored from the stored numbers.

That is exactly where the folks of MSB technology layed their focus on. They
designed a DAC that cares utmostly about these requirements... and little
wonder, listening to the sound from a Platinum Signature DAC to a
state-of-the-art amplifier with neutral speakers (you might want to try LINN
320A active speakers or LINN Solo amps with KOMRI speakers) will just make you
smile...

Sure, people have listening habits, and that's just fine, and in High End Audio
there is a range of possibilities for personal preferences; but if you are just
into faithful reproduction of music (which may sadly often sound as bad as it
was recorded!), then you will educate your ear to like the music as it was
originally produced.

If you do this, you'll end up treasuring a Platinum Signature DAC. 

Sure, you'll notice all those horrible recordings that float around; 
but you'll start to enjoy the craftsmanship of true audio recording engineers
that produced wonderful honest recordings. Thanks to the MSB people I for my
part can enjoy a live concert recording easily at home. I just can't go to every
good concert in persona!

	After listening to my Platinum DAC III for 2 months now I can say with 
certainty that it is the most well balanced digital source I have ever had in 
my system. Each listening session is a treat as I constantly rediscover the 
musical depth of my favorite musical performances. From the vast dynamics of 
the 1812 Overture to the intimateness of a lone female vocalist I can find no 
area where the Platinum does not reproduce the music with a dynamic ease and 
precision I have only heard from master analog tape before.
Deciding on the right digital source to replace my venerable Rega Jupiter was 
no easy task, but  when my friend went on an extended business trip and loaned 
me his DCS Elgar / Percell / Verdi I knew that its days were numbered. The 
analog presentation of the DCS connected directly to my Pass Labs X150 was 
tight and dynamic in a way my Jupiter and passive preamp never were. The $33k 
for that system was a bit beyond my budget however.
	I was a bit apprehensive when I first unpacked my new Platinum, could a 
$6K DAC added to a used CEC TL51 ever come close to the DCS gear that I was 
spoiled by for the two previous weeks? The first recording I played through my 
new digital front end astounded me. Patricia Barbers Companion presented me 
with a deep holographic soundstage and effortless detail I have never heard 
from that recording before. After only a few hours I had strewn the top of my 
system with stacks of my favorite recordings.
	After extensive listening I find that the most decisive trait of the 
Platinum is its honesty. Well recorded performances are dynamic, clear, precise 
and well paced in the same way that original master recordings are, and digital 
playback seldom is. The Platinum does not save those few poor recordings I have 
however. It does not add the warmth that a tube preamp will to a sterile 
recording or cure the headache of a compressed one, it is simply a transparent 
window faithfully reproducing the original performance. 

"If there is a digital converter that can convince a die hard vinylphile that 
digital has at last arrived, this is the machine "

"The Platinum lacks the standard digital byproducts that have become a staple 
of  "digital sound" and by disposing of those artifacts has ended up sounding 
more analog-like than many turntables people listen to" 

It's a holistic view to music reproduction that works particularly well when 
the component is as accurate and naturally revealing as this machine is.

the MSB (Platinum) is superbly equipped to render and reveal the organic and 
humanistic aspects of a performance

When you hear a vocal through the MSB (Platinum) and it seems all big, vivid 
and surrounded by flesh, you realize the incredible resolution that this unit 
packs.

Conclusions 
If it seems that I've been damning the MSB Platinum Link Plus with faint 
praise, that was not my intent. The Platinum Plus is a superbly satisfying DAC 
that improved the sound of every player I tried with it. The exception was the 
Meridian Reference 800 DVD-Audio player, but even then, the MSB provided an 
alternative but not inferior sound. The Platinum Link Plus distinguished 
itself from the less-espensive, similarly priced MSB Link III and the Musical 
Fidelity A324 by its more open and transparent midrange, supported by its 
full, secure bass. The Platinum Plus's treble, which is somewhat manipulable 
with the filter and (perhaps) some other settings, was smooth and forgiving, 
and probably its most defining characteristic. 

MSB Platinum DAC: Manufacturer's Comment 

Editor: We at MSB Technology have been producing DACs for over 15 years, and 
frankly were disappointed at the lack of attention paid to the totally unique 
character of this DAC. This is the first DAC produced by MSB that is an 
original discrete design. This means that it does not use any commercial DAC 
chip internally. We designed and produced a novel DAC design with discrete 
parts, whose performance is unlike any DAC ever measured or listened to by 
Stereophile. 

Many years ago, all DACs were ladder DACs. Then came a new design: the single-
bit DAC. Stereophile took care to explain the theory and character of single-
bit DACs, describing both strengths and weaknesses. Virtually every DAC review 
since then has been of a single-bit design. Now a unique discrete R2R ladder 
DAC by MSB lands in their lab after two very successful years in production, 
and the review gives no indication that they even popped the cover. During his 
testing, John Atkinson very smartly spotted that something was very surprising 
in this DAC's output, but did not dig in and let you, the reader, know what 
was going on in this unique DAC. I hope a Follow-Up review of our new Platinum 
DAC II preamp, just released at CES, will involve a much deeper evaluation. 

One of the most surprising aspects of our DAC design is the absence of an 
analog low-pass filter on the output. John spotted this and included several 
excellent waveforms showing the output with upsampling on and off. What would 
an analog low-pass filter do with the MSB DAC besides give you a smooth 
waveform to look at with your oscilloscope? 

On the positive side, analog low-pass filters reduce the amount of very-high-
frequency content present in the DAC output. Although most of this content is 
eliminated by filtering in the amplifier, some may pass through to the 
speakers. The speakers are completely indifferent to any content at such a 
high frequency. We filter most DACs because some poor-quality amplifiers may 
alias some of the high-frequency content back into the audio range. Although 
this is a very rare occurrence that we have never seen in 10 years of 
producing DACs without output filters, it is possible, so the mass-producers 
of DAC chips always specify a low-pass filter. 

On the negative side, low-pass filters create phase shifts and distortion as 
they introduce imperfect devices, such as inductors or capacitors, into the 
analog signal path. Phase errors do not show up in the sinewave output but are 
readily heard by listening. 

We at MSB feel this is just one of many contrarian design concepts which we 
support that are little understood or appreciated by the majority of the 
audiophile community. 

Another even more significant issue that was totally overlooked by Stereophile 
in this review was the MSB Network, designed to be the primary interconnection 
between the transport and DAC. The MSB Network is a high-speed connection in 
which the bit clock, word clock, and data are sent separately to the DAC (just 
like the I2S format promoted by Audio Alchemy, but a 24-bit/192kHz format 
version). Can you imagine the pre-home-theater Stereophile reviewing the 
latest Audio Alchemy DAC without even trying the I2S input? We at MSB do all 
of our critical listening and evaluation with the MSB Network. Sonically, it 
is much superior to S/PDIF, and inherent in its design is its great reduction 
of the jitter produced in the transport. 

The MSB Network can be added to virtually any digital device, including CD 
players old or new, DVD players, and computer soundboards, for only $595. Had 
we been asked, we would have gladly supplied a transport to Stereophile, or 
upgraded a CD transport of their choice. We also hope that a Follow-Up review 
of the Platinum DAC II can be arranged soon that will include the MSB Network 
in the reviewer's favorite transport. Only then can the true capability of the 
Platinum be heard. 

In conclusion, although the review was positive, we certainly believe that 
Stereophile readers have not been adequately informed about a new and 
impressive set of technologies being provided to the market by MSB. We hope 
these critical words will give no offense personally to the excellent 
reviewers involved, but will push Stereophile management to invest more time 
and resources in understanding, explaining, and interpreting new technologies.?
The MSB Team 

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