Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

i never claimed i’ve directly compared these products. who gets a chance to do that? have you done that? not sure i want to go back and forth with a dealer in any case. i’ve heard the MP and Dv but not necessarily the most recent versions.

i have heard enough of the considered state of digital art that i do have a feel for what is out there, and do think (as i said....just my 2 cents, YMMV and all that stuff) that the MSB Select II is on another level to my ears. and i’m not alone with that conclusion. what i do directly compare the Select II to is my vinyl and RTR tape, as well as other recent digital units in my system. and I spent over 2 years and multiple audio shows listening to the MSB Select II in those shows and then trying to find a less expensive alternative that could do what it did. I could not, so I pulled the trigger.

i’m just a guy with an opinion. and a system context all can see where it’s formed.

i don’t care what Matt ends up with (i’m not a dealer), but if he is getting into $100k list price range digital investments, then the MSB becomes an alternative he should consider. Matt has also asked me multiple times about an in home demo of the Select II, so it's not like i'm crashing the party here.

any of your customers use this between the PS Audio Directstream DAC and the PS Memory Player transport? Good results?

Most that have PSAudio DS are using HDMI I2S from my Off-Ramp 5.  They can also use my Interchange Ethernet renderer.  Same outputs.

If you wanted to try the Synchro-Mesh using my coax cable, it would likely outperform even the I2S, but this depends on the S/PDIF path inside the DAC.  The signal will have lower jitter, but the path may make it a lot worse.   30-day money-back if you want to try it.

I may do a Synchro-Mesh in the future with I2S on HDMI, but other things are more important now.

I can tell you without hesitation that the Interchange with HDMI I2S to your DAC will be hands-down the best solution, best SQ.  It blows-away any USB, even my own.   It's identical to the Off-Ramp on the webpage, but has Ethernet input instead of USB.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

I'm assuming that I'll be using both in/outputs on the SM going into my Marantz Digital in/outputs?

Transport output connects to the Synchro-Mesh input

Synchro-Mesh output connects to DAC input

Steve N.

Empirical Audio