2023 DAC comparison: MSB Select vs dCS Vivaldi Apex vs Wadax Atlantis Reference

compares are not trivial to do. to start out you need a system sufficiently sorted out to give you good feedback, and maybe some analog references in the system for context. then you need a very trusting dealer, or dealers, to loan the gear. helps if you already own one of the products, so you only need to acquire one other product.

in the case of dacs and servers, you need the ideal server for each dac, fully optimized, or you won’t get a true result.

it is a lot of work. if.....you desire a reliable result.

which is why you rarely see properly executed direct compares, even by reviewers, for dacs and servers at the tip top of the food chain.

i did do a direct compare in my system, with my own MSB Select II using the Taiko Extreme server, compared to a loaned the Wadax Reference dac and Reference Server. at the end i did buy the Wadax combo, and sell the MSB and Taiko Extreme.

i did a through job and had plenty of analog references on hand for checking things. i also had multiple other listeners participate in various stages of the compare. i compared the Wadax dac and the MSB dac both using the Taiko Extreme server. then compared the MSB and Extreme to the Wadax dac and server. then i compared the MSB dac to the Wadax dac both using USB into the Wadax server. then the MSB dac on the USB into the Wadax server compared to the Wadax dac into the Wadax server with the Akasa optical interface.

left no stone unturned. if i was going to go big $$$’s for the Wadax i needed to know the score.

and the MSB had been in my system for 4 years and was fully optimized, the Wadax was the new kid and not optimized, until some months after the compare was long over.

read about it here. 1010 posts. the first 20 pages (of 51) are about the compare, the rest is about my optimizing the Wadax over a number of months after i owned it.

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/wadax-reference-dac-and-server-arrive.34173/

others have done more casual compares with Wadax combo to the MSB and other dacs including the dCS Vivaldi Apex with similar but not as clear cut results.

and know that the MSB now has a new piece, the MSB Digital Director, which likely does for the MSB what Apex did for the dCS. and you have Intona, and Lampi Horizon, and Merging Technologies NADAC to consider. and maybe some others.

i’ve heard them all as stand alone products and my 2 cents is that none of those does what i hear the Wadax combo does, but this is just my casual opinion.

all these products are worthy, and will do a fine job of making great music. no losers here. for myself, i wanted digital that can look my very excellent vinyl and tape in the eye and be fully satisfied in that realm. now 15 months later, i’m very happy with the Wadax. it's 60-70% of my listening even with 3 great turntables and 2 great tape decks.

YMMV. good luck.

FYI: the wadax combo along with some $150k reference loudspeakers were in one of the worst sounding rooms at last years Axpona according to multiple reviewers/sources.
In the past, years ago, I preferred other dacs to the at the time best dac MSB offered for quite a bit less money.

@p05129

as i mentioned above, it’s not trivial to do a proper compare, and it starts with a sorted out room. when i go into a room at an audio show and don’t care for the sound i don’t associate the gear with that perception other than the most slight data point. maybe it’s a Friday and i return on Sunday.

I would never use the faulty usb protocol into a dac. Every review I have read and in my own experience, usb sounds worse than i2s or Ethernet.

of course, those who pay attention would know the Wadax does not use the USB interface, it uses the Akasa optical interface. it can use USB, but it’s not ideal.

OTOH i happen to strongly disagree with your USB comments relative to my time with the MSB Select II. early on i was using the MSB Ethernet interface, the Renderer v2, then i tried the MSB Pro USB interface and that was clearly better. it’s a mistake to generalize about digital interfaces. it’s all about execution. and a moving target.

now with the Digital Director, MSB might have a different ideal interface. don't know about it.

and reviewers rarely have state of the art servers for the dacs they review. so i would be careful what you read. better to investigate for yourself at the top level. maybe at more modest level gear USB is less effective than Ethernet. that might be true, but i don’t personally know about it. again, it’s about execution more than dogma.

thanks for posting that, @shkong78

Fred Crowder is a very credible listener. and a good guy. not had the dCS Vivaldi Apex in my room for a direct compare, but agree with Fred about the Wadax. for 18 months i've been saying it resembles good vinyl/analog. it's special.