Has anyone compared the MSB DAC's

I bought a dac iii (w/ upsample chip) and wasn't particularly blown away by it. Had a chance to hear the full nelson mod on someone else's and didn't think much of that. Sent mine to Andy Bartha for him to mod it and bought his power supply and his hotrodded dvd player for a transport. He uses the best parts available, Black gate caps etc ... Andy's also a great & easy guy to deal with; you can pretty much call and ask any electrical question and he knows the answer. Now the msb/pioneer combo is the best digital I've ever heard, even surpassing my Resolution audio cd55. Now all I have to do is figure out how to put a volume control on the msb.

I have listened to and done mods for Link DAC I, II and III's and the Gold Link DAC and have also listened using the upsampling upgrade. The Gold Link DAC is very similar to the regular Link DAC with the exception that it uses 4 distinct DAC chips rather than one and the power is filtered a bit better. There are a few other differences, but not nearly enough to justify the extra cost. I have found that the stock unit, even after being burned in properly - 200 hrs + - still does sound a bit forward and edgey...still it sounds remarkable for its price point. In my opinion, mods to the DAC make more of a difference than the upsampling or the upgraded PS alone. I have been doing extensive mods on the Link DAC's that REALLY elevate the performance a significant amount for only $200. For details about the mods I offer, go to www.themorgue.org/audio/msb-link and follow the links to the page. You will also find a lot of information and reviews of my work on www.audioasylum.com when doing a search of the archives under the "digital" or "tweakers" forums using my name "Dan W" and "MSB Link DAC mods". MSB offers similar mods to mine for a lot more money and with lesser quality parts. I use polystyrene caps, LT1364 op-amps, Caddock and Vishay resistors and completely overhaul the analog output stage of the DAC. I am currently working on a completely re-designed analog stage for the Link DAC using four single Burr Brown OP-amps, the OPA-627 - BB's very best and expensive at $14 per op-amp. I suspect that the price for this mod will be similar to the $200 price for my standard mod. If you haven't heard the Link DAC with mods, before you sell it, I would encourage you to research what others have said about the Link DAC after being modified. Take care, Dan W.

The MSB Link DAC III is good for what it does at $399. When compared the Link DAC III to other expensive DACs for example, Bel Canto DAC1 ($995), Odeon lite ($975),I found it is less smooth and rough sounding at the frequency extremes. It tends to sound forward and sterile compared to the CD players that I'm familiar with (Audio Analog, Primare,etc,) but then these players cost triple the Link DAC's price. You definitely want to get the Upsamplit Kit to improve the sound further.

Trelja: This doesn't quite relate to your question (sorry), but just thought I'd mention, I got the MSB Link DAC III (not full nelson) with Monolithic power supply last week, and have been burning it in. I have noticed zero difference compared to listing direct through my Pioneer DV-09 so far. You may remember I used a Bel Canto DAC1 before this, which in the end did make a diference (subtly more polite and less edgey but also less exciting), but still the difference was not necessarily an improvement. I'm getting the upsampling kit for the DAC III this week, so that may make a difference, but overall I'm disappointed, and may consider selling the DAC pretty soon. I'm thinking I'm devote my future upgrade dollars to the amps and speakers area - at least till SACD or DVD-A gets traction. Incidentally I did hear from another audiogon post that a dealer had mentioned that the Full Nelson upgrade was not worth it, and that one couldn't any differenc the Full Nelson upgrade made - that's why I didn't consider the upgrade - its expensive too. Whaterver you decide, good luck with your choice!