msb Ilink vs. wadia 170i ipd docks

Usarmyvet,

Am I correct that MSB can't modify the iTouch? I think it's too thin too put their DSP in but I am not sure. Just wondering if you knew.

Justin

They only modify the ipod classic, i called them and ask if they could modify my ipod touch to work with my msb ililnk.

I spoke with Wadia today to get their side of the story.

First let's clear up some misconceptions:

1. The Wadia re-clocks all signals before digital output.
2. The Wadia is not just a bunch of wires inside. It actually has 2 very large circuit boards inside. The reason they used such large boards was to isolate the video, digital, and analog sections from one another to prevent any leakage.
3. The difference between the MSB and the Wadia is that the Wadia let's the Apple chip convert part of the apple loss-less data into a format that a DAC can understand(no dac would understand the apple lossless signal. The Wadia finishes the process. MSB does the whole process thru it's DSP.
4.The engineer at Wadia laughed when I told him how much jitter they claimed the Wadia is producing. I will have the exact specs in a couple of days of what the actual amount of jitter the Wadia is producing but it is no where near 10,000ps which is = to 10ns of jitter.

It's only fair that we get the correct information to members of audiogon so that they can make an informed decision.

I am in no way putting down MSB. They make a great product. I just don't like propaganda. People shouldn't be lazy. Call companies and find out both sides of the story. Most companies appreciate people who take interest in their products and are glad to give out information.

Nrostov i agree, i would like to know what the exact amount of jitter the wadia i170 produces. My question is why didn't the wadia engineer give you the jitter levels of the wadia i170 then? you would think he knows. I called msb and they told me the msb ilink has 7ps of jitter.

Hi Usarmyvet,

What's your real name? Mine is Justin. Just like to be more personal.

Okay, the reason the engineer didn't give me the amount is because he was not the one who designed the 170i. That guy was out of the office yesterday. I am hoping to know by today.

I too spoke with MSB and got the same info about the msb. They also gave me misinformation about the Wadia. I don't blame them it's just part of the business. My experience has been that almost everyone fudges their numbers. I am going to take what Wadia tells me with a grain of salt. The same goes for MSB.

At the end of the day all you can trust is your ears. You like the MSB better and I like the Wadia. Who is right? Both of us. People like different sounds. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many audio companies.