MSB DAC IV or dCS Paganini

Hi Jackson,

Thanks for the detailed answers.

I agree with you in that I have since purchased the Data CD IV and have it paired with the new Signature Transport power base and also have the Diamond DAC IV with the optional clock module and Diamond power base. I am also using the Pro I2s interface to connect them together.

I also tried the Diamond Dac with its optional volume control and again I would agree with you that unless you have a very top end preamp, the volume control on the Diamond Dac is really, really good and hard to beat. For me it was a very pure sound without any colorations from a preamp.

Arnie

Hi Babybear,

I was curious how much more of a difference it made going from the Diamond base powering the Data CD IV to using the Signature Transport power supply. Night and day or just a little improvement. If anyone else has an opinion I'm all ears.

Hi John,

The Diamond base powering the CD IV uses a switching power supply for the transport (however the Diamond base uses a linear power supply for the DAC). The Signature Transport power supply is a linear power supply dedicated to the transport. Only you can decide if it is "night and day" but based on what I heard when I did the comparison in my system it was definitely a pretty significant improvement in sound quality.

Hope that helps.

perhaps, an aside, but a question nonetheless.

the issue is a comparison between two solid state dacs.

could someone explain how a ss dac can better a tube dac

with respect to the strengths of tube character. also, the facility to find the ideal tube is not possible with ss products.

my favorite tube digital components are the original zanden dac and the original 20 bit lector.

i'll admit that a well designed solid state product has its strong points, but there is something about the classic tube sound that cannot be replicated using a solid state device.

Thanks Babybear,

Sounds like a worthy upgrade.