Day Of Listening

Listening
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I’ve just had some guests over to listen to my newly upgraded system. A bunch of things were replaced with an MSB Cascade DAC/preamp, MSB M500 amps, and Magico M6 speakers.

The day started at 1:00PM and ended at 10:00PM. I started things off with a playlist of things to highlight the new system. Some streaming that used the Cascade and some vinyl that used the wonderful capabilities of the Cascade analog inputs.

The playlist:

Janis Joplin, Me and Bobby Magee, Analog Productions Vinyl

Kristin Edkins, Sweet Pickles, Cohearent Records Vinyl

Tom Paxton, Rambln’ Boy, Streamed

Led Zeppelin, Whole Lotta Love, Remix, Streamed

Sonny Rollins, Old Cowhand, Analog Productions Vinyl

Gustov Mahler Symphony No. 5, 1st Movement, James Levine, Streamed

Then to go from a really big group to a really small one

Janis Joplin, Mercedes Benz, Analog Productions Vinyl

Jenniffer Warnes, Next We Take Manhattan, Impex Records, Vinyl

Chopin, Rubinstein, Piano Convertpo No. 2, 3rd Movement, RCA Living Stereo (a 1962 Record)

Then we switched to everyone picking what wanted from Roon (Qobuz and Tidal).

Along the way we took break for dinner and came back to continue our random walk through Roon.

Everyone was agog at what they were hearing. Many, “I’ve listened to that song a bunch of times and never heard that!” exclamations happened. Everyone loved what they heard.

I’m not sure how much each part of the upgrade I did added to what people heard. But I knew that after I added the Cascade to my system I had to upgrade my amplifier and speakers to be able to take advantage of everything the Cascade had to offer.

It was a wonderful day and everyone had a great time. Cascade+M500+M6 = Yum!!!

Dan

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Thx for the info about the great day.

I only need to find a way to become owner of that dac it is the best in the World in my eyes :heart:

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That’s a great system Dan, congratulations! What speaker cables do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?

I also note that MSB themselves often demos its gear at audio shows with Magico speakers.

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I’m using AudioQuest Dragon speaker cables. The ones I have at the moment are on loan from my dealer and are about 4 m long, way more than what I need. I have some 2 m ones on the way and they should be here in the next few days. In theory, they could be shorter, but Dragon cables are quite thick and didn’t want to run into a routing issue if I decided to move my speakers to different positions. I don’t think AudioQuest will make them in a length less then 1.5 m, just because there are so hard to flex.

Dan

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Nice.

I have one AudioQuest power cable in my system, powering my Rossini.

I looked at them for speaker cables but, without any testing, bought some used Transparent XLs because the price was right…

That’s another thing I love about the MSB ecosystem: It comes with its own proprietary cabling. I much prefer that to going out to the after market.

Similarly, the manual of my Boulder amp instructs me not to change the included power cord : )

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I didn’t see anything in the M500 user manual that said you must use the included power cable.

Right not I have a Clarus Crimson power cable but I will probably replace that with an AudioQuest.

I haven’t decided which one. It’s a very short run from the M500 to the AudioQuest Niagra, so it probably doesn’t matter which I choose. The included IEC cable would probably be just fine, but I don’t to leave any stone unturned in isolating the system from noise.

Dan

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Dan, I guess I’ll be the one to ask this question, but did you have the opportunity to compare the same recording on the Cascade to the same recording on an audiophile vinyl pressing? If so, would love to hear your audience’s impressions.

Thx,
Blake

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Sorry if I wasn’t clear Dan. The Boulder comes with this instruction:

“Your 2160 Stereo Power Amplifier is supplied with a mains power
cable suitable for the location where it was purchased. It is constructed of
large enough wire gauge and a plug appropriate your AC line voltage. Do
not substitute another power cable.”

To my knowledge the M500 does not come with similar instruction. I was referring to the MSB DAC components/cabling.

Best,
R

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There was one track that we listened to in streamed and vinyl when we were just rambling through Roon… and I can’t remember what it was. The vinyl was a new audiophile recording, very quiet, and one person noted that the vinyl seemed warmer. I had my phono preamp running in tube mode and the speculation was that was why.

However we were just having a good time listening. We weren’t doing critical listening.

But it’s hard to compare a stream to vinyl because the path to get to the final product is different for each. When you get down to the fine details you are comparing apples and oranges… at least if you are trying to make a decision about dumping your turntable into the trash bin. :grin: (I’m not).

Before I had the Cascade people would often say about my system that they “liked” the vinyl better than streams… not direct comparison, just in general. And I would have to say that I “liked” the vinyl better, in general and so did I. I don’t know why this is and it was only a slight difference that couldn’t be described. And before I had the Cascade my system was very, very good and everyone who came to listen to it couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

Since I’ve had the Cascade (and a bunch of other stuff) no-one has mentioned that they “liked” the vinyl better. I agree, but I’ve only had the system in its current configuration for a very short time.

Overall I’m ecstatic about the changes to my system.

Dan

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Your system looks amazing. Truly world class. At some point, if and when I have a listening room with fewer space and aesthetic constraints, I’d love to take a no holds barred approach to electronic and speaker curation. Something to look forward to whether it happens or not :wink:

Re vinyl, I enjoy listening to a great pressing but the overhead of doing it increasingly stands in the way. And accordingly, the ROI nowadays (for me) isn’t what it used to be as digital has gotten much better. That said, with a hefty investment in analog equipment and records, it’s hard to get excited about unloading it for cents on the dollar, and at least for me, I keep it around to complete my system. Analogous to the sports car in the garage that never gets used :joy:.

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If the listening on my Cascade based system going forward continues as it has started I will restrict my vinyl purchases to only those that are not available in digital form.

Dan

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I Think i sell my turntable for me it dont make Sense to have both

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Hi Dan,

Do you happen know the height of the Cascade stack if you subtract the height of the bottom chassis footers?

Much appreciated,
Blake

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I get about 190 mm.

Dan

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Thanks Dan. Sounds like the bottom chassis footers about about an inch of height.

Appreciate you taking this measurement for me.

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Yes, that’s correct.

Dan

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Thanks for sharing this @Dan ! As one of the designers and being wholly focused on manufacturing the equipment, you can’t know how it lifts our spirits to hear such feedback. A positive reminder of why we do what we do. We do it, because it can bring music to people in a way they have never experienced it before. Thanks for sharing with us and sharing with your friends! Alright, feeling inspired, now to get back to work on the Sentinel DAC :clap:

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Thanks Daniel,

The wonderful experience I got from putting the Cascade into my system is why I choose the M500s as my replacement amplifiers. My trust and confidence in the MSB design and manufacturing teams was totally justified!

Dan

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