Thanks Dan.
Maybe you can try the ProUSB connection with the N20 so that we are comparing equally with the Nucleus Titan ProUSB interface?
I think the ProUSB interface is something special. I have been using the ProUSB-ISL interface with an Intel NUC-11 installed with Roon Rock core server/player - first with Premier DAC, then Reference DAC, and now the Cascade DAC. When i was having the Reference DAC, I have compared the the NUC11 Roon Rock Server/Streamer with a few high end servers costing as much as $15K to $30K via the ProUSB-ISL interface at different times. I was suprised that there was only very small or no improvement in sound quality while using the ProUSB-ISL interface during each of the comparison. I was doubting my hearing abilities, so I performed different A/B/A blind tests with an experience high end audio friend. On the first blind test, he wrongly identified the server playing even after swapping between A/B/A servers a few times. On other blind tests at different occasions, the friend sometimes identified the correct server playing. That is 50-50 chances of being correct! 
One can draw many conclusions on what the ProUSB module is doing correctly with the raw USB data before sending the relocked, synchronised data via a fiber optic cable to the DAC.
I have not done any servers comparison with the Cascade yet!
I agree that using ProISL/USB is pretty amazing.
One of the things that the high digital servers try to do is isolate their digital output from the rest of their electronics. But its had to reproduce the isolation you get from just a few feet of glass fiber.
After my brief comparisons of using a high end digital server/streamers to ProISL/USB I’m pretty much done spending any more time doing that. Nucleus+Fiber+Cascade seems to be unbeatable to me.
Dan
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Interesting observations that make me wonder how greater will be a direct ProISL connection from server/streamers to MSB DACs, like Taiko, Antipodes, Innuos that are working on it.
With ProUSB/ProISL I guess the kind of USB cable used can still play a roll, in future a direct ISL connection will eliminate the USB external module and cable, simplifying the path in the chain and hopefully improving SQ furthermore.
Can’t wait.
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Pink faun will soon have something ready
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Well done, Jord!
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Can’t wait to hear it!
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Hi Dan,
I apologize for not thanking you for your in-depth sonic comparison of the N20 to the Titan/Pro USB combination (overlooked your response while traveling). It’s so hard to get reliable feedback from the forums re the benefit of high end music servers when used with SOTA digital equipment that extensively isolate and reclock. This hobby was already ridiculously expensive prior to the emergence of Aurender, Taiko, etc. It’s nice to hear that in the case of the Cascade, the “need” of such servers may not be necessary.
Best,
Blake
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Hi Blake,
No problem at all… I sometimes get busy with things other than HiFi too. 
I glad I was to be able to provide a data point.
Dan
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Late to the party on this one, just my 2c:
MSB’s brilliant choice to isolate the network interface via Pro USB, and power interface, via the separate power base and cord, is IMHO the best DAC architecture in the market.
Re: DSD512, as one can see in the notes on NativeDSD, there is virtually zero content recorded at this resolution. As such, it makes little sense to download/buy it. However, there is lots of great content recorded natively at DSD256, which the MSB DACs all play.
Just asking the obvious:
If the digital director isolates the digital input, and passes it on to the DAC via a noise-free connection, i.e., ProUSB, how would it be technically possible that any sonic signature from a server be retained through the output analog stage of the DAC?
This I think still happens in the digital domain. Even if the correct bits are delivered to the MSB DAC, how they are and/or how correctly they are delivered will still have sonic effects. You are correct in that much of our technologies are to help downplay the differences in servers so that you can simply choose the one you want to use and not have to choose based on sonic performance.
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With the isolation provided by fiber optic does this eliminate the need or benefit of chassis grounding to the Director ?
I’d like to understand this technically.
If I have two bit perfect 44.1kHz files, one stored on Roon, and one stored on Aurender, and both are connected to a Digital Director via ProUSB, and both are then processes/upsampled in the DD, and then passed to the Cascade DAC via the Cascade Link, what possible sonic artifacts from a music server could still be present/audible in the analog output stage of the DAC?
What “imprint” from a music server could possibly be retained through these four steps of the MSB signal path: optical transport, DD processing, optical transport, D2A conversion?
@rkaudio , well, I will do my best! The Pro USB receives a data stream from both sources that can vary. This is done through the USB driver/interface of the source. The data delivery format can vary and the quality can be an unknown factor. Ideally, everything arrives perfectly and is unpacked, buffered, and deliver over the Pro ISL to the DD. But since this is reality, there are often errors and other issues that can carry further down the line. This is one of the reason most server companies tout developing their own drivers… to hopefully handle better data delivery. Everything has an easier time of it down the line, if the source is at its best. If there are any errors in this stage, they will easily carry down the line into the analog domain.
That being said, with the Pro USB, Director and a good source, you should expect a very level playing field. One of the reasons we really like the network renderer in the DD, is how it helps eliminate some of the communication issues with computers and USB drivers. Hope that helps!
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We absolutely want isolation between the DD and the Analog converter. That being said, if you can improve the performance of the DD independently, we will encourage that ground treatment. But, please avoid grounding schemes that simply link the two chassis together. Better is better. If you can tune some extra performance anywhere in the system, that will usually have sonic benefits.
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Dear Daniel, do you have idea that what the difference is between using the network renderer in the DD, and the Aurender N20 (or other parity source) connected with DD through Pro USB (both with Roon for example?
Jerry, from all the testing/listening we have done, the DD really levels the playing field for source formats. I personally use the Renderer because I love the integrated volume control. Ever since adding the DD, we have blind AB tested our different input modules and not been able to pin down one over the other. I would really recommend picking what functionally works best for your system setup.
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