@Dan this lands really hard. I completely agree. I’d go as far to say this is the first and only time I’ve heard the soundstage on any digital source system extend beyond the left and right speakers in a meaningful consistent way.
Sure there have been some some notes of passages in some random songs where sounds seem to be coming from places outside of the soundstage, but this is something entirely different. It’s not random, it’s that the barriers of the speakers just don’t really exist.
I’m going to make a reference to something I’ve heard that sounds similar. If you’ve ever listened to a tape recorded with SonorouS Holographic Imaging (SHI), which makes for ultra hyper realistic sound staging using all sorts of psychoacoustic hocus pocus. Well this sounds a lot like that. But, totally natural.
silk & satin also has a pretty wide presentation. Finger snap is almost full left and tambourine?? almost full right. I’d call it a 165 spread. Also decaying room ambience is there and sometimes there are pretty strong ambient echos of the sax to the right.
It looks like the new code is pulling out all the details… says an ex hardware engineer who turned to the dark side (software) a long time ago
Actually I think what this code does is make the hill MSB has to push the Sentinel up a lot steeper… I can’t wait to hear how high Sentinel makes it up that hill.
This update drags more quality from each module using lessons I learned from the Palisades, which only has two per channel. With only two modules per channel I had to wring the absolute maximum I could from each, because I was initially unhappy with the Palisades performance relative to the Cascade. The BDT that is now part of all three designs turned out to be the key, I am still learning the optimal way to use it. The Sentinel has benefited at least as much, if not more, than the Cascade from these improvements.
More time to listen today. Hard to make detailed comments as my echoic memory of the old version has already faded. The overwhelming sense today is how natural sounding the music has become. No hint of the digital interface. Also the way it unpacks complex musical sounds is amazing. The opening drum on Billie Marten “Feeding Sea Horses by Hand” - Toulouse is very difficult to reproduce. Cascade renders it beautifully. Well done MSB team!
This is an impressive update. I’ve had the Cascade for a few months and did not think it possible to improve upon this setup. What I hear is a higher level of resolution and clarity, which draws out more nuance and the rich color palette embedded in the music. And pulls the performances that much closer to reality. How cool. Thanks MSB!
Wow wow wow! Thank you all for the fantastic feedback! I think most audiophiles are weary of companies touting “it just sounds better” type of promotions, so I think this forum thread will speak wonders. Please share the news with your dealers, friends, and on forums if you find some time! You all are the only ones who can speak to the before/after performance and to just how far the Cascade DAC has come since launch. As always, I appreciate you supporting MSB and hope you continue to enjoy this update!
I just did the install on my Cascade. As before, very easy and flawless instructions and process.
After roughly 20 minutes of listening, I’m very impressed with the new and improved Cascade as it was truly excellent before. More detail and better articulation. Also, feels quieter and the presentation feels more relaxed - not slow!
Nice setting for a long evening of music tonight.
Once again, fantastic job MSB Team!
PS - I also updated the Pink Faun Ultra today to the latest software version. That was also an improvement which I listened to for a while before updating the Cascade.
My understanding is the ideally the power supply and the digital unit should be stacked and the analog unit should be on its own shelf when splitting across two shelves. I believe @Jonathan_Gullman 's words were “Protect the analog converter at all costs”.
