The MSB Technology Reference DAC and Power Base
Establishing an industry reference for digital playback.
MSB Technology offers various input boards and power supply upgrades, please call us to discuss the cost of building the last DAC you may ever own
MSB Technology Reference Hybrid DAC Modules
With four Hybrid DACs, the MSB Technology Reference DAC yields an unmatched level of detail, reproducing the musicality, soundstage, and texture of an original performance, bringing the artist to you. A fully balanced, ultra-high precision, discrete ladder DAC architecture ensures each note tells a story. Additionally, MSB’s robust in-house design enables the finest quality playback of PCM and native DSD, while our low impedance circuitry drives your amplification directly without adding colouration or buffering noise. The end result is a digital experience defying expectations.
Femto 33 clock.
MSB Technology clock module architecture is built with the customer in mind—they have made the clock module user-upgradable, ensuring future updates are simple and streamlined. Each Reference DAC comes with MSB’s most advanced Femto 33 Clock featuring a custom oven-controlled dual crystal design.
A display for the listening chair.
Equipped with high-visibility and a wide viewing angle, the display is both easy-to-read and stunning, exhibiting our love for intuitive features. The LED display, slaved to the audio clock, is refreshed between data processing to drastically reduce electrical interference. The in-house discrete design is then constructed into its own shielded CNC pocket for optimal isolation. Sit back and be immersed.
MSB TECHNOLOGY Premier DAC Options:
MSB Network Renderer V2
There are many renderer interfaces in the industry. MSB designed and developed their own processing card and software with performance and low noise in mind. The Renderer V2 interface is MQA and Roon Ready and has a maximum sample rate of 32/768kHz and 4xDSD. The entire renderer solution is galvanically isolated from the DAC, including isolated power. The main advantage of the Renderer Input module is that it turns the DAC into a network endpoint for many current playback software packages and allows computer control of the DAC volume.
MSB USB Input
Standard USB inputs on DACs are common. What isn’t common is what MSB does with theirs. The entire USB module has a high level of isolation between the USB hardware and the DAC. The USB interface is limited to 384kHz and 4xDSD. MSB Technology’s MQA version also supports full MQA decoding.
MSB ProISL Interface & ProUSB Input
The MSB ProISL interface is the highest performance digital audio interface. The interface is glass fibre optic-based, making it 100% electrically isolated and allowing for incredible cable lengths with no loss. The unique protocol allows a very low jitter copy of the DAC master clock to be fed back to the source, creating a low jitter clock synchronous with the audio data system. The audio data is encoded and sent to the DAC, where it’s checked for errors and corrected before playback. The ProISL is capable of multi-channel audio and extremely high sample rates (much higher than any current standard). Fibre is used because it allows the source and the DAC Any noise generated in the source (CPU, drive, video processing, etc…) can be prevented from entering the DAC and the rest of the audio system.
The MSB ProUSB solution is the ultimate solution for computer audio playback. It provides the ease of a USB interface in conjunction with 100% electrical isolation, long cable lengths, data protection and synchronous interface of the MSB ProISL. By using the ProISL interface, the source can be located physically far away from the system and a single fibre cable can connect to the DAC. The advantage of moving the source far away from the system is much lower electrical noise in your listening room.
Add a second Reference Power Base
You can’t underestimate the importance of a clean power supply. A re-imagined design paired with the DAC reduces the noise floor even further. MSB has equipped the DAC with a single supply for the digital side of the DAC, along with an isolated supply for the analog side, yielding an unprecedented level of performance.
Technical Specifications:
MSB Technology Reference DAC
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| Supported Formats (Input dependent) | 44.1kHz to 3,072kHz PCM up to 32 bits 1xDSD, 2xDSD, 4xDSD, 8xDSD Supports DSD via DoP on all inputs |
| Digital Inputs | 4x Advanced isolated input module slots |
| XLR Analog Inputs* | 100kΩ Balanced 12Vrms Maximum Isolated when not selected |
| XLR Analog Outputs | 3.57Vrms Maximum (Digital Input) 12Vrms Maximum (Analog Input) |
| 150Ω Balanced | |
| Galvanically isolated | |
| Preamp Output Module Volume Control* | Purely passive constant impedance analog attenuation 1dB steps |
| Base Output Volume Control | 1dB steps |
| Dynamic Range (20Hz to 20kHz) |
143dBFS 145dBAFS |
| Display | Custom discrete LED audio clock synchronous display Adjustable brightness and auto-off feature |
| Controls | Isolated RS-232 IR Remote Knob + 3 Buttons |
| Width: | 17.5 in (444 mm) |
| Depth: | 17.5 in (444 mm) |
| Chassis Height (Without Feet): | 2.2 in (79 mm) |
| Stack height: | 2.85 in (92 mm) |
| Weight: | 25 lbs (11 kg) |
| Product Feet: | M6X1 Thread |
| Width: | 25 in (635 mm) |
| Depth: | 25 in (625 mm) |
| Height: | 10 in (254 mm) |
| Weight: | 50 lbs (24 kg) |
MSB Remote USB charging cable 4X Rubber feet 4X Plastic foot inserts |
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The Reference Powerbase
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|---|---|
| AC Voltage | 100V (Fixed) 120/240V (Auto switching) |
| Power Consumption | 90 Watts with fully configured Reference DAC Less than 2W standby |
| Width: | 17.5 in (444 mm) |
| Depth: | 17.5 in (444 mm) |
| Chassis Height (Without Feet): | 2.2 in (79 mm) |
| Stack height: | 2.85 in (92 mm) |
| Weight: | 45 lbs (20 kg) |
| Product Feet: | M6X1 Thread |
| Width: | 25 in (625 mm) |
| Depth: | 25 in (625 mm) |
| Height: | 10 in (254 mm) |
| Weight: | 65 lbs (29 kg) |
Ground cable IEC power cord 4X Rubber feet 4X Plastic foot inserts |
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MSB Technology DAC Comparison Chart
