Final Dac


For a smaller room I am considering the following in no order

tambaqui

MSB Discrete with 2 PSU

The Playback Designs MPD-6

Rockna Wavedream

anyone have experience with A/B tests? I value soundstage and feeling like musicians in the room 

Ag insider logo xs@2xdaniellaruso

I don’t have experience with Playback Designs but admire their reputation. 

I have heard the other three and would say that the Mola Mola is on an opposite end of a spectrum compared to the MSB Discrete and Rockna Wavedream. The Mola Mola prides itself on an incredibly low noise floor and impeccable separation, but it requires very careful system matching. It can easily sound overprocessed, analytical, and even fatiguing at times. But for systems that are on the warmer or more lush side, they may be exactly what fits the bill. The MSB Discrete and Rockna are both more organic and natural sounding and would be my preference. I haven’t compared the MSB and Rockna side by side, but I remember being much more impressed with the MSB.

There are other brands I might recommend, but as a dealer, I will neither try not to shill nor detract from the three you mention in your post.

 

I see that you’re new to Audiogon. Welcome. Hopefully you find it a helpful and friendly place to share ideas and experiences. 

You also recently posted about a few other DACs - a list which also included the MMT. So, we can assume you’ve narrowed down your list to these.

For better feedback, it would be helpful to know:

1) what is the rest of your system. Best is if you put those details in the virtual system of your profile. A list in this thread would also be great.

2) what are your sonic preferences for the DAC?

3) are there other areas of your system you’re likely to upgrade and why? Are there shortcomings you’re trying to overcome w/ the DAC?

4) Given your list, I’m guessing you’re not significantly limited by budget but you should let us know what your budget is.

5) from the source you list, how will you be connecting the DAC (i.e AES/EBU, USB)?

Again - welcome.