msb problems?


I have a link 3 and just purchased the 24 bit upsample I was very satisfied, I have a pair of Aerius speakers so I hear any and all changes but this one was dramatic, then all the sound improvements went away I sent the unit back to msb for repair and they found nothing wrong with it and sent it back, yes sound does come though it but there is no diff from listening to my cheap sony cd player buy itself,I did hook it up to other systems of my friends with the same results,and help? The people at msb have ears but cannot hear and I now have a dac that is usless to me after spending $700 on it, right now I am too upset to even talk to the people at msb.Help!
128x128happynick
Glad to have had the opportunity to speak with you today. Scott and the MSB crew are good guys and care a lot about getting things right. They are real techy kind of guys so sometimes they walk to a different drummer -- but that's also why their stuff is so good. In any case, it seems that Scott hadn't forgotten you and I am glad to see that a new unit is coming your way. If there is still a problem, then I will try my best to help you figure out what it could be other than the MSB stuff.
Keep me posetd.
yes sellerwithintegrity, Scott has not taken care of my link 3 even he says that he will definetly take care of it this passed weekend ( and the 2 weekends before that ) so I called him last Monday the 29th,he was on the phone so I left a message for him to call me back and now tuesday is gone and he has not called me back,I am very upset especially since I was very happy with the 24 bit upgrade, Scott seems to think that it sounds just fine. I have a pair of Martin Logan Aerius speakers with Nordost Blues wires and interconnects so I can hear even very little differences, the diff I heard was huge and I was very happy,I would never send soumething back to someone if I was happy with it, feel free to call me at 248-743-2616 eastern time 2pm your time ( he even did go as far to say that he would consider to send me a new unit but after 3weeks nothing) thanks for any help Nick
Happynick,

Are you still having problems with your LInk Dac III. If so I will try to intervene on your behalf since I am involved with the company.
why don't ya buy a toyntable for bel canto's money and some cheap mint records?
Hopefully msb will repair my link3 and I can sell it. I am considering a Bel Canto dac used what do you think as I haave not heard this unit, I live in the Detroit area of Michigan and all the audio stores here do not carry any dacs so I am relying on your input here.Thanks Nick
I owned three MSB Link DACs. The upsample board sometimes does seat properly/fully in the sockets, due to the height of some caps in that area of the board.

I suggest you request MSB replace the whole mother board & the upsampling board in your DAC or have them move those caps out of the way.
Well I just sent in my MSB for repair again. another question would be does anyone think hooking up a G&W processor with my link 3 or have Warren or Wright mods instead? I donot even know how to hok this combo up? Nick
I owned a Gold Link for a while, and although I personally did not prefer the sound of this unit - and preferred it even less when the upsampling was engaged - my point is there should be a difference, albeit sometimes a subtle one, between the sound of the unit with the upsampling switch turned on or off. Are you saying that there is never any difference when you throw this switch, or does yours not have the switch feature? In fact, even beyond that question, you sound like you are saying that now the DAC never sounds any better than your CD player alone, whereas it used to before you installed the upsampling - or am I missing something in your complaint? This is not quite adding up for me...
Happynick,

I'd call it normal curiosity development especially while some folks don't "risk" to place instead of $10000 CD-players cheap stock Sony while you made your effort and found out that even paying $1,5k for CD playback is way too much.

Stan Warren mostly upgrades the output analogue domain of DAC for better output parts on the filter that does make a difference without taking no care of upsamplers or anything in the digital domain so if you want to get in touch with Stan than send your cheap Sony to get the same results as with your more expensive MSB.
well vector yes I will be sending it back and I do understand that I may be getting used to the better sound but no others have told me the same thing even my son and wife that the sound has degraded,no its not the nelson just the 24bit upgrade and as you know martin logan stats will show anything good or bad in your system,it was the first time that the speakers dissappeared when it was working right, anyway right now I am in the middle of a auction on ebay bidding on a link3 with the Stand Qarren upgradesit ends tonoight wish me luck
This is a tough one since you're dealing with the subjective aspect of your DAC - quantifying the sonic differences. I've had the opposite experience with MSB, in that they've always gone the extra mile. They've never charged me to inspect my components whenever I've sent it to them, nor to ship it back to me. And I'm not the original owner! Quite a different story with other high-end manufacturers, who will charge high $$$ to take anything in for inspection.

I had the Nelson Link III, which I believe was physically identical to yours. Is it possible that one of the toggle switches may have been moved?

Have you double checked that the jumpers inside are secure?

Have you tried removing the upsampling module to see (or hear) if there's a difference? It could be that your ears have become refined and accustomed to the sound and are no longer impressed with the sonic improvements at hand... Hence, you may have the 'upgrade' bug.

Are you using the same source material (i.e. CD's)? Some music is better suited to reveal improvements you may have gained than others.

In short, it's a tricky thing... DACs just don't go bad the way you describe. If a circuit or board has gone bad or failed, you would most likely get no sound at all, or, maybe, some electronic artifact, like a hum or buzzing, etc.. But not, go from inspiring to uninpsiring sound. My guess is that your upgrade module 'might' be the culprit. See if they won't replace it for you if for nothing else than for peace of mind.

Hope this helps.

Hector
Thanks Tom as I have a bid on another link 3 which is moded by stan warren on ebay I see if I can back out of it for now ,what dac do you recommend?
I had many problems with MSB Technology after Mark S. Brassfield left that firm.My transport and dac had to be returned several times and they became difficult to deal with.I recommend parting with that unit and consider it an expensive lesson.It's too bad that so many audio companies don't give a hoot after they have taken your money.This problem seems to occur more often in the "golden age" of audio.Sorry to hear of your misfortune.If I can be of assistance in the future,please don't hesitate.Regards,Tom.