MSB Universal Transport

[richidoo]

http://www.avguide.com/article/msb-technology-announces-the-new-universal-media-transport
http://www.msbtech.com/

[rollo]

  Always a fan of MSB. Not on the clinical side of the spectrum. A house sound i could live with for a long time. Before the Lector came along the muse DAC was my favorite. The MSB is a bit better but it was the price of $12,000 that stopped me.
   I would love to audition them gain. The Lector as good as it is is now 6 years old. A senior citizen nowadays but still knicking out some fine tunes.
   Elite distributes the Muse line.


charles

[tmazz]

Looks like a nice unit. I find it interesting that they are making a big deal on their web page about the fact that the drive is a stock Oppo blu-ray unit and that MSB did there magic after the drive in the signal processing sections. They stress about what a great job Oppo did in designing the drive and that using a stock Oppo drive in insure that parts and repairs will be easily obtained. I guess after the last flair up over companies repackaging Oppo drives they wanted to make darn sure nobody could accuse them of sneaking it it.

[rollo]

  Ya know Tom it appears to me that more than a few are using the Oppo as a base. it used to be Pioneer units prior to the Oppo. Kinda makes ya want to listen to an Oppo again. They discontinued the SE edition. It was to good for the money against others using the Oppo as a base. I believe Esoteric as well.
   Sounds all to familiar. When a dealer has in stock players or components that are more expensive but do not sound better than what they have in stock, they say RAISE the PRICE . I cannot sell what I have in stock if this less expensive player is better. How much is the Oppo now? The gap is closing fast.
  If Oppo comes out with a CD only player no DVD, USB, surround, nada. I'm interested. Rich's' home theatre used the Oppo SE and was awesome. The music sounded wonderfull with the live concerts, especially the Rock & Roll Hall of fame concert.
  Back on topic. Like most the drive used is something they do not manf. themselves. Now the analog board and power supply are key to any great player. So for me no big deal. What Lexicon and Goldmund did is inexcusable. At least IMO.


charles
 

[tmazz]

  Ya know Tom it appears to me that more than a few are using the Oppo as a base. it used to be Pioneer units prior to the Oppo. Kinda makes ya want to listen to an Oppo again. They discontinued the SE edition.

Good news, the SE is actually back. In the last series Oppo produced the BDP-83 and the BDP-93SE which features the ESS Sabre DACs. Last fall Oppo introduced the BDP-93 which features 3D technology and a basically the same time discontinued the 83SE due to what the said was a shortage of one of the parts they needed to make it (although they never said which part.) I just checked the Oppo web site (http://www.oppodigital.com) and they have introduced ana audiophile version of the BDP-93 which features the Sabre DAC . But instead of calling it the 93SE that have named it the BDP-95. It is priced similarly to the 83SE at $999.

[richidoo]

The 83SE had a daughterboard for the ESS chip. The 93 is designed with ESS in mind from the start. 83SE sounded very good for $1k, but had electrlytic coupling caps on the output. Maybe the new audophile version will have some sexy Solen or Bennic films.... 

[tmazz]

The 83SE had a daughterboard for the ESS chip. The 93 is designed with ESS in mind from the start. 83SE sounded very good for $1k, but had electrlytic coupling caps on the output. Maybe the new audophile version will have some sexy Solen or Bennic films.... 

I don't know about the caps but here are some of the "audiophile" features being touted by Oppo:

# SABRE32 Reference Audio DAC - The DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) is one of the most important components for digital audio playback. The SABRE32 Reference ES9018 from ESS Technology is the world's best performing 32-bit audio DAC solution targeted for high-end consumer applications and professional studio equipment. With the ESS patented 32-bit Hyperstream™ DAC architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator, the SABRE32 Reference DAC delivers an unprecedented DNR (Dynamic Range) of up to 135dB and THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise) of -120dB, the industry's highest performance level that will satisfy even the most demanding audio enthusiast. The BDP-95 uses two ES9018 DAC chips - one for the 7.1-channel output, and another for the dedicated stereo output.

# Toroidal Power Supply - Custom designed and built by Rotel, the toroidal power transformer offers superior power efficiency and much lower exterior magnetic field over traditional laminated steel core transformers. The BDP-95's toroidal linear power supply provides a very clean and robust power source to the critical audio components.

# Dedicated Stereo Output - The BDP-95 features a dedicated 2-channel analog output with specially optimized ES9018 DAC and output driving stages. Each output is driven by 4 DAC channels stacking together to achieve even greater audio performance.

# XLR Balanced Stereo Output - The stereo output offers both XLR balanced and RCA single-ended connectors. The balanced output features a true differential signal path all the way from the DAC to the 3-pin XLR connector. By transmitting a pair of differential signals, the balanced output provides better common-mode noise rejection and improves signal quality.

[richidoo]

Enter to win a free Oppo BDP-95 from AV Guide

http://bit.ly/efx4a3

The link looks weird, but it came in on the weekly Playback online magazine newsletter. I entered with no problem, it's safe.

[Carlman]

I'd love to have that MSB or the OPPO.. very nice I'm sure.  
I'm in the market for a good transport.. but I have a low budget and am considering options. It will be used as a convenience for me, when I haven't yet burned a cd or someone brings one over and doesn't want it ripped... It will only need to play CD's.  

I do wish Oppo made a music-only transport.. I guess having it be a DVD and multi-player isn't a bad thing, just seems like a waste to use 5-10% of its design and purpose.  But then it's kind of a waste to design a CD-only player at this point in time.

I was thinking of getting the Onix CD-10 that wooferus has on special.. but I don't know much about the Sanyo transport.. but the price is right, especially for new... but I have only found 1 review of it.  

I'd like something a little special, that actually has a good DAC output if my DAC died for some reason... nice to have a backup plan.  That leads to the option of having a digital input too.. then we get pricey!  and that's getting ahead of myself.

Anywho.. any thoughts are appreciated.. I can split this off into a new topic.. but I'd like the MSB or Oppo quality for like 2-300 bucks.

-C