Smooth, coherent sound

Low resolution. Poor treble extention.

If you liked the sound of Marantz, Rotel, and the Radio Shack portable, you will probably like the MSB Link. If you thought all those products were over-hyped, then you will problably think the MSB Link is over-hyped also. The Jolida CD player is a much better value and has much better resolution and tonal accuracy. The Theta Prime IIA costs four times the price of the MSB Link and sounds ten times better. On the plus side, the MSB Link does filter out the harsh treble on some older recordings. It would probably sound better in a system balanced on the bright side.

Similar Products Used:

Jolida 601A, Theta PrimeIIA

I have been using the Link III for 8 months now. I decided to purchase the 24/96k upgrade board. The installation was simple despite previous reviews to the contrary. I tried both the 96k and 132k sampling and I can't hear any difference to speak of. I have my DAC set at 132k for now. There is an opening of the music when the board is installed. The high frequencies also seem to be boosted which some may not like. Overall this is a good tweak for $200. I recommend trying this upgrade and I hope to soon purchase the p1000 power supply as well.

Made my CD's sound at least twice as realistic as before.

If you have a low or mid-priced CD player, the MSB DAC is, in fact, all that and a bag of chips. The Cambridge Audio CD player is great sounding, considering it costs only $400 (to think that I'm now calling $400 cheap), but the MSB has made my CD's sound much, much better. No matter how hard you listen, you will not find a trace of digital graininess in the sound. Soundstage and imaging are impeccable. One of the major changes I have noticed is an increase in depth--you can easily hear which musicians are placed in front and in back and how far forward or back they are. What really blew my mind was listening to the new 24-bit remastered Blue Note album, "Soul Station" by Hank Mobley. You can hear all of the subtle tricks pulled by producer Rudy Van Gelder. Previously, the whole 24-bit thing seemed like a useless gimmick. With a real 24-bit DAC, it makes sense. I bought my unit used and well broken in, but it had to be on for several hours (at least) before it warmed up all the way. I am currently using a cheap TOSLINK cable from my "transport" (what a dorky term). I'm going to try a Coaxial cable as well, although the word on the streets is that an optical cable will sound as good as a cheaper coaxial. Anyway, I'd guess that if your CD player is a few years old or cost less than 800 dollars, the MSB DAC will make a worthwhile improvement in sound. If your CD player cost a lot more than that, you're probably reading reviews for more expensive DAC's rather than this one.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio D500 CD player. Marantz 6000 OSE CD player.

Love this unit for all the reasons stated below; nothing better for the money. BUT, do not waste your money on the upsampling upgrade! This is a crock! It sounds way better with the upsampling turned off. The 96khz upsampling will give you more detail, but at the expense of a harsh, mechanical sound. Five stars for value without question, four overall (there are better units out there--by the way, I wish you people would stop handing out five stars so easily--remember, five stars means the best possible sound available!!!).

Rock-solid construction, far and away exceeding its price. Ease of use--fully automatic operation. Highly musical, detailed, fast, uncolored--absolutely no need to spend more when used in association with a system comprised of moderately-priced components. Aesthetically pleasing.

None in its price-class.

I am thrilled with my purchase because I seem to have finally found the SYNERGY that I have all along been missing with the many more expensive, highly praised DACs I have tried previously with my particular associated equipment. Moreover, I am truly elated by the fact that stone-cold, straight out-of-the-box, the least expensive unit of all, with the stock, so-called by many, "junky power supply" that "absolutely must be changed," is presently compelling me to listen and to enjoy the music, instead of automatically going into my critical listening mode, trying to convince myself of the sonic merits of my new acquisition. Moreover, we have a baby grand piano in our home and I know quite well what the real thing sounds like and this is the closest I've been to having to make less than an enormous leap of faith when it comes to the reproduction of live piano in my listening system. Please understand this is in no way intended to disparage the units produced by the above referenced manufacturers. I have no doubt their products would shine way above the Link DAC III in more lavish applications. I'm just saying that in my particular system and likely in many other humble systems, most users would be well-advised to audition the stock Link DAC III before shelling out the big bucks.

Associated equipment:
Pioneer 525 DVD player, heavily modified by Andy Bartha
XLO Reference Digital interconnect (RCA)
Belles 150A Hot Rod amp
George Wright Sound Company WLA12A tube line stage
PSB Stratus Gold i Loudspeakers
DH Labs Silver Sonic cables, all around
Bybee Signature line conditioner
TG Audio HSRi power cords

Similar Products Used:

Theta, Bel Canto

Smooth, detailed, great imaging, low price, upsampling option, tweaky (can play around to get preferred sound)

a little bit of smudging on sibilants, tweaky (need to play around, otherwise it doesn't sound so great)

This is a great piece of gear; my system sounds fantastic with this new addition. The timbre is right, there is minimal digital harshness, the dynamics are great. The upsampling makes the most difference in letting individual instruments being heard separately and having great air and space around them, staying in the proper place in the sound stage. I can hear phrasing and details I couldn't before because of this.

But be aware, there are tweaks I had to do before it got this way. First, the burn in is important, as everyone else said. It softens up the sound, and reduces harshness. Second, there is a jumper that can be removed from the board to reduce the amount of filtering, and this made a HUGE difference. Instructions are in the manual; it states this is preferred for people who like more impact and attack or immediacy or something like that. I don't know who wouldn't prefer this. Finally, I couldn't figure out if this DAC inverts phase, but the manual mentions something about this in the optional jumpers. I bought this with the upsampler installed, and it wasn't clear to me how the jumpers were set for the option which inverts phase. In any case, it sounded much better when I flipped the speaker wires. I know this all sounds pretty wacky, but I thought these all made a big difference, and if it sounds worse, or makes no difference, switch back; nothing lost!

I'm also using it to play back 24/96 DVD's and it sounds incredible! Definite 5 star for value. 5 stars for sound; I've never heard the >$2000 players or DACs, so I can't compare to those. But that's a lot of cash for a DAC!

My wife thinks I'm a kook with all this stuff, but even she said she heard an improvement with the Link DAC.

Equipment:
C-J PV10A preamp
Krell KSA-100
CAL Icon mkII used as CD digital out
Pioneer DVD DV414 used mostly for DVD, but CD sounds good
Apogee Centaur

Similar Products Used:

None. Used CAL ICON CD player. Now using it as the digital out.