ЦАПы — Msb Technology The Cascade DAC

The Cascade DAC from MSB Technology of California splits digital-to-analogue conversion across three stacked chassis - a Digital Director, an Analog Converter and a Powerbase. Its public premiere came at High End Munich, held 9 to 11 May 2024, shipments were announced for July 2024, and the launch price was USD 95,000. In the MSB range it sits above the Discrete DAC and the Premier DAC and includes a preamplifier with analogue inputs.

Key specs that matter

PCM playback covers 44.1 kHz to 3,072 kHz at up to 32 bit, and DSD is handled at 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x rates, including DoP. Balanced XLR outputs deliver 3.32 V rms from digital sources and 6 V rms from the analogue inputs, which comprise two balanced XLR plus two unbalanced RCA pairs, each with selectable 0 dB or +6 dB buffer gain. Output impedance is 75 ohm. Each chassis measures 444 mm wide, 393.7 mm deep and 79.4 mm high, giving a stack about 216 mm tall. The Digital Director draws 24 W on and 17 W in standby, and the Analog Converter with Powerbase draws 78 W on and 48 W in standby.

Engineering and use context

The Digital Director carries two DSPs, each rated at 12 billion operations per second, plus two FPGAs, and has four slots for user-installable input modules - AES/EBU, S/PDIF optical and coaxial, USB and Pro USB, ProISL, Dual ProI2S and the Network Renderer V2 with Roon Ready support. It passes data to the Analog Converter through an isolated optical fibre called Cascade-Link, based on diode laser technology. Inside the converter eight Hybrid DAC MKII modules make up a balanced discrete ladder converter with Bit Diffusion Technology, clocked by a Femto 33 MKIII with two hand-tuned oven-controlled crystals for the 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz families. Volume is set passively in 1 dB steps by precious metal latching relays, so balanced signals leave the XLRs without passing through an amplifier stage. The Powerbase uses three shielded custom transformers, silicon carbide rectifiers and five linear rails, and connects to the converter with a Summit cable on Fischer connectors. The Analog Converter body is machined from a 32 kg aluminium plate down to about 8 kg, and standard finishes are silver or black anodising with stainless accents. Warranty is three years, extended by two more on registration.

Pairing

Because the attenuator is built in, a pair of monoblocks or a stereo power amplifier can connect straight to the Cascade outputs, and MSB 12V triggers switch the whole system together.

Alternatives

A lower-priced choice in the range is the MSB Premier DAC, using twice the DAC modules of the entry Discrete DAC in a single chassis.