OF GENIUSIt’s something that multimedia fans have long been waiting for: an all-in-one product that plays Blu-ray and SACD – and even grabs music from hard drives. Has the patience been rewarded?

A Stroke-

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In digital technology circles MSB ge-nerally stands for ‘most signifi cant bit’,

i.e. the most important binary digit in digital audio signals. A Californian-based company has also become immortalised under this acronym: MSB Technology, which has been writing groundbreaking chapters in digital history for 25 years. The Americans were heavily involved in a multi-channel AC 3 output for laser disc players, developed one of the fi rst 96kHz / 24-bit D/A converters and built one of

by Hans-Ulrich Fessler the fi rst upsamplers to reach production standard. They also launched the fi rst USB D/A converter to handle sampling rates of up to 384kHz. Their latest coup: a two-channel combined player/conver-ter that plays and converts all standard disc and streaming formats.

For the player the Californians relied on third-party support. Their developers’ high specifi cations could be met by only one Blu-ray player: the Oppo BDP 93. On specialist Internet forums Oppo has for a long time been regarded as an insider’s choice. The players can do prac-

tically everything (including playing back music from data DVDs, SACDs and DVD audio) and have excellent video proces-sing. The specifi cations for the BDP 93 come from a young team of developers in Silicon Valley and it is assembled at BBK Electronics.

MSB Technology has incorporated the Oppo player, complete with Qdeo video chip sets (also found in the latest Philips Blu-ray players), with no modifi cations.

Naturally their Universal Media Trans-port also processes video from DVD in high defi nition (at the touch of a button

even in the original 24 frames per se-cond fi lm format), can relay 3D images and can also go online to get, for exa-mple, additional information on the Blu-rays being watched. This is where the friendship with Oppo ends. For good audio MSB take matters into their own hands. As a measure against jitter – data transfer problems – the player initially hoards the audio data in memo-ry. It resynchronises MP3, DivX, WMA, FLAC, WAV or DVD audio and only then pushes it through to its digital out-puts.

With SACDs’ vast amount of data MSB takes a two-pronged approach. The Media Transport converts the datafl ow to PCM and directs it likewise to the optical, wired or symmetric digital out-put, which communicates with each converter. In order not to lose any of the large volume of data, it sends the pro-prietary 1-bit SACD datafl ow via a pro-prietary MSB network connection to MSB’s own converter. And the develo-pers also set very high specifi cations for the switching unit.

They extracted the Oppo’s – the disc

driver is now fed from an external trans-former (included with the converter) that is fi tted with no fewer than six toroidal transformer coils.

The Californian digital experts’ pièce de résistance is the converter. The DAC IV pools together every trump card from digital audio’s recent history. And it ad-apts to the aspirations of its owner. Ow-ners with volume control on their wish list can, for example, plug into the slot on the motherboard a passive volume level controller (available as an option for €1,900), which adjusts the level >

The player’s main menu:In terms of music fi les, it

reads every format (including SACD) from MP3 to 192kHz

/ 24-bit high resolution from disc or via USB. From any at-

tached hard drives it displays with lightning speed the con-

tents and relevant directo-ries. Picasa is Google’s free

photo software, while Netfl ix is a pay-TV download site for

fi lms that is likely to also be available in Germany soon.

One of a kind: As well as DVDs, Blu-ray, SACDs and DVD audio, the player also plays back music fi les saved on data DVDs.

The MSB links to the network via computer LAN. Alternatively there is a USB WLAN adapter in the box. The Universal Media Transport links via RS 232 to a computer monitor, grabs music via USB from a memory stick or instantly opens directories and tracks on hard drives.

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in 1-dB steps via a relay-switched resistor network.

Naturally it can also be used to defi -ne the cut-in level and the maximum volume. The great thing about the vo-lume option is that it includes an analo-gue input. Also available as an option, the upsampler (€1,100) is probably only worthwhile for audio fanatics, who want to further fi ne-tune the sound. Depen-ding on input data rate, it increases the frequency to 352.8 or 384kHz and ex-tends precision to 32 bits. The USB 2 add-on (€550) is of greater use. This is the interface that accepts music data from a computer or laptop. USB 2 allows data of up to 384kHz to pass to the con-verter at 24 bits. To avoid any hum from ground loops and to suppress any elec-tromagnetic interference MSB allows the port its own supply voltage and galva-nically isolates it from the outside world. On the inside the DAC IV fi rst uses a proprietary digital fi lter to free all data of any high-frequency ballast. Traditional fi lters were not good enough for MSB.

The calculation specifi cations for a proprietary fi lter become so extensive that they keep two digital signal proces-sors and a micro-controller busy. An in-tended side effect is that the memories

temporarily store the bits of data in the DSPs before they are shifted out using quartz correctly synchronised to the con-verters. Inexpensive off-the-shelf 1-bit converters that stitch the analogue signal back together like a sewing machine were too suspect for MSB.

The developers argue that while at full and minimal volumes they offered satisf-actory results, only multi-bit converters that compile the signal slice by slice from the individual words are consistently good in all areas. Sadly this species of converter has all but died out. That left MSB with no other choice than to build up the multi-bit ones from the ground up using an ultra-precise resistor net-work.

Sensational: four multi-bit DA converters with hand-fi tted ultra-precise resistors under the covers

There is only one other company I know of that has ever dared such a mad project. That was Accuphase, many years ago. The Japanese optimised their con-verters to 16 bits and 44.1kHz. Modern high-resolution formats demand at least 24-bit resolution – and suffi cient reserves in terms of the sampling rate. MSB fo-cussed on the SACD with 2.8224MHz and guarantees a bandwidth of 3MHz.

The converters can thus face the au-diophile future with confi dence. The (optional) USB input is standard for all high-bit formats from a PC; the Universal Media Transport feeds the DAC IV with all data formats saved solely on DVDs and Blu-rays. Only from discs?

Not at all! The player’s USB input ac-cepts practically all storage media: from USB sticks to MP3 players all the way to high-resolution audio from hard drives. The player is equipped with a browser and the Foobar 2000 media player. In no time at all it reads the contents of hard discs, provides on-screen navigation to the musical items and plays practically everything back. And how! Alone in terms of it measured readings this combined player/converter is absolutely perfect!

The frequency response paths end as they should. Using a measuring signal of

192kHz, they run as if drawn by ruler and do not terminate until just before 100kHz. It is also sensational how the player re-stores DVD data dropouts of up to around four millimetres to perfection. The jitter rates, too, practically set new records. The extremely low rates are appreciably less than 180p – no matter whether from USB, CD or network.

In the measuring lab a model pupil, the combined player/converter also pro-ved top of the class in the listening test. Even from CD it played in a breezy, easy style and an unashamedly vivid feel. Via a reference system it made the diffe-rences between MP3, CD and high re-solution more than audible. With all kinds of music and every format it sounded totally natural and free of stress, almost addictive: the MSBs extract from low-bit formats and even CDs facets that defeat comparable players and converters.

The competition was barely able to hold its own against the DAC IV’s effort-less vivacity. With high resolution it brought instrument bodies and strings fully into harmony and produced pinpoint acoustic mapping without relegating any single instrument to being the chance source of sound. Complex acoustic struc-tures felt signifi cantly clearer and better than from CD.

When comparing SACD to CD the testers noted more atmosphere, more aura and appreciably more intermediary tones. And precisely for that reason one wish remained unfulfi lled: the desire for an equally natural and emotionally char-ged multi-channel player. Especially as the Universal Media Transport reproduces video data with all its facets. Seldom had the testers seen such natural pictures, rarely had camera pans been brought to the screen so smoothly. The Transport did not exaggerate anything and the image was pin sharp.

The verdict: anyone who above all else wants multi-channel sound will need to be patient for a while longer. For stereo fans, however, there is no need to look further than MSB’s Universal Media Trans-port. It bowls you over with fabulous full-HD video, while from MP3 to SACD it will thrill you with natural, fi ne sound from all formats.

Test-BDEdvard Grieg: Piano Concerto

Pristine recording by Norwegian label 2L on a pure audio Blu-ray disc. The set made up of a Blu-ray (with 5.1 and 24-bit / 192kHz stereo) and SACD sounds out the differences between the formats.

AUDIOphile Character

AUDIOphile Potential

RecommendationUnique combination, capable of reproducing all current high quality discs types. There is no compromise neither in stereo re-production nor in picture quality.

Effortlesslyspacious and soft

Grippinglyemotional and

dynamic

Immediacy high resolution

Neutral andauthentic

The authorUlrich Fessler

Came into the hi-fi world for fi nancial reasons. To fund his studies he signed on as a specialist advisor for trade shows and events with Karl Breh’s team at the German Hi-Fi Institute. After university, he then achieved the seamless transition to ‘stereoplay’ magazine.

MSB TechnologyUniversal Media Transport

List price: €3,950Guarantee period: 2 yearsDimensions WxHxD (cm):44.5 x 6.3 x 31.8Weight: 19.5kg (incl. mains adapter)Finish: Silver / blackConnections:Video: Comp./HDMI/RS232Audio: LAN/USB/TOSLINK/RCA/TRS

MSB DAC IV with volume control, analogue input and Power Base mains adapter unitList price: €10,350Guarantee period: 2 yearsDimensions WxHxD (cm):44.5 x 6.3 x 31.8 eachWeight: 19kg

Distribution:WBSVeilchenweg 21D-65366 GeisenheimGermanyTelephone: +49 (0)6722 4092860Internet: www.WBS-Acoustics.com

The MSB produces fabulous rea-dings all round. The frequency response paths run as if drawn by ruler. High resolution (192kHz) gets relayed, as it should be, with a bandwidth of up to the Nyquist frequency of around 90kHz.

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„Our Universal Media Pla-yer reproduces all audio

formats in full resolution. Even SACD.“

Larry Gullman, Network administrator The diagram:Frequency response

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