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Acarian Alón Li'l Rascal Mk.II loudspeaker Nola Measurements

Sidebar: Measurements

I was disconcerted by the fact that both samples of the Nóla Mini rattled. It turned out that the hardwired crossover at the base of each cabinet was not securely fastened. However, this didn't affect the performance of the speakers, which appeared to be working correctly.

I estimated the Nóla Mini's voltage sensitivity at a higher-than-average 89.3dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within the margin of error of the original Alón Li'l Rascal's sensitivity. This is to be expected, given the fact that the same woofer is used in an enclosure of very similar size. The Mini…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter

Prelude
I fell in love with the original Link DAC, as was obvious from my review in the January 1999 Stereophile. I said that "the Link redefines entry into high-quality digital sound," as it provided excellent sound and 24-bit/96kHz conversion for the remarkably low price of $349. It is as firmly ensconced in Class C of "Recommended Components" as it is in my weekend system, where it tames the digital signals from my DMX receiver and my trusty old Pioneer PD-7100 CD player.

Since that review appeared, everyone seems to have gotten on the Link bandwagon, even as the price has inched…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Page 2

Theme and Variations
As with any device offering so many options, it was difficult to determine how each of those possibilities contributed to the end result. How much of the Link III's performance was due to the improvements to its design, how much to the Nelson mods? I haven't auditioned a No Nelson Link III or a plain-vanilla Link II, so I can only say that, even with the stock power supply and upsampling defeated, the Full Nelson Link III was an advance on the original Link DAC.

The charms of the original's transparency and immediacy were retained, joined by a newfound…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Page 3

The opening brass-and-drum irruption of Bernstein's Candide Overture (Eiji Oue, Minnesota Orchestra, Reference Recordings RR-87CD) was startling in its impact, the bass tight, clean, and palpable even without HDCD decoding. The original Link, itself no slouch in the bass, also benefited from the addition of a P1000. The Power Base is the most cost-effective option, as it elevates the performance of any Link DAC.

Final Variations and Coda
Three loose ends to tie up:

First, MSB offers the option of manipulating the amount of analog filtering on the outputs. Stock Link IIIs…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Link DAC III D/A converter: Solid-state D/A processor with S/PDIF coax and S/PDIF TosLink digital inputs (AES/EBU input with Full Nelson Upgrade), one pair analog bypass inputs, 8x-oversampling digital filter, and 24-bit D/A converter. Sampling rates: 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96kHz. Frequency range: DC-20kHz (CD data). Dynamic range: 106dB. Signal/Noise ratio: 106dB. Channel separation: greater than 95dB. THD+noise: 96dB. Stopband attenuation: -82dB. Analog outputs: 2V RMS at 0dBFS.
Dimensions: 17" W by 1.75" H by 14" D. Weight: 18 lbs net.
Serial number of…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: Meridian 508.24 and 800 CD players, Mark Levinson No.360 and CAL Sigma II DACs.
Preamplifier: Sonic Frontiers Line-3, Z-systems rdp-1 digital preamp-equalizer.
Power amplifiers: McCormack DNA-1 with Rev.A modifications, Sonic Frontiers Power-3.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio.
Cables: S/PDIF digital: Apogee Wyde-Eye, Illuminations D-60. AES/EBU digital: Apogee Wyde-Eye, Straight Wire. DAC to preamp: Cardas Golden Cross, Straight Wire Maestro II. Preamp to power amp: Cardas Cross, JPS Balanced Super-Conductor 2. Speaker:…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

For most of these measurements I upsampled the 44.1kHz data to 96kHz, which was how KR preferred to audition the MSB Link III. When I stuck with 44.1kHz data, I say so in the text.

Although KR had problems getting the Link III to lock on to AES/EBU datastreams, I had no problems with the Audio Precision's XLR digital output. The Link III also had no problems locking on to the 96kHz-sampled S/PDIF data output of a Panasonic A-120 DVD player playing DADs or the data output of a RadioShack 3400 portable CD player.

As seems always to be the case these…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Measurements part 2

Even with upsampling, the Link II's linearity was superb, as shown in fig.4. Any level error remains below 1dB down to -115dBFS, with noise then revealing its presence as an increase in positive error. As a result, the unit's reproduction of an undithered 1kHz sinewave at -90.31dBFS (fig.5) was excellent, if not quite to the standard achieved by the Marantz SACD player. Increasing the word depth to 24 bits gave a waveform more closely resembling a sinewave (fig.6), though now some DC offset, or perhaps very-low-frequency noise, makes an appearance.

Fig.4 MSB Link III, departure…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Measurements part 3

Regarding linearity, the MSB was virtually free from harmonic (fig.7) and intermodulation (fig.8) distortion—only when it came to jitter did the processor seem to stumble a little. I assess jitter by driving the device under test with data representing a high-level tone at one quarter the sample rate (11.025kHz), over which has been overlaid the 16th bit toggling on and off at a rate of 229Hz. Using the Paul Miller analyzer, I average sixty-four 32k FFTs on the device's analog output to get a narrow-band spectrum. The analyzer software then searches the FFT bins for symmetrical pairs of…

MSB Link DAC III D/A converter Sam Tellig's Followup

A FollowUp by Sam Tellig appeared in February 2001 (Vol.24 No.2):

I have heard upsampling now in three different systems: with the Dodson DA-217 MK2-D digital processor in the listening lair of my friend, Lars; with the dCS Elgar at Dick Sequerra's place; and in my own listening room, with the MSB Link DAC III, equipped with optional upsampling board. Especially good news is the fact that upsampling is available so cheaply—as a $299 option for the already-cheap MSB Link DAC III, for instance.

Now I want to make it clear that I have heard no one claim that upsampling makes a…