Playback Designs MPS-3
There is an
uninterrupted flow of DACs, here in our newsroom, and I have the feeling that
this won’t stop soon. We are enjoying this new trend and we are slowly
realizing that the buzz about it, makes sense. Digital technology, in fact,
keeps on progressing at a very fast pace. Well, later on I will apologize with
all my devoted readers, and not only with them, for the ideas I have sometimes
expressed in the past, about digital progress.
Let’s talk now about this integrated digital player Playback Designs MPS-3, that comes from Oregon, USA. The first time I bumped into one of the devices of this brand I was in Las Vegas, during a T.H.E. Show, back in 2009. Something in its sound impressed me so that I suggested it to a couple of Italian distributors that were in Nevada in those days. Anyway, the brand has found an Italian distributor only in recent times and - for a twist of fate - we have a player here to review, a more advanced player if compared to the one I first saw.
Playback was founded by Andreas Koch that, 30 years ago,was already dealing with analog/digital conversion in Switzerland for Studer and Revox. Another founder is Jonathan Tinn that was the former distributor of Tenor Audio and DarTZeel, and also an EMM Labs manager. In the Playback Designs team there is also Bert Gerlach, the German designer of the analog stages of the Series 5 players. If you want to find out more details, please visit this website : http://www.playbackdesigns.com/start-here/technology-design/ where you will find more info.
Let’s talk now about this integrated digital player Playback Designs MPS-3, that comes from Oregon, USA. The first time I bumped into one of the devices of this brand I was in Las Vegas, during a T.H.E. Show, back in 2009. Something in its sound impressed me so that I suggested it to a couple of Italian distributors that were in Nevada in those days. Anyway, the brand has found an Italian distributor only in recent times and - for a twist of fate - we have a player here to review, a more advanced player if compared to the one I first saw.
Playback was founded by Andreas Koch that, 30 years ago,was already dealing with analog/digital conversion in Switzerland for Studer and Revox. Another founder is Jonathan Tinn that was the former distributor of Tenor Audio and DarTZeel, and also an EMM Labs manager. In the Playback Designs team there is also Bert Gerlach, the German designer of the analog stages of the Series 5 players. If you want to find out more details, please visit this website : http://www.playbackdesigns.com/start-here/technology-design/ where you will find more info.
This MPS-3 is just like the MPD-3, with the
GyrFalcon transport added. Well, we could as well say that it's an MPS-3
without the transport. In fact, they are exactly the same thing exception made
for the transport, as you can see in the pictures of its inside, in the gallery at the bottom of this page.
The GyrFalcon is produced by DAISy and it is an interesting piece of technology completely metal made. http://www.daisy-laser.com/products/loadingsystems/loadingbis/fml/fml.htm
Moreover, if you have the MPD-3, Playback Designs offers you a kit to turn it into an integrated player. A new front panel is included too, of course. I find it a great idea, don't you?
Let's take a look to the characteristics of this player in this world that transforms simple CD players into Big Brothers ...
It's a CD-only player and for SACD you must buy the MPS-5, a player that we will describe when we'll have the chance to review it.
This DAC has different inputs that accept different signals:
AES/EBU: PCM up to a 24/192 KHz
S/PDIF: PCM up to 24/192 KHz
USB: PCM up to 24/384 KHz (DXD) or DSD up to a 6,1 MHz.
Its look is very original. Curvy lines and a big red light display that can be switched off with the remote. The front panel has no switches that are positioned instead on the right upper side.
The back has the IEC port, the switch button, balanced and unbalanced inputs and the digital inputs above mentioned. There is no stand-by button, so you can either use the back button to switch it off or you can turn off the display and leave it on - like I did - in order to find it at the right temperature when you want to listen to music.
I usually choose the balanced output but with this player I had to use the unbalanced ones, since the balanced output level was really too high to work correctly with my system.
The MPS-3 was connected to the following system:
turntable Basis 2001, tonearm Graham 2.2, cartridge Scan Tech Lyra Helikon, phono preamplifier: Einstein "The Turntable's Choice", CD/SACD player dCS Puccini + Puccini U-Clock, preamplifier: MBL 4006, power amplifiers: Bryston 7B ST mono, loudspeakers: JBL 4350B, interconnect cables: MIT Oracle MA-X Proline, MIT Shotgun S2 RCA, Transparent Super XLR, Transparent Super RCA, LAT International XLR, loudspeaker cables: MIT Magnum MA, Vovox Initio, power cables: MIT Shotgun AC 1, Black Noise Pearl and others
DIY, mains distributor: Lector Edison 230/8, mains filter: Black Noise 2500.
The GyrFalcon is produced by DAISy and it is an interesting piece of technology completely metal made. http://www.daisy-laser.com/products/loadingsystems/loadingbis/fml/fml.htm
Moreover, if you have the MPD-3, Playback Designs offers you a kit to turn it into an integrated player. A new front panel is included too, of course. I find it a great idea, don't you?
Let's take a look to the characteristics of this player in this world that transforms simple CD players into Big Brothers ...
It's a CD-only player and for SACD you must buy the MPS-5, a player that we will describe when we'll have the chance to review it.
This DAC has different inputs that accept different signals:
AES/EBU: PCM up to a 24/192 KHz
S/PDIF: PCM up to 24/192 KHz
USB: PCM up to 24/384 KHz (DXD) or DSD up to a 6,1 MHz.
Its look is very original. Curvy lines and a big red light display that can be switched off with the remote. The front panel has no switches that are positioned instead on the right upper side.
The back has the IEC port, the switch button, balanced and unbalanced inputs and the digital inputs above mentioned. There is no stand-by button, so you can either use the back button to switch it off or you can turn off the display and leave it on - like I did - in order to find it at the right temperature when you want to listen to music.
I usually choose the balanced output but with this player I had to use the unbalanced ones, since the balanced output level was really too high to work correctly with my system.
The MPS-3 was connected to the following system:
turntable Basis 2001, tonearm Graham 2.2, cartridge Scan Tech Lyra Helikon, phono preamplifier: Einstein "The Turntable's Choice", CD/SACD player dCS Puccini + Puccini U-Clock, preamplifier: MBL 4006, power amplifiers: Bryston 7B ST mono, loudspeakers: JBL 4350B, interconnect cables: MIT Oracle MA-X Proline, MIT Shotgun S2 RCA, Transparent Super XLR, Transparent Super RCA, LAT International XLR, loudspeaker cables: MIT Magnum MA, Vovox Initio, power cables: MIT Shotgun AC 1, Black Noise Pearl and others
DIY, mains distributor: Lector Edison 230/8, mains filter: Black Noise 2500.
I have been
convinced for a long time that for music sampled at 24/88,2 or even 96 kHz was
enough. I even wrote it in my review of the MSB converter. I have learned at my
own expenses that it's not so, after an 8 hours and 10 GB download for one
recording.
But let’s proceed with order. For the review of this Playback Designs we start with a Red Book CD: “Ballads” by the Paolo Fresu Quintet (Splas(h)) evidences straight away a bass that is very extended in the first octave of the double bass, an authoritative and very controlled sound. This is something that is not present in normal CDs, that do not have in the lower range their best characteristics.
Music is reproduced with the right dynamics but it seems to be slower, meditated, without the hysteria that sometimes characterizes the digital technology. What we hear is so enjoyable that we are distracted from our assigned task that is to dissect what we hear and express it with words; words that most of the times are not appropriate enough.
“Anno Domini 2012” (Velut Luna) is a very nice record, both for the content and and for the recording that is great. Marco Lincetto expressed his abilities at best, with this record. In the first track the hits on the bass drum are spectacular. This happens because the Playback Designs unfolds the complex plot of the orchestra and takes the listener right into the recording studios, that we had the chance to visit only a few months ago. The strings are reproduced with the touch of the bow but also with the “thickness” of the wooden body, and we all know that this is a part that sometimes gets lost somewhere between recording and reproduction.
We’ve been listening for days to many CDs but we will not list them all here. We have the impression that we are at the top of the Red Book technology; technology that has improved a lot in the last five years, albeit at very high costs. This MPS-3 treats the sound of the CD with strength and sweetness at the same time. The result is a sound that is balanced and a bit smoothed - pleasantly smoothed I’d say - at its top end.
We now put our hands on the computer. A comparison between the CD and its ripped version on the hard disk shows us – once again - that the absence of the CD player transport is beneficial to the reproduction quality. This happened in the past with the dCS Puccini and now, with the MPS-3, it’s the same thing. Still the comparison has been made with two top quality players. In “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (Bruce Springsteen), the bass is more firm and the charleston in the first track is real, tangible and open.
But let’s proceed with order. For the review of this Playback Designs we start with a Red Book CD: “Ballads” by the Paolo Fresu Quintet (Splas(h)) evidences straight away a bass that is very extended in the first octave of the double bass, an authoritative and very controlled sound. This is something that is not present in normal CDs, that do not have in the lower range their best characteristics.
Music is reproduced with the right dynamics but it seems to be slower, meditated, without the hysteria that sometimes characterizes the digital technology. What we hear is so enjoyable that we are distracted from our assigned task that is to dissect what we hear and express it with words; words that most of the times are not appropriate enough.
“Anno Domini 2012” (Velut Luna) is a very nice record, both for the content and and for the recording that is great. Marco Lincetto expressed his abilities at best, with this record. In the first track the hits on the bass drum are spectacular. This happens because the Playback Designs unfolds the complex plot of the orchestra and takes the listener right into the recording studios, that we had the chance to visit only a few months ago. The strings are reproduced with the touch of the bow but also with the “thickness” of the wooden body, and we all know that this is a part that sometimes gets lost somewhere between recording and reproduction.
We’ve been listening for days to many CDs but we will not list them all here. We have the impression that we are at the top of the Red Book technology; technology that has improved a lot in the last five years, albeit at very high costs. This MPS-3 treats the sound of the CD with strength and sweetness at the same time. The result is a sound that is balanced and a bit smoothed - pleasantly smoothed I’d say - at its top end.
We now put our hands on the computer. A comparison between the CD and its ripped version on the hard disk shows us – once again - that the absence of the CD player transport is beneficial to the reproduction quality. This happened in the past with the dCS Puccini and now, with the MPS-3, it’s the same thing. Still the comparison has been made with two top quality players. In “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (Bruce Springsteen), the bass is more firm and the charleston in the first track is real, tangible and open.
I want to
tell you what happened with my friend and colleague Domenico Pizzamiglio. We
were talking with some music in the background. I decided to pull him around a
bit and I played ”Isn’t that a Lovely Day” by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis
Armstrong in the splendor of PCM24/192. His reaction was one of approval - but
who wouldn’t approve such a duet ? -. I told him that there were an alternative
and I put the Verve CD in the Playback tray. The master must be the same, since
voices and arrangements are identical. Ten seconds are enough to affirm that
the difference is incredible, it seems a completely different record. Domenico said just one word: embarrassing.
Yes, I agree. Embarrassing. The double bass is very precise, in the voices we
spot details never heard before, the brushes on the drum set's ride cymbal are
as close to a live sound as they can be. I’ve never heard these song in this
way, never, with any possible system.
Well it’s time to wake up to reality. Time to admit that the difference between a 24/96 kHz file and a DXD (24/384 kHz) file can be spotted easily. It’s a continuous surge of emotions and quality sounds that only the best analog devices can output. Voices that can be distinguished easily from the background music, basses that deserve this name, wow! I am enthusiast of the results achieved but I’m not really convinced that beyond 24/92 is not just time and space wasted. So, I decide to invest 37 Euros in a 2L sample recording “The Nordic Sound” that I already have in 24/96, to compare the same master in two different resolutions. I'm going to buy the DXD version trying to find new validation to my ideas.
After 8 hours to download the complete file, I listen to Mozart’s Violin Concert n°4. I perceive immediately an enlarged sound stage. The timbre remains almost unchanged, the same good one of the lower resolution track. It is the sound that results less compressed, the dynamics is greater and the sound comes out more easily from the whole system.
These small hurdles can be noticed only through a comparative listening. The question is: can we live without DXD? The same thing applies to the CD, then. We could have done without it and this way we wouldn’t have regressed from a good analog source to … a CD.
We can state that sources are once again the main actors in a good audio system. All this despite those that affirm that they hear no differences among the different digital devices.
There are many issues that must be faced as we proceed with this test. First of all, money; to do things properly the expense is medium-high or high. Second issue is the configuration of the PC that we’ll use as a source. But this task is easily solved. Few hours of work with the help of the user’s manual of the DAC you have chosen can be enough to have wonderful results. Of course, much more can be done but if you enjoy listening to music more than fiddling around with your PC, don’t try and do things that are too complicated.
As for me, I can’t afford this Playback right now so I’ll have to make do. If I had the money though I’d buy the MPS-5 so I could listen also to my 100 or more SACDs. I will keep with extreme care these jewels I've downloaded in my hard disk, waiting for more devices to test and also waiting for a larger choice of DXD music files.
Quality is surely worth it but I think it’s hard to explain to the mass market the reasons behind a 10 GB download when we can have an Mp3 version that occupies 1/20 of the space and can be downloaded faster.
I am trying to convince myself that life is possible even if the quality of what we hear is not the top. But I am listening to “Crux Fidelis”, a Gregorian Chant. It’s hard to describe the clear difference with words. It’s not at all an audiophile issue, it’s a sort of breath among instruments, it’s somehow “life” that we find in the DXD version.
The choir in the “Confutatis” of the Islandsmoen’s Requiem - in the high resolution version - lets you distinguish clearly every element in the choir. All the natural hissing of the singers are clearly localized. Too bad you’re not here with me to hear all these wonders.
What else could I add to such a positive test? Andreas Koch is once again among the best digital devices designers and then he is a fan of DSD … just like me!
Go and listen to the Playback Designs in the shop of an experienced retailer and then give me your feedback. please.
Here are to links to go into the hi-rez digital subject more in depth:
http://www.playbackdesigns.com/support/super-hi-res-answers/
http://www.playbackdesigns.com/start-here/dsd-explained-by-andreas-koch/
Angelo Jasparro
Translation: Francesca Rubino
Well it’s time to wake up to reality. Time to admit that the difference between a 24/96 kHz file and a DXD (24/384 kHz) file can be spotted easily. It’s a continuous surge of emotions and quality sounds that only the best analog devices can output. Voices that can be distinguished easily from the background music, basses that deserve this name, wow! I am enthusiast of the results achieved but I’m not really convinced that beyond 24/92 is not just time and space wasted. So, I decide to invest 37 Euros in a 2L sample recording “The Nordic Sound” that I already have in 24/96, to compare the same master in two different resolutions. I'm going to buy the DXD version trying to find new validation to my ideas.
After 8 hours to download the complete file, I listen to Mozart’s Violin Concert n°4. I perceive immediately an enlarged sound stage. The timbre remains almost unchanged, the same good one of the lower resolution track. It is the sound that results less compressed, the dynamics is greater and the sound comes out more easily from the whole system.
These small hurdles can be noticed only through a comparative listening. The question is: can we live without DXD? The same thing applies to the CD, then. We could have done without it and this way we wouldn’t have regressed from a good analog source to … a CD.
We can state that sources are once again the main actors in a good audio system. All this despite those that affirm that they hear no differences among the different digital devices.
There are many issues that must be faced as we proceed with this test. First of all, money; to do things properly the expense is medium-high or high. Second issue is the configuration of the PC that we’ll use as a source. But this task is easily solved. Few hours of work with the help of the user’s manual of the DAC you have chosen can be enough to have wonderful results. Of course, much more can be done but if you enjoy listening to music more than fiddling around with your PC, don’t try and do things that are too complicated.
As for me, I can’t afford this Playback right now so I’ll have to make do. If I had the money though I’d buy the MPS-5 so I could listen also to my 100 or more SACDs. I will keep with extreme care these jewels I've downloaded in my hard disk, waiting for more devices to test and also waiting for a larger choice of DXD music files.
Quality is surely worth it but I think it’s hard to explain to the mass market the reasons behind a 10 GB download when we can have an Mp3 version that occupies 1/20 of the space and can be downloaded faster.
I am trying to convince myself that life is possible even if the quality of what we hear is not the top. But I am listening to “Crux Fidelis”, a Gregorian Chant. It’s hard to describe the clear difference with words. It’s not at all an audiophile issue, it’s a sort of breath among instruments, it’s somehow “life” that we find in the DXD version.
The choir in the “Confutatis” of the Islandsmoen’s Requiem - in the high resolution version - lets you distinguish clearly every element in the choir. All the natural hissing of the singers are clearly localized. Too bad you’re not here with me to hear all these wonders.
What else could I add to such a positive test? Andreas Koch is once again among the best digital devices designers and then he is a fan of DSD … just like me!
Go and listen to the Playback Designs in the shop of an experienced retailer and then give me your feedback. please.
Here are to links to go into the hi-rez digital subject more in depth:
http://www.playbackdesigns.com/support/super-hi-res-answers/
http://www.playbackdesigns.com/start-here/dsd-explained-by-andreas-koch/
Angelo Jasparro
Translation: Francesca Rubino
Manufacturer: Playback Designs
