When music downloads are offered from the same vendor in a range of resolutions, what should sound better through MScaler - PCM 24-192 or DSD128, DSD256 ?? A personal favourite is 24-352, but if that isn’t offered what should sound better? The vendor downsampled 24-192 or the MScaler downsampled...

My opinion for that amount of money, ditch that iPower immediately, forget battery just get a good power supply like a Sean Jacobs, Farad3 or Uptone JS-2. You are using an OpticalRendu, which are phenomenal with the right optical SFP connector. SFP are highly noisy laser devices sitting right...

As someone above quite correctly said, this is not the way of doing it. Setting the computer to output at 705khz completely bypasses the MScalar. I don’t even think you should be using the midi manager to set the sound output, You should be using software that bypasses that completely and...

I noticed this with my streamer when playing a DSD track when a PCM track was already playing and vice versa. In my players settings I put in a delay of 2000 milliseconds when swapping data types. I also put the same value in for when it plays different sampling rates of PCM even though I...

My streamer (opticalRendu) has an AirPlay app you download and use. I’m guessing other streamers do too.

The poster wasn’t saying that a linear power supply powering equipment was a bad thing, but that stacking equipment directly on top of them is what was bad. Actually since they mention a stack of power supplies to power the equipment it appears they are advocating them, just not in direct...

5v as that is what it is rated for. 3v might not even work. Amps is irrelevant as long as it exceeds the minimum the device requires as it will draw what it needs. Don’t go above it’s rated voltage, don’t go below it’s rated amps.

A TT or TT2?

Wifi is only useful to transceivers in wifi routers, to everything else it is RFI, and is the very noise you want to keep well away from audio equipment, particularly the DAC and anything connected to it.

i checked out the Chord site last week and noticed that in the section titled “Product Types” was “Upscalers” (plural) which when you open it has a single product, the Hugo M Scaler. It sure does feel like a lot of empty space on that page. I know all this means nothing, but it sure feels like...

Good points which got me thinking, a coaxial shield could protect the signal wire from RFI with the shield being an antennae for RFI, but then does a twisted geometry do anything for RFI?, or does it only cancel out lower frequency EMI? In fact would a twisted pair geometry actually expose the...

Maybe with standard RCA but the RCA connectors used in the Blue Jeans cable being discussed are specifically designed to be close to 75ohm as possible and are probably better than the WBT, it is mentioned in their spec sheet, they also connect the ground connection to the shell in a coaxial...

Re optical cables, many on the Hugo MScaler thread recommend the (dirt cheap) KableDirekt Optical cable https://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirekt-Optical-TOSLINK-Digital-Audio/dp/B004YEI7Y4/ the connectors seem to mate with chord equipment well and they have no trouble with 192khz data, which many of...

Sablon USB is perfect. A really good power supply improves. However the revelation I have had this year is that player/streamer and also he network improvements upstream from the player have a profound effect on the sound. Look into linear supplies on all network devices and something like the...

Note that you should only use the DC output from that device which is primarily a DC to AC inverter. If you simply plug the wall wart into it you are introducing massive power distortion into the wall wart. And even the DC output from that will be nowhere as clean as the PowerAdd....

Yeah I have that upgrade already 🙂 All I want from a QutestPlus is the same Qutest form factor and connections, same number of taps, but a much better WTA2 stage and standard robust barrel style 12v DC power connection. Then it would make a better pairing with the MScaler. Seems a waste to get...

Dont know about the Ares 2 being better, but Chord usually announce new products around now. An updated Qutest would be nice...

I believe the TT2 has its own internal supercapacitor power supply and the SMPS wall wart is merely a charging supply to the internal supply. That said and noting how the use of 3rd party power supplies invalidates warranty, some ears I respect report that using a good 3rd party supply does...

Staying optical if at all possible is a very good approach. There is something else to be wary of here - the Airport Express is a wireless router, which by its very nature sprays out as much RFI as it can through the air in order to work. Airborne RFI is something you should keep away from the...

Low MHz range is mitigated internally by the MScaler, it is the 1 to 2.5Ghz that is problematic. (refraining from tea comments)

There are two aspects to the design of items that people use, not just look at. The interaction design (user interface) and the visual design (aesthetic). Generally creating something that people will use is design, creating something purely for an aesthetic philosophy is art not design. The...

I had heard about this from a few people, even the manufacturer of my streamer suggested trying PCM only streaming. The reasoning is that the streamer is required to do less processing. I’ve been meaning to try it but that Filetypes page in the LMS server setup is so confusing, I’ve put it aside...

Hehe. Its amazing how long cutting 40+ pieces to the right length then heating them with my partners old hair dryer takes. With practice, a hotter gun, and the same length ferrite you could reduce it quite a bit. I was trying different length/width ferrites for different cables so the length...

Agree. You can make cheaper but still great sounding ones for half of that. I’ve made 3 pairs, my favourite using 6mm diameter Belden 1695A cabling and FairRight 2661540002 ferrites. And one pair sound so good I’ve lost motivation to try more. Well that and no income for 6 months. I wanted to...

ive been thinking the same. The Qute line gets updated regularly. Personally I would love a Qute4 with an enhanced WTA2 output stage with volume control and no other changes. So those of us with MScalers don’t need to buy TT2 to get an equivalent sound. Oh and a 12v DC supply with DC barrel...