[Triode User]

Actually I have today bought one of the last chromecast audio devices with optical output (they are discontinued) so I will try it compared to my Innuos SE. I have set it up as a Roon zone.

 

[BallisticGT3]

Actually I have today bought one of the last chromecast audio devices with optical output (they are discontinued) so I will try it compared to my Innuos SE. I have set it up as a Roon zone.

I will be interested to read your comments on this comparison.

 

[Triode User]

I will be interested to read your comments on this comparison.

I actually bought it to use in the kitchen so I can access my music in there from off the Innuos SE.

 

[AndrewH13]

Actually I have today bought one of the last chromecast audio devices with optical output (they are discontinued) so I will try it compared to my Innuos SE. I have set it up as a Roon zone.

If it’s as good as Innuos let me know quickly before they disappear!!

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Musickid
I have heard different optical cables sound different whilst each was tested with the same components.

I have heard some optical cables sound ‘glassy’.

I have also heard Coax sound better than optical from the same components too.

I have heard one Coax with greater resolution than another.

All the above were playing a bit-perfect file. If cables can make a difference, it’s easy to imagine sources sources can too.

When the big debate on ferrites raised its head here a while back, a couple of cheap cables were championed as sufficient to get the best out of Blu Mkii + Dave setup provided sufficient ferrites were used. I bought a couple of the more popular brands recommended here and bought recommended ferrites to focus on the specific wave band identified as important. It sounded pretty good. Then after a few months of really getting to know the sound I put the Chord Sarum Super TA’s back in and for the majority of the waveband they were very similar but in the highs, the Sarum clearly had greater resolution and was sweeter. (And so it should at the price). As I say, what should be in theory is often not the case with HIFI in practice. I try to keep an open mind until I have been able to test things myself. Sometimes I am shocked by the difference, sometimes not and it isn’t always the most costly solution that gets the best results. Synergy is hugely underestimated in HIFI I think.

 

[musickid]

I refer specifically to bit perfect optical streams into chord dacs which employ DPLL to eliminate jitter. With usb out from different streamers then i remain silent as i have no experience here. I maintain my point of view that if an optical signal is bit perfect into chord dacs which employ digital phase lock loops to eliminate jitter the source makes no difference as long as it is bit perfect. with usb you are straight into fpga master clock timing ie the distance from usb port to fpga clock is shorter than optical input to fpga clock hence the employment of DPLL. my optical stream from my imac which has a 512gb ssd sounds glorious into mscaler. people using chromecast optical into mscalers also report excellent results. i just can't understand why one would spend mega bucks on optical sources and servers when chord dacs employ DPLL to eliminate all jitter. unless usb is a must then expenditure could be justified.

 

[adyc]

I also have Chromecast audio. I agree that I couldn’t tell much difference from the other streamers. But one big disadvantage is that it’s digital output is only limited up to 96K Hz signal. One can’t play high resolution file. Otherwise, it is a killer.

 

[iDesign]

Rob's opinion on bit perfect optical sources sounding identical.

I have read varying reports about the quality of Apple's optical outputs that are integrated into their 3.5mm headphone jack. I was interested in hearing more about this subject until Apple slowly began depreciating optical outputs from their computers. The 2016 MacBook Pro was the first computer to drop the optical output. And since the Blu Mk II doesn't have an optical input, its now totally moot.

I don't understand why Chord hasn't done a standalone Choral M Scaler or at least a Blu Mk II.2 update by adding the galvanic isolation, integrated ferrites, optical inputs/outputs, pass through mode, etc. etc. and other features of the Hugo M Scaler.

 

[musickid]

Using (late 2013, 27 inch, 512gb ssd) imac optical into mscaler is excellent. apparently the headphone amp is in the same board or section as spdif out which is imported from cirrus logic which are a highly regarded electronics corp. my cpu useage is very low. multimedia is core to apple so headphone amp/internal dac/spdif are of very good quality for what they are. with the mscaler optical is fast becoming the input of choice due to neutralising RF worries.

 

[Triode User]

I don't understand why Chord hasn't done a standalone Choral M Scaler or at least a Blu Mk II.2 update by adding the galvanic isolation, optical inputs/outputs, pass through mode, etc. etc. and other features of the Hugo M Scaler.

I see that you have a Blu2. Having lived with Blu2 and an MScaler in two different systems since both of them first came out I admit to being very happy with my Blu2 just as it is and I purposely did not exchange it for an Mscaler despite the extra inputs/outputs and lesser price. Sure Blu2 only has usb input but for me that is no disadvantage at all. My Zenith SE with Roon is a single source for Qobuz, ripped files and radio and then I have the added advantage of the CD player which is very useful for when friends come round with their CDs. Yes I do have friends and yes they do have CDs. The extra features you list simply do not matter to me, especially pass through which I find, at best, to be superfluous. I am sure eventually there will be a next generation of Blu2 but I certainly wouldn’t sell my Blu2 just to get an MScaler in a choral box and especially if I lose the CD player function.

 

[audio_1]

Another vote here for the Supra USB 2.0, which I use to connect my Innuos Statement to a Blu2. I prefer the characteristics of the Supra to the Chord Signature usb cable that I was using before.

I am using a 5 metre Supra USB 2.0 from my Dell XPS 13 to BLU II for streaming Qobuz. It sounds darker then the supplied USB cable so presumably must be reducing RFI from the Dell and network.

 

[jonstatt]

I see that you have a Blu2. Having lived with Blu2 and an MScaler in two different systems since both of them first came out I admit to being very happy with my Blu2 just as it is and I purposely did not exchange it for an Mscaler despite the extra inputs/outputs and lesser price. Sure Blu2 only has usb input but for me that is no disadvantage at all. My Zenith SE with Roon is a single source for Qobuz, ripped files and radio and then I have the added advantage of the CD player which is very useful for when friends come round with their CDs. Yes I do have friends and yes they do have CDs. The extra features you list simply do not matter to me, especially pass through which I find, at best, to be superfluous. I am sure eventually there will be a next generation of Blu2 but I certainly wouldn’t sell my Blu2 just to get an MScaler in a choral box and especially if I lose the CD player function.

Did you ever do a Blu2 vs Mscaler comparison to confirm with the right coax bnc cables there was no difference between them? If so that still leaves the unanswered question of why the CD player still sounds slightly better

 

[Triode User]

Did you ever do a Blu2 vs Mscaler comparison to confirm with the right coax bnc cables there was no difference between them? If so that still leaves the unanswered question of why the CD player still sounds slightly better

Yes, I compared them both side by side connected to a Zenith SE.
With standard dual bnc cables the Mscaler sounds slightly better to my ears than the Blu2.
With different dual bnc cables on the Blu2 it sounds slightly better to me than the Mscaler.
When they both have those same different cables the Blu2 and Mscaler sound identical to my ears.

edit just to say that obviously this is just me and my ears so YMMV.

 

[ray-dude]

Yes, I compared them both side by side connected to a Zenith SE.
With standard dual bnc cables the Mscaler sounds slightly better to my ears than the Blu2.
With different dual bnc cables on the Blu2 it sounds slightly better to me than the Mscaler.
When they both have those same different cables the Blu2 and Mscaler sound identical to my ears.

edit just to say that obviously this is just me and my ears so YMMV.

My experiences were similar (different end point)

With respect to CD playback, your are now introducing different digital sources (internal CD vs USB+computer for Blu). With Blu, the CD (with everything else disconnected) is the reference. When you get USB playback of the same redbook files to sound as good as CD, your upstream chain has arrived. I was able to get very close, but I think CD always had a very slight edge in my system (regardless of BNC cables)

Paradoxically, the better your digital hygiene between the mScaler and DAC, the easier it is to distinguish CD from USB sources

On my infinite go do list is to test various optical scenarios with HMS, and compare to the best I’ve gotten on the USB side. Hopefully soon

 

[learpot]

Got the Sotm D-CBL BNC cables x 2 a month ago. Burnt in for 100 hours or so by now. I believe the BluDave setup is finally complete. For almost a year, to get the optimal reference sound out of BluDave is a very difficult task indeed. I kept experimenting and guessing what the ideal setup might be.

Recently, I realized that the purest raw reference signal pathway should be MacMini->wireworld supernova 7 glass toslink->Dave. This should reliably render a good baseline sound signature from DAVE. Using that as the starting point, we can compare different BNC cables and titrate everything else to match the toslink signal pathway. Then I quickly find that the stock/canare/amphenol BNC cables +/- ferrites cannot really match the performance of sotm BNC. They are indeed behind by a huge margin. You don’t realize this until you start to compare them against Sotm. I firmly believe that neither dark/lack of harshness or bright/harsh is good. Perceived darkness may represent a significant loss of detail or artificially altered frequency response. The simplest thing to prove this is going to live concerts. Musical instruments don’t sound dark or bright. They just sound right. Using these terms to describe BNC cables is inaccurate. The sound signature of Sotm BNC perfectly match the toslink connection and demonstrates abosolutely the rawest sound as Audio bacon has reviewed. I also notice that Sotm uses the same canare made connectors as the canare 4K Bnc cables.

BluDave now have perfect smoothness, analog vinyl sound, ultimate resolution and transparency, distinct and vivid vocal/instrument separation. Even listening with quick switching x 10 times, I cannot tell any minute differences between Mac mini streaming vs Blu CD player. Definitely, BluDave benefits from using audiophile quality interconnects. I believe the Blu MkII has a unique advantage over HMS. Not only it can play CDs upfront, but also you can upgrade different audiophile power cables/regenerators/fuses to further titrate the sound signature to your personal liking.

The reason we spend so much time to optimize our system is not to have the deepest bass/thickest mids/brightest highs but to render the raw music faithfully as musicians intended.

To me, BluDave is PERFECT