I was hoping to post this on the new Hugo M Scaler thread, but one does not exist yet. Feel free to move this once it's created.
I am so glad I had other plans that brought me to London this weekend, allowing me to attend CanJam, reconnect with my good friend
@romaz , and meet head-fi'ers like
@STR-1,
@TheAttorney, and
@jude .
It was also very nice to spend some time with, and get to know
@Rob Watts. Since the lines at the HMS/TT2 stations were unrelenting, Rob was kind enough to set me up with his own personal units in a quiet space, so I could have a listen.
Please note that these are just first impressions, and subject to change after I have a chance to evaluate in my own home and system.
The Hugo TT2 easily drove my HD800 (SD mod) as loud as I could want them. Even with the SE output, that Rob says is the most transparent. Luckily I had a female XLR adapter that allowed me to also try the rear XLR balanced outputs, and there is a ton of power in this thing.
Since I didn't have a lot of time, I listened to the HMS/TT2 as a combo. I was very impressed. Not only was I hearing excellent SQ, it was without the need for my expensive Cavalli LAu in the picture. This is an intriguing value proposition, as the sale of my amp could mitigate the daunting cost of this combo.
What I heard was very clean, punchy, incisive, and balanced. There was no hint of harshness, and a wealth of micro- and macro-detail. There was a rightness to the sound that I very much want to explore further. Instruments like piano and female voices sounded natural and just "right." Bass was prodigious, which is not something I have been able to say with any component other than my Cavalli driving my HD800s.
However what blew my mind, and really is the highlight, is the MScaler. I am not putting down the TT2 at all, since it clearly contributes to the whole. Certainly, with more evaluation time, I'll have a better chance to characterize it relative to other DACs I've known and loved. Some of you may recall me saying how impressed I was with the Blu2 demo at RMAF last year. That was in a crowded demo room, listening for all of 5-10 minutes. Here, with a little more time, and full control of the music selection, I have to say I felt that same wow factor from Denver.
The HMS has a scaling button that cycles between pass-through, and upsampling to 192, 384, and 768. The upsampling to 192 and then 384 are each a nice jump in SQ. But I was amazed at how big a leap in performance occurred between 384 and 768.
I'll reserve more prose for when I can actually review this combo, but I will say if you're in the market and funds permit, this combo merits a careful listen.
Finally, it was great to end the show going out with Roy to a nice dinner and concert - the Mahler 8th at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. I'm a glutton for punishment, so I actually went to another Proms concert the day before, the Beethoven 9th. I love the Proms!