[Triode User]

I should also point out that as I understand it, the connection between the CD transport and the m-scaler in the Blu2 is electrical, so RFI could be an issue.

Yes, but that is explained by RW in his post where he said, "The benefit that the Blu 2 has is being able to play CD's; and all the reports I have seen is that CD replay using the Blu 2 is better than a dedicated server; and the reason for this is the much lower power dissipation and overall lower RF noise as the internal clock speeds of a CD mech is very low, and it's low power too."

 

[AndrewOld]

Yes, but that is explained by RW in his post where he said, "The benefit that the Blu 2 has is being able to play CD's; and all the reports I have seen is that CD replay using the Blu 2 is better than a dedicated server; and the reason for this is the much lower power dissipation and overall lower RF noise as the internal clock speeds of a CD mech is very low, and it's low power too."

I’ve asked him a question about that statement, and I’m waiting on an answer. If he is saying that a cd played back on a Blu2 will sound better than a perfect rip of that cd played back on a Blu2 or M Scaler then I’d like to know. It implies you could burn a cd from a file on your laptop and that cd would sound better through the Blu2 than the rip would.

 

[Crgreen]

Yes, but that is explained by RW in his post where he said, "The benefit that the Blu 2 has is being able to play CD's; and all the reports I have seen is that CD replay using the Blu 2 is better than a dedicated server; and the reason for this is the much lower power dissipation and overall lower RF noise as the internal clock speeds of a CD mech is very low, and it's low power too."

Exactly, no buts about it! RW's comment formed the basis of my original remarks. Since we now seem to be going round in circles, and I clearly lack the ability to express myself in terms that anyone else can understand, I'll depart .

 

[Triode User]

I’ve asked him a question about that statement, and I’m waiting on an answer. If he is saying that a cd played back on a Blu2 will sound better than a perfect rip of that cd played back on a Blu2 or M Scaler then I’d like to know. It implies you could burn a cd from a file on your laptop and that cd would sound better through the Blu2 than the rip would.

Yes, and I have no issues with that logic because the burned CD would not encapsulate any of the server RF noise. Hence, when was played back on the Blu2 you would get better than the ripped file played from the server. That makes sense to me.

 

[elviscaprice]

Actually, it doesn't make sense. Far more noise is generated reading off a CD via transport than a hard drive. CD is an outdated data medium. Many audiophiles are moving on to larger content mediums for less foot print and rightfully so.
If the BLU MKII is better SQ for CD playback within than outside server driving data streamed, then the right question might be what is wrong with the design? I thought Rob said his designs were immune to outside noise other than RF?

Answer, there is more to it, starting with external clocking, clean power. And if your not able to stream data with better SQ than a CD transport, you should be asking What am I doing wrong?

 

[Triode User]

Actually, it doesn't make sense. Far more noise is generated reading off a CD via transport than a hard drive. CD is an outdated data medium. Many audiophiles are moving on to larger content mediums for less foot print and rightfully so.
If the BLU MKII is better SQ for CD playback within than outside server driving data streamed, then the right question might be what is wrong with the design? I thought Rob said his designs were immune to outside noise other than RF?

Answer, there is more to it, starting with external clocking, clean power. And if your not able to stream data with better SQ than a CD transport, you should be asking What am I doing wrong?

Really? Why is RW’s explanation not valid? Hard drives can be noisy and their associated circuits can be noisy. You mention RF and I suspect that is exactly what is generated by your hard drive server. I am more inclined to accept RW’s description of the Blu2 cd drive because that makes sense.

 

[AndrewOld]

Yes, and I have no issues with that logic because the burned CD would not encapsulate any of the server RF noise. Hence, when was played back on the Blu2 you would get better than the ripped file played from the server. That makes sense to me.

Makes no sense to me whatsoever. Scarily nonsensical. Why wouldn’t a burned cd “encapsulate any of the server RF noise” when an optical s/pdif stream would? Both are sourced from the same pc. How do you encapsulate RF noise (whatever that means) in an s/pdif stream? Either the bits are right or they are wrong. Either the embedded clock is within the scope of the jitter rejection of the receiver or it is not.

 

[miketlse]

Makes no sense to me whatsoever. Scarily nonsensical. Why wouldn’t a burned cd “encapsulate any of the server RF noise” when an optical s/pdif stream would? Both are sourced from the same pc. How do you encapsulate RF noise (whatever that means) in an s/pdif stream? Either the bits are right or they are wrong. Either the embedded clock is within the scope of the jitter rejection of the receiver or it is not.

But the bits are not numbers, they are transmitted via usb or coaxial as analogue voltage levels (0V and 5V), and electrical noise from the source, or its power supply, can play havoc with the 0V ground plane. Read some of Robs posts about how noise on the ground plane, impacts the ability of the analogue sections of the dac, to reproduce transients and timbre.

 

[jlbrach]

pretty simple,if you still listen to CD's then the blu2 is the way to go....if you have given up on CD's and only use tidal or music on your hard drive then the hugo scaler is the ticket....my guess is there are a lot of people round the world still listening to those good old discs

 

[AndrewOld]

But the bits are not numbers, they are transmitted via usb or coaxial as analogue voltage levels (0V and 5V), and electrical noise from the source, or its power supply, can play havoc with the 0V ground plane. Read some of Robs posts about how noise on the ground plane, impacts the ability of the analogue sections of the dac, to reproduce transients and timbre.

I was specifically talking about optical. So there is no ground plane and no analogue voltage and no possibility of electrical noise, RF, bad karma or strange smells. I’ve read all of Rob’s posts.You tell me how electrical noise on the ground plane transmits itself via optical. Rob uses optical as the reference because there is no possibility of electrical noise transmitting itself via the ground plane. Optical does not have a ground plane.

People (like me) are buying an M Scaler because we expect at least as good a result from our file based sources as folks with a Blu2 get from their cds. If an M Scaler only gives second rate results compared to cd, then please can we be told. We can save our money until the issue is fixed.

 

[dakabali]

pretty simple,if you still listen to CD's then the blu2 is the way to go....if you have given up on CD's and only use tidal or music on your hard drive then the hugo scaler is the ticket....my guess is there are a lot of people round the world still listening to those good old discs

We all want the best possible SQ, don't we? Now I think it's quite funny that some (most) people with the Blu2 invest a LOT of $$$ into cables, high quality streaming services and network players etc. to improve the SQ instead of buying some CD-R for a fraction of this money or just getting the last forgotten CD collection from the basement. SQ provided by the Blu2 CD playback is the best a Chord system can do as of today, period.

 

[dakabali]

...It implies you could burn a cd from a file on your laptop and that cd would sound better through the Blu2 than the rip would.

Actually I've tried this and yes the same music file does sound better on CD through the Blu2.

 

[ray-dude]

Actually I've tried this and yes the same music file does sound better on CD through the Blu2.

Very clear for me as well (see my review below) the difference is between un-frickin-believable and un-frickin-believable + a couple percent, but there is a clear benefit in not having a digital connection to the Blu2

 

[auricgoldfinger]

I received a lightly used, mint condition DAVE today. I am having an issue using it with Roon. My setup is modified switch => sMS-200ultra => tX-USBultra => DAC. Previously, I used HQPlayer and Roon (NAA mode) with an Auralic Vega and never had an issue. With DAVE, Roon (Roon Ready mode) only sees the sMS-200 endpoint on the network only when I remove the tX-USBultra from the system. With the tX-USBultra in place, Roon does not see an audio device and will not play.

All I did was swap the Vega for the DAVE. I am using the same power and USB cables. Nothing else changed.

Does anyone have any troubleshooting ideas?

 

[elviscaprice]

I received a lightly used, mint condition DAVE today. I am having an issue using it with Roon. My setup is modified switch => sMS-200ultra => tX-USBultra => DAC. Previously, I used HQPlayer and Roon (NAA mode) with an Auralic Vega and never had an issue. With DAVE, Roon (Roon Ready mode) only sees the sMS-200 endpoint on the network only when I remove the tX-USBultra from the system. With the tX-USBultra in place, Roon does not see an audio device and will not play.

All I did was swap the Vega for the DAVE. I am using the same power and USB cables. Nothing else changed.

Does anyone have any troubleshooting ideas?

Are you using Windows as OS? If so, download the device driver for DAVE. Power on all downstream components before booting.
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/dave/

Not sure how Roon works, but I'm sure you'll have to choose the ASIO DAVE driver within the software.