[Progisus]

I only have the Mojo V1. Any experience with MS-->Mojo1?

Anyone use the Black Dragon Mini Coax Digital Cable For Chord Mojo 2 - Hugo 2 to M Scaler​

https://www.moon-audio.com/black-mini-coax-hugo-2-hugo-m-scaler.html

Or can I just use the RCA to 3.5mm adapter previously discussed to reap the full benefits of the MS? I currently use dual Audioquest Carbon digital cables with BNC adapters.

Thoughts?

I’ve had and used both. Sounded the same. Both great.

 

[alxw0w]

Someone told me that MS degrades the PGGB playback sound, even in the bypass mode, I am waiting for SRC-DX to arrive to prove or disprove it.

Yes, it lowers output by ~3db, so objectively you loose some of dynamic range and it's doing it'sown noise shaping.
So original file is not passed to the dac in it's raw bit perfect form, so objectively - yes it it worse.

 

[Meridian7]

Four letters for ya: P G G B

Never tried that, good call.
The idea of recoding all of my songs in advance kind of scared me (invested time and memory space hell). And I suppose it has settings too, to get it 'right'?
So I'm a bit naive on the topic, thanks for mentioning.

 

[hakunamakaka]

I have compared but only Qutest against M2 and thought Qutest edges out M2 in my speaker setup, especially during complex passages showing slightly better depth and livelier approach. M2 in general had more rounded presentation, but much closer to Qutest than M1. However I did not do any witchery here and plugged both directly into budget zen stream.

Either way popcorns are ready

 

[joseluishs]

I have compared but only Qutest against M2 and thought Qutest edges out M2 in my speaker setup, especially during complex passages showing slightly better depth and livelier approach. M2 in general had more rounded presentation, but much closer to Qutest than M1. However I did not do any witchery here and plugged both directly into budget zen stream.

Either way popcorns are ready

I had the same impression! Thank you for sharing this. Enjoy the popcorns!

 

[ecwl]

Even if people bypass the 16fs upsampling, in terms of the Pulse Array DAC design alone
Mojo/Mojo2: 4-element, 5th order noise shaper
Hugo 2/Qutest: 10-element, 11th order noise shaper
Dave: 20-element, 17th order noise shaper

Sure there are other aspects to the design but at the end of the day, different people have different sonic preferences. I am more surprised that the Mojo2>Dave lovers didn’t upgrade to a Hugo 2 which in addition to the above, has a second order analog noise shaper.

I think whatever people like to do to their own system in terms of setup and tweaks is their call as long as they love their sound.

For most people in general, they are going to get better sound going from lower priced to higher priced Chord DACs.

On the flip side, I decided to work from home this morning at my desktop so I just plugged in my old Mojo via Toslink and it did sound quite amazing already.

 

[harris4crna]

Spent the morning doing sound evaluations between the MDave to MMojo V1 with the Hifiman R10D.

First I listened to the Mscaler to Mojo via Toslink, than Mscaler via SPDIF single. I compared this to MDave dual BNC. I too, like a few here prefer the mojo sound signature over the MDave. Although, the sound preference was not huge. Than I compared the MDave to MM via dual BNC. I used a cheap china RCA to 3.5mm adapter I found laying around. This is where the MM shined with R10D. Sounded clean, analytical and dynamic. Truly pleasant to listen to. This will be my goto with this HP.

I am not really surprised with this. The R10D sounded better with the Mojo versus the Hugo 2. This is a pretty efficient HP with a mid level bass heavy shelf. I find more power with this HP to be overwhelming in bass. This was no different when listening with Dave. I cannot conclude the MM V1 will sound better with all HPs. Perhaps a harder to drive HP will sound better with the DAVE versus the Mojo. Measurements and price difference should state so, right?

I use the Dave primarily for its DAC capability to feed both the BHSE and Synthesis A40 2ch setup. Therefore, I will not be selling the Dave for a MM anytime soon, but I cannot fault those who choose to.

 

[Hiyono]

I am thinking of getting srx dx and try pggb on my Dave.

Also want to test it on my friend’s Mojo2Poly. Using poly and pggb files, does it turn off wta1 filters? Or is that only possible with the bnc adapter?

 

[thehutch]

I’m interested in hearing what are the simplest, lowest cost tweaks for Dave I should pursue first.

I’m currently using an Ifi Zen Stream as an end point for my Roon server. That’s connected to my Dave using an RCA to BNC cable from Blue Jean Cables. My Dave is getting power via a Cullen Cables PC from an Equi+Core balanced conditioner.

Welcome your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Triode User]

But, in the end, the indisputable law of audio is: "if it sounds good it is good."

For sure but that can’t be expanded to include “someone on an internet forum said it was good, therefore it is good”.

I once got caught out and thought a dac must be okay because of the lavish praise heaped on it across the internet. I sold it after 3 weeks. (Not a chord dac).

I’m interested in hearing what are the simplest, lowest cost tweaks for Dave I should pursue first.

I’m currently using an Ifi Zen Stream as an end point for my Roon server. That’s connected to my Dave using an RCA to BNC cable from Blue Jean Cables. My Dave is getting power via a Cullen Cables PC from an Equi+Core balanced conditioner.

Welcome your thoughts. Thanks.

A really good low cost sound quality tweak in my opinion is to stop using Roon.

 

[edwardsean]

Never tried that, good call.
The idea of recoding all of my songs in advance kind of scared me (invested time and memory space hell). And I suppose it has settings too, to get it 'right'?
So I'm a bit naive on the topic, thanks for mentioning.

It's got settings, but you don't need to mess with them. The automatic settings are usually the best unless you have some exotic use cases. There are EQ options, but that's EQ. It just works "right out of the box." It really is a different proposition from HQP in that way.

I used to use HQP and, yeah, I couldn't resist going back and forth trying out different settings. If someone wants to tinker, it's a lot of fun. With HQP, I found you eventually settle down to a few configurations and stick with it. I've really come to prefer PGGB because, as an end-user vs. audio engineer, PGGB's designer has already gone through the options and given you its best as default/automatic settings.

Also, to my ears, for PCM with Chord Dacs, I really prefer PGGB. (DSD may be different story, I don't know DSD anymore). Aside from larger staging, better layering/imaging, increased resolution, fluidity, etc. there is also a pleasing density that fleshes out some of the leaness of the Chord house sound. How much that means to you is going to vary on your particular system. But, extreme as it sounds, I think if it wasn't for PGGB, I'd have moved to a different DAC by now.

The downsides, you're already aware of. There is huge multiplication of storage needed and the time it takes to encode your files. That said, if you have a M2 or H2, you can take it all with you. I mean, yes, you can wire up a huge battery to an MScaler and put that into a shoulder sling, but, that's mm...., not a great solution. When I have to spend time encoding, I do think of the fact that this is not only for, at home with Dave, but on the go with H2. Two FPGA birds, one algorithmic stone.

 

[thehutch]

A really good low cost sound quality tweak in my opinion is to stop using Roon.

Good to know. But I don’t see myself doing that. I like the software too much.

 

[edwardsean]

I’m interested in hearing what are the simplest, lowest cost tweaks for Dave I should pursue first.

I’m currently using an Ifi Zen Stream as an end point for my Roon server. That’s connected to my Dave using an RCA to BNC cable from Blue Jean Cables. My Dave is getting power via a Cullen Cables PC from an Equi+Core balanced conditioner.

Welcome your thoughts. Thanks.

Just to beat this horse until it's good and dead: PGGB.

I've spent as much upgrading the Dave, at this point, as on the Dave itself. Not everyone will agree with this, but bang for the buck, PGGB is the winner for me. Again, it's not the simplest in terms of the time needed to reencode files, upgrading storage, and you will need an SRC-DX.

By the by, yes, PGGB 16fs will bypass the M2's internal upsampling.

 

[edwardsean]

For sure but that can’t be expanded to include “someone on an internet forum said it was good, therefore it is good”.

That is why, sir, we're all getting the popcorn ready for your firsthand reporting.

It becomes another trusted point of reference for the data plot. What you say will start to tip things for me as to whether I need to get a M2 and test for myself.

 

[Meridian7]

It's got settings, but you don't need to mess with them. The automatic settings are usually the best unless you have some exotic use cases. There are EQ options, but that's EQ. It just works "right out of the box." It really is a different proposition from HQP in that way.

I used to use HQP and, yeah, I couldn't resist going back and forth trying out different settings. If someone wants to tinker, it's a lot of fun. With HQP, I found you eventually settle down to a few configurations and stick with it. I've really come to prefer PGGB because, as an end-user vs. audio engineer, PGGB's designer has already gone through the options and given you its best as default/automatic settings.

Also, to my ears, for PCM with Chord Dacs, I really prefer PGGB. (DSD may be different story, I don't know DSD anymore). Aside from larger staging, better layering/imaging, increased resolution, fluidity, etc. there is also a pleasing density that fleshes out some of the leaness of the Chord house sound. How much that means to you is going to vary on your particular system. But, extreme as it sounds, I think if it wasn't for PGGB, I'd have moved to a different DAC by now.

The downsides, you're already aware of. There is huge multiplication of storage needed and the time it takes to encode your files. That said, if you have a M2 or H2, you can take it all with you. I mean, yes, you can wire up a huge battery to an MScaler and put that into a shoulder sling, but, that's mm...., not a great solution. When I have to spend time encoding, I do think of the fact that this is not only for, at home with Dave, but on the go with H2. Two FPGA birds, one algorithmic stone.

Thanks for your insights, very informative