[Kirklandia]

Has anyone ever addressed why there is not a standby switch on the M Scaler or a way to at least turn off the one LED that remains constantly on? This is the one major annoyance about it for me. I use a power strip to turn it off at night when I'm done listening.

I'm someone who has the M Scaler in the same room I often sleep in and I like the room as dark as possible.

It's just strange there is no power switch or standby on it at all.

I keep a folded washcloth on top of the light row. Permanently. No problem sleeping then.

 

[Mediahound]

I keep a folded washcloth on top of the light row. Permanently. No problem sleeping then.

There’s also the issue that it takes 10W even in standby mode so if you want to save some energy, it’s probably best to actually power it down.

I do everything I can to eliminate, so-called vampire draws.

 

[muski]

I have about 500 CDs on my server that I ripped years ago. Sometimes I set LMS playback to Random and sample them. Most of them are not well-recorded/mastered, but every once in a while I come across something that stops me in my tracks. It's remarkable what M Scaler + DAVE can do with well-recorded & mastered 16-bit/44.1kHz redbook audio like this one I found today:

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0724358662757

 

[Meridian7]

I have about 500 CDs on my server that I ripped years ago. Sometimes I set LMS playback to Random and sample them. Most of them are not well-recorded/mastered, but every once in a while I come across something that stops me in my tracks. It's remarkable what M Scaler + DAVE can do with well-recorded & mastered 16-bit/44.1kHz redbook audio like this one I found today:

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0724358662757

I guess it's hard to record on an orchestra compared to studio. Too bad for classical music all together. Perhaps that's where R2R does a better job in covering lesser quality recordings?

 

[Mediahound]

I have about 500 CDs on my server that I ripped years ago. Sometimes I set LMS playback to Random and sample them. Most of them are not well-recorded/mastered, but every once in a while I come across something that stops me in my tracks. It's remarkable what M Scaler + DAVE can do with well-recorded & mastered 16-bit/44.1kHz redbook audio like this one I found today:

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0724358662757

Speaking of Classical, check out this album. It's opera though: https://open.qobuz.com/album/tlofaehjdqwbb

It was recently remastered and is 192k streamed on Qobuz. Sounds amazing.

 

[muski]

I guess it's hard to record on an orchestra compared to studio. Too bad for classical music all together. Perhaps that's where R2R does a better job in covering lesser quality recordings?

I’ve not heard a great R2R DAC, so not sure. I find the biggest issue with classical music is that the sound of the violin (or violins) is really difficult to recreate in digital. Most of the time it sounds nothing like what you hear in a concert hall. Not sure why, or where in the chain the issue lies. Maybe @Rob Watts has an idea (and maybe his new ADC could help!)

To my ears high-res (192k) upsampled violin recordings start to get close—on a really good low-noise, low-jitter systems like DAVE + M Scaler. One of my go-to recordings for assessing jitter and noise is the last track on this album (Yumeji's Theme from "In the Mood for Love"). It’s a plucked double-bass & strings with Gidon Kramer on violin. If something is wrong in a digital playback chain, I find this track exposes it.

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0002894794821

 

[Puffalobuffalo]

My opticalRendu only has USB. I tried an Audiowise SRC-DX to convert it to coax and preferred it to straight USB.

At some point I'd like to compare the SRC-DX to Sonore's ultraDigital USB to SPDIF/LVDS i2s HDMI converter (though it apparently only works with Sonore streamers).

muski

I was thinking the exact same thing. I have an OE fed by a sonic transport i9. USB out to M Scaler. On the fence which will give the best result.

 

[AussieMick]

M Scaler arrived yesterday and I’ve fit in around four hours of listening with the TT2 fed from Innuos ZEN MK3, out to either Focal Stellia or Pass Labs INT-30A and Focal Kanta 2.
Wowee.
It seems the streamer, amp and speakers all had more to give.

 

[AussieMick]

And away we go. I really like the Heimdall 2 cable on the Stellia, too.

 

[Puffalobuffalo]

And away we go. I really like the Heimdall 2 cable on the Stellia, too.

Was curious about your experience with the Nordost cables. Have you tested any other cables in this setup ?

 

[GuiltyRocker]

Was curious about your experience with the Nordost cables. Have you tested any other cables in this setup ?

I'm curious about this too, I'm currently using Nordost Silver Shadows on the M Scaler and I am wondering how they compare to others. The cable is thin, so I wonder about its shielding. Nordost says it's shielded however.

 

[Puffalobuffalo]

I'm curious about this too, I'm currently using Nordost Silver Shadows on the M Scaler and I am wondering how they compare to others. The cable is thin, so I wonder about its shielding. Nordost says it's shielded however.

My experience with Nordost has always been they are too bright for my setup. Top end is a bit etched and grainy, mids lack warmth. That's how I ended up in the Cardas camp. YMMV

 

[GuiltyRocker]

My experience with Nordost has always been they are too bright for my setup. Top end is a bit etched and grainy, mids lack warmth. That's how I ended up in the Cardas camp. YMMV

Hhmmmmm, what Cardas cables do you recommend?

 

[AussieMick]

Cardas and Nordost are very far apart in tonality. You’ll need to try both to see what you prefer. I’ve had full looms of Cardas Clear/Clear Light and Nordost Heimdall 2. I can easily see how preferring Cardas, one would describe Nordost as bright and lacking midrange warmth. I can equally see how someone enjoying Nordost would say Cardas is bloated and thick, lacking detail.
So much is down to personal preference and system matching!

 

[Puffalobuffalo]

Hhmmmmm, what Cardas cables do you recommend?

I have had excellent results with Cardas Clear interconnects & Clear Cygnus speaker cables. This is what replaced my Audience AU24SE interconnects and speaker cables. Warmer without losing detail and transparency. For my taste this was exactly what I wanted, a dealer led me down this path initially.