Hugo M Scaler by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[threeweeksatf8]

@threeweeksatf8 Your post makes total sense and touches on something that I m observing more and more recently as I m making small alterations / imporovements to my much more humble system. A sleepless night of glorious music listening is usually followed by a sub par experience the next eve precisely because the most important part of this complex equation, my brain and ears, is burned out. I remember at beginning of summer when my hay fever kicked in and sinuses were blocked that everything sounded not just sub par but downright unlistenably awful.
The fact you have a head cold and are still perceiving an improvement with M Scaler might be a great sign that when it’s cleared you ll be amazed by what the MS brings to the music-or rather helps bring out of the music.
I don’t own thd MS yet sadly but have heard it in a few systems and, to my ears at least, what it reveals is not so much the immediately quantifiable clearer highs, more extended bass and other technicalities but this sense of expansion, freedom, flow, and engagement of the musical essence, for lack of better wording. So hopefully you ll be pleased when your ears are back on track

Thanks, I certainly hope so.
Burn out is real!

Also I guess there's only so many times listening to the same songs over and over again is going to "do it" for me ... I mean listening in a demo sense, trying to listening for variation when changing my setup.

It is sad that those special times when the stars align and I get lost in the "magical listening zone" are not all that common, and when divided by the amount of money I've spent in this hobby it's downright sobering.

I mean, if you were walking past a demo booth and the guy said "would you like to spend a couple hundred dollars to listen to a few tracks before you head off home to sleep? .. Guaranteed to sound magical" you'd probably laugh at him, even if it really was guaranteed. Yet that is effectively what I've been doing and probably many others in this hobby. I mean, I'm exaggerating but you get the idea. Just a thought. Sometimes I wish I had not caught audiophile disease. The enjoyment per dollar is not all that high, all things considered.

On the other hand, when it's great it's magic!
Such is life I suppose ... Nothing's ever easy, even when you've earned it.

I don’t have an mscaler in my system yet but the difference between Dave with an outstanding source and Blu2/Dave was small. The difference between my Anedio DAC, modified Parasound DAC and a Hugo2 was huge. The difference between Hugo2 and Dave medium. And adding in Blu2 was a small increase in performance.

Hmm. Interesting. I have an UltraRendu which is streaming Tidal (mostly) through Roon, but when I had Roon send the stream via the TV's optical out (via HDMI in) to test optical input on the M Scaler I detected no difference. Admittedly brief testing though.

To threeweeks: I hope you get to try a Pioneer SEM1 headphone through Dave to go along with your TAD speakers. Family resemblance maybe?
I loved the TAD speakers I heard demo'd at the NY show a few years ago, and now I similarly love my Pio SEM1s.

The SEM1s match up excellently with Dave. Just so tactile and natural and dramatic. It's organic with Stax-level detail, but not forced or pushy. It's too bad nobody seems to experience the DAVE/Pioneer matchup.

I had the HD800, 2 of them actually, both now sold. They sounded nice, but the music just seemed too remote and the texture just lacked the last bit of humanity.
I prefer the SEM1 much more. It's a vastly under-rated headphone to my ears.

Thanks for the recommendation. I can't say I'm thrilled with the HD800S but I think I am just a speaker guy. The TAD ME1's are incredible and I write this in case anyone is ever thinking about trying them .. they do just about everything right and they are jewels in the flesh. I love 'em. Maybe I will try some other headphones at some point.

 

[miketlse]

Similarly frustrated. I actually put my HMS pre-order in a couple of days before the launch/pre-order was announced, so if the Chord allocation process is 'first come first served' then I should be top of the list or if not then very near the top. I've poked my dealer already; he is very good but has been silent on this, which suggests to me that the Chord rep hasn't given him an answer on when mine is arriving.

I really hope that it isn't a case of some customers/dealers being more valued than others.

You have fallen into the trap of assuming that Chord allocate products to individual customers.
Chord allocate to distributors, then distributors allocate to dealers, then dealers allocate to individual customers, so Chord are unlikely to know the identity of individual customers.
In reverse flow, you place your order with a dealer, but you don't know if they instantly send your order to the distributor, or maybe send a batch of orders once a week, or month. Then you don't know if the distributor sends the dealer orders immediately to Chord, or once a week/month.
Your dealer can only quote a delivery date to you, when their distributor passes on the shipping date to them, and there are posts describing some distributors as being less proactive on the communication front.
If you have several dealers in your distributors region, and your dealer was the last to send an order to the distributor, then your dealer presumably will be the last to receive any HMS.

So don't be too harsh on your dealer or Chord. I found that with the H2, I tried sending emails to the distributor, but received no response, so I contacted Chord support, which made enguiries with the distributor, and then Chord messaged me indicating when my H2 had been shipped by them. You then have to factor in the courier times before the item reaches the dealer, but at least you can get a rough idea of when your HMS could arrive.

A bit of a long explanation, but I suggest first politely emailing your distributor, and hopefully you will get a response. Distributor details can be found via the 'find a dealer' link on the Chord website.

 

[threeweeksatf8]

Guys help me out here ..

God help me, but I've decided I can't detect the slightest difference between the full scaled output and the 44.1 kHz bypass on the M Scaler.

I have been A/B'ing for about 48 hours now (time off work) and although it was hard to admit it, I can't lie to myself. My comments a couple of days ago were before I started playing with the bypass button. Lo and behold what I thought I was writing about the upscaled presentation turns out to have been identical to the pass-through option.

Now I write this not to upset people or discourage people but as a plea for ideas as to any possible reasons.

I presume there is something wrong on my end and my comments should (please) be taken with that in mind.

Any ideas? Things to try?

Is there a way to "reset" the M Scaler in case it stopped working properly? (Or is it just not that kind of device?) .. powering on / off seems to make no difference.

After all I did think I heard a significant difference at first, a couple of days ago ...

Could something have gone wrong inside the M Scaler?

 

[miketlse]

Guys help me out here ..

God help me, but I've decided I can't detect the slightest difference between the full scaled output and the 44.1 kHz bypass on the M Scaler.

I have been A/B'ing for about 48 hours now (time off work) and although it was hard to admit it, I can't lie to myself. My comments a couple of days ago were before I started playing with the bypass button. Lo and behold what I thought I was writing about the upscaled presentation turns out to have been identical to the pass-through option.

Now I write this not to upset people or discourage people but as a plea for ideas as to any possible reasons.

I presume there is something wrong on my end and my comments should (please) be taken with that in mind.

Any ideas? Things to try?

Is there a way to "reset" the M Scaler in case it stopped working properly? (Or is it just not that kind of device?) .. powering on / off seems to make no difference.

After all I did think I heard a significant difference at first, a couple of days ago ...

Could something have gone wrong inside the M Scaler?

Very curious.
There are enough posts from DAVE owners on the Blu2 thread, describing how the DAVE is enhanced by the Blu2/MScaler, so it is strange that you can detect no difference.
Probably a good time to pause, and wait for ideas from the other MScaler owners.

 

[ZappaMan]

Guys help me out here ..

God help me, but I've decided I can't detect the slightest difference between the full scaled output and the 44.1 kHz bypass on the M Scaler.

I have been A/B'ing for about 48 hours now (time off work) and although it was hard to admit it, I can't lie to myself. My comments a couple of days ago were before I started playing with the bypass button. Lo and behold what I thought I was writing about the upscaled presentation turns out to have been identical to the pass-through option.

Now I write this not to upset people or discourage people but as a plea for ideas as to any possible reasons.

I presume there is something wrong on my end and my comments should (please) be taken with that in mind.

Any ideas? Things to try?

Is there a way to "reset" the M Scaler in case it stopped working properly? (Or is it just not that kind of device?) .. powering on / off seems to make no difference.

After all I did think I heard a significant difference at first, a couple of days ago ...

Could something have gone wrong inside the M Scaler?

Is your dac displaying the correct colour to say it’s receivibg the 705 feed?

 

[threeweeksatf8]

Very curious.
There are enough posts from DAVE owners on the Blu2 thread, describing how the DAVE is enhanced by the Blu2/MScaler, so it is strange that you can detect no difference.
Probably a good time to pause, and wait for ideas from the other MScaler owners.

Yes indeed, and it was largely due to such posts that I decided to order an M Scaler .. I was considering going for a Blu2 based solely on posts on here and a couple of reviews. No demoing. I do believe (still) that it has benefit, I am just wondering why _I_ am not experiencing it. I assume there is a problem on my end (either technical, or other).

It is very possible that I have poor hearing at the moment but brain has adapted and haven't noticed in usual daily life. Maybe.

Yes, probably best to sit tight for a while.

 

[threeweeksatf8]

Is your dac displaying the correct colour to say it’s receivibg the 705 feed?

Yep. Absolutely definitely no doubt on that front.

 

[miketlse]

I know I obviously have no presence here on this forum and no-one may care, but just posting this in case anyone finds it interesting.

Don't worry about having no presence, because we have all started at that point.
Chord threads do tend to get very long (many thousands of posts) so effectively become communities, with many posters.
What does matter is how everyone interacts, because that generates the posts containing the information, experiences, and occasional OT, that keeps communities alive.

 

[Antiquarian]

Guys help me out here ..

God help me, but I've decided I can't detect the slightest difference between the full scaled output and the 44.1 kHz bypass on the M Scaler.

I have been A/B'ing for about 48 hours now (time off work) and although it was hard to admit it, I can't lie to myself. My comments a couple of days ago were before I started playing with the bypass button. Lo and behold what I thought I was writing about the upscaled presentation turns out to have been identical to the pass-through option.

Now I write this not to upset people or discourage people but as a plea for ideas as to any possible reasons.

I presume there is something wrong on my end and my comments should (please) be taken with that in mind.

Any ideas? Things to try?

Is there a way to "reset" the M Scaler in case it stopped working properly? (Or is it just not that kind of device?) .. powering on / off seems to make no difference.

After all I did think I heard a significant difference at first, a couple of days ago ...

Could something have gone wrong inside the M Scaler?

Silly question but just checking, when you switch to pass through does your DAC switch back to 44.1?

 

[penguin69]

You have fallen into the trap of assuming that Chord allocate products to individual customers.
Chord allocate to distributors, then distributors allocate to dealers, then dealers allocate to individual customers, so Chord are unlikely to know the identity of individual customers.
In reverse flow, you place your order with a dealer, but you don't know if they instantly send your order to the distributor, or maybe send a batch of orders once a week, or month. Then you don't know if the distributor sends the dealer orders immediately to Chord, or once a week/month.
Your dealer can only quote a delivery date to you, when their distributor passes on the shipping date to them, and there are posts describing some distributors as being less proactive on the communication front.
If you have several dealers in your distributors region, and your dealer was the last to send an order to the distributor, then your dealer presumably will be the last to receive any HMS.

So don't be too harsh on your dealer or Chord. I found that with the H2, I tried sending emails to the distributor, but received no response, so I contacted Chord support, which made enguiries with the distributor, and then Chord messaged me indicating when my H2 had been shipped by them. You then have to factor in the courier times before the item reaches the dealer, but at least you can get a rough idea of when your HMS could arrive.

A bit of a long explanation, but I suggest first politely emailing your distributor, and hopefully you will get a response. Distributor details can be found via the 'find a dealer' link on the Chord website.

Thanks for the reply. I was told at the time of order by the dealer that they had sent in my order immediately (a Saturday IIRC), and that it would be picked up on the Monday (HMS launch day). My dealer does not do much business with Chord and does not use a batching system. Also, the HMS had yet not been announced when I put in the order.

I wasn't aware that Chord allocated to distributors before dealers in the UK. If this is true then that might be a factor. However, my dealer gets information directly from a Chord rep rather than a distributor, which leaves me minded to think that the supply chain in the UK does not always include a distributor element. (Happy to be corrected by UK-based customers in the know.)

I'm not being harsh on my dealer, by the way; they are great and usually very responsive unless they have a reason not to be. My Dave was bought through them, and that purchase was seamless and well communicated. I do take your point though that I am not really a 'name' in the Chord order process, as they will have a large volume of orders. If I had realised that this is not a FIFO process, then I may not have put down my deposit so quickly and instead waited for the usual early unit teething problems to iron themselves out. Who knows.

Thanks for the distributor/dealer link on the Chord website, I will take a look at that.

 

[Mojo ideas]

Thanks for the reply. I was told at the time of order by the dealer that they had sent in my order immediately (a Saturday IIRC), and that it would be picked up on the Monday (HMS launch day). My dealer does not do much business with Chord and does not use a batching system. Also, the HMS had yet not been announced when I put in the order.

I wasn't aware that Chord allocated to distributors before dealers in the UK. If this is true then that might be a factor. However, my dealer gets information directly from a Chord rep rather than a distributor, which leaves me minded to think that the supply chain in the UK does not always include a distributor element. (Happy to be corrected by UK-based customers in the know.)

I'm not being harsh on my dealer, by the way; they are great and usually very responsive unless they have a reason not to be. My Dave was bought through them, and that purchase was seamless and well communicated. I do take your point though that I am not really a 'name' in the Chord order process, as they will have a large volume of orders. If I had realised that this is not a FIFO process, then I may not have put down my deposit so quickly and instead waited for the usual early unit teething problems to iron themselves out. Who knows.

Thanks for the distributor/dealer link on the Chord website, I will take a look at that.

The slight delay your experiecing has been caused by myself putting a hold on production due to an issue with the colour density of a newly supplied plastic IR filters central in the front face. I seems some are too dark to allow for consistent IR reception from more than three metres. All units were originally tested for distance of the IR with an alternative source. Subsequently they have been tested for function, though only at closer range. The New filters were being machined last week and they I’m told will be with us first thing Monday morning to enable full production to start again.

For those of you experiencing any IR problem please let your dealer know to contact us and we will send new plastic filter by speed post to allow for simple service swap out of the drop in filter at the store. Fortunately this is a very simple job for any service guy.

 

[miketlse]

The slight delay your experiecing has been caused by myself putting a hold on production due to an issue with the colour density of a newly supplied plastic IR filters central in the front face. I seems some are too dark to allow for consistent IR reception from more than three metres. All units were originally tested for distance of the IR with an alternative source. Subsequently they have been tested for function, though only at closer range. The New filters were being machined last week and they I’m told will be with us first thing Monday morning to enable full production to start again.

For those of you experiencing any IR problem please let your dealer know to contact us and we will send new plastic filter by speed post to allow for simple service swap out of the drop in filter at the store. Fortunately this is a very simple job for any service guy.

Thanks for that update John. That info will help several recent posters.

 

[Antiquarian]

The slight delay your experiecing has been caused by myself putting a hold on production due to an issue with the colour density of a newly supplied plastic IR filters central in the front face. I seems some are too dark to allow for consistent IR reception from more than three metres. All units were originally tested for distance of the IR with an alternative source. Subsequently they have been tested for function, though only at closer range. The New filters were being machined last week and they I’m told will be with us first thing Monday morning to enable full production to start again.

For those of you experiencing any IR problem please let your dealer know to contact us and we will send new plastic filter by speed post to allow for simple service swap out of the drop in filter at the store. Fortunately this is a very simple job for any service guy.

Nice to know there is a fix for the IR, trouble is my dealer is 250 miles away. Can it be fitted by me without invalidating the warranty, I am a retired electronics engineer so have done this kind of stuff before?

 

[Mojo ideas]

Nice to know there is a fix for the IR, trouble is my dealer is 250 miles away. Can it be fitted by me without invalidating the warranty, I am a retired electronics engineer so have done this kind of stuff before?

Yes we will allow this as a simple home fix without any threat to the warranty I think any one could do this job but I think too enable anyone should also supply a tool along with the plastic piece in order for them to open the case

 

[Antiquarian]

Yes we will allow this as a simple home fix without any threat to the warranty I think any one could do this job but I think too enable anyone should also supply a tool along with the plastic piece in order for them to open the case

Brilliant, thanks for that.