Hugo M Scaler by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[thePhones]

Question about the HMS "video" option reducing lag. Up to now I have it set to "auto", which seemed to work perfectly, and was wondering how it detects the audio is from video? (in my case optical output from TV)
I read on a post that in the auto mode it switches the video filter on when it detects an incoming 48k signal. A lot of Amazon Unlimited is 24b/48k streams, so will it be switching on the video filter for those as well?
In the meantime I have turned off the auto video filter and just select it when I need it.

Correct, it just assumes 48k is video. That is the reason I never used it, because I listen to a lot of soundtracks and 48k tracks in general. Since I now have the Nvidia Shield TV, which allows video streaming without the lag as you can set up to one second delay, I only use the video option when playing video games.

 

[audio_1]

Question about the HMS "video" option reducing lag. Up to now I have it set to "auto", which seemed to work perfectly, and was wondering how it detects the audio is from video? (in my case optical output from TV)
I read on a post that in the auto mode it switches the video filter on when it detects an incoming 48k signal. A lot of Amazon Unlimited is 24b/48k streams, so will it be switching on the video filter for those as well?
In the meantime I have turned off the auto video filter and just select it when I need it.

It would be very help if the video option could be configured for individual Mscaler inputs. I have my TV connected to one of the optical inputs. Unfortunately I can't leave video mode on all the time as it also operates on the USB input when I stream 48 khz tracks from Qobuz. I have to turn video mode on when watching TV. I then have to remember to turn if off again for music. It would be great if Rob might consider including individual input video mode with the new Mscaler.

 

[musickid]

my d10s usb to optical convertor from my imac to my mscaler into tt2 results in a quiter sound than using usb into my mscaler through speakers or headphones?? does anyone know why this is. ie an optical source sounds quieter than a usb source? strange

 

[jarnopp]

my d10s usb to optical convertor from my imac to my mscaler into tt2 results in a quiter sound than using usb into my mscaler through speakers or headphones?? does anyone know why this is. ie an optical source sounds quieter than a usb source? strange

Less noise? Isn’t that the primary benefit of optical?

 

[GoldenSound]

my d10s usb to optical convertor from my imac to my mscaler into tt2 results in a quiter sound than using usb into my mscaler through speakers or headphones?? does anyone know why this is. ie an optical source sounds quieter than a usb source? strange

Sounds like your OS is applying some vol control

 

[musickid]

less noise as in lower volume thru my headphones and speakers. its not the OS as im using roon in exclusive mode. could it be that the ddc is not locking properly hence sending the wrong or less info to the mscaler thru optical. with usb the volume is back to normal. maybe these cheap chinese dacs // ddc's on amazon are not that reliable i dont know.

 

[jarnopp]

less noise as in lower volume thru my headphones and speakers. its not the OS as im using roon in exclusive mode. could it be that the ddc is not locking properly hence sending the wrong or less info to the mscaler thru optical. with usb the volume is back to normal. maybe these cheap chinese dacs // ddc's on amazon are not that reliable i dont know.

It depends on how much lower the perceived volume is. If it’s just a bit, then you could have electrical noise on the USB connection that makes the input sound brighter/louder compared to optical, which would be noise free and perceived as darker. If it’s like 3 db or some larger variation, then there is some other issue - software r hardware.

 

[musickid]

yes its a night and day difference. the volume is playing correct with usb in on mscaler. with the cheap chinese ddc//dac optical in it is not. my logic says the ddc is not locking properly and that the mscaler is not receiving all the right bits concerning volume level.

 

[ecwl]

yes its a night and day difference. the volume is playing correct with usb in on mscaler. with the cheap chinese ddc//dac optical in it is not. my logic says the ddc is not locking properly and that the mscaler is not receiving all the right bits concerning volume level.

Does this only happen with 16-bit music sources? Or does it also happen with 24-bit music sources? One possibility is that you DDC is just converting the 16-bit sources into 24-bit output but at a different volume level. Might be worthwhile to check. Alternatively, as stated, maybe the DDC is not bit-perfect and altering the music signal fundamentally.

Also on MacOS, whenever you switch audio output devices, it’ll automatically switch the volume. So if you don’t have the volume maxed out or disabled, you’ll get different volume settings when your switch output devices. Obviously, if the MacOS volume control is kicking in, you’re not getting bitperfect music either.

 

[musickid]

im using roon exclusive mode everything is controlled by roon and all output is bit perfect. macos is over ridden. my roon endpoint is an ipod touch which goes usb in to mscaler via an apple camera adaptor. i get virtually the same quality sound going direct from imac usb to mscaler with roon exclusive mode. ive tried 44/16/24 and 96 and 192 with the chinese ddc and volume is very low definitely not a difference between usb and optical sounding darker. ive tried optical with mscaler before and the volume was the same as usb. a hundred pounds in the bin with the ddc maybe ill return it. the ipod touch battery powered has worked flawlessly for 44/88/96/192 for years as a roon endpoint. my imac is a roon remote which controls the ipod touch.

 

[SteveHulk]

im using roon exclusive mode everything is controlled by roon and all output is bit perfect. macos is over ridden. my roon endpoint is an ipod touch which goes usb in to mscaler via an apple camera adaptor. i get virtually the same quality sound going direct from imac usb to mscaler with roon exclusive mode. ive tried 44/16/24 and 96 and 192 with the chinese ddc and volume is very low definitely not a difference between usb and optical sounding darker. ive tried optical with mscaler before and the volume was the same as usb. a hundred pounds in the bin with the ddc maybe ill return it. the ipod touch battery powered has worked flawlessly from 44/96/192 for years as a roon endpoint.

Some ddc processes can change the volume level of the signal.

Eg, adding the mscaler into a digital chain results in a 3db volume drop which is very noticeable. There are sound technical reasons for this in the case of the mscaler.

No degradation of sound quality ensues in the case of the mscaler.

It is possible your Topping used as a ddc is doing something similar.

 

[musickid]

thanks for the reassurance steve. i mean 3db can be compensated for quite easily but in my case anyhow the ddc from amazon this experiment is over lol

 

[miketlse]

my d10s usb to optical convertor from my imac to my mscaler into tt2 results in a quiter sound than using usb into my mscaler through speakers or headphones?? does anyone know why this is. ie an optical source sounds quieter than a usb source? strange

I think part of this may be related to the electrical isolation possible via optical.
When I compared optical to usb, I found that usb sounded more lively, but optical sounded that bit duller and more like live listening to real performers.

The 'more lively' can enter through the 0V/earth for USB, or the cable shield for usb or coaxial.

Some owners prefer the 'more lively' but others prefer the real live performance sound.
Each to their own, but I sense that you are on a journey, which still has a few decision points within it.

 

[musickid]

Hi mike. ive tried optical sources before into mscaler and the volume hardly changed at all vs usb. it sounded darker but the actual volume was virtually unchanged. the cheap chinese dac/ddc is doing something else wrong here.

 

[miketlse]

im using roon exclusive mode everything is controlled by roon and all output is bit perfect. macos is over ridden. my roon endpoint is an ipod touch which goes usb in to mscaler via an apple camera adaptor. i get virtually the same quality sound going direct from imac usb to mscaler with roon exclusive mode. ive tried 44/16/24 and 96 and 192 with the chinese ddc and volume is very low definitely not a difference between usb and optical sounding darker. ive tried optical with mscaler before and the volume was the same as usb. a hundred pounds in the bin with the ddc maybe ill return it. the ipod touch battery powered has worked flawlessly for 44/88/96/192 for years as a roon endpoint. my imac is a roon remote which controls the ipod touch.

I would suggest that you don't get stressed out about the £100 for DDC.
You have been on the mojo (plus other) threads long enough (like me), to realise that keeping hold of seemingly obsolete hardware (like DDC) can prove useful later when trying to understand testing the root cause of later problems.