[SunWarrior]

Hello.

I've had the Chord DAVE as the main (often only) DAC in my main music system for more than two years now, and I continue to be delighted with the sound quality.
(For my ears, the DAVE bested both a Berkeley Alpha Reference and a Bricasti M1, among the other better DACs.)

That love of DAVE is why I hope to be among the first here in the States to snag a Hugo M-Scaler for my all-digital audio system. I understand they'll be here before year's end.

For now, I've been reading through the meat of this thread, with lots of great info.
And I've been reading the HMS manual.

That's where my first question comes up.
Look at the manual's section 4.2, which describes the various INPUT selection colors.
lt make sense other than the last one, the light blue one marked "Dual BNC" in the manual.

Of course, I know about the Dual BNC output on the HMS, which is how I'll connect the HMS to my DAVE.

But the Dual BNC input on the HMS? What device would that be at the server end?

Dave, who also wonders about using all three outputs at once with one going to the DAVE and the other two outputs to two other DACs and how that might affect sound quality through the prime connection

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Aurender N10 > Chord DAVE > Luxman L-507uX > DeVore Fidelity Gibbon 88
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[dawktah2]

This isn't a personal battle.

I would much prefer to buy an MScaler plus a cheaper server for the cost of the DX. You disagree but there is room in this world for both of us and neither of us needs to convince the other as long as we are both enjoying our music.

I am trying to follow this discussion. I have a Synology NAS which is not a dedicated music server, but a server nontheless. If the mScaler is fine with this as a source I'd like to get some idea. According to @Rob Watts I should be fine. What I'm still trying to get someone to tell me is a way to test my server for noise.

I'm just a scientist, I know a lot about bias, placebo effects, so looking for an objective testing method. Can't treat a condition you don't have.

It's November, have chord started shipping any MScaler units to North America?

+1

 

[Mojo ideas]

It's November, have chord started shipping any MScaler units to North America?

Im sorry to say that despite making several requests for our US distributor to place his orders. They came in very late so we’ve been playing catch up as they were behind many other countries in our production build. However they did finally place their orders and we are shipping a sizeable batch of product this week. So they will be there very soon however customer orders for these first units may have already outstripped that first batch so we are readying more for them to ship on demand.

 

[AndrewOld]

I am trying to follow this discussion. I have a Synology NAS which is not a dedicated music server, but a server nontheless. If the mScaler is fine with this as a source I'd like to get some idea. According to @Rob Watts I should be fine. What I'm still trying to get someone to tell me is a way to test my server for noise.

I'm just a scientist, I know a lot about bias, placebo effects, so looking for an objective testing method. Can't treat a condition you don't have.



+1

I’ve got an M Scaler and a DAVE. Mostly I use a low power Acer laptop via USB but it sometimes suits me to use an old Logitech Squeezebox Touch via optical. I honestly can’t tell the difference. An M Scaler makes a huge difference to your system and the way you can connect to your music, so imo you should spend all your pennies on an M Scaler when you can, and leave the source till another day. If you connect via USB the galvanic isolation of the M Scaler is your protection, otherwise use optical. Rob has said that the M Scaler has exceptional jitter tolerance, so unless you have an utterly terrible source you should be fine.

 

[GreenBow]

If you're using USB as source, you can use the Audioquest Jitterbug. That's meant to help with noise on the USB rails.

To be honest I can not hear any difference between using my PC as a source, on PC or optical. Or on USB from my Sony DAP. .. Either Rob Watts has played a beauty on input filtering, or I am dumb as nuts.

I have not however extensively A/B tested and listened. I usually prefer to listen to one source for good long while then change later. (As opposed to A - quick change to B. I get fed up with the same track after a few plays that way anyway.) I find it easier to judge a system by long listens, and getting accustomed. Then when changing system, the changes stand out.

Like I once tried A/B testing between bit-prefect and not. No way could I tell them apart. I was auditioning JRiver with it's first month trial. However once my month trial expired and I went back to Media Go, which was what I used previously. Music on Media Go (which was not bit-prefect) sounded colder and a fraction lifeless in comparison. It was so stark, that I bought JRiver very soon, since I was quite upset with non bit-perfect.

 

[Amberlamps]

Im sorry to say that despite making several requests for our US distributor to place his orders. They came in very late so we’ve been playing catch up as they were behind many other countries in our production build. However they did finally place their orders and we are shipping a sizeable batch of product this week. So they will be there very soon however customer orders for these first units may have already outstripped that first batch so we are readying more for them to ship on demand.

@supervisor will be extremely happy to hear this good news.

Hope your MScaler arrives very soon supervisor.

 

[supervisor]

@supervisor will be extremely happy to hear this good news.

Hope your MScaler arrives very soon supervisor.

it will surely be a happy thanksgiving! cannot wait

 

[Amberlamps]

it will surely be a happy thanksgiving! cannot wait

I have my fingers crossed for you that your one is in the first batch.

Are you also grabbing a TT2 ?

 

[supervisor]

I have my fingers crossed for you that your one is in the first batch.

Are you also grabbing a TT2 ?

yes, already pre-ordered as well but I am not getting my hopes up for 2018 delivery !

 

[Amberlamps]

yes, already pre-ordered as well but I am not getting my hopes up for 2018 delivery !

You never know, you might be lucky and your MScaler and TT2 might very well be in the first batch. Just look at the dudes in Australia and Switzerland who got everything before anyone else.

 

[supervisor]

You never know, you might be lucky and your MScaler and TT2 might very well be in the first batch. Just look at the dudes in Australia and Switzerland who got everything before anyone else.

Chord does not care about Americans

 

[Amberlamps]

Chord does not care about Americans

To be fair, I think it may actually be Bluebirds fault, I think they waited for lots of pre-orders to come in from retailers before they placed their orders.

I could be wrong, and probably am, but since Chords order system is first come first served, which I found out to my cost, and which nobody jumps the queue. I would think if thats the case, Bluebird is at fault since they are the only ones in America that physically bring them into the states.

But hey ho, looks like you will be getting lucky soon, just bug your retailer about the incoming shipment so that he knows about it.

 

[Amberlamps]

Chord does not care about Americans

Mike Myers hates Kanye

Which coincidentally just happens to be my opinion of him also, and the same goes for his wife and her weird family sect.

 

[dmance]

If you own an MScaler or Blu2, the only way you can absolutely isolate your DAC from RF generated noise by the MScaler FPGA or upstream from source, server or laptop is to avoid metal contact along the chain. Ferrites or design counter measures only mitigate the problem ...it's only eliminated if you could have an optical bridge just prior to the DAC. An optical bridge is a 100% solution. Maybe, just maybe, something like that will exist soon. PM me...

 

[beemarman]

I'm using Google Chromecast audio as Roon Endpoint connected to my HMS via optical.

I replaced my Sotm sms-200 for the Chromecast Audio.

To my ears it sounds better.