[GreenLeo]

I have just got the HMS and yesterday I may spend a decent time with it. To me the improvements of HMS over DAVE were pretty obvious. l enjoy musicals and live concerts. Hence tried a few of my favorite tracks across different albums. The spatial clues are much better, the images were more pinpoint, ..., (I'm not going to repeat the words of the other headfiers here), everything is better (except the walletwallet lol)

I'm very surprised that some members did not find the differernce large enough. To me, no blind test is needed at all. In short, I'm there.

 

[Christer]

I disagree with your first paragraph, but agree with your comments about youngsters being glued to iPhone screens and listening far too loud. I listen mostly to poorly recorded pop and rock music on my Mojo and Shure SE846 iems with my Samsung S7 as source. Recently I was having trouble with the otg usb cable and tried listening to the Samsung S7 direct. There was no point. compared to the Mojo it sounded terrible. No emotional involvement with the music. Poor dynamics, no rhythm or timing. The music is just flat. It was worth getting the Mojo and SE846 iems as without them there is no music. With the Mojo there is no need to listen loud to enjoy the music. It obviously doesn't compare to my Dave and BLU 2 but at least it is enjoyable to listen to away from home.

Hi, maybe the Samsung 7 is the DAP I read about? I am not sure, but if it can be connected via usb or optical to a Hugo or Qutest it might be a way for me to listen to music without having to use my big mbp laptop all the time and that would come in handy at times.
I am not expecting it to sound as good as Qutest on its own,logic still applies.

Regarding your disagreeing with my first paragraph in my latest post here, I suppose Mscaler might matter if someone like Jazz or whoever it was who mentioned it, is really keen on getting closer to the real inherent very high 10-15% distortion levels of some electric guitars.
Yes an Mscaler might get slightly closer to that.

But then again with electrically amplified instruments you absolutely can't have as close a reference to how things sounded live in the studio or hall as you can with acoustic music, can you?

I am still inclined not only to believe, but also judging from what I recently heard with AC/DC via TT2 and Mscaler, that with those genres an Mscaler will more probably reveal how badly most compressed distorted and synthetic, pop/rock and similar genres really are recorded and produced /mastered for the masses than any real enjoyable closer to the real thing, SQ benefits.
What's the point of having say 0.0001 distortion levels and 115-120 dB SNR from a dac/amp combo when you listen to sources and music with 10-15% inherent distortion and a dynamic range rarely exceeding 30 db???
I know I am again stepping on sensitive toes.
But:
Come on guys you must be able to apply simple logic, right?


I have to admit I am completely unfamilar with AC/DCs albums and I haven't got a clue what was played more than that I was told it was AC/DC.
But it sure sounded terribly distorted and horrible via TT2and Mscaler to me.
I almost had to laugh out loud when I heard it.

Now, on the other hand I have heard DAVE both on its own and via BLU2 and know at least partly what that combo can do for really complex and demanding and truly well recorded acoustic music.
So for me and my needs, I have reasons to suspect an Mscaler might bring my Qutest to even higher actual and verifiable SQ levels than on its own.
But I am not yet sure if I am willling to pay the price asked.

And I am also quite happy with my current travelling combo Qutest into battery powered headphone amp via Audioquest Colorado RCA cables and a cheaper Chord Clearway RCA for backup just in case, into my MBP and my HD800 with silver cable and new Dekoni pads.
I left my HEKV2 back home this winter.

My acoustic reference tracks actually sound quite enjoyable with what I have, which makes me REALLY wonder why anybody with only pop rock/electronica preferences would spend such BIG money when any objective benefits would surely be very questionable imho.

Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[Triode User]

Hi, maybe the Samsung 7 is the DAP I read about? I am not sure, but if it can be connected via usb or optical to a Hugo or Qutest it might be a way for me to listen to music without having to use my big mbp laptop all the time and that would come in handy at times.
I am not expecting it to sound as good as Qutest on its own,logic still applies.

Regarding your disagreeing with my first paragraph in my latest post here, I suppose Mscaler might matter if someone like Jazz or whoever it was who mentioned it, is really keen on getting closer to the real inherent very high 10-15% distortion levels of some electric guitars.
Yes an Mscaler might get slightly closer to that.

But then again with electrically amplified instruments you absolutely can't have as close a reference to how things sounded live in the studio or hall as you can with acoustic music, can you?

I am still inclined not only to believe, but also judging from what I recently heard with AC/DC via TT2 and Mscaler, that with those genres an Mscaler will more probably reveal how badly most compressed distorted and synthetic, pop/rock and similar genres really are recorded and produced /mastered for the masses than any real enjoyable closer to the real thing, SQ benefits.
What's the point of having say 0.0001 distortion levels and 115-120 dB SNR from a dac/amp combo when you listen to sources and music with 10-15% inherent distortion and a dynamic range rarely exceeding 30 db???
I know I am again stepping on sensitive toes.
But:
Come on guys you must be able to apply simple logic, right?


I have to admit I am completely unfamilar with AC/DCs albums and I haven't got a clue what was played more than that I was told it was AC/DC.
But it sure sounded terribly distorted and horrible via TT2and Mscaler to me.
I almost had to laugh out loud when I heard it.

Now, on the other hand I have heard DAVE both on its own and via BLU2 and know at least partly what that combo can do for really complex and demanding and truly well recorded acoustic music.
So for me and my needs, I have reasons to suspect an Mscaler might bring my Qutest to even higher actual and verifiable SQ levels than on its own.
But I am not yet sure if I am willling to pay the price asked.

And I am also quite happy with my current travelling combo Qutest into battery powered headphone amp via Audioquest Colorado RCA cables and a cheaper Chord Clearway RCA for backup just in case, into my MBP and my HD800 with silver cable and new Dekoni pads.
I left my HEKV2 back home this winter.

My acoustic reference tracks actually sound quite enjoyable with what I have, which makes me REALLY wonder why anybody with only pop rock/electronica preferences would spend such BIG money when any objective benefits would surely be very questionable imho.

Cheers Controversial Christer

Much of your assessment is what you are guessing you might hear. You readily admit that your listening to the HMS is limited at the moment. Also you readily admit a preference not to listen to bands such as AC/DC whether through HMS or (I suspect) even played 5 miles away, so maybe you are slightly biased. I also rarely listen to music like that but I do listen to plenty of 'processed' music as well as orchestral and my feeling is that the HMS brings more to the party than just sheer clarity. For instance I find that bass is more defined, deeper and more satisfying. All things that might feature in pop rock/electronica. I do not know if you have tried Convergance by Malia and Boris Blank (also of Yello) but I suspect it is not your sort of music and yet HMS still woks its magic on that album in a wonderful way.

 

[analogmusic]

I’ve heard audioslave via blu 2 into Dave and it sounded amazing to me
Same with a number of Bon Jovi rock albums.
But there’s simply no accounting for wishes, wallets and subjective ears trying to justify an audio purchase when the issue is a financial one

Sure I’d love to own a Bentley convertible but I’m happy with my 9 year old BMW

Are they the same ?
The issue here is money or lack of it...

 

[Nik74]

My main preference is also mainly classical music but growing up my brother was a big iron maiden fan so I ve been exposed to the genre and know I would never be into it. I have to say however that having accidentally stumbled upon some heavy metal material on the music forums , listening to them through my rig has made me appreciate certain qualities in that music . I am sure a heavy metal fan is “tuned” to perceive and enjoy nuances in what might well be heavy distortion that a good DAC or system in general will be able to reproduce convincingly. So with that understanding I see any music lover in a position to greatly benefit from an m scaler or other improvement. The M-Scaler in particular seems to enhance the listeners involvement as -beyond describable technicalities -it seems to bring out the music out of the sound , if that makes sense, to my ears anyway and ymmv

 

[Triode User]

Sure I’d love to own a Bentley convertible but I’m happy with my 9 year old BMW

. . . and I am happy with my 14 year old Seat Leon because my HiFi gear is much more important to me.

 

[analogmusic]

The good thing in 2018 is the while I doubt I’ll ever own a Bentley, the HMS scaler is within financial reach ...

 

[Christer]

And my

. . . and I am happy with my 14 year old Seat Leon because my HiFi gear is much more important to me.

Priorities!
My shiny fuel economic,Toyota Corolla which I bought for roughly the same money I paid for my Qutest with only 12000k on the clock ,serves me very well indeed.

I took it to the annual compulsory inspection just before leaving for Asia a couple of weeks ago and was greeted with" lets take a look at this gem again"


It passed without a single fault noted for the third year since buying it.
And it is from 1999.

In the world of analogue audio there are actually lots of comparable bargains to be made for those who know what to look for and what really counts in HIFI.

Much more difficult to attain similar value for money in digital audio imho.

But yes I admit Mscaler is indeed,quite tempting.

And music matters A LOT to me too.

I'll be cramming in five live concerts in two different cities in a bit over a week now.
Just for my love of music.

Back on topic . On the other hand in a very vivid dream I had recently, there was a much cheaper,much smaller and more lightweight than the current Mscaler, basically Qutest size Mscaler,already there to be fondled and listened to, and it did everything right in my dream.
I sometimes have dreams that come true, and surprisingly often lucid dreams.
Talk about travelling!
Those can be really "groovy trips".

I am not sure if the cute little Mscaler in my dream actually came from Chord though?
It could have been a Chinese copy.

Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[analogmusic]

Sometimes you have to live with a Toyota Corolla and be happy even if it will never be a Mercedes quality of comfort

Maybe the Mscaler is not affordable to all... quality does cost money after all

 

[Christer]

My main preference is also mainly classical music but growing up my brother was a big iron maiden fan so I ve been exposed to the genre and know I would never be into it. I have to say however that having accidentally stumbled upon some heavy metal material on the music forums , listening to them through my rig has made me appreciate certain qualities in that music . I am sure a heavy metal fan is “tuned” to perceive and enjoy nuances in what might well be heavy distortion that a good DAC or system in general will be able to reproduce convincingly. So with that understanding I see any music lover in a position to greatly benefit from an m scaler or other improvement. The M-Scaler in particular seems to enhance the listeners involvement as -beyond describable technicalities -it seems to bring out the music out of the sound , if that makes sense, to my ears anyway and ymmv

Just joking a bit.
Are you talking about placebo? As in "I will please you"
Well, according to recent medical scientific news, it should not be underrated, it works!
Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[analogmusic]

One has to think of a perfect recording rendered.

The lower quality Dac play the music with many errors which are audible...,

When I hear the Mscaler the music takes on a clarity never heard before due to the absence of errors....

 

[Christer]

Sometimes you have to live with a Toyota Corolla and be happy even if it will never be a Mercedes quality of comfort

Maybe the Mscaler is not affordable to all... quality does cost money after all

You've got a point there but ordinary cars are mainly things I use to take me from A to B on good roads.
I have never had any cravings for a Mercedes or BMW.
But I have owned both a 4 wheel-drive Toyota motorhome, and a Landrover, both of which where excellently suited to what I mainly needed them for.
African Safaris and US/Canadian Crosscountry driving and camping out in the Wild.
On topic ,Mscaler is not only very expensive, it is also a surprisingly heavy beast imho.
But if I eventually cough up the dough for one, no way would I choose the Silver version I saw and heard in Singapore. It looked Kitchy and cheap to my taste, with all its fancy lights and bright shiny silver look.
Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[Christer]

One has to think of a perfect recording rendered.

The lower quality Dac play the music with many errors which are audible...,

When I hear the Mscaler the music takes on a clarity never heard before due to the absence of errors....

Touché!
This time around your arguments hit me harder than the one just above did !
Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[TheAttorney]

@TheAttorney @yellowblue - Blaxius^2 digital has now been running in for 4 days, no issues at any file format (768k 100% stable) only 4 days in but its starting to sound pretty impressive Blaxius 1 now sounds flat and 2 dimensional in comparison. the proto-type blaxius^2 took a good 2-3weeks and then got even better.

So, the issue was resolved by a change to the cable screening, rather than any issue to do with thick cables meeting cramped socket locations. I'd still rather the Blaxius^2 was a bit narrower near the ends to remove any sideways force on the sockets, but I guess that might be difficult when trying to maintain all that screening configurability.

Anyway, I assume the improvements you're hearing are before you've fully experimented with the potentlal thousands of screening combinations? These ^2 cable versions do seem to be a tweakers paradise to "dial in" the sound characteristics you prefer - and a nightmare for non-tweakers like AndrewOld! Horses for courses.

When my HMS arrives, I'll live with the stock cables for a while and then see if I feel the need to try anything else.

 

[Amberlamps]

You've got a point there but ordinary cars are mainly things I use to take me from A to B on good roads.
I have never had any cravings for a Mercedes or BMW.
But I have owned both a 4 wheel-drive Toyota motorhome, and a Landrover, both of which where excellently suited to what I mainly needed them for.
African Safaris and US/Canadian Crosscountry driving and camping out in the Wild.
On topic ,Mscaler is not only very expensive, it is also a surprisingly heavy beast imho.
But if I eventually cough up the dough for one, no way would I choose the Silver version I saw and heard in Singapore. It looked Kitchy and cheap to my taste, with all its fancy lights and bright shiny silver look.
Cheers Controversial Christer

Your post gets 1 like for having the word Landrover in it.

When you absolutely positively have to fight a war, go on safari, offroading, be shielded from petrol bombs, winch yourself up a dam wall, landrover, accept no subsitute.