[Boogie7910]

from my experience so far, i think it depends on the recording...

I don't think you understood what I was saying. I've listened to all kinds of recordings. I'm not saying the MScaler itself isn't working, as I pointed out I noticed a clear improvement with it in my system as opposed to not in my system. I'm saying the sample rate selector is not working and pass through is not passing through and is still carrying a processed signal.

 

[supervisor]

I don't think you understood what I was saying. I've listened to all kinds of recordings. I'm not saying the MScaler itself isn't working, as I pointed out I noticed a clear improvement with it in my system as opposed to not in my system. I'm saying the sample rate selector is not working.

i did understand. for me, the pass-through effect/change is obvious on some records and not-so-obvious on others.

 

[Boogie7910]

i did understand. for me, the pass-through effect/change is obvious on some records and not-so-obvious on others.

For every record I played each setting is identical. Perhaps you can give me a good example of a song you think demonstrates the settings actually having an effect?

Regardless, pass through should sound as if the MScaler isn't in my system and that is clearly not the case to me because taking the MScaler out of my system sounds worse than MScaler in pass through mode.

 

[ZappaMan]

For every record I played each setting is identical. Perhaps you can give me a good example of a song you think demonstrates the settings actually having an effect?

Regardless, pass through should sound as if the MScaler isn't in my system and that is clearly not the case to me because taking the MScaler out of my system sounds worse than MScaler in pass through mode.

i think this is where the 'subtle' word comes in. When you first hear it, you see that its transformational, but then as you slowly get used to it, it just feels natural.
I was listening to A moon shaped pool, the last track ends with piano notes, and i swear i could hear the lingering note oscillate, it was an amazing detail. Maybe all these little details end up as a big impact in the brain, but once you try to slice and dice whats happening, you're brain can't really say what the difference is.

 

[Amberlamps]

Ok so I've gotten my MScaler hooked up this morning and I've only been listening to it for about 2 hours but I already have some very early impressions and something interesting is going on that leads me to believe not everything is working as it should and some things are. I am going from PC usb>MScaler>Schiit Gumpy single BNC until I get my TT2.

I thought things were sounding good but listening for the first time of the day I didn't know if the MScaler was helping as I didn't compare it to anything yet. I have to second what Amberlamps has been saying that the sample rate selector doesn't do a damn thing and every single setting from pass through to maximum is identical and I have very good ears and payed close attention cycling through each one over and over. HOWEVER, I took the MScaler out of the equation and just went back to the dac and noticed things might have went down in quality but I wasn't exactly sure so I listened for a while until I decided to add the MScaler back in. This time I can say the MScaler is doing something good after taking it in, out, and back in my system. My very early impressions are much improved separation, more smoother, each part of the music is more detailed. So my question is WHY does the sample rate selector do absolutely nothing from pass through to each other stage up the chain? I can imagine this driving people nuts who think the MScaler is not doing anything for their system.

The MScaler takes time to get used to, it’s not an obvious change like going from an mp3 player to a high end dac. I think what the problem was with alot of people, myself included, was that we didn’t know what to expect from the mscaler, and previous posts by blu mk ii owners maybe gave us the wrong impression. Meaning, that the change was so vast, that it would be noticed immediately. Which in my experience isn’t the case.

However, use the mscaler for a few weeks and then go back to using your old gear, and it’s very easy to spot the differences then.

I got bugged by passthrough mode, but then I did a little test by taking the mscaler out of the loop and just used hugo 2, and the difference between hugo 2 on it’s own and with an mscaler was big.

So big, that I don’t think I could ever use my hugo 2 on it’s own in a static setup now. It made hugo less bright/clinical, and also made every sound much easier to pick out and follow, where before it was just one huge lump of sound all mixed together, the mscaler helps break that up into it’s component parts, and I must admit, it does it so well that listening to old songs and albums is like listening to them for the first time again. Last night I was listening to a qobuz 60s playlist and some of the songs sounded amazing.

Passthrough mode.

I spoke to Rob about this perceived problem.

He said, once in passthrough mode, the OP SR ball will change to Red and the track sample rate will show on hugos window, red for 44.1khz, blue for 192khz etc.

If there was any upscaling happening, hugo’s glass window would show the colour for whatever khz the upscaling is for. And because of that, we can be assured that passthrough is not 1 million taps.

The MScaler is very very subtle at first, and it does take time to get used to it. Give it a few weeks of dedicated listening time, ( for me it was 4 ) and then take the mscaler out of the loop and listen to your old setup. I’m positive that you will be able to instantly notice the difference.

Don’t worry about passthrough mode, and enjoy your new mscaler.

 

[Boogie7910]

The MScaler takes time to get used to, it’s not an obvious change like going from an mp3 player to a high end dac. I think what the problem was with alot of people, myself included, was that we didn’t know what to expect from the mscaler, and previous posts by blu mk ii owners maybe gave us the wrong impression. Meaning, that the change was so vast, that it would be noticed immediately. Which in my experience isn’t the case.

However, use the mscaler for a few weeks and then go back to using your old gear, and it’s very easy to spot the differences then.

I can spot the difference from just my first 2 hour listening session and I'm sure once I get even more use to it, it will become that much more apparent.

I got bugged by passthrough mode, but then I did a little test by taking the mscaler out of the loop and just used hugo 2, and the difference between hugo 2 on it’s own and with an mscaler was big.

I agree and I came to the same conclusion. Maybe I'm misunderstanding pass through mode so my one big question is.. Is pass through mode supposed to sound as if the MScaler isn't in the chain? Maybe Rob Watts can answer this one or has he already?

So big, that I don’t think I could ever use my hugo 2 on it’s own in a static setup now. It made hugo less bright/clinical, and also made every sound much easier to pick out and follow, where before it was just one huge lump of sound all mixed together, the mscaler helps break that up into it’s component parts.

This was pretty much my exact early impressions. Better separation, I can focus on individual parts to the song that before sounded garbled together in comparison, smoother and less bright.

Passthrough mode.

I spoke to Rob about this perceived problem.

He said, once in passthrough mode, the OP SR ball will change to Red or whatever colour that signifys the sample rate of the track your playing, example red for 44.1khz and blue for 192khz. He also mentioned that Hugo 2’s window will also change colour to reflect the change to passthrough mode.

Basically, if the OP SR ball is in passthrough mode and if it’s showing red ( colour dependent on track sample rate ), hugo’s window will also turn red, which signifys 44.1khz, and no upscaling at all.

If there was any upscaling happening, hugo’s glass window would show the colour for whatever khz the upscaling is for. And because of that, we can be assured that passthrough is not 1 million taps.

What seems apparent to me is the OP SR ball will always be red when it's supposedly in pass through mode and the DX OP shows the corresponding color of the sample rate of the incoming signal.

 

[JaZZ]

Pass-through mode and M-Scaler removed from the chain sound exactly the same, but the M-Scaler reduces the volume by 3 dB no matter if upscaling or not.

 

[Boogie7910]

Pass-through mode and M-Scaler removed from the chain sound exactly the same, but the M-Scaler reduces the volume by 3 dB no matter if upscaling or not.

Damn, guess my MScaler is dysfunctional with a non functioning pass though mode. I wonder how widespread this issue is.

 

[Amberlamps]

I can spot the difference from just my first 2 hour listening session and I'm sure once I get even more use to it, it will become that much more apparent.



I agree and I came to the same conclusion. Maybe I'm misunderstanding pass through mode so my one big question is.. Is pass through mode supposed to sound as if the MScaler isn't in the chain? Maybe Rob Watts can answer this one or has he already?



This was pretty much my exact early impressions. Better separation, I can focus on individual parts to the song that before sounded garbled together in comparison, smoother and less bright.



What seems apparent to me is the OP SR ball will always be red when it's supposedly in pass through mode and the DX OP shows the corresponding color of the sample rate of the incoming signal.

Yes, I amended my post before you posted regarding the passthrough ball colour, it’s always red, I got confused with the ball to the right of that one, DX.

It’s good that you can spot the difference in 2 hours, personally it took me much longer to “really” notice what changes it was doing, sometimes I thought it was doing it’s thing and other times not, but I guess that could be down to the file/track thats being played.

Passthrough, as far as I’m aware, it’s basically just hugo 2 with a volume increase / decrease ? I think it was, but it sounds nothing like hugo 2 on it’s own.

If I had to guess, I would say Chord have made a booboo with the firmware, as if I can’t notice the difference, I can only imagine what golden ears make of it, but passthrough won’t bother me as I won’t use that function.

I have no idea if they have made a booboo, I’m just going by what people have said to me regarding it, generally they couldn’t hear the difference. I think it may be mostly hugo 2 owners that are saying that. Possibly the mscaler may be much more noticeable on tt2 and dave compared to hugo 2 ?

Hugo’s window does change colour to recognise the change to passthrough mode, red on mscaler and red in hugos window, so we must then assume that no upscaling has been applied, otherwise the colour in hugos window would change to reflect that.

Give it a few weeks of solid listening, don’t use your old setup in that time and after a few weeks go back to your old setup aka remove the mscaler and see what you think.

 

[naynay]

Ignore that comment mental block i'm now back.

 

[JaZZ]

Damn, guess my MScaler is dysfunctional with a non functioning pass though mode. I wonder how widespread this issue is.

You certainly can't deduce that from my post – and I heavily doubt it.

 

[Jan Tage Holmber]

Ok so I've gotten my MScaler hooked up this morning and I've only been listening to it for about 2 hours but I already have some very early impressions and something interesting is going on that leads me to believe not everything is working as it should and some things are. I am going from PC usb>MScaler>Schiit Gumpy single BNC until I get my TT2.

I thought things were sounding good but listening for the first time of the day I didn't know if the MScaler was helping as I didn't compare it to anything yet. I have to second what Amberlamps has been saying that the sample rate selector doesn't do a damn thing and every single setting from pass through to maximum is identical and I have very good ears and payed close attention cycling through each one over and over. HOWEVER, I took the MScaler out of the equation and just went back to the dac and noticed things might have went down in quality but I wasn't exactly sure so I listened for a while until I decided to add the MScaler back in. This time I can say the MScaler is doing something good after taking it in, out, and back in my system. My very early impressions are much improved separation, more smoother, each part of the music is more detailed. So my question is WHY does the sample rate selector do absolutely nothing from pass through to each other stage up the chain? I can imagine this driving people nuts who think the MScaler is not doing anything for their system.

You state that You have yet only used the single BNC. I think you have good things coming to You with the TT2 which is supposedly superior to my Hugo 2, a fantastic DAC by itself, and which will enable the full 1 million taps via Dual BNC. I do not find the difference between a good Redbook recording and HR versions or upscaling with HMS to green or blue very impressive. But things get different once You get the full Monty going.

You asked for a discriminating recording. I find the Chris Thile (mandolin) & Edgar Meyer (double bass) record ”Bass & Mandolin” useful in this respect. Listen to ”Tarnation” when the double bass enters with gentle strokes. With the 1 million taps the timbre of the instruments, the sweetness of the sound produced by wooden instruments are so convincingly real, it is fidelity - High Fidelity!

Good luck and blessed listening to You!

 

[elephante211]

For every record I played each setting is identical. Perhaps you can give me a good example of a song you think demonstrates the settings actually having an effect?

Regardless, pass through should sound as if the MScaler isn't in my system and that is clearly not the case to me because taking the MScaler out of my system sounds worse than MScaler in pass through mode.

I think the issue is that you are comparing PC usb>MScaler(via bnc)>Schiit Gumby to PC usb>Schiit Gumpy, and you could be hearing the difference between the USB and BNC inputs of the Schiit dac. I don't know which USB version you have in your Gumby, but that could be a factor as well; there was a substantial difference between the GEN 3 and GEN 5 usb in Schiit dacs.

 

[TheMusicMan]

.

 

[TheMusicMan]

Hi there!

I'm looking at getting an M-Scaler, and I notice the common thread of the reviews is more separation, clearer-sounding instruments, etc. The assessments have almost all been rather "sonics analysis"-based.

I've never read anyone saying anything like "I get so much more joy listening to music through it."

Sonic detail aside, have people had a significantly increased raw emotional experience from it?