[CorvetteGarage]

Shuttlepod- you are the tweak master...

 

[zappazappazappa]

Very much recommend exploring better digital cables, I’ve gone to town on this and regret taking a few months to get around to it. A super substantial improvement to be had here (particularly in tonal balance and even surprisingly in resolution) and especially if the rest of the power and cable pathway is already optimised.

Recommendations?

 

[jbrownson]

Sounds like you need to earth Qutest (actually it's the power amps needing grounding) as Qutest and the M scaler are both isolated from ground.

How do you go about earthing the Qutest? I get a hum when I use it with my Shure KSE 1500 electrostatic IEMs. When I touch the case, or use a battery bank the hum goes away. I suspect I ned to earth the system since neither unit has an earth connection.

I found the ifi Groundhog, but the Qutest doesn't have a spare RCA or any of the other options it provides.

 

[Christer]

I have now had the M-Scaler in my system for about ten days. Here are some observations.

Overall Gestalt

The single biggest takeaway for me is that music is more composed and calm. Music does not feel as hyped as before; there are not as many moments that show some hint of harshness; there are fewer sharp edges. In a word, music is more natural. Some would say this is a darker sound and I wouldn’t disagree. But it is not darker at the expense of detail or resolution. Frankly, this greater sense of composure ran counter to my expectations, which centered on things like clarity, detail, and soundstage. I didn't know quite what to make of the M-Scaler during my first hour or two of listening because in some ways it seemed like some drama was missing. The more I listened, the more I realized that I was more easily drawn into the music and a greater emotional connection was formed. There was a subjective sense that music had slowed down.

This is pure speculation on my part, but my guess is that HMS is easing the difficulty my ear/brain may have processing music; listening is both more relaxing and more involving.

It is important to put this in context: my current system (see below) is the least forgiving and most transparent that I have had over the years (though I have some friends with more resolving and less forgiving systems). The speakers are not laid back; rather, they are dynamic, nimble, and fully capable of revealing harshness, glare, and poor recording quality. So this newfound sense of composure and calm is particularly beneficial in the context of my system.

Separation of Musical Lines

This is probably the second biggest revelation for me: the ability of the M-Scaler to unravel dense musical passages and allow one to follow disparate musical lines. There is a very evenhanded treatment of different strands in the music that allows one to hear and focus on multiple strands of music simultaneously rather than forcing the focus on a particular instrument or voice. This enhanced ability to follow stacked elements of the music or criss-crossing musical lines is a chief virtue of the HMS.

In his excellent review of the HMS on audiophilelifestyle.com, @austinpop captured this well when he said:

"The best way I can describe it is temporal coherence. There is just something “right” about the sound in terms of its timing. Take dense orchestral music like the Mahler. Normally, with music like that when different instruments come to the foreground in terms of volume, one’s ear is drawn to them, and the others recede from attention. It’s akin to surfing - riding on the crest of each wave. Forgive the mangled metaphor - I don’t surf! What I found with the HMS is that as an instrument receded from its crest, it remained perfectly easy to follow. As a result, I found myself able to keep my attention on what instruments were doing off their peaks. On dense music, this is a revelation! It draws you so much deeper into the piece, both intellectually and emotionally."

See https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/revi...ord-electronics-hugo-m-scaler-hugo-tt-2-r781/

This ability to follow musical lines not only draws you into the music, it allows you to appreciate and understand how it is actually put together.

High and Low Volumes

On most tunes I am now able to turn up the volume by several decibels with no hint of strain, compression, or harshness. Conversely, the system sounds very good at low volumes, allowing one to hear a coherent whole without missing pieces. Since my listening room is our living room, this flexibility is important to me.

Human Voice

Wow. Very dimensional, very natural. Little inflections are heard and understood.

Bass

The M-Scaler does not produce more (or less) bass than I was hearing before. Rather, it is cleaner, more intelligible, tuneful, and easy-to-follow bass. Bass also seems more locked in with the rest of the music. If bass is important to a given tune and recorded well, you are in for a treat.

Soundstage/Depth

One of the major strengths of my current system is a large soundstage with excellent imaging. I wouldn't necessarily say that the HMS has produced a bigger soundstage. I do hear better layering front to back. I also "see" images that are more defined and that seem to have greater cushions of air around them, without fuzz on the edges. For example, on a recording of two pianos, it is easier to hear the two pianos as distinct instruments played by distinct musicians, each occupying their own space. On a musical level, this allows one to appreciate the interplay between the musicians and grasp more of their intent. Related to the issues of soundstage and depth, there is significantly greater recovery of ambience and air in recordings that have it.

Impact on Redbook Files

I've never been a big believer in the importance of format; it’s music first, then recording quality; with format last. I am now even less of an advocate for the importance of (or differences among) hi-rez formats. HMS tends to level the field, unlocking hidden beauty in your Redbook files. Really good recordings become stupendously good. As others have noted, however, it is not a miracle worker. The impact of HMS on Redbook varies widely depending on recording quality.

Setup Issues

Chord should really insert some additional pages in the HMS owner’s manual that spell out exactly how one should connect the M-Scaler to DAVE, Hugo2, and Qutest. Currently, the manual only deals with Hugo TT2. I was up and running quickly, thanks to some helpful comments by folks in this thread.

An Observation Regarding Power and the HMS

I am unlikely to try different power supplies on the HMS, as I have read enough comments, from enough experienced people, to conclude that it is difficult to better the supplied power supply without going to a great deal of expense. But I did try one little experiment.

[Side note: I replaced the stock power cord that comes with the HMS with a Shunyata Venom power cord. Pretty cheap upgrade at $95. I have not compared the stock power cord with the Shunyata.]

Initially, I plugged the Shunyata power cord into a fairly cheap Wireworld power strip. This is where I have plugged in my other non-analog power supplies that power various components in my digital chain (Uptone Audio LPS 1s). This power strip is plugged into a different circuit than my dedicated audio circuits. This practice follows the advice of Shunyata, which is to separate purely digital components (like the HMS) from anything that contains an analog circuit, both physically (to the extent possible) and in terms of power circuits.

Sometimes the received wisdom needs to be tested, however, and so I plugged the Shunyata cord into an available outlet on my Audience aR6 TSSOX power conditioner. This particular outlet was designed for digital components (like a DAC), although I prefer to plug DAVE into one of the outlets normally reserved for amps (and I have my amp plugged into the wall).

There was a clear and unambiguous change for the better using the power conditioner to get power to the HMS. What stood out was that bass was more intelligible and propulsive, and backgrounds seemed blacker. There was another step forward in reducing edginess and a step up in musical engagement. The Audience conditioner, combined with its expensive Audience power cord to the wall, and my dedicated 20 amp circuits using 10 gauge wire all combined to produce this result.

BNC Cables

Note that my experience so far has been with the stock cables. Eventually, I plan to audition two or three brands of BNC cables and see how much of a difference they make.

Comparisons with Vinyl

I have a good vinyl setup and it's been an interesting exercise to compare good vinyl records with the same tunes played through HMS. Not surprisingly, the results vary widely. For those who believe HMS has made vinyl obsolete, I'm sorry to report that is not the case. Vinyl is still king with select recordings. Example: any tune on Joni Mitchell's Blue album (the reissue on Rhino). This record has that "breath of life" that is immediately recognizable within 10 seconds. It's mostly about tone and texture. The dulcimer on "California" and "A Case of You" has much more texture and woody resonance than with any digital version (that includes a Tidal 24/192 MQA version (unfolded by Roon to 24/96); a Qobuz 24/96 version; and my own rip of a Redbook CD). By comparison, the dulcimer through my digital chain sounds a little plasticky, lifeless, and grey. Joni's voice is simply more human, more tangible, and more real on vinyl, and my analog system throws a considerably bigger image. The comparison is not close at all.

On the other hand, yesterday a friend brought over Radiohead's "In Rainbows" album and the Reference Recordings album "Exotic Dances from the Opera." Neither vinyl album could hold a candle to digital playback of the same tunes through HMS.

I will say that the variation in the quality of vinyl playback is much greater -- from really bad to really great -- than what I typically hear through digital with HMS, which tends to vary from OK to really great.

My System

To help put my observations in context, my system consists of:

Devore Gibbon X loudspeakers
HiFiMan HE1000 headphones

Chord DAVE
Chord Hugo M-Scaler
Roon/Tidal/Qobuz running off SD card
Mac Mini modified by Uptone Audio in bridged mode serving as Roon Core server, powered by Uptone Audio JS-2 power supply
Paul Pang ethernet switch with TXCO clock powered by Jameco LPS
SOtM dCBL-Cat7 Ethernet cables
Blue Jeans Cable 6a ethernet
SOtM sMS-200 Ultra powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1 power supply with custom Zenwave UPOCC copper cable
Uptone Audio Iso Regen powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1 power supply and Ghent Audio cable
SOtM txUSB Ultra powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1 power supply with custom Zenwave UPOCC copper cable

TW Acustic Raven turntable and integral phono cable
TW Acustic Raven 10.5 tonearm
Miyajima Shilabe cart
Zanden/TW Acustic record mat

Crayon CFA 1.2 integrated amp with Synergistic Research Blue Fuses
Crayon CPH-P phono stage with dedicated Paul Hynes SR5 DR48 power supply with Synergistic Research Blue Fuse

Daedalus/WyWires speaker cable
High Fidelity CT-1 Enhanced interconnect
WyWires Gold interconnect
Phasure Lush USB cable
Phasure Lush^2 USB cable
Audience AU24 SE USB cable

Audience aR6 TSSOX power conditioner
Shunyata Alpha HC power cord powering amplifier direct-to-wall
Shunyata Alpha HC power cord powering Chord DAVE
selection of Audience AU24 SE and Audience PowerChord power cords
Two 20 amp dedicated circuits with 10-gauge wire and FIM 888 AC outlets

Stillpoints Ultra SS and Ultra Mini under most components including speakers
Finite Elemente rack with Cerabase footers
Equipment Vibration Protectors from A/V Roomservice under other components
Finite Elemente Ceraballs under other components
Custom wall-mounted TT rack
Acoustic Revive Schumann resonator powered by Jameco LPS
Stillpoints Aperture acoustic room treatment (2)
A/V Roomservice acoustic room treatment (4)
Acustica Applicata Diffusion Absorption Audio Device
ZSleeves
DIY ultrasonic record cleaner/VPI 16.5 record cleaner

High Fidelity Cables MC 0.5 Wave Guide
High Fidelity Cables Magnetic Adapters

Thanks for your very comprehensive in depth take, already within ten days of use.
From the music examples and tracks you mention you're obviously someone who could hear these obvious improvements in SQ without much need for any equipment or brain break-in.
I have very similar experiences as you with my M Scaler.
To me even under HI FI shop and headphones only conditions during my first auditions, the leap in SQ even over DAVE on its own was obvious within seconds of listening to well recorded acoustic music I know very well.

Interesting also to read your comparison between your best vinyl and M Scaler and the human voice as well.
I suspect that we might agree there as well.
Good as it is by any standard I also partly fear that M Scaler will not make my best vinyl completely obsolete.

In my system back home my electrostatic speakers and vinyl system can occasionally with the very best of vinyl still bring me a bit closer to say a live string quartet or a soprano voice than any digital reproduction I have had to compare with so far.

It may well be that M Scaler will win and parts of me really hope it will.

But I still need to put it through the ultimate test, a big resolving speaker based system and direct cut LP.
Like you I have so far with my ownM Scaler only used mine with the supplied BNC cable.
But like some others here I have also experienced some disturbing drop-outs with it now and then.
Starting up my M Scaler first in my start up sequence seems to largely avoid the problem of drop-outs.
But this morning I again had a short drop-out with one track.
Having just read the recent correspondence here around BNC cables and connectors I am going to experiment a bit with different BNC cables and BNC connectors soon.


A tight fit and properly locked-in position seems important and judging from the supplied usb cable with my M Scaler,well the one supplied was anything but tight fitting!
I exhanged it within days and have never used it since.
I had way too many drop-outs and even a few times had to restart my complete setup again in order get back into business again.

Something similar seems to apply for the supplied PSU with my Qutest, well no fitting probems there. But the battery powered LPS I am using provides an audible improvement in effortlessness and ease of reproduction compared to the stock one.

Less harshness (probably just less mains noise intruding) and simply more relaxed and realistic SQ. Not a night and day difference but big enough to matter to me.

So yes I suspect both you and I can still squeeze out a few drops more juice from our HMS combos by paying attention to some little things that could add "a tad more ease and realism" and even more musical emjoyment to us.

I hope the Furutech BNC connector suggestion by someone recently will be a cheap enough and good enough route to follow for me.
I don't want to have to go to the extreme expense of buying either a Habst or Wave BNC cable set to reach "Nirvana" if I can avoid it.
But one thing is sure,what I already have is imho definitely in digital SOTA category.
Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[Christer]

Everything is relative... just returned from a mate’s place who reterminated a pair of wireworld Platinum Starlight 1.5m digital cables for me with Furutech NCF bnc plugs and just put them on the m scaler to replace the stock cables... holy Frakn marymutherofgawd awesome. I can’t begin to describe how much better these cables are and how things have improved. Well yes I might just have to after my last paragraph.

First up sound stage... I was just about to consider upgrading to a dave or TT2 to buy some more depth over my qutest. The window thru to the other side just fair opened up.
I was wanting more viscerality... the images are like amazing solid fleshy walls.

I was hoping for more bass and solidity. Fierce and deep the bass structure is... it underpins with just an absolute and complete fullness. This is not a small upgrade. I am floored with just how much better it is sounding now. The resolution was awesome, it is now beyond awesome and with a rock solid carved soundstage. The last bit of very slightest of grey (almost a hint) has gone to be replaced with this otherworldly calm around the images. I am in a state of disbelief. This is exceptional.

As someone who has recently experienced occasional drop-out problems with the supplied BNC with my M Scaler, could you say what I'd be looking at pricewise to try this option ie Platinum/Furutech?
Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[analogmusic]

Christer your post is interesting

So here it goes

Man goes to Harrods
Looks around.....
tried to return his Msclaer within 30 days
Says he prefers his old thorens turntable
Harrods staff shake their head...
Take the Mscaler back... it sells within 2 hours...
Everyone is finally happy

 

[Mikey99]

Thanks for your very comprehensive in depth take, already within ten days of use.
From the music examples and tracks you mention you're obviously someone who could hear these obvious improvements in SQ without much need for any equipment or brain break-in.
I have very similar experiences as you with my M Scaler.
To me even under HI FI shop and headphones only conditions during my first auditions, the leap in SQ even over DAVE on its own was obvious within seconds of listening to well recorded acoustic music I know very well.

Interesting also to read your comparison between your best vinyl and M Scaler and the human voice as well.
I suspect that we might agree there as well.
Good as it is by any standard I also partly fear that M Scaler will not make my best vinyl completely obsolete.

In my system back home my electrostatic speakers and vinyl system can occasionally with the very best of vinyl still bring me a bit closer to say a live string quartet or a soprano voice than any digital reproduction I have had to compare with so far.

It may well be that M Scaler will win and parts of me really hope it will.

But I still need to put it through the ultimate test, a big resolving speaker based system and direct cut LP.
Like you I have so far with my ownM Scaler only used mine with the supplied BNC cable.
But like some others here I have also experienced some disturbing drop-outs with it now and then.
Starting up my M Scaler first in my start up sequence seems to largely avoid the problem of drop-outs.
But this morning I again had a short drop-out with one track.
Having just read the recent correspondence here around BNC cables and connectors I am going to experiment a bit with different BNC cables and BNC connectors soon.


A tight fit and properly locked-in position seems important and judging from the supplied usb cable with my M Scaler,well the one supplied was anything but tight fitting!
I exhanged it within days and have never used it since.
I had way too many drop-outs and even a few times had to restart my complete setup again in order get back into business again.

Something similar seems to apply for the supplied PSU with my Qutest, well no fitting probems there. But the battery powered LPS I am using provides an audible improvement in effortlessness and ease of reproduction compared to the stock one.

Less harshness (probably just less mains noise intruding) and simply more relaxed and realistic SQ. Not a night and day difference but big enough to matter to me.

So yes I suspect both you and I can still squeeze out a few drops more juice from our HMS combos by paying attention to some little things that could add "a tad more ease and realism" and even more musical emjoyment to us.

I hope the Furutech BNC connector suggestion by someone recently will be a cheap enough and good enough route to follow for me.
I don't want to have to go to the extreme expense of buying either a Habst or Wave BNC cable set to reach "Nirvana" if I can avoid it.
But one thing is sure,what I already have is imho definitely in digital SOTA category.
Cheers Controversial Christer

About your drop-outs, are you using a Dave? In my case it turned out to be a Dave issue - apparently some units are very sensitive to synchronization between the BNC cables.

 

[Christer]

About your drop-outs, are you using a Dave? In my case it turned out to be a Dave issue - apparently some units are very sensitive to synchronization between the BNC cables.

No Qutest.
And I am far from sure that the culprit is the supplied BNC. It could also be, either Qutest, or very short power outages here in Thailand.
I did not have any drop-out problems in Singapore or Malaysia.
And here they are very rare.

But since some M Scaler owners have recently mentioned having them I thought I'd mention that I have not been completely immune to such issues either.

Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[Christer]

Christer your post is interesting

So here it goes

Man goes to Harrods
Looks around.....
tried to return his Msclaer within 30 days
Says he prefers his old thorens turntable
Harrods staff shake their head...
Take the Mscaler back... it sells within 2 hours...
Everyone is finally happy

So we're finally back at Harrods again are we?
I was beginning to doubt we'd ever get there again.

Rest assured, between you and me strictly "confidentially",I am about as likely to sell my M Scaler as I am likely to stop listening to music.

But if I go to London this summer for the Proms I'll make it a point to visit Harrods again.
I haven't been there for some years.
Nice old building as I remember it.
But mainly girl and grockles' stuff for sale.
Maybe we should meet up there and have a chat?
The perfumes section was a nice place to go birdwatching.
But seriously,do they even have a HI FI department?
There used to be some really nice record shops in the little backstreet just behind Harrods though.
I was even a bit tempted to buy Solti's DECCA Ring the complete box set on LPs last time I was there in 2007. It was on sale for 200 quid in mint condition.
And yesterday I saw that the 24/44.1 download of the DECCA Ring was on sale at Qobuz for 40 quid.


Cheers Controversial Christer

 

[analogmusic]

Glad you have a sense of humour. Of course Harrods don’t sell Mscalers but it was to illustrate a point.

Now.. suggest you read this........ it may help.. it is what I’ve been trying to tell you for many months with the Harrods jokes

https://www.stereophile.com/content/analog-vs-digital-home-brew-science-edge-art

In the first instance, one typically hears a pleasing amount of extra bass emphasis with analog records; this adds warmth and greater "body" to a male vocalist, for example. Secondly, these turntables also add varying amounts of what could be called "sheen," "glow," or "bloom" to voices and instruments. It is only by reference to some additional arbitrating standard (a copy of the master tape) that we were able to tell that these admittedly euphonic characteristics are actually added by various turntable resonances. The analog/digital controversy therefore stems, we believe, from the conflict between trading certain euphonic colorations for greater transparency and detail. There will always be those audiophiles who consciously or unconsciously select equipment that compensates for what they dislike about many commercial recordings.

By choosing a turntable/tonearm combination which specifically addresses arm/cartridge resonances and suppresses micro-vibrations at the stylus/groove interface, we gained a substantial increase in inner detailing and image focus compared to other analog playback systems. We lost a significant bass coloration (no measurable vertical arm/cartridge resonance) and virtually eliminated a false sense of "sheen." The resulting turntable sound approached the sonic characteristics of the CD and the prerecorded tape. In the case of the Thelma Houston recording, the sound of the AR was virtually identical to that of the CD. These results indicate that the extra bass and the "sheen" or "bloom" heard on other phono playback combinations derive not from the program material, but from the turntable. We strongly believe that the characteristic sound of analog playback equipment pronounced accurate by the digital detractors includes many euphonic colorations to which we have become accustomed. As improvements in analog playback equipment reduce these colorations, it is not surprising to see CD and analog sources approach each other sonically.


Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content...w-science-edge-art-page-3#LRv8AeRzMe2Ik5IB.99

 

[Tao8]

As someone who has recently experienced occasional drop-out problems with the supplied BNC with my M Scaler, could you say what I'd be looking at pricewise to try this option ie Platinum/Furutech?
Cheers Controversial Christer

Christer,
The furutech bncs that I used are their top of the line ones and they are not cheap unfortunately but furutech have a couple of different bncs I think.

I had some Platinum Starlight cable so just needed to re-terminate for bnc. Otherwise I might have explored getting some neotech digital cables as they are the same people that supply the cable to wireworld.

I’d also imagine Wireworld Silver Starlight RCA digital cables might also be worth trying andxare much more affordable than Platinum Starlight but once again think you’d have to get them reterminated.

 

[Tao8]

Recommendations?

Hi ZappaZappa,
I didn’t try any other cables as I fortunately already had some digital cables that then just needed reterminating but added some thoughts for Christer along the same line of thought as above. Sorry not more info but I do feel that it is worth pursuing given how substantial the improvement I was lucky enough to get.

 

[analogmusic]

After reading that stereophile article....(above)

Man goes back to Harrods ... buys the Mscaler again... every is still happy... although Harrods staff are truly puzzled...

And throws that old old turntable where it belongs.... in the skip for recycling ....

 

[seeteeyou]

The furutech bncs that I used are their top of the line ones and they are not cheap unfortunately but furutech have a couple of different bncs I think.

NCF connectors should be reserved for Crystal Cable Future Dream interconnects at the moment, I guess that you meant Furutech CF-BNC connectors with carbon fiber?

BTW, fake Furutech connectors are easily found these days and we better know what we're actually getting.

 

[zappazappazappa]

Hi ZappaZappa,
I didn’t try any other cables as I fortunately already had some digital cables that then just needed reterminating but added some thoughts for Christer along the same line of thought as above. Sorry not more info but I do feel that it is worth pursuing given how substantial the improvement I was lucky enough to get.

Looking at your previous posts I see you are using the Wireworld Platinum Starlight cables. I'm glad you got a substantial improvement in SQ as they cost £850 each per half metre (Future Shop) in the UK, though it is possible to specify BNC fitted connectors at no additional cost! As and when I get an M-Scaler I would be looking for something which offers an audible upgrade on the freebie cables but at a substantially lower cost.