[Triode User]

"Yes the Mqa compresses the file then your dac Mqa compatible takes it back to full res but the chord dacs on purpose will not do that" - a slight edit / correction.

 

[miketlse]

Yes the Mqa compresses the file then your dac Mqa compatible takes it back to full res but the chord dacs can't do that

It is lossy compression, and also introduces aliasing errors, so Rob is not a fan.

 

[paul2qute]

"Yes the Mqa compresses the file then your dac Mqa compatible takes it back to full res but the chord dacs on purpose will not do that" - a slight edit / correction.

Yes I know Rob watts is against it and I'm not complaining about that, I don't want Mqa but it's forced down my throat with Tidal,things could be so much easier but it puts ppl off

 

[Triode User]

Yes I know Rob watts is against it and I'm not complaining about that, I don't want Mqa but it's forced down my throat with Tidal,things could be so much easier but it puts ppl off

Swop streaming services. I did and went to Qobuz.

 

[Mediahound]

Yes I know Rob watts is against it and I'm not complaining about that, I don't want Mqa but it's forced down my throat with Tidal,things could be so much easier but it puts ppl off

Tidal MQA still works with Chord DACs. Tidal will do the first unfold decoding for you and then send that Hi-Rez to the Chord

 

[ZappaMan]

Swop streaming services. I did and went to Qobuz.

Prob with Qobuz is that it’s even more expensive than tidal, which is a pity.

But on the other hand they do have a big catalog of music that you won’t find on tidal.

But still.

 

[maxh22]

I can’t wait until Qobuz is availbe for the US, The UI looks cleaner than Tidal’s and you also get the ability to play offline songs from your Windows pc, something that you can’t do with Tidal.

 

[Deftone]

That explains it, just waiting on the slides for the hugo TT 2,getting excited now even though it's months away, listening to music through my x box one x..you tube, amazing sound quality NOT !I can't even tell if it's a bloke or a woman singing never mind what instruments are getting played, atrocious

I tell you what I’ve never enjoyed the sound YouTube spits out. I don’t know what they do to the files during compression but I always think it sounds “glassy”.

 

[flyte3333]

I can understand why Rob Watts doesn't want any MQA related code in his FPGA - probably a similar reason to Ted Smith I guess (I could be wrong).

John Franks is open to the MQA 1st unfold but that will probably be in a streamer type device - like Poly/2Go etc. See the end of this video:


Regarding the 1st MQA unfold, Archimago actually found it to be equivalent to the 24/88 or 24/96 Hi-Res download that can be purchased (when you're comparing the same master).

From Archimago:

"Objectively with the songs I examined, the software decoder works well to reconstruct what looks like the equivalent 24/96 download."

and

"Bottom line: TIDAL/MQA streaming does sound like the equivalent 24/96 downloads based on what I have heard and the test results"

https://archimago.blogspot.hk/2017/01/comparison-tidal-mqa-music-high.html

So while I personally would prefer MQA would go away, the 1st unfold is excellent (objectively).

Strong emphasis here that I'm only discussing the 1st unfold - not the stuff that happens after. Archimago and Mans R have done enough analysis on the 'other stuff'.

 

[Amberlamps]

Yeah, ... mqa, trying to force dac companies to license their compression method.

I wonder what tidal will do next, maybe another compression method called mqa+ Which might support 192khz streaming.

The + sign will automatically double the price to £40 a month or £50 if you have been suckered in by apples £25 a month tidal streaming package.

When they start doing even more stupid things, thats when I jump to one of the others, only using tidal because it can work via roon, even if it does at times, give me the error “track not found” .

 

[LWR999]

I'm really interested in this.

Currently a HugoTT owner who is thinking about upgrading to a DAVE. I do 60% of my listening on Genelec Studio Monitors (8050s with a 7060 subwoofer) and 40% headphone listening (these days only HD800S). Roon is my source.

I reckon I'm equally split between 24-Bit / Tidal / lossy formats as source files.

Would a single DAVE suit me better than a HugoTT2 / MScaler combo?

Pretty sure that Chord will get my money (and I'll get a great system) either away.

 

[Triode User]

I'm really interested in this.

Currently a HugoTT owner who is thinking about upgrading to a DAVE. I do 60% of my listening on Genelec Studio Monitors (8050s with a 7060 subwoofer) and 40% headphone listening (these days only HD800S). Roon is my source.

I reckon I'm equally split between 24-Bit / Tidal / lossy formats as source files.

Would a single DAVE suit me better than a HugoTT2 / MScaler combo?

Pretty sure that Chord will get my money (and I'll get a great system) either away.

I have not heard TT2 nor HMS but I do have Dave and Blu2 with the MScaler. But from that experience I would say that the slight advantage of Dave’s sound over the TT2 would be completely outweighed by the joint sound of the TT2 and HMS combination. Then of course there is the extra output of the TT2 which will be a lovely added bonus. So, no I don’t think a single Dave would be better than TT2 plus HMS.

Anyone else got any thoughts?

 

[onlychild]

Mscaler plus hugo2/cutest/TT2 will be better than DAVE alone.

Mscaler is “transformational”, not just an “upgrade” as quoted by Rob and I totally agree!

EDIT :

I've owned my DAVE for about a year now, saved up for the Blu2, ordered it about 5-6 weeks ago, and got it last Friday, day before the new MScaler was announced. My dealer's great and took it back no arguments and I ordered the new Mscaler since I don't own a single CD. If I had a decent CD collection, I would have kept the BLU, the casework and the CD player are top notch, plus it matches the DAVE.

Before I sent the BLU back I spent some time with the Mscaler and it really did totally transform the sound. EVERYTHING changed! Its pretty crazy. Bass is the best I've ever heard. I was hearing bass beats I didn't know existed in songs. Super smooth, can turn up volume and its not the typical getting loud and hurting your ears, its instruments getting more wight, soundstage increasing, etc, everything just intensifies with zero hardness or edge. Pretty crazy. There are so many more changes that others have mentioned before in reviews.

I really didn't think the change was that great from DAVE alone in the first 30-60mins. Once my brain adjusted, I stated noticing all the differences, and there are a ton!

Back to playing the waiting game again for the new Mscaler, and back to my DAVE alone, and I can't believe the difference the Mscaler had made. Listening to Dave now just doesn't cut it. Adding an Mscaler to the chain will make a bigger impact than going from TT2/cutest/Hugo2 to Dave, but the DAVE + Mscaler will be the best.

This was using HE1Kv2 with Dana Cable and High Fidelity Revel power cords and MC-6 Hemisphere off dedicated 20AMP line. From MacBook pro or via CD burned from FLAC files

 

[STR-1]

Would a single DAVE suit me better than a HugoTT2 / MScaler combo?

If no discounts available, the DAVE would be more expensive than the TT2/MSC option. But based on reports from those who have compared H2/Blu2 with DAVE on its own, most seem to accept that the TT2/MSC would outperform the DAVE. Plus you would have higher power output.

 

[Amberlamps]

Mscaler plus hugo2/cutest/TT2 will be better than DAVE alone.

Mscaler is “transformational”, not just an “upgrade” as quoted by Rob and I totally agree!

EDIT :

I've owned my DAVE for about a year now, saved up for the Blu2, ordered it about 5-6 weeks ago, and got it last Friday, day before the new MScaler was announced. My dealer's great and took it back no arguments and I ordered the new Mscaler since I don't own a single CD. If I had a decent CD collection, I would have kept the BLU, the casework and the CD player are top notch, plus it matches the DAVE.

Before I sent the BLU back I spent some time with the Mscaler and it really did totally transform the sound. EVERYTHING changed! Its pretty crazy. Bass is the best I've ever heard. I was hearing bass beats I didn't know existed in songs. Super smooth, can turn up volume and its not the typical getting loud and hurting your ears, its instruments getting more wight, soundstage increasing, etc, everything just intensifies with zero hardness or edge. Pretty crazy. There are so many more changes that others have mentioned before in reviews.

I really didn't think the change was that great from DAVE alone in the first 30-60mins. Once my brain adjusted, I stated noticing all the differences, and there are a ton!

Back to playing the waiting game again for the new Mscaler, and back to my DAVE alone, and I can't believe the difference the Mscaler had made. Listening to Dave now just doesn't cut it. Adding an Mscaler to the chain will make a bigger impact than going from TT2/cutest/Hugo2 to Dave, but the DAVE + Mscaler will be the best.

This was using HE1Kv2 with Dana Cable and High Fidelity Revel power cords and MC-6 Hemisphere off dedicated 20AMP line. From MacBook pro or via CD burned from FLAC files

Nice setup, sending blu back will save you a good whack of cash.

I can’t believe whats just happened, had a decent tradein offer for TT2 and MScaler, and something I had been working on but really didnt think it would happen. A crazy crazy too good to be true offer for both.

The only thing I am pondering is, one offer I trade in for Hugo 2, other deal is tradein for hugo 2 and mojo and poly, The deal is magic but I dont really want to give up mojo and poly as they are so good I will just buy them back at somepoint.

This is hard, truly, one of the hardest decisions I will have to make, its the mojo and poly conundrum. Arghh