Hugo M Scaler by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[hypnos1]

I saw your smiley face so this post isn’t directed at you.

It’s always been baffling to me that someone would spend lots of money on a DAC and then very intentionally not want to get the best out of it. I really do think there are those who would use a printer cable if it was what Rob suggested.

The only thing that seemed to explain this was that sound quality wasn’t such a person’s highest priority. Instead maybe it was the feeling they got from owning a product designed by one of the most brilliant minds in the industry. Might there be some prestige or status they derive from their Chord product that is more important to them than getting the best sound from it?

What evidence might there be that could bolster my theory? Well if status and prestige were the foremost aim of an individual, certainly they would want that status and prestige preserved. No way would they be the ones to go against Rob’s advice and actually try to see what improvements come from a better music server. “What Rob says” has to be the standard else maybe the house of cards comes tumbling down - as if finding a chink in his armor might tarnish the status and prestige derived from his products. I’d imagine they’d also not take too kindly to anyone preaching a different gospel. Well-intentioned advice from a person who has greatly enhanced their own listening enjoyment by doing what Rob says you need not (or should not) do wouldn’t be welcomed - and might actually be scorned.

I’m not saying that this might be going on here. I just think that it’s important to recognize that we each have different reasons for why we love our Chord products. We should respect those differences and maybe quit trying to change each other’s minds. Those who refuse to hear what a better music sever might bring to a TT2 or DAVE have their reasons and there’s likely nothing you can do to change their mind. Likewise those who have elected to let their ears decide for them aren’t going to have their minds changed either.

Personally speaking, I’ve been tickled pink that my HMS/TT2 combo sounds sooooo much better today than when they first landed here. As a funny aside, a friend had brought his Super3 over a while back. When we connected it to my TT2 my immediate reaction was “Are you kidding me? I can really have sound quality like this in my own home for that small of an investment!!” I honestly couldn’t believe that a product I actually owned could produce the tone and timbre I was hearing - and all that was needed to bring it out was this $500 power supply. This finding only enhanced my respect for Rob’s genius. The HMS and TT2 are far, far better than their excellent reviews say that they are. I still can’t believe that I actually own products that can produce such gorgeous tone and bring music to life the way these products can. Rob, thank you so very much.

k123...Your 'down to Earth' words (along with @ray-dude 's exhaustive findings at : https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/audiowise-opto•dx-optical-isolation-bridge-for-dual-spdif.23757/have encouraged me to echo the fact that the TT2/HMS combo can surely deliver a performance well beyond stock, given upgrades to the rest of the entire system...including some 'not recommended' by Chord/RW!

My AirlinkTransformers ASF 3000 Balanced Mains w/Advanced Filter System power supply; Neotech UP-OCC teflon coated solid silver wire based cables throughout and Naim UnitiCore server/media player were already helping my combo sound tremendous, especially when I reworked my unorthodox BNC coax cables (using cannibalised cat 8/7 Ethernet and replacing original twisted wires with said Neotech wires) so as to dual them. But then I dared to try 2x 120VA LPSs powering TT2 and HMS...and sorry Chord, but they did indeed bring further improvements across the board...and these are by no means artefacts/misleading impressions/simple personal preference due to RF issues, either from the LPSs or my unconventional 'coax' cables. On the contrary, I now have the quietest, totally noise-free background ever, and no RF related diminishing (or restriction!) of final sound...even with no ferrites on my cables lol! (And to avoid any possible 'confusion' from other quarters, years of analysing in great depth the subtle - and not so subtle! - differences between many different tubes in my previous amps have (hopefully) educated my ears and critical assessment to a reasonable degree lol ).

Anyway, not content to rest here, I decided to upgrade the supplied power and DC out cords of the LPSs. First, my similary unconventional approach for the DC cables, as with the 'coax' cables, further enhanced previous gains. Then, a friend of a fellow enthusiast equally hungry for any possible improvements suggested using silver wire also for the mains cables, so I duly complied (for the LPSs)...once again using said Neotech UP-OCC wire (as opposed to 'ordinary' pure silver) and dualed.

Well, after the obligatory length of time needed for proper/accurate evaluation, I have to admit to my initial doubts on this last particular one being totally shattered...I never knew my Empyreans - as well as the TT2/HMS combo, were capable of such enriched timbre, in both instruments and (especially) male and female voices; deep, but masterly controlled bass; exquisite treble; effortless dynamics handling etc. etc. Plus, I can turn up the volume for even more detail extraction (already superb) and impact, without any harshess or fatiguing. And the level of transparency is now much greater than ever before.

And so in conclusion therefore, I must repeat your own assertion that the TT2/HMS combo has potential way beyond stock and/or what most folks realise...including 'serious' enthusiasts/professional reviewers. But then, this is just my personal experience/opinion...everyone will have their very own of course.... My ever grateful thanks also go to Chord and Rob Watts for two exceptional pieces of audio equipment...

ps. Photos of cables in question :


One of my dualed BNC cables


LPSs' DC out and (dualed) mains power cables

Edit...ps. Sorry for any offence to you knowledgeable guys, but by 'dual' cabling I mean separate cables either for signal and return, or pos and neg for power...

 

[muski]

Nearly spat out my water.. Touché, my friend, touché...

Just wanted to thank you for your post.

The world—audio world, internet world, real world—needs more humor and humility like this.

 

[ZappaMan]

I think when you have top of the line hifi components like we do, then it’s worthwhole to experiment with everything in the chain. Surprisingly small changes to your pc end point can really boost performance of mtt2.
But thinking the source doesn’t matter it’s all bits is really going to hold people back on their quest of getting closer to what was recorded on the albums we are listening to.
I just heard frank Zappa hum along on overnite sensation, crazy things like that.
And all I did was switch from taking the lan cable via the motherboard port and instead took it through a usb card with an Ethernet adapter. It cost about £80 overall but a lot of positives are coming through on lots of different albums. Just sharing.
The reason might be the Ethernet now has a dedicated pcie lane rather than using a shared bus, I don’t know exactly.

 

[edwardsean]

k123...Your 'down to Earth' words (along with @ray-dude 's exhaustive findings at : https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/audiowise-opto•dx-optical-isolation-bridge-for-dual-spdif.23757/have encouraged me to echo the fact that the TT2/HMS combo can surely deliver a performance well beyond stock, given upgrades to the rest of the entire system...including some 'not recommended' by Chord/RW!

My AirlinkTransformers ASF 3000 Balanced Mains w/Advanced Filter System power supply; Neotech UP-OCC teflon coated solid silver wire based cables throughout and Naim UnitiCore server/media player were already helping my combo sound tremendous, especially when I reworked my unorthodox BNC coax cables (using cannibalised cat 8/7 Ethernet and replacing original twisted wires with said Neotech wires) so as to dual them. But then I dared to try 2x 120VA LPSs powering TT2 and HMS...and sorry Chord, but they did indeed bring further improvements across the board...and these are by no means artefacts/misleading impressions/simple personal preference due to RF issues, either from the LPSs or my unconventional 'coax' cables. On the contrary, I now have the quietest, totally noise-free background ever, and no RF related diminishing (or restriction!) of final sound...even with no ferrites on my cables lol! (And to avoid any possible 'confusion' from other quarters, years of analysing in great depth the subtle - and not so subtle! - differences between many different tubes in my previous amps have (hopefully) educated my ears and critical assessment to a reasonable degree lol ).

Anyway, not content to rest here, I decided to upgrade the supplied power and DC out cords of the LPSs. First, my similary unconventional approach for the DC cables, as with the 'coax' cables, further enhanced previous gains. Then, a friend of a fellow enthusiast equally hungry for any possible improvements suggested using silver wire also for the mains cables, so I duly complied (for the LPSs)...once again using said Neotech UP-OCC wire (as opposed to 'ordinary' pure silver) and dualed.

Well, after the obligatory length of time needed for proper/accurate evaluation, I have to admit to my initial doubts on this last particular one being totally shattered...I never knew my Empyreans - as well as the TT2/HMS combo, were capable of such enriched timbre, in both instruments and (especially) male and female voices; deep, but masterly controlled bass; exquisite treble; effortless dynamics handling etc. etc. Plus, I can turn up the volume for even more detail extraction (already superb) and impact, without any harshess or fatiguing. And the level of transparency is now much greater than ever before.

And so in conclusion therefore, I must repeat your own assertion that the TT2/HMS combo has potential way beyond stock and/or what most folks realise...including 'serious' enthusiasts/professional reviewers. But then, this is just my personal experience/opinion...everyone will have their very own of course.... My ever grateful thanks also go to Chord and Rob Watts for two exceptional pieces of audio equipment...

ps. Photos of cables in question :


One of my dualed BNC cables


LPSs' DC out and (dualed) mains power cables

Hi. Awesome. Would you mind sending out a link for the Neotech UP-OCC teflon coated solid silver wire you used?

 

[hypnos1]

Hi. Awesome. Would you mind sending out a link for the Neotech UP-OCC teflon coated solid silver wire you used?

Hi ed. With great pleasure...since finding that this mono crystal silver brings significant improvements over 'ordinary' pure (soft annealed) silver, I try to convert as many folks as possible. Especially as it does so for every single cable I've used it for - headphones; ICs; digital coax...and now even for mains power and DC cables. (Copper is also very good indeed and much cheaper, but silver is the 'Daddy' lol ). And for the DIYer especially this is manna from Heaven...just look how much TOTL cable makers charge for ones that are often just silver-plated copper/stranded, which most would agree is no match for solid silver (as I have also found in the past).

Anyway, back to your request lol...here in the UK I get mine from the very helpful guys at hifi collective : https://www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/neotech-sost-occ-silver-wire.html

And for elsewhere, the dealer/distributors are listed here : http://wp.neotechcable.com/dealer/

Good luck with your own efforts...CJ

 

[hypnos1]

Yet another aaahhh moment today (several actually) from the final upgrades to my own TT2/HMS combo...and further confirmation (not that it was necessary ) of just what maximising the entire rest of one's system can do for said combo.

This time, as opposed to BNC out from my Naim UnitiCore, I was keen to see the effect upon audio out from my Oppo BDP 103 (via coax to a Harman Kardon AVR, thence optical to HMS). This has proved surprisingly good up until now (pre. DIY twinned 'coax' cables; LPSs and their replacement cables) - especially with Loreena McKennitt's DVD 'Nights from the Alhambra' (providing 48kHz 24bit PCM out), but today was a whole new ball game. Yet another window has opened to the sound (as in Naim-fed), bringing those improvements I mentioned in more detail previously. And then, as if to question those who categorically state Dave is much superior in these aspects, the level of resolution; bass quality (and quantity) and sheer dynamic prowess took me completely by surprise when I played the BluRay of the live performance from the ROH of 'Tosca', with Jonas Kaufman, Angela Gheorgiu and Bryn Terfel. In particular, Terfel's Scarpia in 'tre sbirri una carrozza' sent goosebumps in every direction you care to name...once again also highlighting the (full) potentially stellar performance of the Meze Empyreans.

And so, I'm afraid, this indicates to me at least that anyone who rates the TT2/HMS combo significantly below Dave (such as to warrant the extra cost), or any other DAC/amp combination, is perhaps not partnering with the sort of gear - including cables! - that can really do this combo full justice. And I'm sorry, but I'm sure Dave would also still need top quality associated equipment to perform to max...such as a 'coat hanger' in the chain will NOT deliver the goods, full stop!!

As an aside, why oh why don't more DVDs give the option of 24bit 48kHZ (or higher!) PCM audio out via coax...m-scaler's upsampling to 764kHz via 2x BNCs is simply sensational lol .

ps. I'm falling more in love with this combo by the day...

 

[Progisus]

I think it’s been said the best effective transient improvement provided by mscaler is from 44.1k redbook files.

 

[hypnos1]

It’s think it’s been said the best effective transient improvement provided by mscaler is from 44.1k redbook files.

Will have to look into that one further, P...but Loreena's voice has never sounded so clear, precise and 'full', along with a cello also with fast attack and better timbre than ever before from the feed I mentioned. But I must admit, that TT2/HMS make redbook sound more impressive than I ever thought possible from this 'lowly' resoluton...

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Does m scaler has thermal protection ?
It's been really warm here where I live past couple of days and my m scaler is getting really really hot.
Actually it's hotter than tt2. Is there anything to be concerned ?

 

[endre83]

Hi Guys, a general question: has anyone experience in Mscaling into an r2r/ ladder DAC?

 

[edwardsean]

Will have to look into that one further, P...but Loreena's voice has never sounded so clear, precise and 'full', along with a cello also with fast attack and better timbre than ever before from the feed I mentioned. But I must admit, that TT2/HMS make redbook sound more impressive than I ever thought possible from this 'lowly' resoluton...

Though I prefer the San Francisco concert at the Palace of Fine Arts, sill, "The Lady of Shalott."

 

[MaggotBrain]

Hi Guys, a general question: has anyone experience in Mscaling into an r2r/ ladder DAC?

Cannot speak for the r2r/ladder DAC (I have a Chord Dave along with the m scaler) but I do have an audio gd Master 9 to give extra oomph to my Abyss headphone and the results are amazing.

 

[audio_1]

Does m scaler has thermal protection ?
It's been really warm here where I live past couple of days and my m scaler is getting really really hot.
Actually it's hotter than tt2. Is there anything to be concerned ?

Mount the mScaler away from other components, on raised isolation feet to improve airflow around it. This not only reduces the temperature, but also improves the sound. I use finite elemente Ceraballs, 3 per component on my Dave and Blu2.

 

[Rob Watts]

Does m scaler has thermal protection ?
It's been really warm here where I live past couple of days and my m scaler is getting really really hot.
Actually it's hotter than tt2. Is there anything to be concerned ?

Yes it does have a thermal trip, but it would get seriously hot before that came in. The case temperature on the bottom is the FPGA die temperature, and this will work at 85 deg C. The trip is actually to protect your hands, and will only be an issue when you run the M scaler in a bag. I have ran it that way for a couple of hours, and it got hot but nowhere near the trip temperature.

 

[hypnos1]

Though I prefer the San Francisco concert at the Palace of Fine Arts, sill, "The Lady of Shalott."

Better even than her concert at the wonderful Alhambra ed?...wow! Such a shame there doesn't seem to be a DVD of it, with 48kHz 24bit PCM option again . And just 6 tracks on the CD? Do they sound better than on her main CDs? Must admit my favourite is 'An Ancient Muse'...very well engineered album also.