[dac64]

Source is my pc, Corsair Obsidian 800D case, Asus Z170 gaming mobo, i7 6700K, corsair vengeance 32GB ram, evga 680gtx classified vid card, samsung 850 500gb ssd, Corsair 256gb ssd, ocz summit 120gb x 2 ssd’s, 8 hdd’s, internal and external, logitech g910 keyboard and corsair m65 mouse, corsair ax1600i psu.

Software is windows 10 x64, Roon, tidal, qobuz and Jriver.

If you have any player, test it with physical media via optical or bnc. when come to troubleshoot, I usually simplify the system.

 

[GreenLeo]

for the 1M tap vs pass through mode, I may share an experience.

Two days ago, I was having dinner with my wife who has much much better ear than me and focusing on the melody of the music rather that HiFi terms like micro dynamics, sound staging, blahblahblah. Thai music was playing at the background, one of her favorites. We're enjoying the music. Suddenly, I told her that the sound wasn't quite right, it sounded not smooth. Then I found the output frequency was pass through rather than full upsamplingupsampling (1M taps). I switched it back, the SQ improved and she smiled to me with compliment.

The effect of the HMS is not placebo. However, it also depends on what the listener is looking for. I encountered situations that the difference was immediately obvious but my friend could not identify it. For some badly/cheaply mastered vocal track, the sound of sipping saliva remains but not obvious when played through with lesser gears but can be heard very easily with decent gears and very irritating once being realized.

For the headfiers who find 1M tap vs pass through little difference, may be it's worthwhile to try the following:
1. Listen to the 1M tap for a long time, say 1 week, with your favorite. Then switch back to pass through. If no difference could be perceived after listening to 2 or 3 tracks, "Bravo" will be cried out from your walletwallet and you're going to save lots and lots of money.

2. Find somebody who has good ears and listen to the 1M tap and the pass through, playing his/her favorites. Just a few tracks are needed and the A/B comparison will take less than an hour. Better to use HP directly output from H2,TT2 or DAVE to minimize the variance due to room acoustic. If little difference could be perceived, you will save lots of money.

Hope this helps.

 

[jscmd2000]

Is the m scaler capable of switching back and forth between 1M taps and pass through instantaneously at a push of a button? Or is there a lag of some sort? Intuitively, if there was a lag, you would think the indicator light won't change until the switch is made. Maybe try skipping back to the beginning of the track after the switch?

Well, if only the people with good ears, headphones, or people with acoustically sound rooms can hear the difference, HMS may not be worth it to everyone. I hope this isn't the case and it'll blow my socks off

 

[Deftone]

Is the m scaler capable of switching back and forth between 1M taps and pass through instantaneously at a push of a button? Or is there a lag of some sort? Intuitively, if there was a lag, you would think the indicator light won't change until the switch is made. Maybe try skipping back to the beginning of the track after the switch?

Well, if only the people with good ears, headphones, or people with acoustically sound rooms can hear the difference, HMS may not be worth it to everyone. I hope this isn't the case and it'll blow my socks off

From what ive read its instant like the filters on H2, when i switched between between the filters of Hugo2 i could hear no differences no matter the headphone used.

 

[Deftone]

I may be lucky enough to try a TT2 plus Mscaler soon i will see what happens when toggling the passthrough button.

 

[Raghu6446]

Did a comparison between Dave and Dave with mscaler . With Dave the music a bit brighter bass notes were not tighter and sound stage was narrower compared.
With Dave and mscaler music comes together as a package its bit bit darker with better background and more organic in the midrange with better instrument separation and much wider soundstage and dept.
I can definitely hear a difference with 1m taps all the time passthrough doesn't make a lot of difference.why do u want to use pass through when u have 1m taps on the go.
I was using my mac pro latest with battery power as source I felt was not getting good results then changed to x7mark ii as source with USB going into mscaler then the difference was audible bass became tighter and other followed so I fell source plays an important to get the best out of mscaler.
Thanks if u find this helpful.

 

[analogmusic]

has anyone tried a good source for USB like Aurender or Ultrarendu into Mscaler?

what about DCS network bridge through coax?

is this level of source needed or laptop on battery is good (question for Rob Watts)

What about USB vs BNC SPDIF, I've been reading BNC SPDIF is better, but not sure if this applies in a Chord MSCaler context,

 

[naynay]

Hi
Should the M Scaler have a manual book inside the box or is it just the one you view as PDF online?
Thanks.

 

[Foxman50]

Analog, i use an Aurender N10 with HMS/DAVE via USB and dual BNC.

HMS is quite staggering in my opinion, ignoring all the better defined, better sounstage, better .... comments, what i find most enjoyable is the musicality the toe tapping the overall enjoyment it brings.

To add pressing pass through brings clear audible changes at each step.

 

[Foxman50]

Hi
Should the M Scaler have a manual book inside the box or is it just the one you view as PDF online?
Thanks.

Mine didn’t, just download from Chord web site

 

[naynay]

Mine didn’t, just download from Chord web site

Thankyou.
There is a card inside the box saying for manual go to Chord website but just wanted it confirmed.

 

[Triode User]

Thankyou.
There is a card inside the box saying for manual go to Chord website but just wanted it confirmed.

and of course it makes sense because then one can always refer to the latest version in case it is updated.

 

[TeediuS]

Should the M Scaler have a manual book inside the box

Never mind the manual, what about the other m.word, did you get a mug?

of course it makes sense because then one can always refer to the latest version

I had thought the same, but even though number of earlier comments indicated the upscaling chart is confusing and not relevant for chord DACs, doesnt seem to have been updated to be any clearer for new users.

Edit: not sure if caching issue, but when I view the link to the MScaler manual, the title page and picture is for tt2, so not even got the right front page (though, guess shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, and to be honest is immaterial, but made me laugh, subliminal marketing for those that only buy an mscaler )

 

[seaice]

Is the m scaler capable of switching back and forth between 1M taps and pass through instantaneously at a push of a button? Or is there a lag of some sort? Intuitively, if there was a lag, you would think the indicator light won't change until the switch is made. Maybe try skipping back to the beginning of the track after the switch?

Well, if only the people with good ears, headphones, or people with acoustically sound rooms can hear the difference, HMS may not be worth it to everyone. I hope this isn't the case and it'll blow my socks off

There is a button OP SR on the M Scaler for switching 1M / passthrough modes back and forth. The change is practically instant. With my headphone setups (see my signature) and suitable tracks, the change is clearly audible to me via Dave. And I have just ordered Hugo 2 to be more mobile. I am curious about nonHMS / M Scaled Hugo 2 as well.

 

[ZappaMan]

There is a button OP SR on the M Scaler for switching 1M / passthrough modes back and forth. The change is practically instant. With my headphone setups (see my signature) and suitable tracks, the change is clearly audible to me via Dave. And I have just ordered Hugo 2 to be more mobile. I am curious about nonHMS / M Scaled Hugo 2 as well.

Can you hear the change on your se 846?
I did some more testing last night, and the only word I can easily use is to say the music sounded fuller on 1mil taps. There’s a 1 second cut when u switch which does make ab testing very difficult.
After a while I gave up, noted my headphones were singing very musically, got into a comfy position, fell into a mini transe, only to be pulled back out by my wife.
I have no doubt at all that mscaler makes these kind of experiences more accessible, you can fall into the music and go on that mini innerspace trip.