[x RELIC x]

So if 1 million taps can be achieved with TT2 and Mscaler, what advantage does the DAVE plus HMS have over the TT2 plus HMS?

The differences come from the TT2’s 10e Pulse Array DAC vs the DAVE’s 20e Pulse Array DAC, and noise shaping, and analogue sections. Basically different implementations after the WTA1 filter stage which the M scaler replaces.

 

[x RELIC x]

Believe me every component sounds differently. For example, I owned Qutest and Hugo 2, those 2 claim to be using the same technology but they sound really different even the tech data said the tab amount is equal. The same goes for HMS and Blu mk2, they sound different. And also the TT2 and Dave even if using M scaler made them go beyond 1M tabs, they also sound different. One reason I can guarantee is that the power supply made them sound differently.

Yeah, Qutest shares Mojo’s OP stage where Hugo2 is different/more sophisticated and includes second order noise shapers. The reasoning is the output of the Hugo2 is intended to feed headphones, and the Qutest is intended to feed an amp. TAPs aren’t the only parts to sound reproduction.

 

[sasaki99]

Yeah, Qutest shares Mojo’s OP stage where Hugo2 is different/more sophisticated and includes second order noise shapers. The reasoning is the output of the Hugo2 is intended to feed headphones, and the Qutest is intended to feed an amp. TAPs aren’t the only parts to sound reproduction.

Fully agreed here, audio world is not just about the tech data. People have to listen to things not reading, ears are like other muscles of the body parts, they get better by training. When your ears reach some point you will find that this hobby is extremely expensive.
The Dave is a excellent dac/pre but people still selling them because they need something new to their ears and that's a good way to burn cash. There is no end game gears in this hobby, once you you get used to the sound in your system no matter how good it is, there will be things that you hear and get exciting again.

 

[zappazappazappa]

Here is link for HiFi World M-Scaler review: https://chordelectronics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/M-Scaler-Review-HiFi-World.pdf Here is a link for an interesting follow up opinion piece on the review: https://chordelectronics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/M-Scaler-Hi-Fi-World-column.pdf

 

[Foxman50]

And I would like to mention that connecting HMS>Dave as Pre to Power amp with the White OP SR really increase to noise floor. I heard distortion noise came out of my speakers.

Was you connecting Dave via XLR, if so it may have been over driving the power amps input, try RCA instead.

I had this recently and only discovered by accident. XLR is 6v output while RCA is 3v.

 

[sasaki99]

Was you connecting Dave via XLR, if so it may have been over driving the power amps input, try RCA instead.

I had this recently and only discovered by accident. XLR is 6v output while RCA is 3v.

I always use RCA. IDK if 3v input is too strong for my power amp but when I use stand alone Dave as a pre, there is no distortion.

This is interesting for me. I tried moving the bnc cables around the back of the Dave without connecting them into any ports just get nearby bnc ports. The distortion noise get louder in some areas. I think those bnc ports are really sensitive to signal. Maybe I should find bnc cap protectives to put on those unused ports. Maybe they could solve the distortion.

 

[legend]

Your colleague is correct. Qutest, like all of Chord's current DACs, runs the DAC itself at about 100MHz. To get there from 705.6KHz or 768KHz, it goes into a second WTA upsampler (to 256x sample rate) and then into a final upsampler (to 2048x sample rate). The noise shaper follows these 3 upsampling stages to convert the PCM at 2048x into the signal that drives the pulse array DAC. These upsampler stages (HMS included) and their low-pass filters are all about getting cruddy old CD format into the format that the pulse array needs.

1M taps is where the magic happens, it's the mystery that Rob hasn't fathomed....

Thanks for this info however it does not really explain why I heard the sudden and major magic improvement with the M-Scaler attached to the Qutest only when operating at x16 upsampling through the DBNC - and much less so at x2 & x4 and even x8 even though presumably all sampling rates are still using 1M taps?

 

[Allears79]

I’ve been using the HMS+H2 for a week now and my FU never sounded so transparent and 3D. Last night I added the Pass Labs HPA-1 which feels a bit overkill with the FU. I am starting to consider buying the TT2 and having one single system without the Pass and the H2. If anyone is interested in buying them let me know, so I can quickly move forward and gey the TT2

 

[Deftone]

Looks clean in there.

 

[racebit]

Just going optical out of an Asus Z97-PRO motherboard. Perhaps I should look into a sound card that does 196khz.

My cheap 10 year old Gigabyte motherboard (GA-H55M) works perfectly sending 192 Khz to Mojo via cheap (€5) and excellent optical cable (www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004YEEPNQ)
I think all motherboards should do that, so no need for a sound card I think.
Are you using ASIO?
My motherboard driver does not support ASIO, required for bit perfect, which is mandatory with Chord DACs. So I use ASIO4ALL. Maybe if you use ASIO4ALL you can get 192KHz to work with your motherboard?
When I play the same 192Khz files with Windows Media Player or VLC, Mojo only receives 44.1 KHz (red light), because ASIO is not being used. Only when I play them with Foobar which uses ASIO4ALL i get 192Khz (dark blue light) on Mojo.

 

[musickid]

with white OPSR and single bnc 352.8kHz is that 0.5m taps being used?

and with white OPSR single optical out 176.4kHz how many taps is that?

for legend: only white SR/dual bnc uses 1m taps.

 

[Rob Watts]

The review is available on the Chord website https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugott2/ in the Downloads section of the above page. I am mystified that the reviewer operated the TT2 in Hi Gain whilst in Amp mode connected to the Creek amplifier. My undertanding was that Hi Gain was for inefficient headphones only and would likely cause distortion when driving speakers via a power amp. This was confirmed by Chord a couple of months ago when i spoke to them.
Perhaps @Rob Watts could comment..

Actually the intent was for low gain to work with efficient IEM's... I run normal headphones in high gain mode, as there is no way you will hear the residual noise. But take care with volume! But DAC mode is set to low gain mode, and I guess driving power amps direct low gain would be the most appropriate setting.

 

[Triode User]

Actually the intent was for low gain to work with efficient IEM's... I run normal headphones in high gain mode, as there is no way you will hear the residual noise. But take care with volume! But DAC mode is set to low gain mode, and I guess driving power amps direct low gain would be the most appropriate setting.

. . . and of course if the TT2 is being used as a pre amp direct into a power amp or amps then it will soon be obvious whether high gain or low gain is most appropriate for the individual system because of where the TT2 volume needs to be set to get a comfortable in room listening volume.

 

[danish71]

Enter a pure streamer as a Roon endpoint - the affordable Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra. Today I unpacked the diminutive box but Wow - what a difference! Unbelievable that such fantastic high fidelity music can travel unseen in my house, enter the little box and go into HMS, H2 and FU to make my that happy. This is the best clean beautiful SQ I have ever heard, can’t stop going through my music again. So those of you who are looking for a very good and affordable streamer witch is Roon ready, look no further. I do not know to what extent the improvent is due to Roon Nucleus superiority over the laptop if there is one, or if it is due to the magic little S2 Ultra. Who cares, the end result is superb.

Jan, do you use the Stream Box Ultra with another power supply than the supplied one?

 

[Lgn3]

Actually the intent was for low gain to work with efficient IEM's... I run normal headphones in high gain mode, as there is no way you will hear the residual noise. But take care with volume! But DAC mode is set to low gain mode, and I guess driving power amps direct low gain would be the most appropriate setting.

Thanks for the clarification.