Hugo M Scaler by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[Ragnar-BY]

The OPTO DX is a bargain at the price given the improvement it brings.

I would like to agree on that, but when I think about price of two hi quality PSUs like Farads.

Optical isolation is an effective and elegant idea. Probably it would improve sound. And after positive opinions in this thread I’m tempted to try it myself. But, I would not call it a “bargain”. It is an expensive accessory and you need another two expensive accessories to use it.

 

[kelly200269]

I have to agree with this. The M-Scaler, absolutely unequivocally has an RFI problem. This problem is orders of magnitudes lower if you use a Chord DAC alone. The degree to which it affects you depends on the resolution and tonal balance of your existing system, and your sensitivity to it.

If it doesn't bother you or you don't notice anything wrong, great! You've saved yourself a bunch of money and annoyance. But I don't need to hear from you about how it's not a problem because IT IS - just not for you. So talk about something else.

@kelly200269 - C'mon - your quote is ridiculous. You wouldn't have spent thousands of dollars on a DAC and an upscaler if you didn't appreciate good sound. You bought an M Scaler a week ago and enjoy it. Great. I'm happy for you. But don't come in here and talk to everyone like they are crazy. It's incredibly condescending - and frankly - I can't imagine you've listened to any of the solutions that are offered - so have any first hand experience on the difference they make.

The vast majority of this thread (and the Blu thread) is about RFI. This is not the case for threads on other digital equipment. There are commercial ferrite-laden cables and optical solutions to address this issue. Do you think it's possible that some people are having a problem?

I love my Dave and I think the M-Scaler does amazing things. That said IT IS UNLISTENABLE TO THE POINT OF PAIN with me without some RFI reduction. I do not have this issue with Dave alone, in the same system.

TLDR: @kelly200269 SHUT UP

I didn’t know it was April Fool’s day. In November... lol

 

[kelly200269]

A group of hikers has gathered at a mountain peak - awestruck by the beauty. A few of them decide to hike to the next peak to see if they can get a clearer view as some mist seems to have settled on the first peak. They are amazed by what they see at the second peak with their view unobstructed by the mist - and are excited to share the news with the others. A few of the others respond positively to this and decide to hike up to the next peak. A few of the others are content to just enjoy the view from where they are. Another group of hikers claims that it's not possible that the view could get any better (even though they've never made it up to the second peak).

The few who responded positively to the reports from the first group make it up to the second peak. Every single one of them agrees that the view is so much better from there and are excited to share the news with the others. The group who claimed that it couldn't get any better gets angry and makes their displeasure known. They want people to stop talking about what's obstructing the view from the first peak. One of them even advises others to not attempt making the hike to the next peak - arguing that if you were as much of a nature lover as he that you'd want to stay put right here.

Or they might have just tumbled from the top peak instead. To their deaths. After slipping in snake oil... lol

 

[kennyb123]

Or they might have just tumbled from the top peak instead. To their deaths. After slipping in snake oil... lol

I guess you're unfamiliar with the first law of holes.

 

[kennyb123]

I would like to agree on that, but when I think about price of two hi quality PSUs like Farads.

Optical isolation is an effective and elegant idea. Probably it would improve sound. And after positive opinions in this thread I’m tempted to try it myself. But, I would not call it a “bargain”. It is an expensive accessory and you need another two expensive accessories to use it.

Would you clarify what you mean by two expensive accessories to use it?

With the supplied cables and powered by two inexpensive batteries, it will easily beat many far more expensive BNC cable pairs.

 

[kelly200269]

I guess you're unfamiliar with the first law of holes.

All I know, is that you have to make sure you get the right one...

 

[Ragnar-BY]

Would you clarify what you mean by two expensive accessories to use it?

High quality PSUs, of course. Pair of which would cost 880 euro for Farads in Europe or 870 dollars for UltraCaps in USA.

I know about the PP2 battery, but disconnecting and charging batteries from time to time. Well, that is not something that I want to do. Sound quality is important, but audio system still need to be practical. And, last but not least, batteries have very basic voltage regulators in it. So it would not be a complete substitute to good PSU.

I don`t want to say that OptoDX is bad. But I definitely see it as an "expensive accessory".

 

[kennyb123]

High quality PSUs, of course. Pair of which would cost 880 euro for Farads in Europe or 870 dollars for UltraCaps in USA.

I know about the PP2 battery, but disconnecting and charging batteries from time to time. Well, that is not something that I want to do. Sound quality is important, but audio system still need to be practical. And, last but not least, batteries have very basic voltage regulators in it. So it would not be a complete substitute to good PSU.

I don`t want to say that OptoDX is bad. But I definitely see it as an "expensive accessory".

I hear you with respect to disconnecting and charging batteries. I plugged my chargers into a Kasa smart plug so I can use my iPhone to power them on and off. I also have a schedule set that turns the switch back on later at night should I forget to do so. The switch set me back less than $20 and it connects to wifi so no hub is needed. Also the smart plug makes it really easy to do A/B testing. I found there to be very little difference with the chargers powered so I pretty much leave them charging all the time now - and still hear a significant upgrade from the stock SMPS.

The OPTO DX boxes themselves don't seem to need anything better than battery power. I didn't really find the improvement from powering it with an LPS-1.2 worth the additional cost.

The Farad supplies deliver a huge bang for the buck themselves when powering the HMS or TT2. I would still do the OPTO DX first. I tried the Farad Super 3 and decided I could live without it for the time being. I could not live without the OPTO DX though. The OPTO DX strips away a veil revealing so much more. That veil would be there regardless of which supply is used. I actually think the dollars spent on the Farad Supply might be somewhat wasted if RF hasn't been properly dealt with.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

I`m not sure I`d go that way. I have a separate power line for audio, isolated by AirLink balanced transformer and I don`t want to plug any additional electronics (especially with wi-fi) in my "clean zone". After trying mains and network isolation, I believe audio gear benefits significantly from not interfering with other home electronics.

Anyway, it`s a very clever solution with those wi-fi plugs. Never thought about that, thank you.

 

[N Quarter]

I just ordered my Mscaler 2 days ago, and I appreciate all the posts about improving the sound of the stock Mscaler with stock cables. I plan to get an Opto DX and maybe wave cables eventually, but want to try it stock at first, so I can see/hear what each item adds. I notice a lot of posters here are using USB, even on the Opto Dx website, his little diagram shows USB as the source. I use BNC from my NDS as my source, will all these “upgrades” be necessary still for me?

 

[ZappaMan]

I just ordered my Mscaler 2 days ago, and I appreciate all the posts about improving the sound of the stock Mscaler with stock cables. I plan to get an Opto DX and maybe wave cables eventually, but want to try it stock at first, so I can see/hear what each item adds. I notice a lot of posters here are using USB, even on the Opto Dx website, his little diagram shows USB as the source. I use BNC from my NDS as my source, will all these “upgrades” be necessary still for me?

There’s no rush, I think both devices/cables come with money back guarantee, so you can’t lose out in that sense. Just up to you to see, is the sq bump worth the cost in your case.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

I use BNC from my NDS as my source, will all these “upgrades” be necessary still for me?

None of these upgrades are "necessary" for any of inputs. Don`t be biased from the start, just try any of these things (DIY ferrites, wave, opto-dx) and see if you like the difference. It might be more obvious with USB-sources, but in general should work (or not work) with any input used.

 

[Drewligarchy]

I don't really understand the RFI issue either. In fact, getting rid of it all could smooth over the sound and diminish it, if articles are to be believed. I want that edge (if it's there at all). I don't want my metal and hip-hop to sound "smoothed over" and "relaxing." I'm not sure if I have RFI, but I may buy a couple of those iFi AC iPurifiers to see. If posters would have never mentioned RFI in this thread, it wouldn't be on my radar at all. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing Maybe my cables are on point? Do I even want to go down this rabbit hole?

You ever hear the one about the audiophile that went to the symphony. When he left he mentioned "The performance was good, but the treble was a bit rolled off"

On this point Rob is exactly right from my experience. When you get noise down to minimal levels, recordings that are dark will be dark and recordings that are bright will be bright.

Hip-hop always emphasizes upper mids in the recordings. They won't be smoothed over. The only thing that will be removed is any noise riding on them.

We say that intermodulation distortion makes sound "brighter". While that's true, I think all frequencies are affected - but we hear this as mostly an artifact in the upper midrange - as that's where our hearing is most sensitive.

 

[ZappaMan]

I think these Hifi blocks are machines. If we understood the electrical engineering perspective, we wouldn’t have to have mini flame wars, it would be incontrovertible.

I don’t, but I think an open mind and long term listening is the way to improve your very very expensive Hifi.

 

[kennyb123]

I`m not sure I`d go that way. I have a separate power line for audio, isolated by AirLink balanced transformer and I don`t want to plug any additional electronics (especially with wi-fi) in my "clean zone". After trying mains and network isolation, I believe audio gear benefits significantly from not interfering with other home electronics.

Anyway, it`s a very clever solution with those wi-fi plugs. Never thought about that, thank you.

I also have separated my power lines. I have two dedicated circuits plus the regular home circuit. The smart plug is presently plugged into the regular home circuit. I wasn’t sure if it would end up being temporary but was so blown away by the reduction in noise floor from running off batteries that I just left everything as is.

As far as my two dedicated circuits, one is now not in use. My Denali is plugged into the other and plugged into it are the Zenith and my amp. So not truly a clean side separation. I’ve been meaning to move the amp back over to the other dedicated outlet, where it used to be. The EtherRegen arrives tomorrow so that will have to wait.