[ryder78]

Just to add, the QBD76 will not be sold even if I intend to add another Chord DAC to the system in the near future. It's a keeper.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I have owned all the products you mentioned except for Qutest which a good friend of mine has and I have listened to many times. That said, unlike @Bonesy Jonesy I haven’t listened to my old QBD76HDSD against the newer Chord DACs directly since I replaced it with the DAVE first before getting the rest of the Chord line. But another friend had the QBD for a while so I get to re-listen when I visit.

@miketlse analysis is kind of what you’d expect to hear between QBD76 vs Hugo/Qutest.
To me, the longer the tap length for Chord DACs, the more PRaT they have as there is better transient accuracy. But the more elements they have and the better the power supply design, the lower the noise floor and the better the soundstage depth. So QBD76 to me is going to beat the Hugo 2/Qutest in the transparency/soundstage depth and maybe marginally in the micro details because it’s 16 elements vs 10 elements in the pulse array DAC. But for me, because the transient accuracy and timing is what gives the system musicality, I personally find that even Mojo is more musical than the QBD76. So it may sound heretical here but I personally would prefer Mojo to QBD76 even though I can easily see how many people would prefer QBD76 to Mojo. But I would definitely recommend people to buy Qutest over a used QBD76. In fact my friend who bought the Qutest offered to buy my QBD76 and I recommended him not to and at least in my mind I’m right and he’s ecstatic with Qutest sound.

Part of the challenge in hi-fi is that we are used to listening to and listening for the audiophile qualities we are used to. So if you’re used to the higher element count, the lower element count of the pulse array of the Qutest might strike you as an obvious worsening (even if it’s marginal) while the improvement in musicality and transient accuracy might be missed (because it’s not something you’re used to hearing).

Moreover, we tend to build our system around the components that we own. Like you said, you bought an expensive power cord (so did I) for the QBD76 to optimize it. So your system might be built to mask issues of the QBD76 so throwing in the Qutest initially might cause synergy issues. The other thing is that QBD76 is definitely a bit more sensitive to RF noise or ground loop leakage current noise causing noise floor modulation compared to the current set of Chord products. So in theory, if you get Qutest, and presumably if your system is optimized for the QBD76, you should get sonic improvement for the Qutest. Hugo 2 has no galvanic isolation on USB and just uses a lot of filtering which is very effective on my systems. I believe QBD76 has no galvanic isolation but QBD76HD/HDSD does on USB but I’m not sure.

If you look at this thread, you’ll find that people debate whether DAVE is better or m-Scaler+TT2 is better. I think it’s what you’re listening for. Yes, there are people who think their system is better without m-Scaler. There are even people who insist say TT2 is better than DAVE but I consider that a minority opinion. Ideally you want to be able to have a long audition to decide for yourself what you like. But if you want a generic opinion, my gut feeling is that the majority of people would prefer Hugo2/Qutest over QBD76. And an overwhelming majority of people (>90%) would prefer M-Scaler + Hugo2/Qutest.

As for M-Scaler + QBD76, as mentioned, I don’t think the S/PDIF input at 176/192kHz of the QBD76 is very stable so you’ll essentially only get 125,000 taps out of the M-Scaler if you feed M-Scaler to QBD76 as the reliable sample rate is 88/96kHz. It should still sound better (I have done this at my dealer‘s shop to many non-Chord DAC systems) but I don’t know if it’s $5000 better.

I don't agree to most of your thread from my own personal experiences. But one of the things that makes this hobby so interesting and debatable is we all have our own certain sound signatures that we prefer. In the end it's what we are happy with and want to and can live with.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Hi Bonesy Jonesy,
Thank you for the comprehensive post which is certainly useful to me. It's rare to have someone own so many top-notch Chord gear in the system and to be able to compare and assess the performance of each and every component. I appreciate the experience.

The QBD76 is indeed a gem. It was recommended by a gentleman on another forum several years ago and it's surely a game changer in my system. The owner used to own top of the range Naim 500 series amplification and compared the Hugo to the QBD76 and there's no comparison. The QBD76 trounced the Hugo but this was without the MScaler.

For the past 2 years, my system has gone through many changes and the QBD76 has remained. The most recent upgrade in my system which consists of Furutech NCF wall receptacles and Acrolink Mexcel power cords really lifted the performance of the system. The power cord which is connected to the QBD76 is now more expensive than the DAC itself.

I recently read about the transformative experience of several owners who tried the MScaler on the latest Chord DACs which include Hugo2, Qutest and HugoTT. Mostly all who tried the MScaler found it to be an improvement. That was the reason I am looking at the MScaler, and I now realise the MScaler can be used with the QBD76. Nevertheless, it is interesting the MScaler degrades the sound quality of the QBD76 instead of improving it.

Your post has further reinforced my impressions of the QBD76. Even used on its own it sounds very good. I agree with your thoughts on the smooth, grainless and fatigue free presentation of the QBD76. It's the least digital sounding DAC I've ever come across. It sounds more like analogue than digital though I have to say the partnering ancillaries and cables all play a part as well.

Lastly, I just noticed that all Chord DACs with the exception of DAVE do not fit my criteria. After spending a fortune on cabling recently I do not have anymore budget for hifi upgrades hence I'll stick with the QBD76 for a while.

The diagram below shows the connections of the QBD76 which are important to me.

Your most welcome ryder78.

Rather than spend quite a lot of money on the M Scaler why don't you search out for a second hand Blu MK1 and a good pair of either XLR or BNC digital cables to link to your QBD76. For me, it makes the QBD76 sound even better and more analogue and a big step from USB input no matter what resolution of files you have. You can pick up second hand CD's quite cheap now and you can just buy CD's for your most favourite music.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

If you don’t already own a QBD76 and are looking to get one for a speaker system, you should probably make sure the QBD76 is not going to clip your stereo. I’ve noticed on at least two of my friends‘ system that their stereo clips the 3V QBD76 output (same for the 2Qute) so the DAC was performing nowhere close to optimum. With Hugo 2 or Qutest, you can lower the output voltage to 2V or 1V to prevent clipping

The QBD76 outputs 6V in balanced mode and 3V RCA single ended mode. Best to link the QBD76 to the Chord Prima Pre-amp and then Chord Mezzo 50, 75 or 140 Power Amps. No clipping....just beautiful music !

 

[Redwingnine]

I would argue that the Hugo-2/M-Scaler combination is every bit as good as the Qutest/M-Scaler combination. They share the same topology, and the Hugo-2 has the added benefit of battery, along with the ability to turn down the output voltage. That could result in a slightly improved SNR.

 

[ryder78]

Your most welcome ryder78.

Rather than spend quite a lot of money on the M Scaler why don't you search out for a second hand Blu MK1 and a good pair of either XLR or BNC digital cables to link to your QBD76. For me, it makes the QBD76 sound even better and more analogue and a big step from USB input no matter what resolution of files you have. You can pick up second hand CD's quite cheap now and you can just buy CD's for your most favourite music.

I only play digital FLAC files these days, no CDs although I still keep them. The CD player was retired several years ago and it's currently on the display rack.

 

[Mediahound]

In case anyone is interested,

I just did some tests with the Kill-A-Watt and the M Scaler only consumes about 11w when on and in use, and then will consume a lot less when it goes in to standby mode (didn't test standby but probably only a couple of watts in standby). Not bad.

And the TT2 only consumes about 14.5w when on. Muting does not change that and playing (amp mode RCA outs to powered speakers) also did not change it although I didn't test turning it up or headphones, which I'm sure consumes more.

 

[varadero xl1000v]

Hi guys.

Today I would like to connect the M scaler to the Dac Hugo tt2. I would like to ask if there is a secure connection guide, or one you can describe the steps to me. It is a very important help for me.

Thank you very much, I am ready and waiting for your answers ..

 

[opienor]

Finally got my M Scaler yesterday. So excited to get to know this beast
I will be posting my impressions later.

 

[Jacobean]

Just to add, the QBD76 will not be sold even if I intend to add another Chord DAC to the system in the near future. It's a keeper.

Yes Dave employs a SMPS, and all the DACs are absolutely full of switching regulators.

Using switching regulators started with the Hugo design, where battery operation forces one to use switchers. But I thought it would be a good idea to listen to the SQ damage that switchers generate, by comparing them to linear regulators. Before this time I used linear regulators exclusively, thinking the extra RF would cause problems. But when listening the switchers sounded a lot better - darker, warmer and smoother. I then discovered that there was two issues for the improvement by switching regulators - switchers are more efficient, so correlated noise levels at the PSU input side is much lower, and switchers force you to use more RF filtering localised to each circuit module.

Looking at RF filtering - we actually have two problems - one is random RF noise, the other is switching noise which is a fixed frequency (I always use fixed frequency regulators). When I design RF filters I check it out by running a SPICE simulation, and to do it properly you must characterise the PCB tracks, component internal resistance and inductance for capacitors and parasitic capacitance and resistance for inductors. When you do this careful simulation, you can get very close agreement to reality. The benefit of SPICE is that you can design filters to achieve unmeasurable levels of RF; so recently I wanted to design RF filters that had pV levels of voltage (a pico volt is 1 million times smaller than a micro volt so it's pretty damn small). What was curious was for switching regulators it was very easy to get pV levels when filtering - but with random noise it was an order of magnitude more difficult, requiring hugely more complex filtering.

And it's random noise that is the SQ killer, as this is responsible for noise floor modulation - a regular switching fixed frequency will not create noise floor modulation, but fixed intermodulation products outside of the audio bandwidth. The problem with the mains is that it is full of random RF noise, so you need extensive RF treatment on the PSU - something that I do post PSU as a matter of course.

So the idea that linear is best (no RF filters) against SMPS (lots of RF filters) is simply wrong. When you dig down it is very much more complex than one would imagine.

would it be of benefit to use a high quality smps , for instance like the ones made by sotm?

 

[Gadget67]

Hi guys.

Today I would like to connect the M scaler to the Dac Hugo tt2. I would like to ask if there is a secure connection guide, or one you can describe the steps to me. It is a very important help for me.

Thank you very much, I am ready and waiting for your answers ..

Here is a link to the M-Scaler manual from the chord site. I also took a screen shot of the page that describes the connection process. Have fun and enjoy your new toy!
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/M-Scaler-manual-V1.2.pdf

|

 

[varadero xl1000v]

Here is a link to the M-Scaler manual from the chord site. I also took a screen shot of the page that describes the connection process. Have fun and enjoy your new toy!
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/M-Scaler-manual-V1.2.pdf

|

... Gadget67 thank you very much! I just finished, everything works fine. I have connected 3 toshlink (with splitter, Tv, satellite receiver, FM / Internet Radio), Coax (CD Transport), and usb (Nuc / roon core》 Auralic end point》 MScaler, and tomorrow I will see the samples.

If you know some things c 'these, I would like you to write it to me.You would help me a lot ..

 

[Gadget67]

... Gadget67 thank you very much! I just finished, everything works fine. I have connected 3 toshlink (with splitter, Tv, satellite receiver, FM / Internet Radio), Coax (CD Transport), and usb (Nuc / roon core》 Auralic end point》 MScaler, and tomorrow I will see the samples.

If you know some things c 'these, I would like you to write it to me.You would help me a lot ..

Glad to know that was helpful. My system is pretty basic (TT2/M-Scaler and Audirvana from my laptop) so perhaps others here can chime in and help you with those other aspects!

 

[varadero xl1000v]

I just received 2 really nice Christmas gifts.. probably the best in my life:

Hi Guys.

Everything is ok with MScaler. The problem was that I had not selected the bnc 1 input on the dac Hugo tt2. Unfortunately I had not seen it in time in the instructions for use. Everything is working fine now.

However, I would like to ask you a few questions in order to preserve the good operation of the Chord audio machines I have purchased:

1. When inserting / removing the 6mm plug of my headphones at the output, on the front panel of the Hugo tt2, the dac must be off, or can I on the fly? What is the safest way?

2. Chord equipment is part of my Hi Fi system. Can I use the amp function when I hear from it, and not from my headphones? Should I use the dac configuration only?

3. In Chord's opinion, what is the best audio connection between Streamer Auralic Aries G 1 and MScaler? With usb, Coax or toshlink to play 24/192 khz files?

4. Mscaler toshlink and coax input, up to how many Khz can it go up?

5. Do you have experience with network switches? Do you recommend them?

6. Do you have experience from using better quality bnc cables? Do you recommend them?

7. Do you have experience with support materials for Chord equipment? Do you recommend them?

8. Finally, are there any other things I need to know to ensure good health, and the excellent performance of the Chord equipment I bought? Thank you very much I look forward to your answers.

 

[griff500]

Hi Guys.

Everything is ok with MScaler. The problem was that I had not selected the bnc 1 input on the dac Hugo tt2. Unfortunately I had not seen it in time in the instructions for use. Everything is working fine now.

However, I would like to ask you a few questions in order to preserve the good operation of the Chord audio machines I have purchased:

1. When inserting / removing the 6mm plug of my headphones at the output, on the front panel of the Hugo tt2, the dac must be off, or can I on the fly? What is the safest way?

2. Chord equipment is part of my Hi Fi system. Can I use the amp function when I hear from it, and not from my headphones? Should I use the dac configuration only?

3. In Chord's opinion, what is the best audio connection between Streamer Auralic Aries G 1 and MScaler? With usb, Coax or toshlink to play 24/192 khz files?

4. Mscaler toshlink and coax input, up to how many Khz can it go up?

5. Do you have experience with network switches? Do you recommend them?

6. Do you have experience from using better quality bnc cables? Do you recommend them?

7. Do you have experience with support materials for Chord equipment? Do you recommend them?

8. Finally, are there any other things I need to know to ensure good health, and the excellent performance of the Chord equipment I bought? Thank you very much I look forward to your answers.

1. Just connect and disconnect - there's no need to turn it off.

2. If you control the volume using the TT2 when using speakers then use amp. If you are sending the TT2 output to an amplifier where you control the volume then you can use DAC (it sets volume to 100%). When headphones are plugged in then that uses it's own output and volume is remembered for that output and also remembered for the output used when headphones are not plugged in.

3. I cannot speak for Chord but I am using USB from my Aries G2 into my M-Scaler and Dual BNC to the TT2. I have also tried a WAVE SPDIF cable to connect the Aries G2 to the M-Scaler. Try them and see which you prefer.

4. No idea but perhaps it is in the manual?

5. I don't have experience with them for for this purpose.

6. Yes. I have tried WAVE dual BNC - Storm and Stream - and I use the Storm cables. I found a significant enough difference in my system with both of them to consider them a worthwhile upgrade. I believe Rob Watts uses the Stream cables.

7. I've no idea what you are referring to.

8. Nothing I can think of - just enjoy!