[NYanakiev]

If nothing else try calling Chord support or send them a mail, they are usually quite responsive and can assist on how to proceed and if it is just a setting or something that needs repair...

I found the "problem". I am such an idiot. Forgot that the optical cable goes from the PC to the TV I use as a monitor.

The other optical cable is plugged into the Mscaler but doesn't go anywhere at the moment (facepalm)

 

[dac64]

Hi all,

Just sat down listening to my DAVE+Mscaler combo. Had a Roon update for my setup and decided to try connecting the Mscaler to my PC via optical.
I recently updated to Windows 11- had no issues playing back sound through my PC before that.

I tried setting the Mscaler to Auto and to Opt 1/Opt 2 but don't get any sound.
Any ideas?

I experienced this before, was because of the output selectors of the source (media player of the PC), for my case. if still can't then uninstall/reinstall chord driver.

 

[NYanakiev]

I found the "problem". I am such an idiot. Forgot that the optical cable goes from the PC to the TV I use as a monitor.

The other optical cable is plugged into the Mscaler but doesn't go anywhere at the moment (facepalm)

Just checked again and I take that back.
USB is used to connect to the Optical Rendu and optical is, indeed, connected between the Mscaler and the PC.

I will be giving Chord's friendly support team a buzz later today after all.

 

[opienor]

Anyone who is using a Auralic Aries G1 with their Chord DAC/MS, using a Node 2i or direct from my Roon Rock NUC in silent case and can have a decent deal on a used G1, like the idea of not having the router nearby and connected to the Roon Core and then into the MS and would like to keep it all separate but not sure if SQ is worth the extra 2K I have to spend.....any inputs from others with similar setup who can pitch in and guide?

Not sure if that is exactly what you are asking but I recently upgraded my streamer from Node 2i to the G1 going into M Scaler/TT2. Optical from the Node 2i to the M Scaler and now USB from the G1 to the M Scaler. G1 is connected to router via WiFi.
To my surprise this turned out to be a pretty substantial upgrade in sound quality. I had pretty much settled on the Node as I thought not much could be done improving on just a stream of files, but there was actually a lot to be gained.
Greater depth, separation, transients and much wider soundstage. Especially noticeable with busy and complex music. If you had asked me a year ago I would have laughed at the price of the G1 but now I think it is absolutely worth it. I would say the improvement is up there with adding the M Scaler.

 

[Widell]

Not sure if that is exactly what you are asking but I recently upgraded my streamer from Node 2i to the G1 going into M Scaler/TT2. Optical from the Node 2i to the M Scaler and now USB from the G1 to the M Scaler. G1 is connected to router via WiFi.
To my surprise this turned out to be a pretty substantial upgrade in sound quality. I had pretty much settled on the Node as I thought not much could be done improving on just a stream of files, but there was actually a lot to be gained.
Greater depth, separation, transients and much wider soundstage. Especially noticeable with busy and complex music. If you had asked me a year ago I would have laughed at the price of the G1 but now I think it is absolutely worth it. I would say the improvement is up there with adding the M Scaler.

Thanks, Well I think there was a question in there somewhere, basically is it worth the upgrade from an SQ basis? and also I am concerned that running G1 on Wifi which is what I want to do, would cause drop outs etc...but seems you answered my concern so will order one and hope this will be the end game.....for now.....

 

[opienor]

Thanks, Well I think there was a question in there somewhere, basically is it worth the upgrade from an SQ basis? and also I am concerned that running G1 on Wifi which is what I want to do, would cause drop outs etc...but seems you answered my concern so will order one and hope this will be the end game.....for now.....

WiFi stability was one of my concerns as well but it has been rock solid. Not a single drop out since I got the G1 two weeks ago. And just to add: every upgrade like this is a financial stretch for me. I will still consider the G1 a worthwhile upgrade. I think this is the best my system has ever sounded and don´t have plans for any more upgrades in a long time (yes yes I know...) Good luck and keep us posted when you get the G1.

 

[Widell]

WiFi stability was one of my concerns as well but it has been rock solid. Not a single drop out since I got the G1 two weeks ago. And just to add: every upgrade like this is a financial stretch for me. I will still consider the G1 a worthwhile upgrade. I think this is the best my system has ever sounded and don´t have plans for any more upgrades in a long time (yes yes I know...) Good luck and keep us posted when you get the G1.

Thank, took your word for it and ordered one to pair with my TT2/HMS setup...now I only need a pair of Susvara's..........

 

[Progisus]

It is really too bad that the mscaler is not packaged with a set of Wave cables. I believe there would be no question as to the effect of the mscaler. I received my Storm cables yesterday (5 days from England, wow) and realized I would never have sold my first mscaler if I had had them them. Most striking was the absolute black background and lack of digital harshness. It has become quite common in the totl iem field to package with a boutique cable tuned to get the best out of the pairing. Thanks Nick for getting them to me before the holiday!

 

[naynay]

Thought I would make myself a set of Cylindrical ferrite core BNC cables.

 

[eastsoutheast]

I have just purchased and installed a Chord M Scaler and Hugo TT2 and would love to hear how to get the best out of the pair. I am streaming Qobuz from a PC via USB and also have a Node 2i (currently boxed in the garage) which I can add.
I am using the standard cables supplied by Chord between scaler and TT2, Anthem XLR into my power amps and a Chord ProDac is plugged into the Scaler ready for the Node 2i.
Am I better off buying a Phono to BNC cable to connect the Node2i?
Which reasonably priced cables would be worth considering between scaler and TT2?
I have a pair of Focal Clears which I am yet to try and when the pennies allow have promised myself a pair of Utopias or similar better headphones.

Regards, Brian

 

[ecwl]

I have just purchased and installed a Chord M Scaler and Hugo TT2 and would love to hear how to get the best out of the pair. I am streaming Qobuz from a PC via USB and also have a Node 2i (currently boxed in the garage) which I can add.
I am using the standard cables supplied by Chord between scaler and TT2, Anthem XLR into my power amps and a Chord ProDac is plugged into the Scaler ready for the Node 2i.
Am I better off buying a Phono to BNC cable to connect the Node2i?
Which reasonably priced cables would be worth considering between scaler and TT2?
I have a pair of Focal Clears which I am yet to try and when the pennies allow have promised myself a pair of Utopias or similar better headphones.

Regards, Brian

I think to start, you can try going from your PC to M-Scaler using a Toslink cable instead of a USB cable to see if you like the sound better. There is a Toslink cable that comes with your M-Scaler (and I think Hugo TT2 too). Although not all PCs have Toslink output and even when they do, the Toslink output may or may not be able to do all the standard frequencies (44.1/48/88/96/176/192kHz). Sometimes by removing a direct electrical connection between M-Scaler/TT2 and the PC, you get better sound as there is no way for the PC noise to get into the M-Scaler (even though the M-Scaler already has a lot of noise filtering for the USB input).

If you really like the Node 2i user interface, yes, you could also just connect the Node 2i via Toslink into the M-scaler instead of the PC.

If you like the sound, you can save some money and spend them on upgrading from Focal Clear to Focal Utopia.

 

[Uncle Monty]

For the first time in ages I'm listening to my AK500 to MScaler via optical and it stands up very well to Antipodes to MScaler (via USB reclocker) using USB - could even be better - more relaxed, less excitable. Both good - do not discount the quality of TosLink into your MScaler.

 

[bpcans]

@eastsoutheast, the first that I did when I got the HMS for my TT2 was to order some better BNC interconnects, because the ones that come in the box are just there so you can make sure everything is working. I bought some Silver Dragons from Moon Audio which weren’t costly at all, and they worked just fine. I started by running a USB from my MacBook Pro into the HMS using Audirvana, JRiver, and Apple Music before I went all in on using ROON + Tidal and Qobuz for streaming music over the internet.

 

[The Jester]

2 benefits to optical, no electrical connection and not affected by any stray RFI,
With the MScaler performing at its best when fed with the native sample rate USB’s advantage would be with higher native sample rates than Toslink can handle, 24/96 is often given as the upper limit, 24/192 can work fine but not guaranteed,
Sad that Toslink is such an old design as optical cable itself is capable of far higher bandwidth, and with the proliferation of Home Wifi running smart home components as well as normal networking, a new high speed optical connection would be a nice option, but difficult to implement while keeping backwards compatibility , take the upcoming “MScaler X”, whenever it arrives, why add more circuits and components for any new high speed optical when there’s nothing else that can use it unless any new optical format is released with say a seperate USB to optical converter …
Maybe not viable for such a discrete use, but designing a new high speed optical converter pair to enable USB> optical>USB would make it a more attractive proposition …

 

[eastsoutheast]

@eastsoutheast, the first that I did when I got the HMS for my TT2 was to order some better BNC interconnects, because the ones that come in the box are just there so you can make sure everything is working. I bought some Silver Dragons from Moon Audio which weren’t costly at all, and they worked just fine. I started by running a USB from my MacBook Pro into the HMS using Audirvana, JRiver, and Apple Music before I went all in on using ROON + Tidal and Qobuz for streaming music over the internet.

I have Audivarna on trial at the moment which ends next weekend. How did you find it compared with Roon + for SQ? I already use Qobuz, Thanks