[Hiyono]

This is the one:

https://www.bixpower.com/product-p/bat-bp90-12v.htm

"Output II has a nominal voltage of 10.8V (Range from 9V ~ 12.6V). This port's power comes directly from battery cells without voltage regulation. When the battery is fully charged, its voltage is 12.6V. Output voltage will then decrease gradually. Most of the time, the output voltage will be around 10V ~ 11V ( nominal voltage is 10.8V). When the voltage drops to 9V, the port will shut off and stop providing power. This port can be used to power portable DVD players and digital photo frames."

Mscaler can work at 9v. The Bixpower's output range works fine with Mscaler. It can last around 10 hrs with full charge. I plug in the AC adapter when I am not listening. It will still provide power to Mscaler and get charged at the same time. Only when I start my listen session, I unplug the AC.

Which tip option has the correct tip for mscaler? 8 or 12 tip option?

 

[pkny]

I didn't buy tips from them. I got my tips from Amazon. You need 5.5x2.5mm female to 3.5x1.35mm male. I don't remember if the other end of the cable is 5.5x2.5mm or 5.5x2.1mm. If it is 5.5x2.5mm, Mscaler will takes it.

 

[Meridian7]

Star earthing is completely useless for RF noise, and will create much more RF noise. Moreover, you can not under any circumstances use star earting for SPDIF, as it must be a controlled 75 ohm return ground, which is impossible with star earthing. You will get no locking, or occasional thumps and noise as it jumps in and out of lock.

Is it right that star earthing is an approach to specifically alleviate 50Hz (EU) or 60Hz (USA) groundloop hum?

 

[Widell]

This is the one:

https://www.bixpower.com/product-p/bat-bp90-12v.htm

"Output II has a nominal voltage of 10.8V (Range from 9V ~ 12.6V). This port's power comes directly from battery cells without voltage regulation. When the battery is fully charged, its voltage is 12.6V. Output voltage will then decrease gradually. Most of the time, the output voltage will be around 10V ~ 11V ( nominal voltage is 10.8V). When the voltage drops to 9V, the port will shut off and stop providing power. This port can be used to power portable DVD players and digital photo frames."

Mscaler can work at 9v. The Bixpower's output range works fine with Mscaler. It can last around 10 hrs with full charge. I plug in the AC adapter when I am not listening. It will still provide power to Mscaler and get charged at the same time. Only when I start my listen session, I unplug the AC.

Anyone knows of an equivalent for the EU market? intend to power both the TT2 and the HMS with a powerbank or 2 if required but would be nice if it had 2 x outputs...?

 

[GuiltyRocker]

@Rob Watts I am seeing some cable companies emphasize the need to keep absolute 75 Ohms on BNC cables, for the purposes of the M Scaler being connected to a Chord DAC, is this really true? If a cable fluctuates from 75ohm is this a big issue for sound quality? If someone uses a good RCA cable with BNC adapters with the M scaler, is this an issue?

 

[mentalmal1]

Anyone knows of an equivalent for the EU market? intend to power both the TT2 and the HMS with a powerbank or 2 if required but would be nice if it had 2 x outputs...?

I use two Poweroak K2 battery packs to feed my M scaler and TT2, with excellent results. I believe they’re a Dutch company, and I suspect the Maxoak power packs are very similar - if not the same - but seem more expensive if you are buying from the UK.

 

[Reactcore]

Anyone knows of an equivalent for the EU market? intend to power both the TT2 and the HMS with a powerbank or 2 if required but would be nice if it had 2 x outputs...?

I would not feed both Scaler and TT2 from one unit to prevent RF noise passing via PSU -
Keep them seperated so 2 units..

 

[Meridian7]

@Rob Watts I am seeing some cable companies emphasize the need to keep absolute 75 Ohms on BNC cables, for the purposes of the M Scaler being connected to a Chord DAC, is this really true? If a cable fluctuates from 75ohm is this a big issue for sound quality? If someone uses a good RCA cable with BNC adapters with the M scaler, is this an issue?

Hi,
sorry to chime in, I saw an interesting youtube of late showing effects on distorting the signal due non-matching impedances. How much this vid relates to music signals in coax etc ..idk but can't think that it's unrelated. As I understand it so far and I hope I'm right, non matching impedances cause signal reflections that superimpose on the original signal, altering it.

 

[pkny]

Anyone knows of an equivalent for the EU market? intend to power both the TT2 and the HMS with a powerbank or 2 if required but would be nice if it had 2 x outputs...?

Don't know any equivalent in EU. Rob bought one from US, but VAT+shipping+import fee make it very expensive. Bixpower BP-90-12v is also market as a CRAP battery. May be you'll have better luck searching CRAP battery instead. I am not sure.

Although, Bixpower BP-90-12v has three outputs, I will not use more than one output. Using more than one output defeat the ground isolation. Also, the direct-to-battery output is the only one that provides the sonic benefit over other batteries.

 

[pkny]

@Rob Watts I am seeing some cable companies emphasize the need to keep absolute 75 Ohms on BNC cables, for the purposes of the M Scaler being connected to a Chord DAC, is this really true? If a cable fluctuates from 75ohm is this a big issue for sound quality? If someone uses a good RCA cable with BNC adapters with the M scaler, is this an issue?

FYI Mscaler uses 50 ohm BNC connectors.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

FYI Mscaler uses 50 ohm BNC connectors.

It uses 50 ohms???? Why would Chord do this?

 

[Ballszilla]

I use two Poweroak K2 battery packs to feed my M scaler and TT2, with excellent results. I believe they’re a Dutch company, and I suspect the Maxoak power packs are very similar - if not the same - but seem more expensive if you are buying from the UK.

I also use 2 Poweroak K2 batteries for my M Scaler and TT2 and I'm very happy with the results

 

[ZappaMan]

Any suggestions for batteries in uk/eu for opto dx boxes? I had pilot pro but they’ve perished over the years.

 

[Rob Watts]

Is it right that star earthing is an approach to specifically alleviate 50Hz (EU) or 60Hz (USA) groundloop hum?

Correct. Star earthing only works for low frequencies, due to the high inductance - typically of the order of 2uH. At 50Hz, 2uH has a negligible impedance of 0.0006 ohms, so a very good ground with decent copper. But at 2 GHz that's 25,000 ohms, which really means there is no ground attached. For SPDIF you need close to 75 ohms at 100MHz to prevent drop-outs - but star earthing would be 1,250 ohm impedance. That would be horrendous noise immunity and reflections, assuring drop-outs or no lock.

@Rob Watts I am seeing some cable companies emphasize the need to keep absolute 75 Ohms on BNC cables, for the purposes of the M Scaler being connected to a Chord DAC, is this really true? If a cable fluctuates from 75ohm is this a big issue for sound quality? If someone uses a good RCA cable with BNC adapters with the M scaler, is this an issue?

Adaptors are fine, even if it's say 75 ohm going to 50 ohm then back to 75 ohm as the mis-terminations give small positive glitch followed by negative glitch some pS later. Those glitches are impossible for SPDIF receivers to respond to. But it is important that long lengths of cable are 75 ohms. That said, I use short lengths of 50 ohm cable with my M scaler and Hugo 2, with connectors that are not 75 ohms. It works perfectly, as de-glitching circuitry is built into the FPGA SPDIF decoding. It's not a sound quality issue, but a drop-out issue, and I have never experienced drop-outs with M scaler and Hugo 2 - even using 1.5m lengths of unknown impedance cable and adaptors.

 

[Reactcore]

Correct. Star earthing only works for low frequencies, due to the high inductance - typically of the order of 2uH. At 50Hz, 2uH

Star grounding (not earthing) is something often seen.. say inside a apparatus all circuit grounds of seperated PCB's are leading to one point thus preventing loop currents.

There are RCA cable makers connecting the cableshield at one side (Typically the amp side) those cables are marked with a signalflow direction.

If this is wise from a RF perspective is to be questioned cause signal ground has then to be linked via earth.