[GuiltyRocker]

About MScaler and Roon: I noticed I could change the Roon DSP settings so that Roon would send DSD files directly to MScaler without converting them to FLAC. I assumed HMS would do a better conversion than Roon. And the HMS source light changed to white when I opened a DSD recording.

The problem was that all music, DSD and FLAC, then sounded thin. But when I switched back so that Roon sent 192/24 files to MScaler, sound quality was restored.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a faulty setting in my system, or something affecting everyone? If the latter, is there an explanation?

I send the files via Roon on pure DSD and it sounds amazing. No thinness whatsoever.

 

[ecwl]

About MScaler and Roon: I noticed I could change the Roon DSP settings so that Roon would send DSD files directly to MScaler without converting them to FLAC. I assumed HMS would do a better conversion than Roon. And the HMS source light changed to white when I opened a DSD recording.

The problem was that all music, DSD and FLAC, then sounded thin. But when I switched back so that Roon sent 192/24 files to MScaler, sound quality was restored.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a faulty setting in my system, or something affecting everyone? If the latter, is there an explanation?

This is my conjecture of what is happening. Your Roon Nucleus, despite the improved power supply is still sending some RF noise from the Nucleus through the USB into the MScaler and then into the TT2. That is where the thinness comes from.

When you use Roon to upsample all music to 192/24, what you're doing is to do a slightly inaccurate analog waveform reconstruction. Because the waveform is slightly inaccurate, it would sound warmer and fuzzier so less thin. But because there is RF noise mixed in with the 192/24 signal, the RF noise would bring a little more life to the sound and that's why you prefer 192/24 upsampling from Roon over sending the original DSD to HMS/TT2.

To me, the cheapest solution is to use a USB-Toslink converter and have no electrical input into MScaler.
You get something like this (which does support 192/24 Toslink):
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Inte...ds=dual+usb+to+toslink&qid=1707170644&sr=8-11
And to make sure your Toslink cable supports 192/24, you can get something like this (or you can start with the Toslink cable that came with your MScaler/TT2:
https://www.amazon.com/CableDirect-...8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

There is a chance that you just don't like the stock sound of HMS/TT2 but my suspicion is that once you switch from Roon Nucleus via USB to MScaler to Roon Nucleus via USB to Toslink to MScaler, you'll actually prefer sending the original DSD/PCM signal to HMS/TT2.

 

[Meridian7]

Q about clock & jitter,
I might lack insight.

Usb = asynchrous data so receiver (DAC) put data on an own clock. So jitter is determined by DAC's clock quality.

Spdif: signal carries bit data plus clock intel. So jitter is determined by the e.g. streamer's clock quality. DAC cannot correct jitter?

ASR measurements and RW confirms some jitter on MS output. Rob said doesn't matter as Chord DAC will take care of that.
Thus the connection between MS and Chord DAC is not a spdif format?

So I'm a bit confused

 

[ecwl]

Q about clock & jitter,
I might lack insight.

Usb = asynchrous data so receiver (DAC) put data on an own clock. So jitter is determined by DAC's clock quality.

Spdif: signal carries bit data plus clock intel. So jitter is determined by the e.g. streamer's clock quality. DAC cannot correct jitter?

ASR measurements and RW confirms some jitter on MS output. Rob said doesn't matter as Chord DAC will take care of that.
Thus the connection between MS and Chord DAC is not a spdif format?

So I'm a bit confused

Most DACs nowadays have some way to reclock the incoming S/PDIF or USB signals to significantly lower jitter.

However, ultimately, it’s the DAC architecture that determines how much jitter your DAC actually outputs in the music.

Chord‘s Pulse Array DAC architecture is jitter-immune so it doesn’t really matter how much incoming jitter you feed a Chord DAC (although incoming RF noise can affect the sound as with all other DAC architectures)

Other DAC architecture are not as immune to jitter as Pulse Array DAC so despite the re-clocking, incoming USB jitter or incoming S/PDIF jitter would still affect the level of jitter the DAC outputs.

 

[chelseafc]

Nope, that sounds like a really bad idea, just use the regular cable that comes with the unit.

I purchased a

I believe you can only do it with the switching outputs, not unregulated ones

There seems to be a clean way to combine two batteries using this switch
https://www.bixpower.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SW-DP1224

I am going to try it when it arrives, hoping it is a relay without active parts in the path

 

[GhiAB]

Very nice....hope it works well!

 

[muski]

I purchased a

There seems to be a clean way to combine two batteries using this switch
https://www.bixpower.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SW-DP1224

I am going to try it when it arrives, hoping it is a relay without active parts in the path

Nice find. Let us know how it works...

Instead of unplugging and re-plugging the Bix charging cable, I'm looking for a little toggle DC switch that would disconnect both positive & negative leads so that there'd be no active connection between the charger and the battery...

 

[muski]

I send the files via Roon on pure DSD and it sounds amazing. No thinness whatsoever.

Same here. I've always enjoyed the sound of pure DSD through the M Scaler. (I send my via Logitech Music Server/Squeezelite.)

 

[chelseafc]

Nice find. Let us know how it works...

Instead of unplugging and re-plugging the Bix charging cable, I'm looking for a little toggle DC switch that would disconnect both positive & negative leads so that there'd be no active connection between the charger and the battery...

Got the part.
There is a relay inside that switches output from the B input (default) to A whenever a voltage exceeds a threshold on input A.
Their spec claims the threshold is 12V, but I hooked up an almost empty battery with 10.2V on it and it triggered relay.
This is good news since unregulated output will reach 12V around half empty or so.

 

[chelseafc]

Got the part.
There is a relay inside that switches output from the B input (default) to A whenever a voltage exceeds a threshold on input A.
Their spec claims the threshold is 12V, but I hooked up an almost empty battery with 10.2V on it and it triggered relay.
This is good news since unregulated output will reach 12V around half empty or so.

The not-so-good news is that the negative terminals of both inputs are always connected to the output...

 

[chelseafc]

The not-so-good news is that the negative terminals of both inputs are always connected to the output...

A slightly-better news that I still hear the benefit of the battery-powered M Scaler even when its PS connected to the B-input of the switch (ground)

 

[JazzAudioDog]

Re Audiowise SRC-DX. Is anyone using this with MScaler? I’ve searched and searched but only find people using SRC-DX with DACs, Dave, Qutest and TT2. I’m considering it with my existing MScaler and Qutest and an Aurender N150 streamer. I’d think it would be N150>USB cable>SRC-DX>BNC coax>MScaler >dual BNC coax>Qutest. Thoughts, advice much appreciated! Anyone use SRC-DX with an MScaler?

 

[GhiAB]

Hell yes! What would you like to know?

 

[Reactcore]

Re Audiowise SRC-DX. Is anyone using this with MScaler? I’ve searched and searched but only find people using SRC-DX with DACs, Dave, Qutest and TT2. I’m considering it with my existing MScaler and Qutest and an Aurender N150 streamer. I’d think it would be N150>USB cable>SRC-DX>BNC coax>MScaler >dual BNC coax>Qutest. Thoughts, advice much appreciated! Anyone use SRC-DX with an MScaler?

The SRC-DX is made to be able to feed a 705.6/768k signal into a Chord DAC with a dual BNC data input and to take processing load off the USB chip of the DAC. (so it will generate less internal noise)

It has few use as an input device for Mscaler as the scaler becomes redundant if you feed it 705.6/768k.

Better is to use toslink into the scaler to isolate electrically from your streamer.

 

[JazzAudioDog]

Hell yes! What would you like to know?

My sources are up to 192kHz sample rates Using mostly Qobuz, Tidal and JazzRadio streams. So no DSD. How much improvement did you get using it with a MScaler? Especially for these “lower” sample rates. What improved? Any advice regarding set-up? Also, what DAC are you using? Thanks!