[Froller]

Nothing wrong with TT2 - it's the amp. Some XLR inputs short the negative input to ground, not being truly balanced, and this will cause problems, as the high power low impedance negative TT2 output is now being shorted. Stick to RCA in that case, as you can damage TT2.

Rob, thank you so much for your reply and for such great devices!! This version of the reason also seems the most logical to me. My amplifier, indeed, has unbalanced circuitry and only has balanced inputs. Although I checked the amplifier inputs with a voltage multimeter - there is no short between the XLR pins.
I would like to take the opportunity to ask you, who know as no one else the technical features and internal - which of the 2go/2yu outputs would you recommend to use with the TT2?

 

[Kentajalli]

Rob, thank you so much for your reply and for such great devices!! This version of the reason also seems the most logical to me. My amplifier, indeed, has unbalanced circuitry and only has balanced inputs. Although I checked the amplifier inputs with a voltage multimeter - there is no short between the XLR pins.
I would like to take the opportunity to ask you, who know as no one else the technical features and internal - which of the 2go/2yu outputs would you recommend to use with the TT2?

Your amp most probably has balanced circuitry, fully single ended amplifiers are a rarity!
If it has balanced inputs, unless it is a cheapo far eastern fraud (surely not), then it has true balanced input.
Your issue may be just a simple bad earth on your XLR inputs or cable, or possibly a fault with your amp.
If your amp has RCA (single ended) inputs (almost all do) and you get no noise or other issues with it, use that one!
Chord DACs are single ended internally, but TT2 does have balanced output as a feature, the inverted output is produced from the single ended output.
Balanced signal, can help clearup noise, but in your case it is having a reverse effect.
Use optical input to your TT2, and connect it using RCA outs. Sound quality will be the same, and by using optical, you guard against possible earth loop noise.

 

[xirxes]

Any feedback from improvements of TT2/HMS powered by Ferrum Hypsos?

 

[naynay]

I put this on the Chord Dave thread but thought as cables can be used on the Hugo TT2 might be useful.

After a number of people asking about my DIY BNC ferrite core cables, referring to the latest and final ones using HFB159079-100 with Oyaide Cable and Oyaide BNC plugs, and if I had compared them to the Wave Storm Reference BNC cables.

Well I have finally got around to completing the test.

I would like to thank my friend who was kind enough to loan me his Wave Storm Reference cables.

Cylindrical Ferrite Cores used in my cables as said previously are HFB159079-100

I used two of the Audiowise SRC-DX so I can quickly switch from BNC 4 input to BNC 3 input on the Dave Dac when testing.

How I set things up.

Identical USB going out of Antipodes Server to USB input of the first Audiowise SRC-DX then my DIY BNC cable goes out of Audiowise SRC-DX BNC output into Dave BNC 4 input.

Identical USB going out of Antipodes Server to USB input of the second Audiowise SRC-DX then Wave Storm Reference BNC cable goes out of Audiowise SRC-DX BNC output into Dave BNC 3 input.

My findings when playing back music is that there was no change in sound when switching from Dave BNC 4 input having my DIY BNC cable to Dave BNC 3 input having Wave Storm Reference BNC cable.

YMMV

Hopefully this has answered all those that messaged me asking. Anyone wanting to have a go at DIY BNC that is unsure with anything such as say the soldering or materials I am happy to help just drop me a PM.

Thanks

These are my DIY cables used in the test.

 

[MARS22]

Rather often after powering up the tt2, sound is heavily distorted. I have to change to a song with different samplerate and back, before everything is fine. Known issue?

 

[rocketron]

Rather often after powering up the tt2, sound is heavily distorted. I have to change to a song with different samplerate and back, before everything is fine. Known issue?

Power up your computer or streamer first.

I think the TT2 takes a while to lock on to the incoming stream.

If I turn on TT2 first then streamer I have the same as you.

Streamer first wait for TT2 to do its thing then press play and all is fine.

 

[Mediahound]

Rather often after powering up the tt2, sound is heavily distorted. I have to change to a song with different samplerate and back, before everything is fine. Known issue?

Power up your computer or streamer first.

I think the TT2 takes a while to lock on to the incoming stream.

If I turn on TT2 first then streamer I have the same as you.

Streamer first wait for TT2 to do its thing then press play and all is fine.

Yeah, this is a 'normal' known quirk of the TT2. I typically leave mine on all the time so I don't experience the issue that often.

 

[MARS22]

Streamer is on 24/7. i‘ll try leaving Tt2 on, thanks.

 

[elira]

Rather often after powering up the tt2, sound is heavily distorted. I have to change to a song with different samplerate and back, before everything is fine. Known issue?

Same issue here, very annoying.

 

[OctavianH]

Streamer is on 24/7. i‘ll try leaving Tt2 on, thanks.

I also keep it on. I read somewhere that the power consumption in DAC mode was around 13W.

 

[townes]

No problems here. I use a TT2, Chord 2Go/2Yu as streamer (and HD800S HP) as bedside rig.
A small Furman power conditioner (AC-210) is used to switch the two devices on/off.
Furman Power on: TT2 starts its boot sequence. Streamer gets into Standby mode. Manually start streamer.
To switch off: use the appropriate buttons on TT2 and 2Go/2Yu. Turn power conditioner off.
Saves some energy and works flawless.

 

[oronymo]

Been following this thread.. I'm wondering if there were any conclusions about Qutest+M-Scaler vs. Hugo TT2. I have a Qutest and TT2 on my desk right now both feeding an Enleum amp into Susvara. The TT2 is just barely a bit nicer sounding - a little bit clearer, wider, and more bass punch - but only about 10% more on each of those attributes. Since I'm not using the amp stage of the TT2, it feels like I'm spending 3x more money for not a lot of benefit and wondering if i should instead track down an m-scaler to run off of the Qutest.

How much of the difference i'm hearing is due to the analog output stage of the TT vs its increase in Taps?

 

[ardbeg1975]

Been following this thread.. I'm wondering if there were any conclusions about Qutest+M-Scaler vs. Hugo TT2. I have a Qutest and TT2 on my desk right now both feeding an Enleum amp into Susvara. The TT2 is just barely a bit nicer sounding - a little bit clearer, wider, and more bass punch - but only about 10% more on each of those attributes. Since I'm not using the amp stage of the TT2, it feels like I'm spending 3x more money for not a lot of benefit and wondering if i should instead track down an m-scaler to run off of the Qutest.

How much of the difference i'm hearing is due to the analog output stage of the TT vs its increase in Taps?

A bit of both in my opinion and the fact that the TT2 uses super capacitors internally which somewhat mitigate the power supply quality (many upgrade the Qutest power brick as they view it as suboptimal). I previously had a Qutest, later updated to a TT2 and heard the difference mainly in my perception of soundstage depth (which improved even more so when I even later added an Mscaler). If you have the means, I'd definitely recommend getting an M-scaler regardless and then A/B'ing it as source into Qutest and then TT2 and selling one or the other DAC based on preference. For me, the TT2 combo was best but it is spendy.

 

[Reactcore]

How much of the difference i'm hearing is due to the analog output stage of the TT vs its increase in Taps?

Imo clearer and wider(deeper) is a result of more taps, more bass punch is due to TT2's amp design.

If youre not a basshead and you might in the end would go for a Dave.. then i should go the Mscaler route.

But as always ..try to get your ears on one first..

 

[Christer]

Been following this thread.. I'm wondering if there were any conclusions about Qutest+M-Scaler vs. Hugo TT2. I have a Qutest and TT2 on my desk right now both feeding an Enleum amp into Susvara. The TT2 is just barely a bit nicer sounding - a little bit clearer, wider, and more bass punch - but only about 10% more on each of those attributes. Since I'm not using the amp stage of the TT2, it feels like I'm spending 3x more money for not a lot of benefit and wondering if i should instead track down an m-scaler to run off of the Qutest.

How much of the difference i'm hearing is due to the analog output stage of the TT vs its increase in Taps?

Hmm, what you are describing is basically how I would rate them too. And instead of spending the very steep price of TT2 alone in a big heavy ,shiny ,fancy looking box, I spent that money on an Mscaler.
Unfortunately in an almost identical looking fancy box as TT2! But I like Qutest/Mscaler MUCH more than TT2 on its own. To my ears and with my 99% Acoustic Music listening habits, Qutest/Mscaler brings more realism with acoustic instruments than TT2 .
ALL Chord dacs EVEN Dave need mscaling to sound more natural ,effortless and "less digital" imho.
I do not know for sure but I suspect both the added number of taps and upscaling to 32/705 or 32/768 with mscaling matter more to me than other things like output stage of TT2 over the cheaper Qutest.
Ideally I would REALLY want Rob to design a Top Reference Class mscaled portable dac .Or at least a very reasonably priced SOTA one in a black little box made for people who primarily LISTEN to music and could NOT care less how their HIFI toys look.

"You can choose any color you wish as long as you choose black" is absolutely fine with me.

90% of my music listening is with closed eyes both via my big electostatic speakers and via headphones . The main exection being when playing my piano.


In my youth I built some amps and put them in the cheapest grey boxes I could buy. I spent my money on the best possible internal parts I could get instead!
So to be honest I 'd be ok with duller grey too.
I hate having to pay ridiculous money for Designer Made Eye Candy HIFI.
For me HIFI has got one important thing to deliver: to be as transparent to what is actually on the recording as possible within reasonable costs involved.
Personally I do not really like any of the design choices of Robs dacs .
I use them only ,for their SQ in spite of the VERY steep pricing even of Qutest , not to mention Mscaler.
By the way one of those really annoying little coloured balls on my Mscaler is stuck and does not respond when pressed. But my HMS still works as it should via the remote.
And WHY, OH WHY does it have to be so big and heavy??? Isn't most of what it does, done on a small fpga via code inside ?
If and when CHI-FI catches up in SQ I would not hesitate even a second to buy CHEAP HIFI and sell my expensive Chord toys.
Luckily I bought my Chord toys in SE-Asia where prices are not as ridiculoulsy high as in Europe or the US. But here in Sweden I think TT2 costs at least 4 times as much as a Qutest.
PS. Sorry about the long rant.
I have had a tough week this most miserable of winters here in cold Sweden ,and I am more than a bit grumpy."But for good Beer's sake". Oops sorry again, I meant good music's sake,I am very reluctantly still suffering through yet another one.

Cheers Christer
.