Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread
Sep 12, 2019 at 12:36 AM Post #6,871 of 18,855
I guess I should of said the TT2/excite combo is ideal for late night listening, but not limited to. I just find that the sound is very full sounding, even at very low volume. But, I also play it loud during the day, without feeling like I am missing something. I suggest you strip a couple of wires back, and XLR interconnects, solder them together, and give it a try, it will surprise you how good it sounds.It took me about an hour to make my set.

Actually talking about good fidelity at low volumes, and your Excite 12 being so. The Emit M10 are excellent for that. What HiFi even mentioned it in their review of the M10. I wonder if it's a Dynaudio trait.

The new speakers I am getting are Dynaudio and good at low volume too. Or at least when I auditioned them I had the volume right down, for a test. It might be different in my home. (Fingers crossed.)

By the way, I noticed the speakers you were thinking of upgrading to. I just thought, that the KEF Reference 1 is not on your list but should be. It's also another speaker that What HiFi mentioned still has lots of life at low volumes. If you check out reviews of the Reference 1, I think you will be very impressed.
 
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Sep 12, 2019 at 1:47 AM Post #6,872 of 18,855
Actually talking about good fidelity at low volumes, and you Excite 12 being so. The Emit M10 are excellent for that. What HiFi even mentioned it in their review of the M10. I wonder if it's a Dynaudio trait.

The new speakers I am getting are Dynaudio and good at low volume too. Or at least when I auditioned them I had the volume right down, for a test. It might be different in my home. (Fingers crossed.)

By the way, I noticed the speakers you were thinking of upgrading to. I just thought, that the KEF Reference 1 is not on your list but should be. It's also another speaker that What HiFi mentioned still has lots of life at low volumes. If you check out reviews of the Reference 1, I think you will be very impressed.

I had an internet friend that had a pair of ref 1’s, he liked their sound, but he said you need a generating station to drive them properly, a really tough load. Not really what I want there. Being a long time Naim and Dynaudio user, I will stick with the three that interest me first, mostly because in the New Year, a dealer in Chicago should have all three of those speakers on site for demo. That is about a four and a half hour drive from me, so until then, I will save my money for an Mscaler. I have also not ruled out (high efficiency)Omega Alinco moniters, or Vivace mini speakers, whose dealer is only about a three hour drive.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 2:38 AM Post #6,873 of 18,855
I had an internet friend that had a pair of ref 1’s, he liked their sound, but he said you need a generating station to drive them properly, a really tough load. Not really what I want there. Being a long time Naim and Dynaudio user, I will stick with the three that interest me first, mostly because in the New Year, a dealer in Chicago should have all three of those speakers on site for demo. That is about a four and a half hour drive from me, so until then, I will save my money for an Mscaler. I have also not ruled out (high efficiency)Omega Alinco moniters, or Vivace mini speakers, whose dealer is only about a three hour drive.

I never noticed anything about the Reference 1 being a difficult load. However after you post I looked back at some reviews. The electronics used does seem to be meaty in the amplification dept.

You'd think by comparing specs, that the Ref 1 would be only slightly harder to drive than the Emit M10.

Emit M10:
6ohm
86dB sensitivity

Reference 1
8 ohm
85dB sensitivity

Maybe not a load to put on the TT2 though. I suppose I should look at more reviews out of curiosity for myself, but I am not buying them.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 2:39 AM Post #6,874 of 18,855
I have had a chance to compare the TT2+MScaler against a Dave and blu mk2, and my metrum onyx and also the sp1000. These were with a pair of magico s3mk2, and dagostino momentum separates.

The Dave combo was the most transparent and had the best transients. The Tt2 was behind this combo with sp1000 behind both but I was no slouch either. The metrum has a different sound. It was more musical and the bass had more weight. It also presented a different sound stage maybe a bit wider but not quite as deep. I think that has to do with the mscaler too. The mscaler did improve the staging of the metrum as well. I think that the mscaler brings more musicality to the chord dacs. Before I spend the money I want to hear the pavane and terminator side by side with the chord gear too.
if a so called nos dac like onyx is benefitted from m scaler, then do I need to say anything ? There are two extremes, one is Dave + HMS which has enormous depth perception as if you are there. Other is nos which has wider sound soundstage due to less or no depth perception (which incidentally gains depth with the addition of m scaler). Now it's upto you , which type of sound you call musical, (1) with all depth cues and closer to live performance and true to source. Or (2) has no depth and lot more softer.
 
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Sep 12, 2019 at 6:10 AM Post #6,875 of 18,855
CreditingKarma
Why would you not include the Dave and TT2 as well regarded in the 2 channel world? I am mostly a 2 channel guy, and love driving my speakers (Dynaudio Excite 12’s ) directly off my TT2. They do not have the scale of your Magico’s, but I will be upgrading my speakers eventually, I traded Sopra 1’s to fund my TT2, and after I get an MScaler, I will be looking at end game speakers. The short list is Dynaudio Confidence 20’s, Kudos 505’s, and Borrenson Z01’s. I live in an apartment building, so volume needs to be kept down.
How did you like the Sopra 1’s? Mine are coming within the next couple of days and I will be using the TT2/M-Scaler and an external amp.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 6:46 AM Post #6,876 of 18,855
My understanding is that the extra power doesn't necessarily equate to just loudness with the PM1. The extra power output of the TT2 increases the quality of the control and dynamics of the driver for example resulting in a better sound. So not loudness but the quality of the amp and its ability to control the headphone and drive it correctly. Still learning. The mdr z1r doesn't need much power to play loud or the empyrean but the quality of the amp is paramount. Maybe with the Oppo HA1 amp a balanced set up results in more power which isn't used but the amp still drives the PM1 to its very best in this configuration.
Any reason you seem to prefer closed backs?
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 7:59 AM Post #6,877 of 18,855
The thing I find brilliant, is tt2/mscaler never gets old. Having a cheeky work from home day, with my aeon flow closed and radiohead, the detail, resolution, enjoyment is great, well worth the money.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 8:41 AM Post #6,878 of 18,855
I had an internet friend that had a pair of ref 1’s, he liked their sound, but he said you need a generating station to drive them properly, a really tough load. Not really what I want there. Being a long time Naim and Dynaudio user, I will stick with the three that interest me first, mostly because in the New Year, a dealer in Chicago should have all three of those speakers on site for demo. That is about a four and a half hour drive from me, so until then, I will save my money for an Mscaler. I have also not ruled out (high efficiency)Omega Alinco moniters, or Vivace mini speakers, whose dealer is only about a three hour drive.

If you are looking specifically book shelf speakers. The new magico A1 should be available to audition in the chicago area then as well. F1 audio is the dealer in the area. Next level is about 40min away from chicago and has Borensen and rraidho too.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 8:52 AM Post #6,879 of 18,855
if a so called nos dac like onyx is benefitted from m scaler, then do I need to say anything ? There are two extremes, one is Dave + HMS which has enormous depth perception as if you are there. Other is nos which has wider sound soundstage due to less or no depth perception (which incidentally gains depth with the addition of m scaler). Now it's upto you , which type of sound you call musical, (1) with all depth cues and closer to live performance and true to source. Or (2) has no depth and lot more softer.


Not sure what you mean by so called nos? The whole idea of nos dacs is to use an external upsampler if you want. That is why the mscaler makes an improvement with it along with the other filtering that it does. I still want to audition the dacs that I am looking at in my system before I make a purchase. For me it is all about the synergy of everything that contributes to the final sound. I might be able to take a TT2 home with an mscaler this weekend to audition.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 9:15 AM Post #6,880 of 18,855
How did you like the Sopra 1’s? Mine are coming within the next couple of days and I will be using the TT2/M-Scaler and an external amp.

I loved my Sopra 1’s, I really wanted to keep them over my Dyn XD 600’s, but the dealer I got the TT2 from preferred to do a trade with the Sopra’s. I had both speakers set up in a one bedroom, and living room apartment. I moved here because the house I was in, was being sold, and I am trying to downsize from two complete seperate systems, to one better one.that excels at lower volume listening. I bought my Sopra’s from my local dealer, he used them at his home with a Blu 2/Dave, and it was the best sounding digital setup, that I have ever heard. Overtime at work really slowed down this year, so I decided to move them on, knowing eventually things would pick up at work (they did) and I could pursue my end game speaker, hopefully within a year. You will love the Sopra 1’s, no question about it.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 9:25 AM Post #6,881 of 18,855
If you are looking specifically book shelf speakers. The new magico A1 should be available to audition in the chicago area then as well. F1 audio is the dealer in the area. Next level is about 40min away from chicago and has Borensen and rraidho too.

Thanks for that info on the Magico’s, I was planning on going to Next level Audio, who I know sells three I mentioned, I just have to wait until he gets his pairs in, early next year he should have them all. I will go check out the Magic’s too, no sense in driving all that way, and not hearing all options. I do want a standmount speaker for sure, living in an apartment limits my space, and volume I can listen at. I have no plans to move to another house, prices have skyrocketed here (Windsor Ontario), and at my age, (54)I have no interest in doing yard work any more. Just simplifying my life, and pursuing my life long passion, good music.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 9:41 AM Post #6,882 of 18,855
Thanks for that info on the Magico’s, I was planning on going to Next level Audio, who I know sells three I mentioned, I just have to wait until he gets his pairs in, early next year he should have them all. I will go check out the Magic’s too, no sense in driving all that way, and not hearing all options. I do want a standmount speaker for sure, living in an apartment limits my space, and volume I can listen at. I have no plans to move to another house, prices have skyrocketed here (Windsor Ontario), and at my age, (54)I have no interest in doing yard work any more. Just simplifying my life, and pursuing my life long passion, good music.

If you are interested when you come to chicago let me know if you would like to hear the magico s1mk2 as well. I live in between both stores. I actually bought them from F1 audio. They are a 2 way floor standing speaker. They take up the same amount of floor space as my old dynaudio c1 did.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 9:49 AM Post #6,883 of 18,855
Not sure what you mean by so called nos? The whole idea of nos dacs is to use an external upsampler if you want. That is why the mscaler makes an improvement with it along with the other filtering that it does. I still want to audition the dacs that I am looking at in my system before I make a purchase. For me it is all about the synergy of everything that contributes to the final sound. I might be able to take a TT2 home with an mscaler this weekend to audition.
Ok when you said that nos dac sounded different, were you sure it was with m scaler engaged ? Frankly speaking I am happy atleast someone admitted that so called nos dacs are meant to be used with upscaler.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 9:50 AM Post #6,884 of 18,855
If you are interested when you come to chicago let me know if you would like to hear the magico s1mk2 as well. I live in between both stores. I actually bought them from F1 audio. They are a 2 way floor standing speaker. They take up the same amount of floor space as my old dynaudio c1 did.
Thanks for the offer, I will keep that in mind. Would the dealer you mentioned not have the S1MK2 on display though? I used to own Dyn C1 MK11’s for a couple of years, in hindsight, I wish I kept those. Can you describe the difference between those and your Magico’s? I have no clue how to post pictures here, if someone can give me a quick “how to guide”, I can post some pics.
 
Sep 12, 2019 at 10:13 AM Post #6,885 of 18,855
Not sure what you mean by so called nos? The whole idea of nos dacs is to use an external upsampler if you want. That is why the mscaler makes an improvement with it along with the other filtering that it does. I still want to audition the dacs that I am looking at in my system before I make a purchase. For me it is all about the synergy of everything that contributes to the final sound. I might be able to take a TT2 home with an mscaler this weekend to audition.
Also if you like the 'different' sound of nos DACs, it is for your kind information that no dac is actually nos. Because to produce sound you can not simply send the voltage spikes created by discrete sampled to amplifier. The gap is to be filled by some continuous voltage. These so called nos dacs simply fill the gap between the two samples simply by a horizontal line which is called zero hold filter. This is the crudest kind of approach and if you call it nos then it is ok. This also requires heavy low pass filtering affecting the audio band making it sound softer. The more accurately you fill the gaps ( best fitting curve ) more accurate true to the source is the sound reproduction. This is what m Scaler does.
 

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