[Amberlamps]

Picking up on the brief USB cable discussion ... I need a new optical Toslink cable. Has anyone noticed a audible difference between basic and hifi versions of optical cables?

Kabel Direkt is the Schiit.

I have a good few of their cables and each and everyone of them handles 192khz without any problems and......they are cheap, you can grab them from amazon, and depending on what length you need, they are roughly £10 give or take.

A good few users here use them.

 

[andrewd01]

Hi Guys.

I would like to share one thought with you: Suppose someone who loves music very much wants to buy everything they need to enjoy digital playback. I have the Hugo tt2, and I am waiting to receive the M Scaler as well. But I know this is not the "End of the Road"!

I read that you need an external clock, a network switch, and good quality cables to connect them.

Question: Do you think the above is necessary, or not? Would you recommend me to make such purchases? in addition to these, there are other devices that help playback?

I would like your experience ..

You haven’t mentioned what source you are using. In my opinion that is a critical part of the chain, and would get that sorted before thinking of network switches and external clocks etc. Cables, AC power quality and vibration isolation all matter too but this is something to tweak after the main building blocks are in place.

 

[Lgn3]

Hi Guys.

I would like to share one thought with you: Suppose someone who loves music very much wants to buy everything they need to enjoy digital playback. I have the Hugo tt2, and I am waiting to receive the M Scaler as well. But I know this is not the "End of the Road"!

I read that you need an external clock, a network switch, and good quality cables to connect them.

Question: Do you think the above is necessary, or not? Would you recommend me to make such purchases? in addition to these, there are other devices that help playback?

I would like your experience ..

I would say if you love music foremost listen to your MScaler with the TT2 for some weeks at least and stop reading HiFi forums during that listening period. If after that time has elapsed you feel that you are not getting the enjoyment from your equipment you feel you should then make gradual upgrades, starting with a sensibly priced pair of BNC cables to replace the Chord stock.and see if it makes a difference.. If you read through forums like this you will find examples of people who have spent tens of thousands of £'s on equipment and still manage to find some claimed game changing tweak, usually at an exhorbitant price. So easy to fall into the trap of chasing a sonic nirvana which probably does not exist. You will already have two superb pieces of equipment so when you do get the urge to upgrade try and think hard about what you feel you are missing in terms of enjoyment and how the 'upograde address it

 

[varadero xl1000v]

HMS+TT2 already give very good sound. Much better than 98% of audiophiles ever had at home. I would say that pair of ferrited cables is the only thing which could be called necessary. Although, if you want the absolute best, you should think about good digital transport and clean power for the whole system. You don't need a master clock because there are no master clock inputs in Chord DACs.

Mirror what Ragnar said. If you don’t go with an Optical Rendu but another ethernetted player/streamer then yes a high quality switch like an EtherRegen. Ferrited cable, but if you can DIY them then you will save enough to buy a good power supply. Agree on the Farad supplies, spring for the SR Orange fuse option for them. Trial some USB cables as well, they make less of a difference with an MScaler in the chain, but still affect the sound, try a Lush 2 USB cable. A power conditioner for the front end components helps too, I’ve never tried a PS Audio, I have mine all hanging off a massive balanced power transformer. DC cables from the power supplies also make a surprising difference, I use a few made by Ghent, make sure to use a quad star type cable.

Hello Guys. Thank you for your replies. I know that cables play an important role in the performance of the Hi fi system, as does the power supply, and I need to move in that direction. What I did not know was tt2 can not accept external clock.

You haven’t mentioned what source you are using. In my opinion that is a critical part of the chain, and would get that sorted before thinking of network switches and external clocks etc

You are right, I did not mention the source. It is the streamer Auralic Aries G 1. I use it as an end point for roon, and as a core the Nuc i7 8th gen. Flow service I use qobuz and Tidal ..

 

[varadero xl1000v]

I would say if you love music foremost listen to your MScaler with the TT2 for some weeks at least and stop reading HiFi forums during that listening period. If after that time has elapsed you feel that you are not getting the enjoyment from your equipment you feel you should then make gradual upgrades, starting with a sensibly priced pair of BNC cables to replace the Chord stock.and see if it makes a difference.. If you read through forums like this you will find examples of people who have spent tens of thousands of £'s on equipment and still manage to find some claimed game changing tweak, usually at an exhorbitant price. So easy to fall into the trap of chasing a sonic nirvana which probably does not exist. You will already have two superb pieces of equipment so when you do get the urge to upgrade try and think hard about what you feel you are missing in terms of enjoyment and how the 'upograde address it

Mainly I wanted to know the usefulness, or not of the network switch (mainly), but also of the recklocker. To the rest you say, I agree! But there will always be chances for improvement! I

would be happy if I could get my digital audio closer to that of analog (turntable). This is mainly my motivation ..

 

[andrewd01]

Regarding the network switch, the first thing to try is a Cisco 2960 8 port switch used from Ebay (tens of $). I found this made a small improvement in my system. If you like what that does then consider something further upmarket. There are so many parameters in play that you really have to try for yourself.

 

[GreenBow]

TT2 was in a group-test of DACS in HiFi Choice Nov 2020.

Can't risk saying what any of the results or comments were, or I might risk a copyright. I don't know what the laws are.

 

[andrewd01]

Hello Guys. Thank you for your replies. I know that cables play an important role in the performance of the Hi fi system, as does the power supply, and I need to move in that direction. What I did not know was tt2 can not accept external clock.

You are right, I did not mention the source. It is the streamer Auralic Aries G 1. I use it as an end point for roon, and as a core the Nuc i7 8th gen. Flow service I use qobuz and Tidal ..

That should be a good enough source to hear difference with cables, network improvements, vibration isolation etc

 

[varadero xl1000v]

vibration isolation etc

For isolation I use two HRS bases:

https://avisolation.com/e1/

 

[Whazzzup]

TT2 was in a group-test of DACS in HiFi Choice Nov 2020.

Can't risk saying what any of the results or comments were, or I might risk a copyright. I don't know what the laws are.

Please tell, no harm either way

 

[Amberlamps]

Please tell, no harm either way

The jist of it is;

TT2 is a 5 star Bugatti Chiron in a field of Golf gti's.

 

[GreenBow]

Does anyone know if RCA cables and XLR cables sound roughly the same in terms of signature? I mean disregarding any potential differences in sound from the TT2 over RCA vs XLR.

E.g. If I have an RCA cable set that I like. Will the XLR version of that cable from the same company be the same? Or would the physical nature of the XLR set likely render a difference in performance? Therefore meaning we need to judge XLR cables separately on their own individual reviews.

Or could we find an RCA set that reviews well. Then be confident the XLR set will be just as good, and have the same signature.

 

[Whazzzup]

XLR cables enjoy the same benefits of quality HP cables. there are differences and some may improve or be more to your preference than others. I went from one quality XLR DHC to audio quest fire, certainly fire had more depth and acuity, imo

 

[Hooster]

E.g. If I have an RCA cable set that I like. Will the XLR version of that cable from the same company be the same? Or would the physical nature of the XLR set likely render a difference in performance? Therefore meaning we need to judge XLR cables separately on their own individual reviews.

Or could we find an RCA set that reviews well. Then be confident the XLR set will be just as good, and have the same signature.

E.g. If I have an RCA cable set that I like. Will the XLR version of that cable from the same company be the same?
Probably not. The construction of RCA and XLR cables is totally different.

"Therefore meaning we need to judge XLR cables separately on their own individual reviews."
Yes. The best way to go about things in my opinion is to build up and understanding of cable construction and materials and some experience as to how you like them. Then you will not have to rely on other people's reviews.

"Or could we find an RCA set that reviews well. Then be confident the XLR set will be just as good, and have the same signature."
No, if all you know is that the RCA cable sounds good to some reviewer you can hardly be confident about anything.

Buying equipment based on reviews is in my experience expensive, hit and miss, frustrating and counter productive to the enjoyment of this hobby. Learning and trying things for myself has proved much more satisfying to me.

 

[JaZZ]

So far I haven't met a headphone cable that wasn't balanced (= 4 conductors). The difference is just in the termination. So I guess balanced and single-ended cables from the same brand and with the same name are identical except for the plug(s).