[griff500]

1) even though the tt2 is well loved, the tt2 (only?) really shines with the hms;
2) the usb is not as good as the optical input. i am using usb out from my imac at the moment;
3) i may need to look at RF issued and look at an external battery, or is that more for the hms. Does rob watts not believe so - I haven’t totally to understood the (maybe) difference in opinions;
4) upgraded bnc cables are highly recommended for the hms tt2 link.

1. The TT2 is an excellent DAC on it's own. The M-Scaler can bring improvements to many DACs...
2. I use USB and it's galvanically isolated. There's nothing wrong with USB in my opinion BUT I am not using a Mac as the source (my source also has galvanically isolated USB).
3. TT2 is fine with the standard power supply.
4. I recommend them but they are the icing on the cake (or the glaze on the icing on the cake as I seem to remember Rob Watts saying). Certain cables will help with RFI.

 

[thecrow]

1. The TT2 is an excellent DAC on it's own. The M-Scaler can bring improvements to many DACs...
2. I use USB and it's galvanically isolated. There's nothing wrong with USB in my opinion BUT I am not using a Mac as the source (my source also has galvanically isolated USB).
3. TT2 is fine with the standard power supply.
4. I recommend them but they are the icing on the cake (or the glaze on the icing on the cake as I seem to remember Rob Watts saying). Certain cables will help with RFI.

Thanks for that.
i have also been looking at going from imac to streamer, rather than a stock ssd new mac mini. the auralic aries g1. Did you have the g1 begore the g2 by any chance for comparisons? How crucial is/can the galvanic isolation be in that regard between g1 and g2?
and from your experience is going from imac/pc to a streamer a significant improvement or marginal?

(the two upgrade options that i am looking at for my ONE next move is to a new dac or streamer)

Now this may be hard to answer....but....so in going to a tt2 and then a hms is the bigger improvement in going from an already good dac (imho my hex dac) to the tt2 or going tt2 alone to including the hms? Which would you say is the bigger incremental step up? And obviously it depends on the dac one starts from - maybe it’s easier to answer that based on the previoau dac that you came from

cheers

 

[griff500]

Thanks for that.
i have also been looking at going from imac to streamer, rather than a stock ssd new mac mini. the auralic aries g1. Did you have the g1 begore the g2 by any chance for comparisons? How crucial is/can the galvanic isolation be in that regard between g1 and g2?
and from your experience is going from imac/pc to a streamer a significant improvement or marginal?

(the two upgrade options that i am looking at for my ONE next move is to a new dac or streamer)

Now this may be hard to answer....but....so in going to a tt2 and then a hms is the bigger improvement in going from an already good dac (imho my hex dac) to the tt2 or going tt2 alone to including the hms? Which would you say is the bigger incremental step up? And obviously it depends on the dac one starts from - maybe it’s easier to answer that based on the previoau dac that you came from

cheers

I have not used a computer as a source so I cannot compare to that. I did try the Aries G1 and I thought it was excellent and provided an improved sound over my previous Aries Mini into the same system. I only went for the G2 as I was offered the dealer's ex-demo unit for a few hundred more than the new G1. You have galvanic isolation in the M-Scaler for USB. Anything that doesn't take care of can be dealt with by cables, which would be the last thing I would upgrade.

The Aries G1 has linear power supplies internally and is designed for the purpose so I would suggest that it is likely to be an improvement over an iMac or PC.

In relation to the DAC improvement, I went from an Aries Mini to the TT2 but I also significantly upgraded my speakers and headphones at the same time. For me, speakers were the first thing I looked to upgrade and I added the TT2 at the same time. I tried that combination with my Aries Mini and compared this to the Aries G1 and it was an obvious step up in sound so I upgraded the streamer. I also added the M-Scaler because I liked what it did to the sound and I could afford to do it all at the same time.

I also tried a Vega G2 (a DAC with streaming capability) with my speakers and that was very impressive and I could quite easily have been happy with that. It's an excellent all-in-one solution and the sound was very good.

If I was looking to upgrade my streamer and DAC and I wasn't happy to spend the amounts required for a TT2/M-Scaler/Streamer/cables then I'd have a Vega and be very happy.

If you are happy to upgrade the various components over time and your speakers and/or headphones are decent then I would go for the TT2 first, then later consider the streamer upgrade and then the M-Scaler after that.

The best thing to do is to demo the products if possible.

 

[thecrow]

I have not used a computer as a source so I cannot compare to that. I did try the Aries G1 and I thought it was excellent and provided an improved sound over my previous Aries Mini into the same system. I only went for the G2 as I was offered the dealer's ex-demo unit for a few hundred more than the new G1. You have galvanic isolation in the M-Scaler for USB. Anything that doesn't take care of can be dealt with by cables, which would be the last thing I would upgrade.

The Aries G1 has linear power supplies internally and is designed for the purpose so I would suggest that it is likely to be an improvement over an iMac or PC.

In relation to the DAC improvement, I went from an Aries Mini to the TT2 but I also significantly upgraded my speakers and headphones at the same time. For me, speakers were the first thing I looked to upgrade and I added the TT2 at the same time. I tried that combination with my Aries Mini and compared this to the Aries G1 and it was an obvious step up in sound so I upgraded the streamer. I also added the M-Scaler because I liked what it did to the sound and I could afford to do it all at the same time.

I also tried a Vega G2 (a DAC with streaming capability) with my speakers and that was very impressive and I could quite easily have been happy with that. It's an excellent all-in-one solution and the sound was very good.

If I was looking to upgrade my streamer and DAC and I wasn't happy to spend the amounts required for a TT2/M-Scaler/Streamer/cables then I'd have a Vega and be very happy.

If you are happy to upgrade the various components over time and your speakers and/or headphones are decent then I would go for the TT2 first, then later consider the streamer upgrade and then the M-Scaler after that.

The best thing to do is to demo the products if possible.

Thanks heaps for all that info and sharing your own experience as well as advice. It’s been very much duly noted.
peter

 

[Christer]

The Mscaler has arrived. I will post some impressions later but I will say that what I’m hearing is not what I would call subtle improvements... especially in the highs. Wow!

Nice system . But why are you keeping a big headphone amp right in front of your ML´s?
Cheers CC

 

[pspentax]

Thanks for that.
i have also been looking at going from imac to streamer, rather than a stock ssd new mac mini. the auralic aries g1. Did you have the g1 begore the g2 by any chance for comparisons? How crucial is/can the galvanic isolation be in that regard between g1 and g2?
and from your experience is going from imac/pc to a streamer a significant improvement or marginal?

(the two upgrade options that i am looking at for my ONE next move is to a new dac or streamer)

Now this may be hard to answer....but....so in going to a tt2 and then a hms is the bigger improvement in going from an already good dac (imho my hex dac) to the tt2 or going tt2 alone to including the hms? Which would you say is the bigger incremental step up? And obviously it depends on the dac one starts from - maybe it’s easier to answer that based on the previoau dac that you came from

cheers

For what I see and listened until now, from Aurender, Auralic, Innuos Statement, etc... the only one that can rival a CD player is the Taiko Audio SGM Extreme.

 

[thecrow]

For what I see and listened until now, from Aurender, Auralic, Innuos Statement, etc... the only one that can rival a CD player is the Taiko Audio SGM Extreme.

I might be a couple of bucks short for that one.

 

[pspentax]

I might be a couple of bucks short for that one.

Maybe 5/10$ !?!?

 

[118900]

deleted

 

[CaptainFantastic]

And no surprise that priced so low it's already out of stock. A deal like that doesn't remain secret for long.

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/product/sgm-extreme-high-end-music-server/

 

[118900]

deleted

 

[bikutoru]

It is an oligarch level product, not audiophile level. I read the description and still have hard time figuring what does it do for music. TT2 on the other hand.... is nothing but the music in its DNA.

 

[pspentax]

It is an oligarch level product, not audiophile level. I read the description and still have hard time figuring what does it do for music. TT2 on the other hand.... is nothing but the music in its DNA.

Also the TT2 do nothing alone

 

[griff500]

It is an oligarch level product, not audiophile level. I read the description and still have hard time figuring what does it do for music. TT2 on the other hand.... is nothing but the music in its DNA.

And it's just a music server as far as I can tell...

 

[pspentax]

And it's just a music server as far as I can tell...

Yes like many others
It’s like a CD player transport