[rkt31]

As far as i know imd plays a big role in sq. Holo may does not perform well here. Tt2 is backed by solid technical and measured performance. Holo may be good amongst r2r dacs but still behind tt2.

 

[thePhones]

TT2 came out 3 yrs after TT. TT3 is due. Nice to see features like AptX HD, XMOS 2, etc. It seems like our NOS, R2R, or even those carrying the 9038 PRO have already caught up with the TT2.

New does not always mean better. I saw a toaster made in the 40s (Sunbeam) which is way more elegant, automated and precise than todays toasters.
For something to be “better“ it has to suit the use case in a better way. I also really don‘t like touch controls, except on smartphones/tablets. But marketing plays a HUGE role. So manufactures take the same old stuff and put a shiny touch panel on top, and don‘t forget super hyper charge and wifi and call it revolutionary. Most „radical“ changes are just on the interface side of things. My Dave does not have a nfc auto connect high speed wifi, because it is not important regarding the use case. Would it be more convenient? Sure! But does it actually sound better after that? No.
Just because your dishwasher has wifi does not mean the dishes are cleaner.
So enjoy the stuff you have and see if the „new“ thing really is better in a meaningful manner and maybe wait a bit after the marketing hype settled...

 

[Arnold Schwartz]

The rate of change / improvement has slowed and to @thePhones point, much of that progress has been added functionality for convenience. Until we get another big leap forward in affordable compute power or some other technological break through I don’t imagine anything revolutionary around the corner and when it happens your hearing will likely be worse. We may already be at peak for 2 channel audio - this is a mature technology and there are physical limits to the materials used and our human senses. Hence why UHD matters less to videophiles then the jump from SD to HD. For me, the jump from the HD600 to HD800 was way bigger than HD800 to Utopia, we are at the margin so take solace that your equipment should give you many years of pleasure. I have no doubt you will still upgrade out of boredom, ocd and excess cash fuelled by marketing hype, but that doesn’t mean old equipment isn’t still excellent.

 

[TopQuark]

Remember that to get -301dB 0.001dB amplitude accuracy you need matching to 400 dB - that's 0.00000000000000000001% accuracy. Completely impossible to do this with R2R from matching POV...

And yes I don't waste my time looking at the competition; but I do spend a lot of time at shows listening to other demonstrations...

Fair enough. It's time for me to start listening more to these DACs albeit tough on my desktop setup and stop reading posts. LOL. By the way, good job on the TT2. Loving it. With that said, I am looking forward to the TT3.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Finally have a proper source for my mTT2 stack -- Allo USBridge Signature + DigiOne Signature + Shanti LPS. Can't seem to get it to work with Ethernet -- only WiFi. But I have a USB SSD with my music library, and that works great.

I also finally set up to listen out of the XLRs in back with a dual 3-pin XLR to 4-pin XLR adapter.

Turns out that's a big help with my Heddphones which really like the power.

But all my cans sound really great from this chain. Utopia are especially great as the 'sharpness' is gone, gone, gone, yet the detail and imaging are improved, even over Gumby ==> DSHA-3F chain. HEKse have sublime detail and imaging. Auteur are magnificent. Didn't get much Ether 2 time yet -- job for tonight.

Really, my only complaint is that it's a pain to go from Amp to DAC mode. At this point, I've got three systems running in parallel:

Digione ==> (via BNC S/PDIF) mScaler ==> TT2 ==> cans
or,
Digione ==> (via BNC S/PDIF) mScaler ==> (via optical) Gumby | Oppo Sonica ==> preamp ==> DSHA-3F | Liquid Platinum ==> cans
or,
Digione ==> (via RCA coax S/PDIF) Master 11 ==> cans
(ordered a BNC - RCA coax so mScaler can feed Master 11 which limits optical and BNC S/PDIF inputs to 96 kHz but supports 192 kHz on RCA S/PDIF inputs)

Amusing that I have a 'digital preamp' and an analog preamp

I wonder if the mTT2 will eventually drive everything else out?

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Fair enough. It's time for me to start listening more to these DACs albeit tough on my desktop setup and stop reading posts. LOL. By the way, good job on the TT2. Loving it. With that said, I am looking forward to the TT3.

Fully agree, loving the TT2. And personally I am looking forward to just the music, I think I am done searching for any further upgrades. TT3, please arrive in 5 or 7 years, not sooner.

 

[TopQuark]

New does not always mean better. I saw a toaster made in the 40s (Sunbeam) which is way more elegant, automated and precise than todays toasters.
For something to be “better“ it has to suit the use case in a better way. I also really don‘t like touch controls, except on smartphones/tablets. But marketing plays a HUGE role. So manufactures take the same old stuff and put a shiny touch panel on top, and don‘t forget super hyper charge and wifi and call it revolutionary. Most „radical“ changes are just on the interface side of things. My Dave does not have a nfc auto connect high speed wifi, because it is not important regarding the use case. Would it be more convenient? Sure! But does it actually sound better after that? No.
Just because your dishwasher has wifi does not mean the dishes are cleaner.
So enjoy the stuff you have and see if the „new“ thing really is better in a meaningful manner and maybe wait a bit after the marketing hype settled...

I'm with you here. I never cared how the unit looks like as long as it is functional enough and produced the best sound there is but that does not explain why some are bypassing the Amanero to improve the TT2 further, hence, my reason for looking forward to the next upgrade.

 

[rkt31]

Finally have a proper source for my mTT2 stack -- Allo USBridge Signature + DigiOne Signature + Shanti LPS. Can't seem to get it to work with Ethernet -- only WiFi. But I have a USB SSD with my music library, and that works great.

I also finally set up to listen out of the XLRs in back with a dual 3-pin XLR to 4-pin XLR adapter.

Turns out that's a big help with my Heddphones which really like the power.

But all my cans sound really great from this chain. Utopia are especially great as the 'sharpness' is gone, gone, gone, yet the detail and imaging are improved, even over Gumby ==> DSHA-3F chain. HEKse have sublime detail and imaging. Auteur are magnificent. Didn't get much Ether 2 time yet -- job for tonight.

Really, my only complaint is that it's a pain to go from Amp to DAC mode. At this point, I've got three systems running in parallel:

Digione ==> (via BNC S/PDIF) mScaler ==> TT2 ==> cans
or,
Digione ==> (via BNC S/PDIF) mScaler ==> (via optical) Gumby | Oppo Sonica ==> preamp ==> DSHA-3F | Liquid Platinum ==> cans
or,
Digione ==> (via RCA coax S/PDIF) Master 11 ==> cans
(ordered a BNC - RCA coax so mScaler can feed Master 11 which limits optical and BNC S/PDIF inputs to 96 kHz but supports 192 kHz on RCA S/PDIF inputs)

Amusing that I have a 'digital preamp' and an analog preamp

I wonder if the mTT2 will eventually drive everything else out?

Cut all the crap and keep tt2+HMS and one totl headphones. Try R70x directly out of tt2+HMS in low gain mode I bet you would sell everything other. For streaming you can use a laptop/nuc with ifi isilencer+ and mconnect app. You will be able to use all formats. It will be a lot more elegant solution than multiple boxes and pre you are having.

 

[thePhones]

We may already be at peak for 2 channel audio - this is a mature technology

This is the only part I disagree with. The Mscaler and also the TT2 (the wta algorithm for that matter) for me doubled the musical enjoyment and hence my listening time. After beeing confronted with such radical change in realism I have to agree with Rob here that others just didn‘t pay much attention to the real problem.
And also why should the marked be led to better audio in the first place. Most people still want the the newest 8k TV but are absolutely fine with the internal speakers, with 90% distortion at 50% volume (ok slight exaggeration here, but you get my point). Most people do not care. Then the already small group of people who do care go towards multi-channel sound. Then there is lots of dsp experimentation for the true wireless fraction.
I simply can not see a lot of companies who really love audio and also go in the right direction when comes to letting music sound more real and emotional.
We are probably at 50% of what realistic sound reproduction could sound like. There are still things that need to change in headphones/speakers/dacs/amplifiers that we simply can not see/hear at the moment.

 

[Amberlamps]

It's absolutely impossible to cancel resistor mismatch as resistors age and have significant temperature coefficients too. Remember that to get -301dB 0.001dB amplitude accuracy you need matching to 400 dB - that's 0.00000000000000000001% accuracy. Completely impossible to do this with R2R from matching POV - let alone the issue of signal correlated switching noise, which is another huge problem.

There are plenty of people who prefer NOS and R2R DACs - but they are simply "enjoying" distortion. And yes I don't waste my time looking at the competition; but I do spend a lot of time at shows listening to other demonstrations and the DACs always sound as bad as I expect them too from the purely technical performance.

Holy schit rob, you really do know what you are speaking about. Me, I get lost after four 0’s.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Cut all the crap and keep tt2+HMS and one totl headphones. Try R70x directly out of tt2+HMS in low gain mode I bet you would sell everything other. For streaming you can use a laptop/nuc with ifi isilencer+ and mconnect app. You will be able to use all formats. It will be a lot more elegant solution than multiple boxes and pre you are having.

LOL!

 

[LCMusicLover]

... Didn't get much Ether 2 time yet -- job for tonight ...

Listened to mTT2 ==> Ether 2 a lot last night and, to my ears (is TME a valid acronym?) that chain really shines. Note that I was listening to E2 via the rear XLR output, via a dual 3-pin XLR to 4-pin XLR adapter and a balanced Vivo cable.

I hear the E2 as quite linear up to a slightly rolled off 'last octave' of treble (of course so is my hearing), which can make them seem less detailed. As a result, they have been my 'mellow listening' and 'before I go to sleep' cans.

I've always enjoyed the headstage E2 presents -- to my ears that's a big strength of E2. From the mTT2, I hear significant improvement in imaging, with greater depth as well as more precision. And this has the effect of making E2 sound more detailed as the separation of instruments and vocals in the headstage allows my brain to 'pick out' more detail. (By precise, I mean some combination of 'That instrument, right there, just above, a little to the right of, and slightly behind the vocalist').

E2 probably benefits from this effect most of all my cans. Utopia headstage is always extremely precise, so this effect is less noticeable, although the stage clearly has more depth. Auteur, HEKse & Hedd benefit about the same amount, although in different ways. Auteur gets a little bigger and much more precise. HEKse is mostly about precision, with a little more depth, and Hedd is all about going more 3-D.

Tonality is relatively unchanged compared to my other rig (Gumby ==> cap-modded Liquid Platinum ==> Ether 2), although mTT2 probably has a bit more impact than LP w/ Brimar CV-2492 and a bit cleaner bass than LP/Siemens NOS E88CC. I didn't compare w/ Gumby/DSHA-3F chain yet.

One of the things I really love about E2 is their treatment of female vocals -- E2 can convey so much emotion sorrow, joy, rage -- that really shines from the mTT2/E2 chain.

In summary, mTT2 ==> E2 is the best I've heard these cans -- wonderful headstage; truly an immersive musical space.

 

[ra990]

Listened to mTT2 ==> Ether 2 a lot last night and, to my ears (is TME a valid acronym?) that chain really shines. Note that I was listening to E2 via the rear XLR output, via a dual 3-pin XLR to 4-pin XLR adapter and a balanced Vivo cable.

I hear the E2 as quite linear up to a slightly rolled off 'last octave' of treble (of course so is my hearing), which can make them seem less detailed. As a result, they have been my 'mellow listening' and 'before I go to sleep' cans.

I've always enjoyed the headstage E2 presents -- to my ears that's a big strength of E2. From the mTT2, I hear significant improvement in imaging, with greater depth as well as more precision. And this has the effect of making E2 sound more detailed as the separation of instruments and vocals in the headstage allows my brain to 'pick out' more detail. (By precise, I mean some combination of 'That instrument, right there, just above, a little to the right of, and slightly behind the vocalist').

E2 probably benefits from this effect most of all my cans. Utopia headstage is always extremely precise, so this effect is less noticeable, although the stage clearly has more depth. Auteur, HEKse & Hedd benefit about the same amount, although in different ways. Auteur gets a little bigger and much more precise. HEKse is mostly about precision, with a little more depth, and Hedd is all about going more 3-D.

Tonality is relatively unchanged compared to my other rig (Gumby ==> cap-modded Liquid Platinum ==> Ether 2), although mTT2 probably has a bit more impact than LP w/ Brimar CV-2492 and a bit cleaner bass than LP/Siemens NOS E88CC. I didn't compare w/ Gumby/DSHA-3F chain yet.

One of the things I really love about E2 is their treatment of female vocals -- E2 can convey so much emotion sorrow, joy, rage -- that really shines from the mTT2/E2 chain.

In summary, mTT2 ==> E2 is the best I've heard these cans -- wonderful headstage; truly an immersive musical space.

I love the raw and warm sound of the Ether 2. I wish I had the mTT2 back when I owned them, but they were great out of anything I plugged them into.

 

[Vyyy]

Thanks for review. This makes me think to buy Ether2 after Aeon 2 Closed

 

[Karnicopia]

Just figured I would share these in case people are buying batteries and would like a nice DC power cable these aren't too expensive and seem like quality cable with good connectors. I picked these up for the TT2 and really like it, I'm just hooking it up to a battery so that does most of the work but I just really wanted a well shielded cable and these seem reasonable and I like the fit and finish of everything. You have to be careful with what size DC connector you pick I think the main choices are 2.1mm or 2.5mm and the TT2 has 2.5mm and my battery had 2.1mm so I went with this version but they have a lot of termination options available.They even had some right angle ones that I missed and those may be great for the back of the TT2 but I didn't even see them and they have some DC to mini usb which I could use for the Raspberry Pi.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222655452536