[rkt31]

Problem with many tt2 user is that they don't treat it as a dac first. This is a dac and dac is a source. TT 2 is one of the most refined audio source one can have. An audio source is best judged in a speaker system. Most people having this impression about tt2 are using it with headphones. Frankly speaking most headphones are currently not designed keeping in mind the 'most direct' sound of tt2. So people habitual of other sources can't initially take 'extremely fast' sound of tt2 ( due to clean and accurate transients and ultra low output impedance). But in a good speaker system the impact,punch, clarity, focus and refinement of tt2 is instantly evident. I myself with hd650 could not discern much difference with or without m Scaler in case of tt2. HMS seem to add a bit of more width with hd650 but in speaker system the effect of HMS was day and night difference.

 

[Sound Eq]

Problem with many tt2 user is that they don't treat it as a dac first. This is a dac and dac is a source. TT 2 is one of the most refined audio source one can have. An audio source is best judged in a speaker system. Most people having this impression about tt2 are using it with headphones. Frankly speaking most headphones are currently not designed keeping in mind the 'most direct' sound of tt2. So people habitual of other sources can't initially take 'extremely fast' sound of tt2 ( due to clean and accurate transients and ultra low output impedance). But in a good speaker system the impact,punch, clarity, focus and refinement of tt2 is instantly evident. I myself with hd650 could not discern much difference with or without m Scaler in case of tt2. HMS seem to add a bit of more width with hd650 but in speaker system the effect of HMS was day and night difference.

i heard tt2 in a home system and it was amazing, but i dont have a home system.

i will try it for few more days but i can say for sure i miss my previous combo with my headphones

just to clarify i am not someone who dislikes detail or is after muddy sound, as I am a huge fan of shure kse1500 iem, and stax, but I miss the body and tonality of what i previously had

 

[rkt31]

For headphone users my take would be he1000 V2 directly into tt2 with HMS. This is the end game set up. Imho he1000v2 is highly underrated. I listened he1000v2 and compared with lcd4, hd800 and utopia. He1000v2 sounded most refined yet extremely balanced and transparent.

 

[seedubchris]

i will try, is there anything that can add a bit warmth to the sound, i think tt2 will work amazing with audeze headphones that are dark but not that well with hifiman, and for me audeze headphones are a no no as they are too heavy. would buying the phasure lush usb help a bit

with ifi idsd pro and ifi ican pro when I used to listen to leonardo cohen "you want it darker "it was an absolute bliss, that big organic lush sound that no matter how much i increase volume it is a joy, with tt2 i am not getting the same and i have to try to listen at lower volumes

The Hugo May be taking the hifiman down a road they don’t like to go . You wouldn’t be the first to have to change up headphones to complement the source . Speaking of source ... maybe try the optical input as opposed to the usb. I think it’s a bit more laid back sounding . I use an Ak320 toslink via glass light pipe (not plastic ). Little things like what cable is used for the digital transfer starts to matter at this level . What ever you do don’t feed it compressed audio like MP3. (Not that you would ) . Think of it like you just bought a new Porsche. It’s capable of running on the track with other race cars but not with out all the attendant race aids like proper slick tires and adjustable shocks etc.
the Hugo 2 expects to be integrated into a system with commensurate components or it will definitely expose every other weakness in your current gear .
Rob Watts is obsessed with transparency.he has addressed the warm vs. transparent thing and says he can’t speak on sound signature tastes but that other dac manufacturers employ a tuning method that tricks the ear into thinking there is more bass or body by emphasizing certain harmonic distortion . He says it does result in the perception of more bass but is not correct or an accurate representation of what the audio is actually doing . I for one would rather hear exactly what the producers are going for , not what the dac designers think you might well want the audio to sound like . It might be that your ear is getting used to the “lack“ of second order distortion that your last dac had in spades .

 

[andrewd01]

Problem with many tt2 user is that they don't treat it as a dac first. This is a dac and dac is a source. TT 2 is one of the most refined audio source one can have. An audio source is best judged in a speaker system. Most people having this impression about tt2 are using it with headphones. Frankly speaking most headphones are currently not designed keeping in mind the 'most direct' sound of tt2. So people habitual of other sources can't initially take 'extremely fast' sound of tt2 ( due to clean and accurate transients and ultra low output impedance). But in a good speaker system the impact,punch, clarity, focus and refinement of tt2 is instantly evident. I myself with hd650 could not discern much difference with or without m Scaler in case of tt2. HMS seem to add a bit of more width with hd650 but in speaker system the effect of HMS was day and night difference.

Maybe just semantics, but I don’t consider DAC’s as sources. They are an intermediate processor between the digital source (mostly an audio server) and an analogue amplifier. To compare to a turntable system, the DAC is equivalent to a phono preamp, whereas the ‘source’ is the turntable itself.
I haven’t tested rigorously or scientifically, but in my experience the quality of the sound achieved from the TT2 is dependent on the quality of the source used. For those that don't immediately like the sound of the TT2 I would suggest at least trying different sources to see if that is a factor.

 

[AlexB73]

Don't worry. Just give to your TT2 more break-in.

I don't have TT2 myself but I had Mojo and have Qutest and 2qute Chord DACs.
All my Chord DACs sounded bad without break-in!
Only after the long break-in they all started sound as they should.
I don't believe in brain break-in. 99% of break-in time I run my DACs without listening and my brain don't have too much time to use to these DACs sound.

Regards,
Alex.

 

[Sound Eq]

well tested denon 9200 on tt2 sounds good

Maybe just semantics, but I don’t consider DAC’s as sources. They are an intermediate processor between the digital source (mostly an audio server) and an analogue amplifier. To compare to a turntable system, the DAC is equivalent to a phono preamp, whereas the ‘source’ is the turntable itself.
I haven’t tested rigorously or scientifically, but in my experience the quality of the sound achieved from the TT2 is dependent on the quality of the source used. For those that don't immediately like the sound of the TT2 I would suggest at least trying different sources to see if that is a factor.

i think everyone is right its a matter of getting used to this new level of sound, one thing i did i switched from low gain to high gain, and to my surprise everything sounded grand, i thought low gain would be all i need for my hifiman se1000 as its an easy to drive headphone, but apparently high was a different experience, which led me to remove my for sale ad . I will do some fine tuning, i will buy phasure lush2 usb cable as i read its a great cable instead of my supra usb cable

listening to dead can dance -- song of the stars-- was an epic experience

 

[jarnopp]

Don't worry. Just give to your TT2 more break-in.

I don't have TT2 myself but I had Mojo and have Qutest and 2qute Chord DACs.
All my Chord DACs sounded bad without break-in!
Only after the long break-in they all started sound as they should.
I don't believe in brain break-in. 99% of break-in time I run my DACs without listening and my brain don't have too much time to use to these DACs sound.

Regards,
Alex.

have you tried an A/B test between your long-used Mojo and a new unit?

 

[seedubchris]

well tested denon 9200 on tt2 sounds good


i think everyone is right its a matter of getting used to this new level of sound, one thing i did i switched from low gain to high gain, and to my surprise everything sounded grand, i thought low gain would be all i need for my hifiman se1000 as its an easy to drive headphone, but apparently high was a different experience, which led me to remove my for sale ad . I will do some fine tuning, i will buy phasure lush2 usb cable as i read its a great cable instead of my supra usb cable

listening to dead can dance -- song of the stars-- was an epic experience

That’s the spirit !

 

[Triode User]

well tested denon 9200 on tt2 sounds good


i think everyone is right its a matter of getting used to this new level of sound, one thing i did i switched from low gain to high gain, and to my surprise everything sounded grand, i thought low gain would be all i need for my hifiman se1000 as its an easy to drive headphone, but apparently high was a different experience, which led me to remove my for sale ad . I will do some fine tuning, i will buy phasure lush2 usb cable as i read its a great cable instead of my supra usb cable

listening to dead can dance -- song of the stars-- was an epic experience

I like just abut everything by Dead Can Dance

 

[JM1979]

i got the hugo ttv2 yesterday brand new , well i do not know if this needs burn in, as I find it a bit too detailed for my taste, with less body than I am used to, and when listening at bit high volume is not that pleasant, I liked the ifi idsd pro with ifi ican pro combo more. I hope this changes with burn in, I am using hugo ttv2 with hifiman 1000 SE and hifiman HE1000 V1.

I tried the warm filter and the difference it made was not noticeable, and of course buying the M Scaler is not something I will consider

not to add any more complexity to your situation but based on your feedback you might really like Chord Qutest.

 

[dawktah2]

well tested denon 9200 on tt2 sounds good


i think everyone is right its a matter of getting used to this new level of sound, one thing i did i switched from low gain to high gain, and to my surprise everything sounded grand, i thought low gain would be all i need for my hifiman se1000 as its an easy to drive headphone, but apparently high was a different experience, which led me to remove my for sale ad . I will do some fine tuning, i will buy phasure lush2 usb cable as i read its a great cable instead of my supra usb cable

listening to dead can dance -- song of the stars-- was an epic experience

One thing I'd suggest is lower your volume. I found TT2 to be so distortion free listened to it to too loud initially. Part of the brain burn in.

I'm -30 to -27 on high gain into Ether Flow

 

[Amberlamps]

well tested denon 9200 on tt2 sounds good


i think everyone is right its a matter of getting used to this new level of sound, one thing i did i switched from low gain to high gain, and to my surprise everything sounded grand, i thought low gain would be all i need for my hifiman se1000 as its an easy to drive headphone, but apparently high was a different experience, which led me to remove my for sale ad . I will do some fine tuning, i will buy phasure lush2 usb cable as i read its a great cable instead of my supra usb cable

listening to dead can dance -- song of the stars-- was an epic experience

I use HD800S and other headphones and Hi Gain is where it's at, from what I can remember, Lo Gain sounded flatter and lacked punch, but that test was from 1 year ago. Maybe I'm just remembering a total pile of schiit, as I take alot of excellent mind altering pills that makes me somewhat forgetful and feeling great at the same time.

Or my mind could just be one big purple haze, but since this is the end, I think I will turn the radio on and tune in to PBR Street Gang.

 

[supervisor]

I like just abut everything by Dead Can Dance

do you like their cultural appropriation

(i am kidding i love them)

 

[Christer]

not to add any more complexity to your situation but based on your feedback you might really like Chord Qutest.

Well imho, on its own the Qutest can also sound a bit harsh and digital, with for exampe the HEKV2 someone recommended with the TT2
Like TT2 and even DAVE imho ALL THREE need an MScaler to sound really good.
I can't really listen to RBCDs with my Qutest on its own without listening fatique for long.
But I can with the HMS connected and working at full 1m taps.
The few times I have acidentally had my HMS working on less than full 1M taps the difference has been immediately obvious to me both via headphones and speakers.
To me the difference is almost night and day big.

Unfortunately to get the best SQ out of any such combo one ALSO needs to upgrade the BNC cabling from the so so stock BNC, to a better isolated one.

I am still using a Qutest with an HMS and upgraded BNC cabling and with all but the worst strident overbright recordings I get a both quite realistic and naturally warm and resolved sound both via HEKV2 plus headphone amp or directly into my amp and my big electrostatic speakers and I am in no hurry to buy either TT2 or DAVE.

To my ears this combo sounds more realistic than either TT2 or even DAVE on their own, with material I can relate directly to how it sounded both LIVE in the hall and via master playback at sessions.
Regarding brain burn imho, any link, dac or whatever, that requires brain burn in, is a weak link.
If one's reference point is live acoustic music then there should NOT be any need for or resorting to brain burn in as explanation or excuse for deviations from that reference point imho.
Once again, good as they can sound on their own, for me at least, ALL Chord dacs need the HMS to sound their best.
Cheers CC