[OCC7N]

I have connected to the TT2, the CD player (Bryston BCD-1 CD player) simultaneously from its digital outputs,
a) optical output, with Wire world SUPERNOVA™ 7 Toslink Optical (STO) cable
b) Coaxial output, with Ecosse cable The Director MD2 SE

and with a click of the remote control I change between the different inputs, Opt1 or Bnc1, where I can hear the two types of cables bringing the digital signal, and really the difference is minimal (because they are 16bit x 44.1 khz files only)
although the optic sounds slightly better defined and more transparent

Im very sensitive in general and the smallest thing in sound can overwhelm me.

(Like the moment I am experiencing right now with Diablo the elite psu(before stock and also ipower x) on comfortable lowlevel listening mode….WOW!)

So Im into this, I have made my mind up this headfi shhhit has become a sport for me.

 

[zappazappazappa]

Problem is I have a good clock on my JCAT (OCXO) I want to make use of this by only a straight conversion from usb to coax and optical.

@smutnyjoe I love the USB, as my desktop chain is right now, but I have not tried the optical. Im just curious

I use Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 which allows conversion from USB to optical/coax and HDMI (for use with some P S Audio DAC's). I prefer USB from my windows 10 PC (J River Music Player29) converted to optical (Atlas Mavros glass fibre) or coax (Snake River Audio Boomslang) with a slight preference for the latter. Admittedly I have not experimented with any high end USB cables such as the Sablon, which some think gives great results.
The Matrix can be powered by the USB output (which I use) or you can experiment with a PSU of your choice.

 

[OCC7N]

I use Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 which allows conversion from USB to optical/coax and HDMI (for use with some P S Audio DAC's). I prefer USB from my windows 10 PC (J River Music Player29) converted to optical (Atlas Mavros glass fibre) or coax (Snake River Audio Boomslang) with a slight preference for the latter. Admittedly I have not experimented with any high end USB cables such as the Sablon, which some think gives great results.
The Matrix can be powered by the USB output (which I use) or you can experiment with a PSU of your choice.

But how would that affect my jcat who already have a better clock/OCXO? Will the femto just "bypass" to optical, without degradation?

 

[smutnyjoe]

Maybe I just use a good streamer (ifi zen stream) and a good USB cable and therefore, the differences between various sources in my case are just too little to hear

 

[OCC7N]

Maybe I just use a good streamer (ifi zen stream) and a good USB cable and therefore, the differences between various sources in my case are just too little to hear

My streamer is my pc(desktop chain) which I have built totally passive. I am not complaining about this chain, because its good, but if I could ad a conversion to optical and try it, it could just be the end of that curiosity.

Desktop chain: iFi Powerstation -> [iFi DC Blocker -> PC -> JCAT XE USB -> USBtoOPT] -> TT2/OPT -> [FT Flux-50 NCF -> HE-9 LE]

 

[zappazappazappa]

But how would that affect my jcat who already have a better clock/OCXO? Will the femto just "bypass" to optical, without degradation?

Just looked at the Matrix manual and it looks like whatever USB output signal is received is processed by the Matrix's own clock. Had a look online at your JCAT, which costs 800 Euros, to upgrade the performance of your standard USB output. I guess most USB/optical convertors are designed to upgrade the standard USB output not one, such as your JCAT, which is already upgraded!

 

[Mbarbieri]

Well I spent so so so many hours just figuring out bout if I will like cross feed

Well I tried using cross feed on number 2, and it was just not natural to me, listening to cross feed especially the placement of the vocals in the beginning of the song Amnesia by dead can dance, the vocals felt as if not being part of the song and just strange . I am sorry if my terms used are not that accurate, so listen to that song and evaluate it yourself to understand what I am talking bout

If you like try, the song Amnesia by dead can dance from the same titled album. So I will not for now use cross feed but I will use filter 3 ( warm ) . My headphones which are Hifiman He1000SE are very revealing to smallest things like that. Actually using cross feed really caused ear fatigue to me compared to no cross feed

Maybe we should send @Rob Watts a better headphone than his Aeon , I will keep my opinion bout that headphone to myself, but wow Hugo tt2 as a dac/amp is just amazing no need for my ifi ican pro to be in the chain at all. I think the benefit of using cross feed will depend on the headphone that you have, a great headphone as Hifiman HE1000SE which has amazing imaging does not need any cross feed.

The tests I am busy now with are all those filters in HQ Player, as I still can not for sure determine if I like up-sampling or not using HQ Player

For me, Hugo 2 and TT2 with Shure KSE1200, crossfeed zero actually improves soundstage. Crossfeed 3 is a bit too much and fatiguing. Sometimes I use 1 or 2. The filters are hard to notice the difference. It seems that filter 3 (warm) sounds warmer because I know they should (placebo effect). I sometimes use crossfeed 3 when playing on speakers (pair of B&W 805 D4) - it added more punch to them, more bass, sounds tighter.

 

[OCC7N]

Just looked at the Matrix manual and it looks like whatever USB output signal is received is processed by the Matrix's own clock. Had a look online at your JCAT, which costs 800 Euros, to upgrade the performance of your standard USB output. I guess most USB/optical convertors are designed to upgrade the standard USB output not one, such as your JCAT, which is already upgraded!

http://www.cypeurope.com/store/store/app/product/AU-D6-192/USB-Digital-Audio-Converter-192KHz24-bit

This looks interesting. Bus powered which means it will be powered by jcat and the new LPSU I will buy soon because Im usin the Elite for diablo from now on.

 

[Mbarbieri]

I was curious about the warranty confusion. I’m sure (I think!!!) that the TT2 warranty is three years but the general warranty statement on their web site says, in part:

“The length of the warranty can be found on each product’s partnering webpage. Typically for accessories, it is 30 days, one year for portable products, three years for transportable products and five years for desktop and full-size components. This is in addition to your statutory rights.”

The Chord TT is called a transportable but the TT2 is called a tabletop (as opposed to desktop) in the product descriptions. I think tabletop is close enough to desktop so I can readily understand the obvious confusion. The materials that come with the TT2 state it is a three year warranty.

So, call 1-800-Lawyers; our staff is anxiously awaiting your call….

You can just send the serial numbers to Chord (by email) and they will answer you back.

 

[alxw0w]

Maybe I just use a good streamer (ifi zen stream) and a good USB cable and therefore, the differences between various sources in my case are just too little to hear

Could be, I haven't tried ifi zen, also remember to disconnect USB cable (or other electrical input) while comparing with optical. As it's mostly noise/RFI what is causing differences.

 

[opienor]

To add to the source discussion I went from a Bluesound Node 2i to an Auralic Aries G1 and was really surprised how big of an improvement it was. I would actually compare it to adding the M Scaler to the TT2. I still have the Node and compare them from time to time and there is no doubt there is an improvement in soundstage and clarity/openness. I find no difference going between optical and USB on the G1.
And just to be clear I had pretty much made my mind up that there was no way source could impact SQ except for maybe noise, but I wanted to be sure just in case.

 

[rocketron]

To add to the source discussion I went from a Bluesound Node 2i to an Auralic Aries G1 and was really surprised how big of an improvement it was. I would actually compare it to adding the M Scaler to the TT2. I still have the Node and compare them from time to time and there is no doubt there is an improvement in soundstage and clarity/openness. I find no difference going between optical and USB on the G1.
And just to be clear I had pretty much made my mind up that there was no way source could impact SQ except for maybe noise, but I wanted to be sure just in case.

Totally agree with you.
Auralic Aries G1 is a very good source.
I did the exact same comparison.
Optical VS Coax.

 

[Interceptor]

Totally agree with you.
Auralic Aries G1 is a very good source.
I did the exact same comparison.
Optical VS Coax.

Aries G2.1 to TT2 here.
I prefer the CoAx - using a Studio Connections Black Star SPDIF.
My Aries G2.1 has the Stefan Hoer-Wege upgraded power supply which is a good VFM upgrade. Stefan has reviewed a number of the Auralic products, including interconnect methods, on his website and is very easy to deal with.

 

[OCC7N]

About the Optical and clock thing. I actually see reviews where the matrix spdif2 is used on jcat usb xe.

Clocks:
Maybe FEMTO(matrix) does not degrade the performance of JCAT(OCXO) ?

Qoute: Link
“
My final configuration was:

JCAT USB XE (Powered by Teddy Pardo, 5v @ 3A - qutest set to 2v output so as not to overload)
1st USB port: Sablon USB -> Matrix Audio x-spdif 2 -> Altas Mavros Optical -> qutest
2nd USB port: 5v power to the qutest via micro-usb cable

This configuration is really stunning. The sound opens up, noise floor drops and there's a lot more snap - but it all has to be top class gear otherwise the magic is lost (the only compromise that can be made is the toslink cable - a cheaper glass one would probably be fine). But think about it, you've got a top class linear power supply, then feeding the JCAT which has a further set of LT3045 linear regulators - so effectively the x-spdif 2 and the qutest are now receiving double regulated power which everyone talks about in such high regard.
“

 

[801evan]

About the Optical and clock thing. I actually see reviews where the matrix spdif2 is used on jcat usb xe.

Clocks:
Maybe FEMTO(matrix) does not degrade the performance of JCAT(OCXO) ?

Qoute: Link
“
My final configuration was:

JCAT USB XE (Powered by Teddy Pardo, 5v @ 3A - qutest set to 2v output so as not to overload)
1st USB port: Sablon USB -> Matrix Audio x-spdif 2 -> Altas Mavros Optical -> qutest
2nd USB port: 5v power to the qutest via micro-usb cable

This configuration is really stunning. The sound opens up, noise floor drops and there's a lot more snap - but it all has to be top class gear otherwise the magic is lost (the only compromise that can be made is the toslink cable - a cheaper glass one would probably be fine). But think about it, you've got a top class linear power supply, then feeding the JCAT which has a further set of LT3045 linear regulators - so effectively the x-spdif 2 and the qutest are now receiving double regulated power which everyone talks about in such high regard.
“

If I understood this right, and the xspdif 2 improved the performance of the jcat that has ocxo, that just means the xspdif 2 has better power. What he should have done is feed the ocxo with better power. BUT since Chord products have weak USB performance what he's hearing is the sonic improvement of doing USB bypass by going toslink. If only there's a jcat toslink spdif card, it would solve a lot of issues.