[GHOSTUK]

A question for Rob. Will future DAC products have a 12v trigger out? I would love TT3 to turn my Ultima 6 on and off automatically.

 

[macfan]

Has anyone heard about updates or new products that Chord may introduce at High End Munich coming on 5/9 to 5/12? I am not in an immediate rush so I can hold off and just wait and see.

Now, one personal concern I would have with the Weiss 501 is the possibility of using ESS DAC chips which has been suggested but I have not turned up in a spec sheet. I know the previous products I have used were based on Burr Brown offerings which I have always enjoyed but I have never taken to any product that ESS based for some reason. They always sound a bit harsh and grainy and perhaps a slight bit irritating and induce listening fatigue quickly. The AKM based design of Linn Katalyst and now the FPGA based design of Linn Organik have be winners for me. Warm, rich, full and inviting while retaining detail without having an overly hyped top end.

That being said due diligence requires me to at least take a serious look at the 501 as a DAC is not just the chip it is based on and Weiss is very well respected. I really like the form factor and look of the device. Nothing to due with sound quality but the vibe it puts off suits me very well.

The other thing that I find interesting is many reviews have qualifiers where the reviwer might say "while X is a great DAC it is not as good as the Dave or TT2". This suggests reviewers tend to use these Chord products as a benchmark.

 

[miketlse]

Has anyone heard about updates or new products that Chord may introduce at High End Munich coming on 5/9 to 5/12? I am not in an immediate rush so I can hold off and just wait and see.

Now, one personal concern I would have with the Weiss 501 is the possibility of using ESS DAC chips which has been suggested but I have not turned up in a spec sheet. I know the previous products I have used were based on Burr Brown offerings which I have always enjoyed but I have never taken to any product that ESS based for some reason. They always sound a bit harsh and grainy and perhaps a slight bit irritating and induce listening fatigue quickly. The AKM based design of Linn Katalyst and now the FPGA based design of Linn Organik have be winners for me. Warm, rich, full and inviting while retaining detail without having an overly hyped top end.

That being said due diligence requires me to at least take a serious look at the 501 as a DAC is not just the chip it is based on and Weiss is very well respected. I really like the form factor and look of the device. Nothing to due with sound quality but the vibe it puts off suits me very well.

The other thing that I find interesting is many reviews have qualifiers where the reviwer might say "while X is a great DAC it is not as good as the Dave or TT2". This suggests reviewers tend to use these Chord products as a benchmark.

During 2024 there have been several posts mentioning products that Chord were hoping to announce/show at Munich (or later this year), subject to the usual provisos that design/prototyping/initial production progressed as planned. Only Rob knows how many of those products have progressed enough to be available for the show.

For example:

• January brought this surprise announcement https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...o-one-talking-about-this.968152/post-17930290
• April news about the Quartet Scaler pre-production prototypes (plus the Ultima Dac prototype) https://www.head-fi.org/threads/watts-up.800264/post-1807743

 

[ChrisGB]

Now, one personal concern I would have with the Weiss 501 is the possibility of using ESS DAC chips which has been suggested but I have not turned up in a spec sheet. I know the previous products I have used were based on Burr Brown offerings which I have always enjoyed but I have never taken to any product that ESS based for some reason. They always sound a bit harsh and grainy and perhaps a slight bit irritating and induce listening fatigue quickly.

This has been my experience also, although I've not listened to many ESS based DACs. I've got a little Shanling M6 based on AKM and it is a very involving listen, especially at it's price point. I even preferred it to Mojo 2. (Sacrilege I know). It doesn't get a look in against Hugo 2 though!

 

[Uberding]

I suppose I can have a custom cable made that would use Chords guidelines for dual data coax to go from the dual BNC connectors in the M-Scaler to a single RCA to hit max sample rate in the Hugo 2

• Tip: signal 1
• Ring: signal 2
• Sleeve: ground

FYI:
https://www.moon-audio.com/black-mini-coax-hugo-2-hugo-m-scaler.html

 

[macfan]

@Uberding - Yes, thanks for that. I found the cable about 10 mins before your post. I have been speaking with the vendor about the rest of the kit so this will be a good source and I bookmarked it straight away.

It's sunny, 82 degrees F and 47% humidity - perfect outside and here I am doing audio research. I just took an audio comparison test on YouTube between the Hugo TT and Hugo 2. While it clearly can not be super accurate, for what was presented I did pick out the Hugo 2 consistently. So that is something to consider..

Hugo 2 + M-Scaler is looking like a good solution.

• The combo would provide the full desktop experience
• Hugo 2 for when I want to be mobile or even sit out on the screened in porch I am told I have - I knew that door went somewhere.
• M-Scaler would take on the heavy lifting.
• Downside is cable management is a bit awkward but manageable

Anyway more to come. Thanks foo all who have replied. Very appreciated

 

[dac64]

@Uberding ...

You may want to consider the below after your system has settled down:

https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/ac-dc-single-output-medical-enclosed-power-supply-msp--600--12

the difference is day and night.

I usually don't play with PS, cabling but since HMS is processing ton of 1/0s device, the HMS will benefit from big power.

I learnt this from computer audiophiles, and they used 1500W to power the USB hub between the computer and external HDD. In short, many 1500W were used in one computer audiophile system.

and they also said external traditional HDD is better than SSD.

etc... I would not go into the details, it's irrelevant and will take me a whole day

 

[dac64]

Btw, after owning a HMS for years, my experiences were:

1. The more sensitive the speakers is, the better. I believe hp is more sensitive than speakers.

2. A power supply did make a difference. Provided day and night, else stick to the stock.

E.g. I powered the Qutest with a 600W-5V, can't really tell much.

And upgrading the link between the HMS and Qutest to optical was not impactful than the 600W-12. Maybe those optical users may consider.

I've the 600W-15V too. Will try it after running in my 10 years old wireworld eclipse 6 speaker cable.

 

[GryphonGuy]

Has anyone heard about updates or new products that Chord may introduce at High End Munich coming on 5/9 to 5/12? I am not in an immediate rush so I can hold off and just wait and see.

Now, one personal concern I would have with the Weiss 501 is the possibility of using ESS DAC chips which has been suggested but I have not turned up in a spec sheet. I know the previous products I have used were based on Burr Brown offerings which I have always enjoyed but I have never taken to any product that ESS based for some reason. They always sound a bit harsh and grainy and perhaps a slight bit irritating and induce listening fatigue quickly. The AKM based design of Linn Katalyst and now the FPGA based design of Linn Organik have be winners for me. Warm, rich, full and inviting while retaining detail without having an overly hyped top end.

That being said due diligence requires me to at least take a serious look at the 501 as a DAC is not just the chip it is based on and Weiss is very well respected. I really like the form factor and look of the device. Nothing to due with sound quality but the vibe it puts off suits me very well.

The other thing that I find interesting is many reviews have qualifiers where the reviwer might say "while X is a great DAC it is not as good as the Dave or TT2". This suggests reviewers tend to use these Chord products as a benchmark.

I think Munich High end is in early May this year (2024) not between September and December as your numbers would indicate to me.

Chord is planning to release the Quartet Scaler at High End Munich this year. Not sure if that is within their supply-chain's power.

 

[Jawed]

A question for Rob. Will future DAC products have a 12v trigger out? I would love TT3 to turn my Ultima 6 on and off automatically.

I think it's a little embarrassing that Chord has 12V trigger capability but the DACs don't support that.

On the other hand, it would probably cause RF noise problems.

I think Naim has created an optical system for trigger automation with its newest range. Optical would be preferable on Chord gear. Not going to happen any time soon.

The other thing that I find interesting is many reviews have qualifiers where the reviwer might say "while X is a great DAC it is not as good as the Dave or TT2". This suggests reviewers tend to use these Chord products as a benchmark.

Yes there does tend to be a bias towards Chord DACs amongst reviewers. But these reviewers are often not that wide in their experience.

As time goes by, listening to non-Chord DACs I generally find the musicality just isn't there. There's a superficial impression of the music, but I only really hear it right at home with the big rig.

I will warn you though, if you get a DAVE you will have a lot of trouble getting the best out of it. I don't buy the idea that "you are rewarded for paying attention" to how you set it up and all the rest. It should be immune to set up. DAVE is a microscope for setup errors and you may spend years getting it right.

Whichever Chord DAC you start with or demo at home, feed it optical for your sanity (and reduced microscope effect). If there's no magic then Chord's not for you. If a dealer refuses to let you do optical in, then find another dealer.

Hugo M Scaler generally introduces severe problems for DAVE, it's very hard to set up the two without RF noise problems. In other words, a well set up DAVE will be upset when HMS is introduced, unless you're very careful.

I think Munich High end is in early May this year (2024) not between September and December as your numbers would indicate to me.

Chord is planning to release the Quartet Scaler at High End Munich this year. Not sure if that is within their supply-chain's power.

I suspect it'll be September or later before you'll be able to buy one. It's only just about going to be ready to introduce at Munich. The 2-chassis design is probably going to result in a lot of consistency woes for Chord as Chord has never built a single component of this split design before.

 

[thePhones]

The 2-chassis design is probably going to result in a lot of consistency woes for Chord as Chord has never built a single component of this split design before.

I don’t think so as the M Scaler-Dac combo is already way more complicated than an external psu.

Hugo M Scaler generally introduces severe problems for DAVE, it's very hard to set up the two without RF noise problems. In other words, a well set up DAVE will be upset when HMS is introduced, unless you're very careful.

In my opinion ferrites on the bnc cables are a must, other than that it depends on your external speaker amps if you need additional ferrites on the mains cables. Dave will of course show you if your other gear is good or not.

 

[miketlse]

I think Munich High end is in early May this year (2024) not between September and December as your numbers would indicate to me.

Chord is planning to release the Quartet Scaler at High End Munich this year. Not sure if that is within their supply-chain's power.

I think you are forgetting that not all owners, in all countries, use the same format as you for dates.

 

[macfan]

The dates cited for HIGH END Munich were the US format. This is 100% off topic and will be brief...

• US/ North America: 5/9/2024 to 5/12/2024
• Germany: 2024-05-09 to 2024-05-12 (which is what I typically use for databse queries and is the ISO format as well
• England: 09-05-2024 (which seems harder than the others but a number of EU countries seem to use this format)

While I am located in the US I do try to convert units of measurement and currancy when I remember to do so. Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

 

[macfan]

Oh I just thought this. Forthose who have purchased Hugo 2, Hugo TT2 and/or the M-Scaler did you get silver or black and wha are your thoughts on them. I am leaning toward silver for something a different but open to black as well. Just curious.

 

[markkr]

Oh I just thought this. Forthose who have purchased Hugo 2, Hugo TT2 and/or the M-Scaler did you get silver or black and wha are your thoughts on them. I am leaning toward silver for something a different but open to black as well. Just curious.

<There's a joke here but I'll resist.>

I like my gear to match as much as possible, so I went with black for both.