Chords New M -Scaler

[kennyb123]

4 hours ago, mav52 said:

 

Its typical , yes the thread should be closed and the other topics taken up in their own thread. 

 

Hopefully there will be some relevant posts once the Hugo M-Scalers begin shipping.  I will be buying one at some point.  

[kennyb123]

For all my fiddling with software filters in both A+ and HQP, I never heard anything close to the step change I heard from Blu2/M-Scaler in front of DAVE.  I think we’re comparing apples to oranges as Rob has designed his DACs such that M-Scaler can improve upon all the existing strengths of his DACs.  I know there are DACs that responsd really well to HQP but I’ve not heard one myself.

 

I love what I’ve heard from the DAVE.  I’m fully on board with where Rob Watts is going because to my ears he’s doing something very special.  I know that many feel the same about what HQP brings to the game.  It’s great that we have choices!

[kennyb123]

Just now, mansr said:

Have you tried the test files I made using various different filters?

 

I did not as I assumed these were upsampled beyond the max sample rate of my Hugo TT, which is like 384 kHz.  If that’s not the case, I will try them.

 

(and yes, I will have to first upgrade my DAC before getting an M-Scaler)

[kennyb123]

17 minutes ago, mansr said:

They are 705.6 kHz. You mentioned the DAVE, so I thought maybe you had one.

 

I wish.  A good friend has one.  He’s been a bad influence.  ?

 

I appreciate you making those files available.  I wish I could play them.

 

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a Mojo for portable use.  Maybe I should use this as a justification.  ? 

[kennyb123]

14 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

Almost all non-Chord DACs could only accept 192kHz via (single) coaxial BNC / RCA inputs. As a result, we're only able to utilize 0.25 million taps instead of 1 million. Maybe not worth all that money?

 

 

My Hugo TT accepts up to 384kHz via a single coaxial BNC.  But you could be right that most other DACs only go up to 192kHz via coaxial BNC.

 

A very nice improvement can be heard from just the half-million taps.   I'm expecting a bigger bump though after my TT2 finally arrives.

 

[kennyb123]

On 3/19/2019 at 9:52 PM, Crustacean said:

Great to hear that you're getting such an improvement at 384kHz.

 

(snip)

 

I'd still be curious if anyone has thoughts about the maximum BNC cable length that would be advisable running out of the M-Scaler.

 

I'm surprised that the Hugo TT has responded so well to the HMS at a half million taps.  All the improvements reported at a million taps are present here too.  I think I've been most amazed with the improvement to bass articulation and tone.

 

As far as BNC cable length, I believe the standard specifies a max length of 10m.  But your best bet is to post to the HMS thread on HeadFi on the with a callout to Rob Watts.  He's good about answering questions there.  

 

HMS thread:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hugo-m-scaler-by-chord-electronics-the-official-thread.885042

 

[kennyb123]

I’ve had my HMS for a little over a month and a half.  My opinion of it has evolved since it landed.  

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I was impressed with the improvements I heard when I first connected it to my Hugo TT using the OEM BNC cable that Chord provided.  The improvements from the WTA filter at a half million taps were easy to hear and made my music more enjoyable to listen to.  

But did I think the improvements I first heard justified the amount I paid for the HMS?  I didn’t really consider that question initially because I was anticipating the soon arrival of a Hugo TT 2.   The TT2, with its dual BNC input, would allow me to hear the HMS scaling up to a million taps.  There were many who reported that the big leap comes when making that jump.  I think my answer to the question as to whether the HMS justified the price at that point would have been "TBD".

 

But then news came that my TT2 would be delayed, as Chord was having trouble meeting demand. My TT was going to be with me longer than expected, so I stared thinking about making another planned move sooner.  There were many who reported hearing greater than expected improvements from upgrading BNC cables, so I figured I’d delve into this while I still had the TT.  

 

The first BNC cable I tried was a preowned Stereovox HDXV, which I had purchased from an Audiogon seller.  This cable had at one time retailed for $100.  Many years ago I had used the predecessor to this, the Illuminati, which was a very well-regarded cable back in its day, so I was optimistic that I’d hear good things from the HDXV.  Well, it would be an understatement to say that the HDXV exceeded my expectations.  I’m pretty sure that I’ve never heard a cable at this price point bring about such a big level of improvement.  If I would have been asked at this point whether the HMS justified the price I paid, my answer at this point would have been “it might come close to justifying it's price, even when only tapping into a half-million taps, but a better digital cable must be used”.

 

6Moons reviewed the HDXV very favorably back in 2003 and had this to say about it "The [HDXV] remained steadfast in the face of truly challenging material and showed itself to excel in the realm of retrieving minutiae.”  That’s what I heard too.  To be able to fully appreciate what the HMS brings to the table, I believe it’s critically important to use a BNC cable that can pass on all the goodness coming from the HMS.  The OEM cable that Chord provides is not even close to being able to do that, in my humble opinion (at least not when scaling to only a half-million taps).

 

The HDXV did not remain in my system very long.  I’ve been super-impressed with the bang-for-the-buck I’ve gotten from the Shunyata Alpha series, so I just had to hear what would happen were I to use their Alpha S/PDIF cable between the HMS and the TT.  I’m using an Alpha USB upstream of the HMS, so I figured the Alpha S/PDIF would compliment it very well.  My dealer was able to arrange to have a cable sent to me last Friday.  It arrived on Saturday, and roughly within an hour I told my dealer that there was no way that cable was ever going to be leaving my house.  HMS plus the Alpha S/PDIF have brought about the biggest step change from any upgrade I’ve made to my digital source.  Given their combined price, one would hope that would be the case - and it most certainly was.  If you were to ask me at this point whether the HMS justified the price, my answer would be “hell f’n yes - it’s a game changer when used with cabling that’s up the task, even when only tapping into a half-million taps."

 

As impressed as I am with the HMS, I think I may even be more impressed with my Chord Hugo TT.  It’s truly stunning how much its performance was able to scale with the HMS.  I can now honestly say that I’m in no rush to receive my TT2.  What I’m hearing now already far exceeds what I thought was possible to achieve - especially from 16/44.1 files.  Chord is really on a roll right now - and I'm a very happy customer.

[kennyb123]

11 minutes ago, incus said:

 Great to get this feedback from the front lines as I await my HMS and TT2 combo as well. Thank you. Could you perhaps describe in a little more detail what the Shunyata brought to the table, besides "minutiae" (which I assume means detail retrieval?)? What is the "goodness" you are hearing, if you don't mind sharing? It would be very helpful to me personally as I contemplate which BNC cables to get for my combo. Cheers (Also has your dealer given you a firm date for the TT2 to arrive?)

 

First off, no firm date yet on the TT2.  Apparently Chord has still not fulfilled some orders placed in Nov/Dec.

 

I'll respond to your question about the Shunyata products later.