Jump to content
IGNORED

Article: My Quest for a New DAC, Part 5: Chord Electronics Hugo M Scaler & Hugo TT 2


Recommended Posts

Thankfully, that setup is only temporary for audio nights (the civilians in the house are a patient lot, but not that patient ;)

 

We did not listen to the Omega/TT2 combo in near field so I can't answer directly (it's my buddy's TT2, alas, so I can't check right now).  However, the effect of the TT2 on the Omegas is very different than the effect of the DAVE over the TT2 though.  

 

The TT2 really extends the tonal range of the Omegas, and brings much more presence and relaxed sound.  It feels like a different speaker with the additional authority behind it.   We also have within our group First Watt F1J and F2J amps, and they both had a similar transformational impact on the Omega (hard to believe they are the same speaker as what we hear direct from Hugo2 and DAVE).  Unfortunately, even with the First Watt amps, you give up so much that incredible transparency that you get direct.  With TT2, you have an approximation of that "full'ish" range speaker effect with the Omegas, but retain all that amazing transparency and detail.  HMS obviously takes it to the next level, and the Voxativ Z bass driver makes it a no compromise full range speaker system that (for me) blows most conventional high end speaker rigs away (my previous speakers before going with direct driven speakers from Chord DACs were B&W 802d3's)

 

Interestingly, Voxativ drivers don't get that extra extension from either the First Watt amps or the TT2.  For them, the extra transparency and spatial detail (esp. depth and height dimensions) from the DAVE dominate the A/B comparisons.  Those differences are also there with the Omegas, but the lift from the TT2 is so profound, that that is a VERY easy tradeoff for me to make.  

 

Once you've had a DAVE for extended amount of time, you really notice when that amazing depth and height detail goes away.  For me, DAVE is still king (Rajiv's wallet was wise not to demo it ;), but the extra power and upgrade speed of the TT2 really brings something extra to the table for speakers like the Omegas.

 

 

ATT Fiber -> EdgeRouter X SFP -> Taiko Audio Extreme -> Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE w/ Level 2 DAC -> Voxativ 9.87 speakers w/ 4D drivers

Link to comment
4 minutes ago, spotforscott said:

Thanks @ray-dude , valuable insight. Based upon your observations, I doubt I will go forward with my planned Omega purchase because I do not want to add an amp to DAVE. I guess I will just stick with my Abyss headphones, maybe upgrade to new TC version. 

 

I would definitely recommend the Voxativ's then!  The Omegas ($2k) are amongst the best bargains in Audiophilia (and amazing and well worth having for near field if you have a situation that allows it), but the entry level Voxativ Zeth's ($7k) are pretty amazing direct from DAVE.

 

In normal circumstances, I have the Vox 9.87's for 2 channel, the Vox Zeth's are my rear surrounds, and the Omegas are in storage waiting until I have an office at work again (in a cube right now) so I can set them up near field.

ATT Fiber -> EdgeRouter X SFP -> Taiko Audio Extreme -> Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE w/ Level 2 DAC -> Voxativ 9.87 speakers w/ 4D drivers

Link to comment
  • 6 months later...

I have custom rca to female banana adapters that I use. If you want something for a quick experiment, Amazon has RCA to banana cables (cheap but good for seeing if the approach makes sense for you). 

 

I’ve found that DSD content Sounds pretty good with Chord DACs, but that mScaler elevates PCM content much higher still. Rob Watts has written about the reasons why, but I think it is less about DSD not sounding good (it is the best I’ve heard in my room) but PCM sounding astonishingly good when put through the mScaler. 
 

that being said, I haven’t auditioned PS Audio or other DACs that have a reputation for outstanding SQ with DSD, so I can’t comment on how well Chord DACs stack up. 

ATT Fiber -> EdgeRouter X SFP -> Taiko Audio Extreme -> Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE w/ Level 2 DAC -> Voxativ 9.87 speakers w/ 4D drivers

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...

Battery/power makes a surprising amount of positive impact.  For those going down the power/RFI rabbit hole with the HMS and Chord DACs, I spent WAY too much time on same earlier this year and wrote up my notes:

 

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/audiowise-opto•dx-optical-isolation-bridge-for-dual-spdif.23757/reviews#review-22155

 

(with apologies to Chris for linking off site...in retrospect, AS would have been a better forum for this sort of write up)

ATT Fiber -> EdgeRouter X SFP -> Taiko Audio Extreme -> Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE w/ Level 2 DAC -> Voxativ 9.87 speakers w/ 4D drivers

Link to comment

Ted, I concur that DSD does not have as much magic as PCM when going through Chord DACs.  With mScaler, the lift for PCM content is so profound, that the separation over DSD is amplified even more.

 

Rob has written many times about why he feels that's the case.  The gist is that it is not possible to to fully reconstruct the original source with DSD, and that with 1M taps with the mScaler, he's able to approximate the original source to more than 16 bits accuracy.  Net net: the magic of Rob's reconstruction strategy is much stronger for PCM content vs DSD content.

 

Does your current DAC support 768kHz content on USB?  If so, in HQP, give the new poly-sinc-long-lp PCM filter (no dither) a go.  For PCM content, this is a very good approximation of what I hear with mScaler in HMS.

 

I've not had a chance to listen to any summit-fi DSD-first DACs, so I can't say which strategy is better (in an absolute sense)

ATT Fiber -> EdgeRouter X SFP -> Taiko Audio Extreme -> Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE w/ Level 2 DAC -> Voxativ 9.87 speakers w/ 4D drivers

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...