Qutest, Hugo TT2, Mscaler

It is probably worth doing out of curiosity - nothing to lose other than the cost of the adaptors, which you could probably recover in part on eBay afterwards (otherwise cheaper if you can solder a plug yourself). You never know, it might be so good that if you don’t have analoge inputs you might choose to sell the SN2 and put the money towards an MScaler…!

1 Like

I agree, having lived with the TT2 driving speakers for six months, I really think Toonartist will be surprised how good it sounds. I checked the specs on his PMC’s, and it should work very well, especially since he listens nearfield. Make sure you get the proper adapters though, headfi forum has lots of info on that.

1 Like

I actually made my own cables to run speakers off my TT2’s (XLR) outputs. I used a pair of Oyaide XLR’s I had laying around, and some spare speaker wire I once used for surround speakers. I cut the end of the XLR off, stripped the appropriate wires back, and soldered them together. Very primitive looking, but sound fantastic, and completely changed my opinion about expensive cables…they are not needed. I once owned a full loom of Superlumina cables, including speaker cables, I now use the same type of generic cables between my Nagra and Peak consults.

Will check it out. I see flashback was mentioned there… they linked to a a pair for 34.99.

So, you’ve been using the TT2 direct into speakers for 6 months now… no amp at all?

In the UK you’d be looking at about £6750 for both an M Scaler and TT2.

I was up until about two months ago, I got back into Vinyl, so needed analog inputs.

Well, order a pair of adapters from Flashback… so I’ll be able to try it out.

I have some vinyl but no TT and no space for one in the office. I don’t know whether I’d be brave enough to sell on the SN2 even if I liked it… well, at least not until I had ran it for a few months without issue.

Anyway, certainly worth a try for a few £.

Edit… I’ll probably have a couple of setup questions when they arrive if that’s ok!

Sure thing, what I did before I got my Mscaler and TT2 was go to the Chord Electronics website and download the PDF file of their respective owners manual. It helps you get familiar with all the connections, buttons and features ahead of receiving the unit.

2 Likes

Another write up/update

Tried BNC from nds to mscaler vs USB out on the zenith mk3, I preferred the USB from the zenith sounded cleaner signal than the BNC via a sarum t cable and for me is good as i couldn’t afford to hold onto the nds/xps dr. Wondering if reason was because the usb method of track playback is being preloaded to ram. Not sure to be honest but definately sounds cleaner.

Tried the tt2 in pre-amp mode and initial thoughts are not keen at all vs the 282/hicap dr combo. The latter sounds much better to my ears, recognise cable quality different but sounds more enclosed soundstage and lost a bit of that naim boogie factor.

Finally did another A/B demo of tt2/mscaler vs NDS and again no change in my opinion from earlier post. HiRes playback tt2 combo has marginal more detail than nds and a more natural voice/instrument sound with a fraction less digital harshness. And as before 16bit flac playback the tt2 combo is significantly better so much I need an mscaler in my life now.

Am looking forward to the DAVE arriving on tue…

2 Likes

I’ve also been driving my Marten Duke 2’s directly from the TT2 and it’s been very enjoyable, but within a performance envelope. I have noticed that if I want some extra oomph, the TT2 does struggle to keep control. I’d suggest that with average sensitivity speakers at ‘normal’ listening levels you are likely to be satisfied, but if you push harder or have a large room to fill, TT2 on its own may not do the job. Definitely worth trying though as it will almost certainly be better than you expect.

On a related note, I have also been experimenting with my Mscaler as since having my ears cleared it isn’t sounding very pleasant at all. I did leave it for a few days as I thought it was just a matter of brain training, but it’s really sounding quite harsh and brittle, which isn’t the general consensus at all. In experimenting today, the TT2 alone is sounding sublime, but with the Mscaler, not so good.

I know about potential RFI issues and I am using Wave BNC’s so that shouldn’t be the cause.

My current theory is related to my initial comments re control over the speakers and the introduction of the Mscaler demands greater control and I don’t think the TT2 alone can provide what the Duke’s need. When I auditioned the TT2/Mscaler back in January, there wasn’t any hint of what I’m now hearing, but this was using an amplifier (SN3/YBA/Chord).

I hope to have a new amplifier next week and then I expect normal service to be resumed.

I agree - I have never found a Naim NAP sounding its best when not being coupled and driven by a NAC… it just doesn’t sound like a Naim…

I dont suppose you have Roon do you? It has a scaler in it that you can use to feed DACs - it uses an IIR approach with adjustable phase characteristics as opposed to the M Scaler FIR approach.
I have found it quite beneficial on the TT2 little bother, the Hugo 2.

1 Like

Exactly what I found, at low volume the TT2 is hard to beat, but if you want to feel the impact of music at high volumes, best to go with a proper amp. I live in an apartment building, so most of my listening is at lower volume.

My SN2 rarely gets past 9pm on the dial !

I do use roon Simon via my innuos not tried the scaler what/where do you access it? Assume by pressing the speaker button

It’s the sample rate conversion option for the selected device.
Speaker -> DSP

1 Like

I did try the ‘experimental mode’ yesterday evening - it was relatively simple to reconfigure the Zen Mini III, my main system end-point (Allo Digione Sig, running MoOde), and the roon settings to see these as LMS-related devices. It took a couple of cycles to get the sequence right so roon would run correctly.

On an initial quick listen to a couple of demanding hi-res tracks I reckon this was marginally better SQ & dynamic range than ‘normal’ roon (RAAT) output, but certainly not as good as setting the Zen Mini to UPNP mode (or using other ‘servers’ on the network for UPNP, ) and playing ‘directly’ via MoOde (controlled via mConnectHD - which .btw also enables Qobuz for Moode)).

The downside of the LMS approach is that my other main roon endpoints (Naim Atom & Qb2) do not accept LMS streams, and although I could add in RPi or other bridge devices to circumvent that limitation, it isn’t a path I wish to follow, for now at least - it does pick up the Squeezebox in my bedroom though !

Zone grouping for multiroom within roon is limited to devices with similar processing (RAAT, or LMS, or Sonos, or …), and grouped multiroom is a feature I use constantly.

So for daytime I will continue to use Naim multiroom (2 devices) or roon multiroom (3 devices processing RAAT), and switch to ‘MoOde/UPNP’ or my (semi-redundant) turntable for evening listening in the main system. This switchover can be easily controlled from web browser on iPad or PC/mac.

A useful trial nonetheless and I will try it again when I have more time. It is possible that a higher-level Innuous, such as a Zenith III with better internal power supply to the Intel board, may well provide a different outcome.

1 Like

One step closer… just need the TT2 to arrive now! Shouldn’t be long :grinning:

Cables feel well made with good parts!

2 Likes

Should be good for near-field listening from the TT2 -:slight_smile:

The TT2 has arrived… just finishing up my work for today and the play will commence… bigger than I was expecting somehow.

If it is the same or better directly into the speakers… an mscaler could easily follow … we’ll see though. Need To test it against all genres that I listen to etc before I can make a final decision! Should be fun though!

2 Likes

Enjoy! I look forward to hearing your impressions.

1 Like