Qutest, Hugo TT2, Mscaler

I don’t know if it’s me, but I didn’t like a few of the hi-end headphones I tried so far… they feel uncomfortable, and the sound is quite different to my Dynaudio speakers… and I prefer my speakers.

maybe … I am just too used to speakers now.

Speakers and headphones are different…
However just like speakers are sensitive to you and your room, headphones appear very sensitive to how you hear sound… there is no room colouration to get in the way… the reward is a truly immersive experience where you can really feel the performance as if the SPDIF lead is plugged into your brain, but at a cost of trial and error with phones until you find one that matches or closely matches your hearing … especially in high end phones. You might not have found phones that match your hearing,

With headphones I can hear more of the craft and not just the music… and that is superb to me.
In concerts noticing the microphone type/mic amp/compressor the lead singer is using just makes it come alive… no I can’t do product types I am not that good… but there is so much more sub text in recordings that I just could not access with speakers… the right headphones provide this with no or minimal artificiality … hearing detail without it being enhanced with HF information or sparkle is a novel experience and is breath of fresh air to me in home audio replay and is transformational in reality, presence and feel.

However there is a big BUT… are these recordings mixed and mastered to that resolution… no I don’t think so… so you are hearing aspects and imperfection that haven’t been noticed by the mix/production engineer… for me though this is as part of the craft as the musicians.

Do headphones replace speakers entirely? No… you can’t really do background listening with headphones… and it’s certainly hard to share music replay experience with friends and family

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Glad to hear you are enjoying the Mscaler/TT2 Simon, I also find High gain to be much better. Rob says low gain is more transparent, but I prefer the drive and fullness that high gain gives me. Are you going to get an adapter to try driving speakers direct? I urge you to try this, it will change your thoughts about preamps needed in the chain.:wink:

Well, this is ridiculous amounts of fun.

LG TV, optical out acting as Openhome endpoint, controlled by Kazoo.
Bubbleupnp
Prestige II server or Qobuz

Hugo TT > CB NAP140
NAC A5
First generation Wharfedale Diamonds

I have never done nearfield listening, now I get why some people love this!

In due course I will add a better quality source.

M

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well deposit gone in on the DAVE and dropping in SARUM cable for T upgrade/RCA conversion this sat, now the waiting bit for it to arrive commences… quoting 2 weeks but saw simons comments as took a bit longer

cannot wait TBH, feels like xmas come early not suprised the wife yet with the good news sure she’ll be over the moon of my latest blowout :flushed:

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I’m sure she’ll be fine with spending £850 on a Dave DAC…

<! – first rule of audio purchases… delete the last digit from the cost and that’s the actual price paid when notifying the better half :laughing: – >

Brave man… :rofl: :rofl:

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How are you getting on with the loan TT2 / M Scaler. Still testing it out or have you now returned it?

Still listening to it… am enjoying it… inevitably now taking for granted.

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Same here… I think, do I really need it and then trying switching it off… after a couple of tracks it’s back on again! Mind you, the TT2 on it’s own is really good but the M Scaler is just the icing on the cake I guess.

Toonartist, you need to post the link to your speaker cable adapters again, so Simon can try this.

Here it is… Link

Do the job nicely and seem well made… only £35.

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Hoping to have a play with a TT2 in the near future. Could someone just check my understanding is correct please?

In AMP mode I could either…bypass my 282 and connect it directly to my 200 or alternatively I could bypass both my 282 and 200 and connect it directly to my speakers (Allaes)

Assuming that’s correct could someone tell me what cables I would need for both scenarios please?

Also is the TT2 really powerful enough to drive Allaes, is there some guidance on what type/sensitivity of speakers can be driven and what can’t or is trial and error?

Many thx

In Amp mode you can either go straight to speakers using the cables I’ve linked to in the post above yours (XLR - Female Speaker Plugs) . Provided they are sensitive enough and not too big a room.

Or, using the pre-amp in the TT2 to feed the power amp. I’m not sure of the cable you’d use (I was using a SN2 rather than Pre/Power previously), @ChrisSU has confirmed a 2 x RCA to 4 pin DIN cable is needed.

I was using a HiLine with a custom made adapter to connect the DAC end. 2xRCA and 1x Female 5pin Din. I think Flashbacksales make these as well, which might be a good idea rather than committing too much money on a new cable if you can use an adapter on an existing one?!?

I’m currently running a pair of PMC Twenty5 22 which are 89db (1w 1m) with 8ohms impedance. These go plenty load in a 3.5x3m room using a 4ft near field listening setup.

The Allaes I think are 6 ohms impedance and 88db (1w 1m). So, I guess it will very much depend on the size of the room and how loud you play. I rarely have the TT2 volume higher than -10db in High Gain mode. It has a max of +22 I think. I wouldn’t want to run it at +7db or more for long periods of time. It does warn you if it gets too hot but I’ve never had that appear once, even in this hotter weather.

Mind you, for £35 for the adapters it isn’t the end of the world if it doesn’t work out and if it doesn’t, you’ve always go the option to go from TT2 to the Power amp.

Thanks Toonartist, very helpful

I take it those speaker cables are specifically wired for high output (pin2/3)…how do you determine if you want the high output or low output of the Chord Amp to start with?

In the TT2 menu, you can pick either Low or High gain.

I have tried cables that give you the choice of using pins 1 & 2 but found it to be not as dynamic… flattish in comparison to 2 & 3. In the end, I bought the linked set that use 2 & 3. Keeps things simple and avoids errors (never use pins 1 & 3 together).

You can use both Low and High Gain with pins 2 & 3.

To start with, set it to Low Gain to check out the volume min, max and that everything works ok. Reduce the volume and then set to High Gain and repeat the process of finding your typical volume.

As a few people have noted above, High Gain does soon better so that’s what your aiming for… using Low Gain to begin with is just for safety checks really.

If you have to use high volumes (+6db or more), you’ll need to keep an eye on the temperature. I sat a little temp gauge on the DAC and it never went over 30c… from what I’ve read, people get temps of 40c with hard to run headphones. Not sure what the max is but 30c would appear well within safe zone… felt quite warm to touch but never hot.

If your DAC starts getting very hot to the touch, or, a warning comes up on the TT2 screen, you need to be using the Power Amp.

Ok thanks. Does using Low Gain with pins 2 & 3 effectively produce the same result as using Low Gain with pins 1 & 2?

I doubled checked the Allaes and they are 6 ohms impedance and 89db (2.83V @ 1m) which I’m guessing means they need a bit more power to drive in say comparison to the PMCs.

My room is 3.75 x 3.6 metres (not including small bay window) and I do generally like to play things loud (10 - 11 O’clock on my 282) so I probably will need the High Gain settings anyway?

From memory, Low Gain you loose a bit of mph to the sound… Pins 1 & 2 is the same so the two combined might not sound the best. I hadn’t tried that combination as I quickly found High Gain to offer the most engaging sound.

I’d be very surprised if you didn’t opt for High Gain.

When I was using the SN2 & HiCap, I often had the sound at 9pm… probably a little more at times. So, probably well worth a try for your self.

If you do give it a shot, let the cables run in for a good 24-48hrs. When I first migrated to using speakers direct, I thought the bass a bit thin but when I actually compared the two systems, the actual lowest bass and highest highs were more or less the same. What changed was a lifting of the mids… a little less congested. But, the sound certainly improved after the cables (adapters) had ran in for a few days.

It is likely something you’ll either enjoy because of the extra detail and transparency… or, you’ll find lacking if you favour heavier bass lines. But, for £35 it is a very interesting experiment and within a few days I knew that was what I was looking for.

For yourself, you’ll be able to experiment for relatively little cash the following

Transport + TT2 + Pre + Power
Transport + TT2 + Power
Transport + TT2

There’s no wright or wrong way… just give it time to experiment and find out which combination suits you based on room, speakers and ears. And of course… a couple of beers or glasses of wine!

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Thanks, yes I’ll give those options a try

Chord Update

Qutest + Sbooster/Ultra
Continuing to be highly enjoyable, musical and detailed.

MScaler now en-route from Signals.

Hugo TT
I can’t believe how good this is fed by the optical out from my LG TV, output vi NAP 140 & ooooold Wharfedale Diamonds.

Never done nearfield listening before. After twenty minutes warm up for the 140 it is excellent.

Hugo TT + Sennheider HD250 Linear II
As much fun as the nearfield, but different. The bass is deeper and better controlled, not that the nearfield system is a slouch.

The Hugo TT with my traded in Audio Note dac cost me a few hundred, and I think it is great. Makes my office much more fun to be in!

M

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