Qutest, Hugo TT2, Mscaler

Good for you, let us know how you get on… :grinning:

I think you will notice a big difference with the Etude with speaker grip relating dynamics, crescendos and bass impact… as well as musical timing with busy mixes.
Sure absolute transparency will be greater with the TT2 alone.

Also worth trying the SPDIF.

Hopefully… there aren’t masses of reviews available on the TToby & the Etude anyway and I haven’t seen one in a near field setup. I was tempted to get the TToby but I have concerns over the fan that it uses to keep it cool. Especially as I’m literally within 3 ft from it.

If it doesn’t fit the bill, the other areas for consideration are…

  1. Tellurium Q Silver Ultra speaker cables.
  2. Ultrarendu.
  3. Innous Phoenix.

I could even demo Wave cables but I am happy with the power bank setup for controlling that slight HF edginess.

I am using DX SPDIF physical connectors between mscalar and TT2.
I use a DC1 with radio engineering grade HF ferrites between NDX2 and Mscalar, Nick is also sending me some other leads of his to evaluate which I can try as an alternative to the Naim DC1 from my NDX2.
I have found keeping as much physical distance between NDX2 and mscalar and mscalar and TT2/DAVE preferable, with attention to cable dressing.

Yes, I know that you pay VERY close attention to these details …we are ALL OCD :wink:

I found the Wave SPDIF to have a very positive impact between my 210 and the M-Scaler.

Nick is a good chap. Did you chat to him about his eye watering Dave mods?

:joy: yeah… I’ve just moved mine back to it’s original shelf 30" below the DAC.

Of course… if the amp doesn’t suit the setup…that shelf under the TT2 needs filling with something!

I have just spent a few hours listening to my iPad as a source into the Mscaler/TT2. I was using the Camera connection kit and USB input, with the IPad running off it’s Internal battery. Result, quite good…I listened using the radio paradise App for a while, then switched over to the Onkyo player App.
The Onkyo App allows you to play high-res music, which definitely sounded better than Radio P.
While I save up for a new streamer, the IPad will work very well meantime. Stevie Ray, Tin Pan Alley in high res actually blew me away how good it sounds. Makes you wonder if I really need to spend big bucks on a streamer when the Mscaler and TT2 are doing the heavy lifting?

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I guess the answer will depend on whether you ask the streaming developer or the DAC people. Some interesting discussions/views surrounding the quality of signal required by the Chord DAC, ranging from not that critical (DAC) to the critical need to max out your source (Streamer perspective).
I’m certainly interested what gives the biggest gain, USB reclocker or MScaler ?

Interesting but the biggest single improvement into my m scaler/tt2 was an innuos server. Way better than Mac mini audirvana which was better than my iPad or Samsung

Well, when I moved from optical on the Aries G1 to the usb connection on the Roon Intel NUC which is in a fanless case it sounded quite good. Not as good but very good all the same. This is the USB cable that came with the M Scaler.

When I took the Wireworld Cat8 ethernet cable from the G1 and used it to connect the Nuc to the M scaler and the Chord Shawline power cable and put it on the Cisco switch it sounded even better. Quite close to the G1.

Adding the iFi Mercury USB cable, the iFi iPurifier 3 and the modified USB Y Spliter which takes the power for the USB connection from a clean power bank source rather than from the NUC, I ended up with a better sound. Improved bass, texture and detail with a deeper soundstage. The initial USB harshness has gone.

The important part I think is trying to create as clean as possible power source for each element in the source chain… do that it it really starts to level out the playing field.

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I recently decided to commit to one main source and sell on my turntable and associated boxes. Thought it might be useful to update on my findings for others following a similar path.

Chord TT2 replaced my Hugo 2. Was surprised by how much improvement there was. Dynamics, soundstage and clarity all improved. Wish I’d done it sooner.

Chord M Scaler, initially from my mac mini and audirvana. Improved clarity, timbre and lowered noise floor but didn’t have as much impact as I’d hoped.

Innuos Zenith mk3, brilliant device, wish I’d bought one years ago. Much more organic music, clearer and smoother. With Roon Iin experimental mode just superb.

Wave BNC cable, beautifully made with a lovely box but stiff and awkward to dress. Removed some of the digital noise and made the ,using flow easier. Very expensive though for what it is.

Innuos Phoenix, what a brill device. I’ve no idea how it works but do yourself a favour and go and buy one. Improved virtually everything, dynamics, clarity, soundstage. Music just sounds real. Its a joy to listen to. I added a chord usb cable at the same time.

Least bang for the buck in my system = M Scaler. Most bang, easily the Phoenix which is just wonderful.

Altogether they work brilliantly, this is undoubtedly my end stage source, but if I 2as starting again and didn’t want to spend quite as much I’d try the Hugo TT2, Innuos Zenith and that brilliant Pheonix which I reckon would give you 90+% for quite a lot less money.

All my own view of course and in my system, you may find otherwise.

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I have tried various sources, but the NDX2 transport is so far the most natural sounding… digital transport certainly seems critical with DACs, and Naim have got their streamers pretty much on the money with their digital outs.

I also used my iPad via its USB connector to drive Chord DACs and my AQ DACs… it’s not bad, but falls a long way short of quality transport obviously, but pleasantly surprised, and makes a good portable system, and with the AQ it can provide a full MQA decode… if you want…

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Yes, this was my experience when I was using a NUC a couple of years ago.

I’m using an Innuos Zen MK3 which initially I bought to replace a sick Unitiserve and to get Roon/Qobuz before it was added by Naim. It has turned out to be a very useful and flexible purchase, initially I had no intention to use it as a streamer, it is however performing well.
Currently looking at adding the Innuos Phoenix USB reclocker but difficult to demo as still thin on the ground, I will try my dealer again to see if he has any available. The MScaler is at least 3 weeks away thanks to lockdown.

@dayjay, thanks for the feedback, interesting and relevant to where I am just now.

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I agree Simon, switching back to my Core it was obviously better. I was just using the USB cable that came with the TT2, maybe a better cable and that IFI thingy would equal things, who knows.
What this does do though, is give me an option right now to use internet radio, which I do miss. Also, I will not rush into buying a lesser quality streamer, just to have one, and will keep saving for an end game unit…probably either Antipodes or DCS bridge.

Thx for the suggestion. Spent the afternoon swapping things around. Should have done some box shuffling sooner!

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Were you running Roon Rock as the OS? I’ve been very impressed with it so far. Very fast, silent, runs cool and small. Basically it is a Roon Nucleus… same insides just different case.

Did you use a LPS and what made you to try something else?

You have spent a lot of money on Innuos devices, but perhaps I would have tried a few SPDIF based streamers like the Naim ND5XS2 / NDX2 which are to my ears very musical sources when used with Chord DACs

I could never get streamers to sound exactly the same with Chord DACs they all sound different.

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I started off with Naim streamers and would have preferred to use one as they match my system and back then I wanted to stay within all Naim but I didn’t like them. Don’t like the sound without an external DAC, don’t want the vagaries of streaming via ethernet and I personally think the control software is dire. An NDX 2 with Roon has too much redundancy in my view and I’m not convinced it would improve on my Innuos. The cost of the zenith and phoenix is not dissimilar to the cost of an NDX2 but with the latter I would still need a nas and s fancy switch to provide a clean ethernet signal, the zenith has both built in, and perhaps a usb regen and power supply which the pheonix does brilliantly. Perhaps you should have tried the innuos route yourself? In my system I feel the Innuos route is a cheaper and better sounding alternative but if other have tried both options and prefer the Naim as a transport then I have no problem with that, each to their own

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