Qutest, Hugo TT2, Mscaler

Yes, that is very much on my ToDo list.

M

In my head, I want it to give good options now while also being future proof enough to benefit from future tech (to a degree) but, not getting too crazy complicated. Simple job then :woozy_face:

Would be interested in knowing whether those of you running a TT 2 into an amp are using hi gain or lo gain and why? Can’t make my mind up at present

I use Hi Gain, it feels a bit more dynamic, although that could be related to volume matching. I also read somewhere Lo Gain introduces an additional resistor so in theory, might not be as transparent as Hi mode.

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Thanks, I sometimes think lo gain sounds a bit more open with slightly broader sound stage but hi gain sounds more dynamic

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Hi gain here… I’ve tried Low a couple of times but with a power bank on the M Scaler it sounded more dynamic in Higain.

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Do you mean “power amp”, dayjay ?

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Yes, power amp

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I think there is an extra resistor in the low gain signal path compared to the high gain… not much in it… but apparently therefore the higain is the most transparent and clean… but only a single resistor in it… but also shows you don’t need much to change the sonic characteristic …

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I have my TT2 running into an Etude now. I used hi gain for my NAP250.2 as it needed a bit more oomph (lacking in clever audio nomenclature). Where now, using the Etude, I prefer (for the time being) low gain. It felt a bit forced with the hi gain. But I imagine there are a lot of factors depending on your system synergy that will come into play. So take what I say with a grain of salt.

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It’s almost as annoying as moving your speakers after you’ve had a pint. Really struggling to make my mind up. Gonna leave it alone for a few weeks and just enjoy the music, to be fair it sounds great both ways just slightly different

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I might have to give it a go again… mines been in high gain since I used the TT2 to drive speakers directly.

Oh no… been there. I’ve started marking my starting point as I would move them and then decide I preferred it where they were and couldn’t find out where they started :woozy_face:

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That’s exactly what I’ve done, glad it’s not just me :grin:

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I used high gain in amp mode when driving speakers directly. Now I use low gain in DAC mode, connected to my integrated. I have read on head-fi that some guys use AMP mode, even when using the TT2 as a DAC only. They say it sounds better because you can give yourself more usable volume on the Integrated. I may give it a try out of curiosity, since it is the same signal path in AMP or DAC mode. The only difference is that DAC mode is a fixed level, where with AMP mode you can adjust it.

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I used to do that with both my Hugo’s into Naim amps. Always found the DAC output to be a bit hot for Naim and I could attenuate it in amp mode.

I also use Amp mode as DAC mode into my Norma only gives about 5% usable range on the volume dial, even in Lo Gain. Amp mode allows me to set an output that provides a proper range on the volume dial.
I’ve also used it to fine tune the best level into the amp. Not sure that the difference is real, but I always seem to end up on the same level out of the TT2 after experimenting with different levels, which suggests to me there is an optimum output level for the amplifier.

I guess my system must be sounding good…
I was listening to Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz track on the Pearl album rather loudly… where Janis is singing un plugged and unaccompanied … Mrs SinS darted into the listening room looking concerned wondering who was in the house singing…
:joy::joy::joy:

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It must be damaging to your ears for the sound leakage from your Empyreans to have been loud enough for your wife to think there was a person in the room singing! :rofl:

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Hi Flachead
I have just switched over to AMP mode on my TT2. I have it set to -10 on low gain, which gives me more usable volume on my Nagra integrated. I am curious what volume you have yours set at?
When I was using DAC mode, I rarely went past 9 o’clock on the Nagra volume, and now I am at about 10 o’clock for normal listening. I can even turn it up to 12 o’clock to play LOUD. I don’t really notice any difference in the sound, just more usable range on the volume dial.
This is a plus, because at low volume (late night), it was hard to adjust in fine increments…highly recommended.
The only negative I see is now I have to be careful not to bump the volume on the TT2 accidentally.

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Interesting, mine is quite different at -33 in Hi Gain. This gives me a real world usable range up to about 12 and moves into really loud at around 2. I actually quite fancied -10 as the TT2 sphere at that level is blue and would match other lights in the system. However, -33 is always the one I return to after trying higher and lower levels as in my system it creates the best overall balance.

I’ve also tried only using the TT2 volume control i.e. turning the amp volume to max and TT2 to min and increasing volume by increasing the TT2 level. The theory is that having full volume on the main amp offers the cleanest signal path. I didn’t spend too much time with this as whilst it may have been a bit better, it’s very nervous stuff having the amp volume at max. The TT2 sometimes has a static click type noise if I skip quickly through tracks of different resolutions and that click wasn’t attenuated so I have abandoned this approach for now.

I bought an integrated amp because I thought I would need the flexibility but turns out I don’t, so switching to just a power amp might make more sense.