Qutest, Hugo TT2, Mscaler

That is where I am at, blue. I thought Rob Watts recommended low gain, for more transparency, which is why I use it. The only reason I used high gain was direct driving speakers, to get more power. I also use a turntable, and now the volume pot on the Nagra is about the same for both sources. I very rarely use headphones at home, since I use them a lot at work (AirPods Pro).

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It’s been a little while since I played around with the levels and in the meantime have tweaked a fair bit, added a Niagara, AQ Blizzard, Stillpoints and recently a Curious USB. I might have another play see if low gain brings any benefits with the all the tweaks in place.

It was the other way around… with ‘Hi gain’ there is a more direct signal path. If you search on headfi you can find his comment on this. In low gain a resistive attenuator is added.

Indeed my listening experience bore this out … especially with high end headphones.

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Thanks for correcting me Simon. I am now on -15 on high gain, which is kind of a greenish blue.

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So, I was all set to buy a new network transport (SOTM SMS-200 or OpticalRendu) but in the last 24hours have managed to get my Cambridge CXN V1 to support 24/192 playback with a new ROON end point that’s just been released called rooUPnP.

I now have £1500 burning a hole in my pocket that needs spending. Options I’m thinking are:

  1. Sell Qutest and get a TT2
  2. Keep the Qutest, add another £1k and get a TT2 (then add an Mscaler later in year)
  3. Used Hicap DR for my SN3 + linear power supply for Qutest
  4. Stick with original plan
  5. Buy a used NDX (keep the Qutest) and make the rack look consistent :slight_smile:
  6. Other

Current kit is ROON NUC > rooUPnP > Cambridge CXN V1 > Qutest > SN3 > WitchHat Phantoms > Neat IOTA Alphas

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Wait for a used MScaler to pop up later in the year.

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If you use headphones (or thinking about it) then the TT2 would be a very good option.

You may want to think about where you want to go, with regards to Chord gear. A few of us have moved to Chord for power amps straight from DACS. If this is something that may interest you then a HiCap DR may not be the best move, just one additional item to move on. Unless you buy it second hand so selling won’t leave you out of pocket.

If a Chord amp is not a consideration and neither are headphones then a LPS for the Qutest, something like the SBooster… I believe @MrUnderhill found that one particularly good for the Qutest. The rest f the funds could them go towards an M Scaler in the future.

I’ve recently bought an OpticalRendu and it is extremely good. However, I’d add that while it is good with a SMPS it really comes to life with a LPS.

You’ll need to think about what feeds it. If you have a Cisco 2960 switch it may well have a SFP option to it. You just need to buy the right compatible module. I did this initially but for some reason I experience a few dropouts so looked elsewhere. I found a big improvement using a StarTech Gigabit FMC (ET91000SFP2). But, this doesn’t work on the Cisco (ethernet) as the Cisco ethernet on the 2960 is not gigabit.

I bought a Startech FMC with a StarTech Cisco GLC-SX-MM (SFPGLCSXMMST) along with a Cisco Meraki 8 Port Switch (GS110-8) thinking I’d use either the FMC from the router or the Cisco Meraki’s SFP modules but in the end found the best results were combining the two with the a 12v Keces P3 LPS for the Cisco and using a spare Uptone LPS 1.2 on the FMC.

So… the cost of the OpticalRendu isn’t the only thing to consider if you go down this route. It’s an extremely good streamer and I’m very happy with it and you can upgrade it in stages. My money would be on the LPS for the Qutest first and possibly either the OR or MScaler second depending on how you see future amplifiers.

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That would be my recommendation.

SBooster + SBooster Ultra II works VERY well with the Qutest.

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Many older 2960 uplink ports including those with an SFP option support gigabit for fibre and twisted pair, even if the main switch ports are limited to fast Ethernet.
You just need to ensure you have the correct SFP transceiver for your switch.

I did’t have a ethernet SFP module so I didn’t use the SFP from the Cisco into the StarTech FMC. Wouldn’t work at all from the ethernet ports.

With the Cisco SFP module to the OR I was getting dropouts every now and again so didn’t fancy investing more in that switch… but, very happy with the SQ uplift from the new Cisco switch and StarTech FMC though.

Yes Indeed the Mscaler is the best option

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That sounds like a fibre format mis match… or using too short a fibre length.
Of course if you had logged into the 2960 it would tell you what the issue was. :grinning:

Lol… don’t even go there. I’ve had issues getting the console cable to work/ play nicely with my Mac. Complete PITA. I’ve spent what seems like hours with terminal trying to get them to talk to one another without any joy!

I’m using a 10m run of optical cable (LC/UPC - LC/UPC Duplex).

Edit… just to add, the SFP module I’m using now with the StarTech FMC was also used in the 2960.

Hmm strange the serial link has always been straight forward here, I use a cheap usb to serial converter… the Mac is a little fussy so I use one with the FTDI chipset in and ensure the correct drivers are loaded in the Mac…
Alternatively unless very old you can set up with Ethernet as well.

I took a 1 metre OM1 optical cable from the Cisco 2960, using a Cisco (eBay clone) SFP module, straight into the Orendu then to TT2 I had. With a Ciunas Audio LPSU on the ORendu - sounded good but I traded around and ended up with a NDX2, XPS-DR & Hugo2 along with DC1 and Hi-Line for my front-end - on the premise that Naim longevity and compatibility would be a longer term solution.

Yes, having one with the FTDI chipset in it would be the best option… Not sure my networking skills are up to setting it up via Ethernet :joy:

The Cisco Meraki has been a doddle to set up with the IOS app and it now manages the audio VLAN with minimal fuss. I do need to update the router and wifi next. Most likely it’ll be a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ER-6P with separate WiFi units covering the house and out buildings.

@T-elmi For myself, I won’t be going back to a Naim streamer as that’s where I started from about a year ago. With the optical network setup nicely now, it sounds extremely good…a lot better than the ND5 XS2 and Aries G1 I had. It’s going into the M Scaler at the moment but I will check out how it sounds going into the TT2 directly as well.

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Interesting write up over on AudioBacon, HQPlayer -vs- HMS.

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Are you able to see what I’m doing? :joy:

I was reading that very article… partly due to the fact I was playing around with the HQPlayer part of the OpticalRendu. I’ve found HQPlayer from a MacBook Pro over an optical network to the OpticalRendu then the TT2 to be very good. I very much appreciated that review for the optimal settings (last page).

I’m able to set up HQPlayer on the laptop and leave it running in a different room and control it from the iPad.

Can HQplayer be set up on a Windows Laptop?
Toonartist, do you feel that the HQPlayer equals the Mscaler?

Yes, it can be used on windows. When I was downloading it, options were there for Windows, Mac and Linux.

To early to say so far but, I found headphones really benefit from the M Scaler… it’s very noticeable, more so than with speakers. And, today when I was playing with HQPlayer with headphones I didn’t find myself missing the M Scaler. There are differences between settings, some sound very good… some not so good, well, bad really. But the good ones do sound very good.

I intend to play around with it over the weekend. Would I replace my M Scaler?!? Not sure about that but certainly food for thought.

Edit, just to say it really does compliment the OR. That is very revealing streamer and the HQPlayer settings really make it shine. The complete lack of network noise (or USB noise from direct connection) is a bonus.

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