Love the M-Scaler and TT2 combo. Watching RU-vid on my Mac and then sending signals to my Silent Angel Rhein Z1 Plus Roon server to M-Scaler makes sounds enjoyable.
The only thing about hqplayer, it is just such a fuss. Not for a desktop/headphone situation, but in a clean living room situation. And don’t forget, with the higher hqplayer filters (quite some power too). But I agree hqplayer can sound good as welll.
That was a fantastically accurate description of exactly what I think I'm hearing on my recently added M Scaler. You described it perfectly....I'm still acclimatising to the sound but already consider that it's the best I've ever heard some of my familiar tunes. looking forward to watching some of your other vids 👍
I was at the Toronto Audiofest yesterday ( Saturday) ..not much in headphones and IEM’s….though the few that were there were into IFI products as their amplifier/ DAC chain. This is a true gilding if the proverbial lily. Thank you .
Thanks so much for this. If you are still offering a more in-depth vlog about this item, I’d definitely like to watch it. Or in general a vlog about how DACs work, what upsampling is and pre-ring, transients etc. I still can’t get my head around it properly, so any explanations would be appreciated. Thanks for all your vlogs.
I demo’d the M-Scaler with the Qutest. I didn’t hear a lot of difference and it made me realise that I am happy with the Qutest alone. Enjoy your equipment, you don’t need to keep looking for the next “thing” to improve your sound.
I own the qutest, difference was smaller. On the tt2 however, the change is dramatic, if the rest of your equipment is up for it. And up to it, I mean the amplifier, speakers. And that saying the tt2 is already better than the qutest. Even with my hifiman planars arya and 1000se it was. Noticeble
Very excited for the coral M scaler as well. I just got the Dave back in three days ago I’m going to do a different aspect of a review for this product as a standalone device, I love it
@ConvinceMeAudio that's so awesome. Many people I know rewatch your videos many times as they have a nice aspect of relaxation/ASMR to them. Looking forward to that video for sure. If you end up having time to discuss the Dave's HF on vs off and Crossfeed specifically with headphones/Susvaras, I think you would have the only video on internet to talk about it. Have a good one! Love your channel! P.s. Chord / Rob ConvinceMe convinced me to buy a Dave! Thank you @convincemeaudio
I have people recommended that I must put the M-Scaler away from the TT2 instead of stacking them together, they claimed a huge improvement in sound and reduced noise. Others suggested I add the SRC-DX and the OPTO-DX. Anyone with experience and expertise to share?
Good info, Debating adding this to my Chord Qutest, strange he mentioned he only thought it was worth it adding to the TT2 though. I love the Qutest and it should make a huge improvement in theory. Or would that money be better spent swapping the Qutest for the TT2 I wonder? I have a Simaudio Moon 230HAD headphone amp currently in line with my Qutest
Do not buy this for lesser DATs TT2 Dave will serve, you much better appraised into the DAC, rather than getting this for the Hue go to I have the Hugo two with a 2go here, right now, it’s basically a cutest, and I’ve tried it with a M scaler no go It’s definitely improves it, but at TT2 by itself will beat that combo. LOL
@@ConvinceMeAudio thank for the info, that’s what I was wondering. So now that gives me an upgrade plan that makes the most sense. Is the TT2 good enough on its own without adding an additional amplifier (im only using it for headphones)
@@hurstnova350 if you don’t have SUS, you’re fine LOL definitely I love it it’s one of my favourite units, if the worst comes to the worst get an adapter made and go out of the taps at the back
"Who is it for?" People who haven't heard of the HQPlayer 😉 But seriously, though, I can see the appeal of it if one's already got a high-end Chord product, like the TT2 or the Dave. They surely work superbly together, akin to Apple's ecosystem - a comparison you've briefly mentioned as well. I'd love to hear you review both the HQPlayer and the MScaler; however, it would be hard to believe that the conclusion would be different than that the HQPlayer is not only waaaay cheaper but it also allows one to configure their sound however they want - so it's objectively better on every front, except if one is after a plug-and-play device with a particular filter in it, designed and chosen by Chord (as opposed to having the freedom to experiment). However, I have another question - what's the actual audible difference between Roon's upsampling and the MScaler? I absolutely appreciate that from the technical point of view only the HQPlayer can match (and exceed) Chord's algorithms' complexity; however, when I put my Gustard X26 Pro in NOS mode (in which its internal filters are bypassed) and feed it signal upsampled by Roon - I am experiencing the exact same things that you (and many others) have heard the MScaler do. So, naturally, I'm wondering if Roon's built-in upsampling pretty much does the same job (at least for non-Chord DACs) as the MScaler, or at least one that is close enough not to worry about the differences.
I agree with what you are saying, it’s the plug and play nature which is appealing to me. Plugging it in to TT2 or Dave is an apple-sque experience in my view. I use my Mac and multiple iOS devices to listen to my music and think this fits in to the chain more naturally than an HQPlayer which arguably more powerful has a learning curve which doesn’t appeal to me. And with Hq you are limited to a powerful PC to listen to your music.
@@suhaib1249 I think the last point you made is a misconception because not much power at all (in PC terms) is needed to do PCM upsampling, including using as complex a filter as the MScaler's (it's the DSD upsampling that requires a beast of a PC) but apart from that I get what you're saying 👍
I will conduct a thorough test during the Op sampling review where I will put HQ player vs roon native, audervana in conjunction with the M scaler As you can appreciate this analysis and review will be rather complicated and in-depth, so it will be a little while yet. I have 30 reviews on the desk when I get back to the UK, I’m currently away on a break. But I will get around to it, most likely around the same time as the May KT review
This is correct, DSD is a hungry beast, but I currently use 2 million taps, I think in fact it might be 4 million I need to check the settings again, with Apple M1
@@ConvinceMeAudio I surely lack the technical expertise to appreciate what's going on here, but I can't help but wonder - what's the appeal of DSD conversion and upsampling? I'm aware of the super-high bitrate that it utilises and the sophisticated noise-shaping techniques/algorithms used - but it seems to me that this only serves to solve problems created by the PCM to DSD conversion in the first place, namely - the creation of vast amounts of additional noise which needs to be filtered out. I guess it would make sense to do this if one's DAC handled DSD much better than PCM, but as far as I know that doesn't seem to be the case with the most popular (including very expensive) DACs. So why go to all the trouble (and electricity consumption) of doing DSD upsampling as opposed to PCM upsampling? Perhaps I'm missing something here.
@@ConvinceMeAudio no sweat, it would just have been for the entertainment value. I have a mojo2, but I don't think I would swing my credit card to buy an M scaler for it, but it would be fun to hear about the results
Hi again, ok just to clarify a point, the Chord Anni runs warm to hot , with TT2, what is tbe way it dissipates heat as i dont see any venting for heat generated inheadphones usage
Apologies, I’ve not had that unit in for review yet for a thorough testing, so I can’t be sure, but the advice I would give is try not to stack it with other units and see how that goes
I think he's pretty much answered that question by reporting what he's hearing and how big the differences are 😉 Please don't be guided by what ASR say - according to them my Topping D90 and Gustard X26 Pro sound identical which even my non-audiophile partner can easily confirm to be false.
I saw ASR along with a number of other reviews before demoing the Mscaler with the TT2. I honestly think Amir’s review does a disservice to the capabilities of this product. That said I understand his vibe is to look very critically into audio equipment, he caters to an audience of similarly critical objectivists and it’s more of an ideological perspective than anything else. I demoed the Mscaler knowing about its ‘problems’ with producing jitter and I had used HQPlayer with my TT2 for about a year. The reason why I opted to keep my purchase of the MScaler and not return it within the 7 day testing window is largely captured in CMA’s review. I cannot overstate the improvements are subtle, but the differences they make to the listening experience are undeniable.. think less fatigue.. think more relaxing into the music. And on that final note, the last thing I want to do at the end of a long day, is mess about with HQPlayer to get it working on one of my endpoints.. which I routinely had to.
@@johnspy12345 Thanks for that info. Can you please elaborate if, once you get it to work, the HQPlayer provides the same/similar improvements to sound as the MScaler does in your system?
@@MistaLova-Lova both PGGB and HQPlayer made an audible improvement to the stock TT2, and there are plenty of features to tweak. Having it on the same PC as the one you are working on is a problem though, browsing the web simultaneously will cause digital artefacts, even pauses in your music. I suggest having a read of AudioBacon’s writeup for a comprehensive review of the MScaler vs HQPlayer. As he also explores which settings on HQPlayer gets you closest to the MScaler.
Sorry but this is such BS. I have the m scalar on the TT2. It’s not instant instant, can’t live without it, another level. Yet another fake incentivised review.
I can tell you for a fact that this is not incentivised in any way. I know Koji personally and can assure you he has no affiliation with Chord. All Chord products he has reviewed so far have been from his telegram community. Please be respectful even if you don’t agree with a view before hurling baseless accusations.
@@suhaib1249 so it's not a loan machine for which a positive review garners more loan machines, more views, more revenue, more loan machines, more views, a virtuous circle of revenue generation?? if you're really honest and step back, you'll see this reviewing industry is a very long way from being neutral and truly objective.
Says the individual who prowls through reviews LOL hilarious Unless you’re specifically looking for somebody to bolster up your bias? You’re not gonna find that here.
TT2? It’s super pub, but this video is like three years old now, almost and there has been quite a lot of new DAC released. Specially when you add them both together with the M scaler in the 10k region, but I think this was the most expensive DAC set up years ago I had 😉 funny how times change
