Page 55 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

REVIEW

A Few Taps

More

Chord Electronics release a unique product – M Scaler. It's a one-million tap digital filter
that transforms CD, they say. Noel Keywood listens.

o celebrate producing a produce better sound! one optical via a TOSLINK socket,
one million tap digital filter To clarify the purpose of for connection to an external DAC.
Chord Electronics have this product, it is to get the very This can be any DAC, not just one
released M Scaler. M Scaler best from CD, by first scaling up from Chord Electronics – if with
isn’t a product you’ll find sample rate from the low 44.1kHz limitations I’ll explain later. For Hugo
Telsewhere, even though – necessary in 1982 when Philips TT2 and other Chord Electronics
upscaling is not a new idea. However, and Sony were developing CD – to products there is also a Dual BNC
M Scaler doesn’t just upscale, it also 705.6kHz that will run on today’s (DBNC) output pair that outputs at
possesses a Watts Transient Aligned silicon. Then the stream is passed the full 768kHz sample rate.
(WTA) filter in its most advanced through the WTA filter and on to an Input wise, there are two
ever state because of those mile- array of outputs. There are standard electrical BNC socket inputs, two
stone one million taps. That’s what S/PDIF digital outputs in the form of TOSLINK opticals and one galvan-
you pay £3495 for. And trust it will one electrical via a BNC socket, and ically isolated USB for connection

www.hi-fiworld.co.uk JANUARY 2020 HI-FI WORLD 55