Page 56 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

REVIEW

but Chord Electronics disarmingly
indicate in a chart within M Scaler’s
handbook that there’s no sound
quality improvement, except when
blue (x2) is selected (why white also
at x2 gives no improvement I have no
idea).
To summarise simply, M Scaler
works best with CD and 48kHz
sample rate files, with output taken
from the DBNC socket-pair to a
Chord Electronics DAC with DBNC
input.
Queried about the special
DBNC connection, Rob Watts
told me it is an AES S/PDIF
dual-mono mode with
changes to the data
bits to flag this status.
DBNC does not
bypass all Hugo TT2’s
filters by the way; the
first of three stages is
bypassed, the second two stages
remain active.
Like Hugo TT2, build and finish of
M Scaler is impressive, its case
being machined from solid
at a sample rate alloy, making it wonderfully
that suits such DACs, strong and with superb
meaning you can’t input contours and detailing. Case
24/96 hi-res and upscale dimension are 235mm wide,
Under the cover – another x16 to a sizzling 1.5MHz 236mm deep and 40.5mm
cover! This one with non- ‘cos there’s no DAC out high, with weight of 2.55kgs.
removable screws to shield there able to take it – and Power is supplied by
from prying eyes, as well as cables become an issue too. the same Chinese external
provide further RF screening. Consequently, with a 96kHz switch-mode power supply
At front in a line are the acrylic input M Scaler upscales x8 block used with Hugo TT2,
spheres that act as illuminated to 768kHz max, but only delivering 15V at a high 4A
through its DBNC output
through a cable 335cms
switches.
sockets to feed Chord (11ft) long in total.
Electronics products like There is a video mode
to a computer. Both a front panel Hugo TT2 with a matching that reduces filter time
spherical button (2nd from left) or DBNC input. The single delay (0.6secs) so speech
the remote control can be used BNC outlet for other synchronises with the
to step between inputs, the button DACs is limited to 384kHz picture, achieving this by
changing colour to show selection. under all conditions so as reducing the number of filter
Output sample rate is set by an to suit both their DAC chips and taps.
illuminated spherical button third-in commercial interconnect cables. The USB input did not accept
from left. Lit red the unit is set to I mention cables because optical DSD from my MacBook Pro laptop
running Audirvana, that is packaged as
"Like Hugo TT2, build and finish DoP code. It may accept native DSD
from a PC, but you can’t get a Mac to
of M Scaler is impressive" do this. M Scaler is about improving
PCM, not reproducing DSD.
bypass, then with CD x2 upsample TOSLINK cables barely work past SOUND QUALITY
to 88.2kHz is green, x4 to 176.4kHz 96kHz, not just because of internal I used M Scaler mainly with CD
is blue and max upscale of x16 to losses and low bandwidth of the delivered in optically from our Oppo
705.6kHz is white. Now on to practi- cheap plastic optical conductor, but BDP-205D Universal player acting
calities. also because of imprecise termination as a CD transport. Unsurprisingly
M Scaler as a real world product in TOSLINK sockets – wiggle ‘em perhaps, it does not change the
must feed external commercial DACs at high sample rates and see what sound of Hugo TT2 so much as
and at present most DAC chips work happens! So the optical output of M magnify it to a degree that was eye
up to but not higher than 768kHz; Scaler is restricted to 192kHz for popping. With Nils Lofgren’s Keith
older designs 352.8kHz. So whatever entirely practical reasons. The data Don’t Go the sound stage became
goes into M Scaler must come out still passes through the WTA filter even larger and more densely
56 HI-FI WORLD JANUARY 2020 www.hi-fiworld.co.uk