I was just going back and forth with the Dave and MC1 and am hearing a couple other things now. I also matched the volume this time with a pink noise track. Using the Dave in preamp mode and setting to -8 dB matched the output of the Bricasti.
I was using this track:
It’s not the best recording as there’s some distortion in the male vocals but it seems to be a nice track for testing depth. There’s percussion and vocals in different positions horizontally and some are further away while others are closer in. I was playing this track on the two dacs, into the serene KTE, into the Tyrs, and into the Final D8KPLE which I have on demo and could hear differences in the presentation of the stage.
The Bricasti has more of an intimate vocal presentation and sometimes I’m having a harder time distinguishing the depth and layering of things. On the Dave, the depth is clearer, but I also found it to push the vocals further away. I’m sure this is due to the better presentation of depth but I prefer an intimate vocal presentation so I like the Bricasti best when it comes to vocals. I think the Bricasti stages wider but it doesn’t feel as 3D in it’s presentation (by 3D I mean a balance between width and depth of sound). When going from Dave to Bricasti and focusing on the vocals I heard them move forward but also further away left and right. Going back to the Dave and the vocals came more towards the center but were pushed further away (deeper) from me.
I also have tested the Dave with a few PGGB tracks. It was a mix of 384 nd 768 kHz files upsampled using the latest PGGB release. I couldn’t hear a difference. Apparently PGGB does something with volume levelling and the PGGB tracks were a bit quieter but I couldn’t hear any meaningful difference of sound quality to want to live only with PGGB files. I still haven’t tried HQPlayer yet.
I think it scales the voltage so it does well with planars (I remember Rob speaking to this in one of his interviews. It may have been Marcello’s last interview with Rob).
I have both a Mojo and Mojo 2. The OG Mojo blew me away when I hooked up an S12, listening to some Limp Bizkit. Mojo 2 is great, particularly with Timeless. Crossfeed is good, again with Timeless. Not tried to run any serious cans off it. Didn’t like HD560s on it. Not tried the EQ either.
I think it lacks some refinement for the bigger boys like Aeon 2 Noire / Diana v2, but it’s a decent pairing for the Thieaudio Clair or super low impedance dynamics like the Sonorous III, just received the Focal Radiance after Wavetheory’s praise and it seems like decent combo as well, but personally I wouldn’t buy anything above that for the Mojo 2, it does have its limits imo. What I mean by refinement I think it makes the treble on the Noire too splashy and the mids on the Diana v2 too shouty/nasal which isn’t the case on my desktop setup (I don’t think it’s fair to compare, but I don’t get the same level of detail on the 'jo either)
On an unrelated note tried the Andromeda 2022 (not audible hiss) but wasn’t a huge fan, the EST drivers of the Clair were superior and the flat bass lacked engagement vs the DD bass, upper mids sucked out, etc., just not a huge fan of all-BA setups, maybe a better source would’ve helped a bit but def. prefer the Clair over it either way.
Borrowed Chord HUGO TT2 in da’ house and enjoying IEM’s that have not been touched in years w/ this. I at one point owned a Qutest and this reminds me how much i miss the little bugger. I enjoy the Chord house sound and it’s unique look and controls, yes even the roller ball volume
I currently own the Soekris 2541. I’m curious about trying some of the Chords products. Was thinking of trying the Qutest since the price is more approachable. I watched some reviews about the TT2 and I have a grasp of how it sounds. Interested in opinions coming from here.
Saw a listing on Headfi for 3100$ seems another buyer is going to meet the seller this weekend, if not I’m the second in line. If I get it I plan to pair it with Holo Red and v550 as a DAC only.
The Chord TT was on loan to me from @Camus
I’m a fan but personally would use it as a one and done unit if I were so inclined or capable of having only 1 piece.
@Alfredo3001 also on the TT2, absolutely loved it on my IEM’s. Mine are not the very expensive ones but I do enjoy them for short sessions. The TT2 using the red filter, (personal preference) is damned fine amp for IEM’s. Noise free, great resolution and a clean set up. Also I happen to enjoy the build, lights and buttons🤗
Has anyone tried, does TT2 significantly benefit from feeding through DDC?
I`m currently using PC as a source, directly to TT2 via Supra Excalibur USB.
From my recent experiments, even switching to a more low-tech PC laptop provides a slightly cleaner BG and better layer separation.
That makes me though that DDC should be even more beneficial (I don’t have spare PCI-Ex slots in PC, to use fancy USB cards like Jcat)
Any thoughts?
As for DDC, I`m currently considering UpTone ISO REGEN via USB or Singxer SU6 via BNC.
I haven’t tried the TT2, but the Dave does, it’s a MUCH better DAC from a quality AES source, to the point I think a lot of the improvement from the MScaler is just isolation.
Yes, the TT2 used to be my travel stack along with the m-scaler and when it’s plugged directly to from computer via USB it was the worst of all the digital inputs, despite the galvanic isolation stated on the specs.
Got the Sinxger SU-6, being fed from PC via USB and then BNC to TT2.
It’s indeed a night/day difference compared to straight PC-USB.
The depth of stage, layering and separation is in another league now.
However, it’s also bring serious thining in bass section, turning sound into lean-bright and sometimes doing really awkward/aritifical instruments placement.
Are these drawbacks specific to SU-6, or are they a “general tendency” of adding DDC into the chain?
Also, is the M scaler doing something similar with sound?
(I tried various HQplayer`s presets with TT2 alone and feel it’s mostly impacting stage size and sharpness of the sound, thus making easier to pinpoint things in space)
