So, I bought a Chord Hugo TT2...now what?


Hello all!

Today, I ordered a Chord Hugo TT2 DAC from my local dealer...should be able to pick it up late next week.  It will be fed by a Bluesound Vault 2 that I'm using to stream Tidal and Qobuz, as well as play my ripped CD collection.  

As the TT2 is definitely several orders of magnitude better than the on-board DAC of the Vault, I now have a quandary regarding what my next upgrade step should be.  So, if you could only make one more upgrade, would you get the Chord M Scaler, which from everything I'm reading/hearing is the ideal pairing for the TT2 and takes it to near reference-class Dave levels?  Or, would you upgrade the streamer, since the TT2 is only as good as the files/data you're feeding it?

For reference, the rest of my system consists of Audio Research's LS7 line stage, PH3 phono stage and (2) D240MKII amps running as monoblocks.  Speakers are Kef Blade Twos (non-Meta versions) and my turntable is a Technics SL-1210GAE.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!

Arvin 

128x128arvincastro

@arvincastro I’ll add, looking at your system, depending on how much you are willing to spend on the next upgrade, your weak links are:

1. Preamp - the LS7 was a pretty good preamp back in its day. However current Audio Research line of preamps is amazing. They’re quiet, dynamic and transparent. Picking up LS28 will help you get the best out if your new DAC

2. Amps - pair the new preamp with a more modern amp, solid state or tube.

3. streamer - you can get away with your current one but use USB into Chord DAC. Let the Chord clock do most of the work. Eventually pick up a good streamer like Innuous or Aurender

I owned ARC LS-15, LS-16, LS-25, Ref1 and had on loan the latest Ref6. The Ref6 is dead quiet for a tubed pre and sounds incredible. You want smooth and big sound with those Kefs.
Just some thoughts…

 

I have the Zen MK 3 and I’ve kept my Node 2i, I really like the voicing (not the DAC) of the Node as an alternative to the Innuos both feed into my Denafrips T2 12 and both sound great. The Bluesound OS is good, overall it’s not as good a streamer as my Zen MK 3, but as I said I appreciate its voicing/sound, and I like it as an alternative streamer. I’ve got 2 nice CD transports, they each have their own sound signature, both very good so I kept both, I like sonic options I guess. 

I've owned most of the streamers mentioned here except Innous but my current streamer is an Antipodes CX which is the best I have tried so far. The CX is towards the bottom of the Antipodes range so I can only imagine how good their more expensive streamers are. Also the Antipodes customer service is second to none which can't be said for Aurender although their streamers are good.

As a "budget" idea to upgrade your current streamer, what about a DDC between your Vault and the Chord? It seems everyone who runs one, be it Singxer, Denafrips, Musician, etc., seems to hear a significant uptick in quality no matter the DAC.

Ambulance chasers are an untrustworthy subset of personal injury lawyers more focused on scamming victims out of money than getting justice in their cases.

What is the audio dealer equivalent?