Chord HUGO M SCALER

CHORD ELECTRONICS recently presented the HUGO M SCALER, which now makes the upscaling technology introduced with the BLU 2 CD drive available as a stand-alone device. Based on the WTA filter technology developed by Rob Watts, which has already made CHORD D / A converters world famous, the HUGO M SCALER uses a high-performance FPGA chip to analyze and record digital music signals even before D / A conversion to scale a higher sampling frequency. For example, the standard CD resolution of 44.1 kHz is increased to 16 times the resolution of 705.6 kHz. The sampling frequencies of 48 or 96 kHz, which are common in the download area, are even scaled up to 768 kHz.

The HUGO M SCALER then makes the processed signal available to compatible D / A converters, such as the DAVE reference converter, the compact QUTEST or the likewise new HUGO TT 2, via a dual data output designed as a double BNC connection the HUGO TT 2 and the matching TTOBY stereo power amplifier, the HUGO M SCALER is a very compact, but extremely powerful system

HUGO M SCALER at a glance:

• FPGA chip XILINX XC7A200T with 740 DSP cores
• WTA filter with 1,015,808 taps
• Upscaling up to 768 kHz (DualData BNC; S / PDIF up to 384 kHz, TOSLink up to 192 kHz)
• Input signals up to 384 kHz / DSD256 (via USB)
• Unibody housing made of solid aluminum (235 x 40.5 x 236 mm; 2.5 kg)
• Designed and manufactured entirely in the UK.

The culmination of 35 years of development_ Rob Watts has been developing his groundbreaking WTA filter technology ('Watts Transient Aligned') for more than three decades; For more than 20 years it has been the basis for the outstanding sound quality of the D / A converters from CHORD ELECTRONICS. But only the most recent further developments of the available FPGA chips made it possible to realize the enormous computing effort of the M SCALER technology. For comparison: The DAVE presented in 2015, which many experts consider the best D / A converter in the world, works with a filter length of 164,000 taps. The upscaling filter in the HUGO M SCALER, on the other hand, achieves an incredible 1,015,808 taps. In doing so, he approaches the theoretical ideal of an infinitely long filter (with which the analog signal can be completely correctly restored) than any other technology so far.

Flexibility_ Every digital source can benefit from the enormous sound update of the HUGO M SCALER. Two coaxial (BNC) and two optical inputs as well as a USB input are available for this. So that other D / A converters can also be connected, in addition to the DualData output, the device has a further coaxial (up to 384 kHz) and an optical digital output (up to 192 kHz).

The selection of the source as well as the setting of the output resolution are done in a CHORD-typical manner via illuminated buttons on the front of the device. For certain applications, the VIDEO mode with low latency can also be activated here, and there are controls for the 'DX' function that will be used with future CHORD products.