USB Reclocker Mutec 3+ USB

Audio Gear Talk HQ Player
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Hi Guys, I have roon installed on an INTEL NUC. I am using a SOtM SMS200 Ultra neo special edition player which is connected to my Chord Dave using USB. I was thinking of getting an mscaler, but someone suggested I should get a USB reclocker and specifically Mutec 3+ USB which is significantly improve my sound and its cheaper than the mscaler and it would eliminate the need for an mscaler. Has any one used a Mutec 3+ USB here? THoughts? If I decide to get the Mutec, should I remove the SOtM from the equation and directly connect my NUC to the Mutec to the Dave? Or leaving the SOtM will give a better sonic benefit?

Thanks in advance!

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I have an M Scaler and a DAVE. There is absolutely no way the MuTec reclocker replaces an M Scaler, not in a million years. The Mutec is a pro-oriented box designed to convert all sorts of different formats - USB, s/pdif, AES, so there are lots of different connections, and do some sample rate conversion. The reclocking is kind of a side effect of all the conversion possibilities. The M Scaler is a 1 million tap upsampler that, ime, has an extraordinary effect on your music. So, I would advise you to save up! At least try both before you buy either.

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Just to agree with Jez, the Mutec is not a replacement for the M Scaler. If you want to try something similar to an Mscaler, setup another PC (not ROCK) and run HQPlayer: chain would be NUC> ethernet>HQPlayerPC>USB> DAC.

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I do have an MC3+ USB and while it’s excellent at what it does, as @Jez and @Rugby have said it’s designed to do something very different to the M Scaler.

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Thanks guys. The reason I ask is, I came across this post in a fb group

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I have a Mutec, which I use to change formats and to convert my few DSD files to PCM.

Although the Mutec does re-clock, among many other functions, it isn’t an M Scaler.

The next question to be asked - Is an M Scaler necessary? Some say yes, some say no.

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Hi roonsuperuser,

2 of us short auditioned a Dave with m-scaler and we where to both write Y/N on paper to the question 'better with m-scaler? ’ using the same headphones.

We both wrote No.

That said a HugoTT2 with m-scaler was a Yes. In fact with headphones the TT2 and m-scaler, I wonder in a blind test if we could have reliablly heard the difference to a Dave?

The Dave USB implementation is good and products like the mutec do provide a clean signal in good shape to their outputs. Singxer SU-6 for example (which I own).

Funny things are ears.

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@Rugby I’d like to know more about HQPlayer. Is it a replacement for Roon as it can upsample? I have a SOTM SMS200 Ultra Neo which has a HQPlayer in it. Does this mean I can use a HQPlayer without having to install it on a PC? THis is my current config:

NUC --> Router
Router --> SOTM using Ethernet --> DAC using USB.

Thanks in advance
Meyy

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I believe that is just the NAA (network audio adaptor) software. You would still need to run HQ Player on a Windows, Mac or Ubuntu machine and set the output to the SOTM NAA.

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Not at all, imho. It is an upsampler with a tremendous amount of filter options. Potentially requires a rather capable PC to run.

That means it can be an HQplayer endpoint, HQP uses it’s own protocol called NAA.

You should give this other thread a read if you are interested: