Digital Upscaling

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CN211276
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Digital Upscaling

Unread post by CN211276 »

https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugo-mscaler/

This is creating some interest. From my non-tech standpoint I find it difficult to comprhend how a device can improve upon a 16 or 24 Bit download or stream. My understanding is that the less taken away the better. This would need to be something very special to justify a 3.5K price tag, with no doubt a big dealer margin. However, after the Doc, Rob Watts is the designer I have the highest opinion of. I am very pleased with my Qutest and Mojo DACs.
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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by Classicrock »

Newly developed and not aiming to sell in high numbers. Of course being Chord it's going to be sold at a premium price.
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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by kellerist »

Interesting, but...
I have albums that I have on CD and ripped it with Apple lossless to my NAS, and bought from hdtracks.com in far bigger resolution too. If there is a difference, then my system is unable to show or my ears are unable to hear it. Of course it is only a few albums sample.

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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by Fretless »

It is the total opposite of the NOS (Non Over-Sampling) philosophy where the data-stream is left alone and processed 'as it is'.

This is the mega-upsampling route, breaking each sample from a (for instance) CD data stream into a multiple of shorter samples - then filtering them into an analogue waveform.
If done well it will sound very impressive, I'm sure.

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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by terrybooth »

kellerist wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:38 pm Interesting, but...
I have albums that I have on CD and ripped it with Apple lossless to my NAS, and bought from hdtracks.com in far bigger resolution too. If there is a difference, then my system is unable to show or my ears are unable to hear it. Of course it is only a few albums sample.
That matches my experience. What I think is more important is the quality of the recording that is copied to the media - if that is poor then no processing in the world will make it better. I don't hear much difference between CD qualify and the hi-re res stuff. I have some hi-res stuff that I really like and I have CD rips that I really like. I did try comparing for one particular recording - but that way madness lies, especially since quite a lot of 'hi-res' stuff is just resampled CD.
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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by montechristo358 »

glorified electronic guesswork, it will sound different, it may sound better, it won't be any more accurate a version of the original analogue waveform
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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by George Hincapie »

I must confess that I read about this on John Darko's web site and just didn't get it. I don't understand the point.

Apparently, this technology exists already in the Chord Blu CD transport; they have simply ditched the drive and put the board in its own box.

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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by Tony Moore »

" illuminable fascia-mounted spherical controls"

:lol: :lol: :lol:

About says it all.

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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by kellerist »

montechristo358 wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:55 pm glorified electronic guesswork, it will sound different, it may sound better, it won't be any more accurate a version of the original analogue waveform
Guesswork, exactly! How the hell could it know what is the gap between the digital and the analogue signal? It can only guess it with some software algorithm. DACs already do this. How should I hear that in this process, as an additional step, the digital resolution changed? There is no more data. If the sound is significantly better, then the software is not upscaling, but creating music. It simply can’t be other way.
The hi-res digital is only sensible imho when hi quality, analogue, original studio recordings are available and can be digitalised again in higher res.

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Re: Digital Upscaling

Unread post by CN211276 »

This is the best explanation I have found as to what the technology does to the signal.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/chord- ... 48/reviews

The idea is that when the original analog sound was digitized, the digitization process actually took that analog signal and smeared it out over that time window (forward and back in digital time). The original signal is still there, but you have to apply incredible compute to extract it and use it to interpolate the original analog signal. That is what the mScaler is doing: reconstructing the original analog signal based on the math of how analog signals are transformed when digitized. The more taps you have in your interpolation filter, the closer you get to the original analog signal.

The main impact of this is in the precise timing of when sounds start and stop. The unbelievable performance of the WTA filter in the Chord DACs is what (in large part) contributes to the phenomenal sound stage and resolution and sense of physicality you get from these DACs. The mScaler (in theory) represents an end game where the filter reconstructs the original analog signal to the limit of what is humanly perceptible for any given piece of digital content, in this case, all from a lowly traditional CD.
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