No.
Based on currently owning all of Chord’s DACs except the Mojo, and having both a Blu Mk2 (which has a built-in M-Scaler) and the actual Chord Hugo M-Scaler, I would say that in all cases each unit is improved by the addition of the M-Scaler to the chain.
Some people claim that the Qutest or Hugo 2 paired with the M-Scaler beats the Hugo TT2 or DAVE when they are used without an M-Scaler. I would definitely disagree with that, again based on currently owning all of them.
From best to worst, it’s a simple progression:
- M-Scaler → DAVE
- DAVE
- M-Scaler → Hugo TT2
- Hugo TT2
- M-Scaler → Hugo 2
- Hugo 2
I would not personally bother with an M-Scaler with the Hugo 2 or the Qutest, unless the DAC was going to be upgraded next, as I find the Hugo TT2 on it’s own outperforms both Hugo 2 and Qutest when they’re paired with an M-Scaler, and costs less doing so.