Chord Hugo 2

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Cellist88, Jan 5, 2017.

  1. burnspbesq

    burnspbesq Friend

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    We hate haters. Especially haters who go off half-cocked without having used the product in question.

    If you choose to talk out of your pants, don't complain about not being taken seriously,
     
  2. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Thanks, appreciate the advice. I was going to respond originally but...


    This is exactly why I hate Chord fan boys, and fan boys of all walks of life. Not once did I say a thing about Poly in that post. My only complaint about the Poly is the price. I've said I will buy it if it can control volume with the phone. Anyway, "we hate haters"... Ok. Show me where the hate is for Chord or their products? There is none because I don't hate Chord. I own a mojo and like it. But of course, being part of the fan boy club you point out things that are untrue. You accuse me of talking bad about the product, not true. You accuse me of "talking out of my pants"... Again show me where. You say some nonsense about people not taking me seriously... If it is the fan boys, I'm very happy.

    Thanks for reminding me why I hate fan boys.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2017
  3. rghanbari

    rghanbari New

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    At the risk of inviting SBAF fire down from the hillsides, any US-based folks interested in organizing a group buy for the Hugo 2? I'm keen to spend some quality time with the new toys, but always easier to justify a blind leap if you can shave some points off the top. PM if interested.
     
  4. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    I might be. I've been debating it myself.
     
  5. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Did you do this on Head fi? I'm pretty sure you'd have a better reception for your post than here.
     
  6. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    You know what's more annoying than people who like a product they compared and decided to buy? People who didn't and hate the others for it. This is pre-kindergarten. I can't believe you actually received likes for your childish behavior.
     
  7. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Your missing the point of the post. It's not about the product, it's about the people and their blind devotion and behavior. I have no problem with chord, or their products. But when people question a product, or say something that a Chord fan doesn't like, their response, attitude, behavior, etc is the problem. I don't care what people buy, if it makes them happy that's great. But I find it very annoying that anytime a reasonable person brings up a negative point about their company or their products, fanboys have to go into relentless defense mode of product and/or attack those people.

    Plus you quoted me stating I've never heard the Hugo... Which is true, but I own a Mojo, and am considering a Hugo 2. I like the Mojo, and I'll probably like the Hugo 2. Not hating Chord, or their normal fans. Just the rabid fan boys.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2017
  8. k.e.

    k.e. Winning combo: narcissistic and stupid

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    Can't say much about the Mojo. It was not interesting to me since I already had the Hugo. I haven't spent any time on Head-Fi since the Hugo anyway, so I am not sure which Chord fans you are describing.

    But I do know this, the Chord Hugo (v1 or what do we call it now?) is still a damn great device! In fact, my friend performed an RMAA test on my unit with my iPhone as source and the data is simply desktop quality. Even after detailed comparisons with Lake People Reference Series, DAC3 or ADI-2 Pro, it is still my favorite amp for some headphones.

    I will get the Hugo 2, too, and I am sure it will not disappoint. I am not the person to claim a product is simply perfect. You can expect some objective impressions and I'll throw in a detailed comparison with measurements as well.

    At this point it is not easy to recommend the Hugo 2, though. It seems battery life is cut down and that was one of the most impressive aspects of the original Hugo. The DAC upgrades are as expected, like a bump from 384kHz to 768kHz and DSDx2 to DSDx8 (native instead of PCM conversion).
    Main features are probably the included remote (for a transportable device!?) and selectable DA filters.
    Let down could be the lack of balanced output.

    As it is now, I would still recommend the Hugo 1 for people who are searching for an all-in-one solution. A pocketable desktop device that does well as a hifi-DAC in the living room as well.
     
  9. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    I've heard a Hugo 1 driven through optical. Pretty disappointing sound even driving just IEMs.

    May or may not decide to try a Hugo 2.
     
  10. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    So you'll be a normal person that can recognize a devices shortcomings? I suppose you don't like when people just have blind love for products? Those are the people that annoy me, that was the point of my post. Not people that enjoy their toys bro. I'm happy for them. Just the blind people that attack others for bringing up the bad of a product, and every product does. The people that change their positions in order to make a product or company look better than it is. You know, the "fanboys". ;) no offense meant to anyone else. Sorry for the confusion.
     
  11. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Eh, the hyperbole from Chord fans does get tiring. It's really hard to tell what's decent and what isn't, if people are insisting, unblinkingly, that everything is BEST EVAR.

    Some of their stuff sounds OK. Some of it is "meh". Some of it is really irritating. Most of it is extremely poor value. The DAVE is a perfectly fine DAC (if you like that sort of thing) but a very disappointing headphone amp- and probably not the best use of eight grand for a DAC/headamp.

    However, these shades of grey aren't immediately apparent due to the levels of brainwashing and yelling from the Chord faithful. It's actually counter-productive, as it makes people understandably suspicious of all of their gear, and all of their adherents. The nonsense spewed by John Franks of late doesn't exactly help matters, either.

    Power to the picky malcontents- they're much better at helping us find the good stuff. It's best to steer well clear of most Chord stuff until trusted picky malcontents have taken it for a proper spin- if you can't get a chance to audition it yourself.
     
  12. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Agreed. I've been pushed away from more gear primarily due to the over zealous nature of certain manufacturers fan base. They really do them a disservice. Of course, I did go a little overboard on my post, but it was out of pure frustration of watching the hypocrisy of certain people in the Chord thread.
     
  13. EVOLVIST

    EVOLVIST Rob Watt's Fluffer

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    I guess, in a way. It's a shame that the focus has been put on the quantity of taps, while in the case of the DAVE, the 20 element pulse array and the internal power supply has more to do with the sound than anything. "Taps" has really become the catchphrase among the Chordittes, as if the word carries with it the seal of quality. Never mind that the Mojo sounds like garbage and the Hugo sounds like half-way crap, as well. Of course Mojo is a 4 element model and so is the Hugo (I believe the Hugo2 is 10 element). These "taps" can only do so much, since they paint a very incomplete picture.

    It's not really different than SBAF being an Schiit shack, is it? Some over-clever motherfucker gave me Rob's dongles to powder, but I reckon it's about the same anywhere. Trees for the forest, man. Trees for the forest.
     
  14. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    It's very different. There's the full spectrum of opinion on the merits or otherwise of various Schiit. The discussion can be distinctly robust. If they started putting out the sort of cringe-inducing blather that we see from Chord, the piss would most definitely be taken, too.
     
  15. EVOLVIST

    EVOLVIST Rob Watt's Fluffer

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    Meh, as far as i know, on this message board, or Head-Fi, or Computer Audiophile, it's not as if Schiit, or Chord, or iFi/AMR comes in and starts a topic, making an outrageous claim about their new product. It's always here's the specs, and then people discuss. So, who in this case is making cringe-inducing blather?

    It is the members who start the topics here, and when the disagreements are over which Schiit to buy, and not whether or not to pick up Schiit, it looks like the same finger-f**k as Head-Fi when it comes to Chord.

    So, is it really Chord who is blathering or is it the fanboys?
     
  16. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    Its not about the chord fanboys or schiit fanboys per se. It just seems anything said negative about Chord is taken like its heresy and that you are a deaf cretin. For example I stated on the forum, I do not like the mojo's small soundstage and that the amp section cannot drive a he560 to its full potential. Then you, relic and all the chord worshippers tell me, its because I'm not used to the purity of the sound and transparency that comes with the special design of the mojo. I kept stating on headfi the difference of sound with different transports because of the usb implementation. No I am wrong here again too. And yes that is a problem, esp the prickly treble, but instead of it being an engineering problem, its a problem with my ears. I'm not used to all the Information that comes with that taps and timing, therefore my ears need an acclimation period. I felt the mojo's treble was lacking and shelved. I was told on the head-fi and chord fanboys again....its just something wrong with my ears. This kind of condescension, elitism and ignoring of opinions and facts is why Chord fanboys are different. I think there have been plenty of times someone tried some schiit and said it was not to their liking. I don't see anyone here chewing them out saying they are deaf for not enjoying it. There is some semblance of objectivity here compared to head-fi where everyone just wants to show off and get status by purchasing new toys.

    I heard the Hugo 2 with the Zeus XR at Canjam NYC. It wasn't ideal and I didn't have too long to listen to it. TBH, nothing about it wowed me, but I reserve judgement until an extended audition in a more ideal setting.
     
  17. EVOLVIST

    EVOLVIST Rob Watt's Fluffer

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    Me? I think the Mojo sounds like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. It's etched/digital. I have never defended the Mojo, nor the Hugo, to anybody, at any time. I would take my iDSD micro over the both of them, and twice on Sunday.

    I'm convinced that the Chord DAC technology, if not properly implemented, or tried in a tiny box, like the Hugo or Hugo2, simply does not work. It's not doing what it's supposed to do from a design standpoint. If you put it in a wee box, slap it together, as a mass appeal piece of kit, both models sound worse than comparable DACs at the same price-point, chiefly because you can't fit a quarter of the tech in a little box like that and expect great SQ.

    Running on batteries? No. You need a proper internal power supply. Pulse array technology needs at least 16 elements to pull it off. Not 4 and not 10 (though 10e like the Hugo2 is a step in the right direction). You need galvanic isolation, to boot. Sure, the processing power and the tap quantity matters, but all of these factors are integral to the technology, otherwise its not going to work, so all you're going to get is Mojo.

    Look, the fact is, yeah, I like Chord. I like their tech. I auditioned a shit ton of DACs before going for the DAVE, but if you think for one second that I dig the price? Hell to the no! I don't like spending money, so I damn sure don't listen with my wallet. It just so happens that the DAC I ended up liking the most was X amount of dollars. In fact, I had the Metrum Pavane, the Yggdrasil and the DAVE all in my house at the same time. I was begging the Yggdrasil and Pavane to compete.

    Are there some things that I don't like about Chord, besides their lower priced DACs? Yeah, for one, the stratification of audiophiles and perpetuating the notion that bigger is better. I mean, it's true, their higher priced amps, and DAC and CD players, are truly great sounding items, but damn, for a price! Of course, there's a lot of great shit out there for a high price. There's also plenty of junk to be had for similar bills. You cant blame people for trying to make a buck.

    But yeah, it wasn't me who defended the Mojo. Hell, I won't even defend the DAVE. If you don't like my DAC you can go f**k yourself, and take all of your Schiit with you. :)
     
  18. Galm

    Galm Still looking for Little Red Riding Hood

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    AFAIK very few people have them right now. I'd expect more trusted reviewers and stuff to probably get there hands on them sometime this month though as it does seem like they are finally rolling out to people.
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    On Hugo 2: It seems that many readers might want confirmation on whether the Chord Hugo 2, being the newest shiniest toy on the block, is the real deal or not. I don't think the Hugo 2 is a high priority for anyone here. Most people here seem pretty happy with the DACs they have, or if they have gotten bored, have already moved on to something different.

    My recommendation is that if anyone is really curious, and needs the latest and greatest thing, go ahead and buy it, and report back with comparisons to known references: Yggdrasil / Gungnir Multibit, Holo, Pavane / Menuet, high-end vinyl rigs, etc.
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2017
  20. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    I've not seen any published reviews that are based on final code. Actual production units literally started trickling out in the UK at the end of last week. I have one coming for review - but no commitment on date (it could be this week, it could be months, just depends on when "trickling out" turns into "full delivery").

    I think the most interesting comparison is going to be with Gungnir MB. I say this as I found, over time, DAVE to be just barely (1-2%) better than Yggdrasil for me and if you took away any of DAVE's performance, or failed to drive it optimally, it'd fall behind pretty readily. With Hugo 2 being "a bit less than half a DAVE" (half the number of pulse-array-DAC elements, less-than-half the filter capability, and other parts of the implementation are also are simpler/lower in spec.) it's hard to imagine it beating Yggdrasil, and given that Gungnir MB is about 94-95% of Yggdrasil's capability anyway, I'm not sure how well it's going to stack up there.
     

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