Chord Hugo 2

Oh god, that xXRELICXx guy is even more of a Chord fluffer than @EVOLVIST - probably the worst one on HF (which isn't exactly a compliment). He tends to lose his shit super chilli style when people suggest that his belov'd DAVE has less of a grip on a pair of headphones than a proper (and less gutless) headphone amp.

 

I'm not sure what's more amusing ... the amount of blind-faith Chord acolytes put in what Rob/Chord says/claims (and/or derives from simulations rather than measurements) or the attempts by some interested-parties to re-interpret it and explain it themselves. Such attempts usually fail spectacularly and/or further confuse issues that, often, only exist for Chord DACs in the first place due to the way they operate.

I mean ... of course you're going to have higher tap-lengths for massively over-sampled data ... unless you really want to make a complete pig's ear of things. But implementing a filter with a huge number of taps when you've exhausted your conversion coefficients would be pretty f'ing stupid. I often wonder about claims of filter size ... specifically about how many of the coefficients are actually zero. But convention says you state filter length in terms of the number of actual taps, not just those that have non-zero coefficients.

...

Their dealers aren't much better.

I happened to wander past one (not sure if there's more than one) in Seattle over the weekend and, prompted by a random impulse of raw, and entirely misplaced, opportunistic optimism, decided to inquire as to whether they had received any Hugo 2 units yet. No, not yet - and don't know when they'll be getting them. But they did have a DAVE that they suggested I listen to instead!

Because, you know, DAVE and Hugo 2 are at entirely comparable price points ... and serve the very same market ...

 

If my only useful contribution to this site turns out to be, ahem, re-branding the WTA filter as WTF, it was still worth it...

 

Does that make the fervent bullshit-parroting fanboys the Watts Twat Army?

 

Hello friends

Another opinion about hugo2. Im pasting here to read yours valorous analysis. Peace!

"I've been trying different combinations of inputs and music with the DACs I have on hand. One thing that is apparent is that they each have their subtle character, but more than anything all bring a sense of realism and enjoyment I've been searching for since I started in the hobby.

That being said, level-matched into a Master 9 with Utopias (Yggdrasil and R2R 7 balanced, Hugo 2 SE) listening to Three Guitars, where with the Yggdrasil and R2R 7 sting plucks are a bit more "one note", with the Hugo 2, I can make out the underlying texture and vibration of the note decay."

 

@David De Lucena -

If you have Spotify, there is a binaural album by Ottmar Liebart "Up Close" He is an acoustic guitarist and while binauraul recordings can sound like there is a lack of tone, or immediacy, I find them interesting in listening tests. Our sense of how much 'decay' there should be (because it's pleasant) vs how much decay there really is if someone is just listening to someone playing an acoustic guitar in a large open space (i.e., no mic, maybe no amplification) ... well worth a listen

 

I replied to that one where it came out, kind of a mistake given what followed. I happen to have heard that trio play live on the album tour, and I also own the album (Redbook, not 96/24 HDtracks FLAC). I find the amount and character of the decay I hear through my Yggdrasil fairly consistent with the live experience. Of course the live experience has been a long time ago, but I've heard John Abercrombie live since quite a few times, and overall I hear quite a bit of live music, including excellent players like Julian Lage, Nels Cline, Bill Frisell, ... (I know, often electric, but enough times acoustic). Anyway, sure, maybe the Hugo 2 does this even better, but there's also the possibility that it is exaggerating what is there. Hard to know without a more careful analysis than what that "review" provided.

 

No kidding. Unless you are sitting on the front row a few feet from the guitar player, decay is faster than what you get on a typical (good) recording. BTW, Abercrombie, Assad, and Coryell played with amplification on that tour. Listening to the album, there's quite a bit of complex harmonic decay in various places, but I'd find it overly manipulated if there was a lot more (kind of like how ECM reverb can be too much of a good thing, especially if you have heard the same musicians live). To give another example, in some (good) jazz recordings, double bass is brought out so that you can hear more of the complex interference patterns when plucked strings decay. It's interesting, but beyond what you can typically catch at a (well amped) jazz gig.

 

@earnmyturns - Very much liked your post. Uh huh.

 

By the way I don't mean to imply this DAC sucks; I haven't heard it, but I do think overly bright/tizzy highs can initially sound appealing, until it becomes annoying. My very limited experiences with Delta Sigma DACs is they all had a long term annoying tizzy, buzzy, trait. I don't know why, but that is just my subjective impression.

Same with gear that over emphasizes bass. Initially kind of cool, and then exhausting. I have reasonable bass from my speaker/sub system, but even 60hz wavelength is around 18 feet if I recall. There is just no getting around that if I was hearing that in huge open space, it's gonna sound different than my home space where reflections occur much earlier. Turning up the bass to try and drown out the reflections sort of appeals, until I am only hearing the interference again.

 

I agree, there seems to be a lack of differentiation in the treble texture, so different kinds of percussion all sound alike and you can't tell what exactly you are hearing. The very best delta-sigmas seem to reduce this to a level where it's not that noticeable unless you really listen carefully for it.

Hugo 2 has this (or a different variation of it) and manages to also be quite "hard" sounding. I see that I originally wrote "fatiguing", although a better word might be "tense" or "strained", as that's how I felt after listening to it for a couple of hours. This is a deal-breaker for me. By the way, I do mean to imply this DAC sucks, in case anyone is in doubt.

 

Thanks. Have just listened to Ottmar. Very interesting indeed.
I'm really considering the theory that Chord fans are all psychotic.
This is the most palpable explanation

 

Dr De Lucena, What diagnosis might you consider to a patient who posts on a public forum incessant repetition of anger and insults towards those he has never met, interviewed, blood tested, nor in any other manner, followed protocol for said diagnosis, all because these strangers speak favorably of an inanimate object for sale for which your patient does not hold in the same high regard? What diagnosis might apply to the obsessive educated poster who appears unwilling or unable to control himself?

 

Binaural recordings are not flawless, but I think they demonstrate how over emphasized some studio remix/recordings. The over emphasis is appealing, so understandable why we enjoy it (and nothing wrong with enjoying), but can become fatiguing for me.

 

Audionervosa bullying

 

that's no fun to hear!

I'm actually going to be getting a Hugo2 on tour, it'll be my first time hearing a Chord Product and a dac/amp in the 2K price range. I've set my expectations to zilch, but here's to hoping I don't get burned alive if it doesn't measure up to what I have... though honestly, I'm not super impressed with my NFB10ES2 any more... for a solid state the headphone out isn't the cleanest... so hopefully the Hugo2 will surprise me for the better!

I really like portable products honestly, I traded my TH X00 for a Geek Out v2+ and happily own a portable set up that was double the cost of my NFB10ES2 [hm901 -> PicoPower] so I'm excited to hear this! Plus I can honestly demo it outside of the desk in my bedroom, and that's the real value... being able to sit outside in the quite, away from the dirty screaming children outside my apartment an breath in the fresh coastal air as I listen to some good tunes

 

Chord fanboyism on a heavily Chord tilted site.

 

SBAF friends after a Jude video?



I'm getting a hugo2 loaner tomorrow for a couple,of weeks. The only other chord device I had was a mojo, and I was not overly impressed. I'll be comparing it to a Bifrost Multibit/Taurus 2 with various headphones, an iSine 20 (blah), and an IE80. I'm not holding my breath, but I am curious. I'll certainly post my 2 cents here once I'm done.

 

Uggh. Got censored on you-know-where after using the acronym SBAF in reference to Hugo 2 observations on this site.
So ... in lieu of continuing over there, just a couple of observations re:Hugo 2 manufacturing quality and service experience. Feel free to ignore

Consistent for all units:
- rattles when moved, caused by the colored balls
- gets too hot to handle, esp. when playing high bit rates (upsampled via hqp)
- visible gap between top and bottom part of case
- case vibrates, even when unplugged (running on batteries) - I had a faulty transformer in my Alpha DAC which had the same effect (after 8 years of use)

My unit:
- volume control stopped working after 3 days (another parallel case documented in the other forum)
- stopped playing when overheating

Service:
- somebody on another forum is defending Chord by claiming they have units set aside to replace defective Hugo 2 without delay. In my case: Not true, no ETA for replacement

Leaving aside sonic impressions (mixed bag - worth $2k to some, don't think many), not super impressed.
Getting a feeling that "will my Hugo 2 fail" is more a question of when, not if.
Not saying that a defective Hugo 2 is bad, gives you a chance to re-evaluate your choices and listen to another DAC ...