Chord Hugo 2

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

  1. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    From listening to his DAVE
     
  2. landroni

    landroni Friend

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    Sounds like outright shilling to me... That, or just a hopeless Chordite.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    If it's really that close, then sell it and use the spare change for a vacation, Star Wars UCS Legos, or kids' / own karate or guitar lessons. That's what I did with Yggdrasil a while back. I kept Gungnir Multibit. (SPDIF makes it close). I think Ravi did the same thing too.

    Talk is cheap.
     
  4. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    I've spoken to a few friends and associates that have received their Hugo 2 units now. One is the previously mentioned chap who's not keeping his (preferring his WM1Z). Another is a long-term Chord customer that bought one to complement his DAVE and Hugo TT (with the Hugo 2 going on his boat and on the go, etc.).

    So far, the general commentary I've gotten is that the Hugo 2 is noticeably smoother, and more legitimately detailed, than Hugo, with a tonal signature closer to Mojo than the original Hugo, and that it outperforms Hugo TT for everything except bass-drive and raw macro-dynamics with difficult cans. Everyone involved so far has commented on the less-than-ideal battery life and the daft orientation of the connections. The DAVE owner has mentioned that it's closer than he expected it to be, but doesn't consider Hugo 2 to be a "mini DAVE".

    These notes are all just my paraphrasing of the comments of others. I haven't heard Hugo 2 myself yet. It looks like my unit will arrive the first week of July.
     
  5. Galm

    Galm Still looking for Little Red Riding Hood

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    Can I ask do you mean SPDIF on both or SPDIF on Gungnir Multibit vs like aes on Yggdrasil?
     
  6. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Stepping away from USB provides you with tangible gains. % increase of awesomeness of SPDIF on Gungnir Multibit vs SPDIF on Yggdrasil vs AES on Yggdrasil becomes a bit of a nervosa argument...
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    When using USB without any de-fuckifiers, the Yggdrasil USB is better than Gungnir Multibit USB. Yggdrasil USB is Gen 3, whereas Gungnir Multibit USB is Gen 2. I feel that Yggdrasil USB Gen 3 is comparable (meets overall quality, but maybe different sounding) to many of the better outboard USB to SPDIF solutions (Mutec, Off-Ramp, Berkeley, etc.). A lot of this depends upon having a good USB output board, which most laptops do not have.

    When SPDIF is used, Gungnir Multibit is no longer limited by USB Gen 2. I've always thought USB Gen 3 was intentionally left out of the Gungnir Multibit, and never offered as an upgrade, because that would have made things too close. Yggdrasil is mainly better than Gungnir Multibit in the bass and 2-3% everywhere else. Stronger bass and better sense of bass actually propagating from the soundstage to the listener. Yggdrasil also can take AES, which is better than SPDIF by an additional 1-2%. Yggdrasil also has the polarity phase button, which does make the difference between spooky soundstage and bleh. I run reverse polarity lots of times.

    SPDIF / AES (from a suitable transport) without USB anywhere in the chain, sounds best. I'm positive the CHORD DACs would also benefit from SPDIF input.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2017
  8. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I've got this at several of my local dealers now that I'm in Singapore, including one unit signed by the Chord dudes, so I'll be able to try this with any headphone I can think of and even some 2 channel rigs if I deem it worthy (unlikely). I'll spend an hour, maybe, listening to write a review for the benefit of the folks here who lack ready access to it. If nothing else, this thread could use some re-direction from the Rando Audio Facebook turn it's been taking lately.
     
  9. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    I just had a chance to compare Hugo 2, 2Qute and Mojo. I own the 2qute for 1 year now. Nevertheless some folks do not hear any differences between Mojo vs 2qute, YMHO, mojo is less detailed and more flat. I demoed H2 for 2-3h and thought it is also clear superior to 2qute. The brightness is gone and the instruments representation are noticeable better. I'm no audiophile, but i play the trumpet and trombone since 1992, and i have noticed that orchestral instruments seems to be a lot more real in H2.
    But for me, isn't a 2.300 dollars upgrade from 2qute. Maybe a 20-30% upgrade. I will try to compare to Yggdrasil in august .
    positive vibes from Brasil.
     
  10. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    Chord Hugo 2 Review

    Today I pushed a lady friend off of me, crawled out of bed, and dragged myself to my local CHORD dealer to review the Hugo 2 as I promised. Thankfully, my usual guy is in and shakes my hand as I stroll in, as I doubt the others would trust me with five figures of gear looking as shabby as I did. I shack up at the counter with the following gear and prepare my ear canals for the CHORD Hugo 2 experience:

    HD800S
    CHORD Hugo 2
    Arcam CD player (optical output)

    My first impression is that the nu-Hugo isn't quite as thin sounding as its predecessor, with decidedly less brutal treble, at least that is immediately apparent. This I learned is largely down to the more Mojo-esque tuning, with distinctly muddier and thicker bass than neutral, rendering bass notes smeared and thuddy.

    On the flipside, instrument separation and note separation was distinct and excellent, coming out ahead of many other top end DACs I've heard before, a significant contrast to the nature of the low end.

    As I moved through a wider range of tracks and spent more time on the Hugo 2, more subtle issues emerged that detracted from the listening experience. The Hugo 2's laid back presentation stems from a relative de-emphasis in the presence region, creating a really odd result with some more complex tracks that ended up sounding dull. This was compounded by the less-than-dynamic nature of the Hugo 2.

    The staging was also strange, producing decent depth but little width, and I did not feel compelled to try the crossfeed with the already constrained stage size.

    Most problematic of all, however, was the treble, which could be aggressively sibilant at times and clearly unnatural sounding, similar to some of the Sabre implementations of yore. On some tracks with cymbals I was in physical agony listening, and this problem finally brought the audition to an end.

    In summary, it has one good trick (instrument separation) alongside several deal-breaking problems that are frankly inexcusable in this price range, being arguably less usable than the Mojo, which I already dislike intensely. Buy it if you are British and feel deeply patriotic or suffer a severe case of hearing loss and treble doesn't bother you. I wouldn't even recommend it to my 富二代 pals to troll them.



     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Thanks for your impressions. You used the CDP the entire time correct, not USB? What other DACs are you using a reference to your comments of smeared bass and treble naties.

    Two impressions now and I am getting a strong sense the Hugo 2 sounds like a scaled down Hugo TT, or a Chordette Peach.

    Also, were you able to compare or say anything relative to other transportables, the likes of iFi micro iDSD BL, Schiit Fulla 2, Sony ZX2, W1A, PHA3, Grace m9XX, etc.?
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2017
  12. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    Im not really much of a transportable user myself, and considering the price I didn't think it was unfair to square it up against full size solutions like my Gungnir Multibit at home, which is disadvantaged by being stuck with USB the whole time. I've owned a Yggdrasil, and have auditioned the range of fancy DACs from TotalDAC, MSB, the DAVE, and co. in extended sessions, and I use those experiences as my benchmark for something this spendy. The CDP was used the entire time, and I can say that my impressions would be substantially more negative had I used USB instead. My Geek Out V2+ blows it out of the water, and the ZX2 is infinitely less troubling to use than the Hugo 2.
     
  13. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    I have owned the Hugo (for 2 years) and listened to the Mojo, Hugo 2 and DAVE.
    The main issue with both Hugos and the Mojo is, that for me, instruments don't have the right volume, the correct size, a body. To me, it's like listening to miniature instruments on a miniature stage, right in front of my head. Everything is tiny.

    I realised that, when I bought Bifrost Multibit after listinening to the Hugo for 2 years.

    YMMV
     
  14. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    @bengo, I was wondering with your impressions, if you used anything other than an LCD-XC. Because I don't believe the LCD-XC would be suitable for a dac comparison review.
     
  15. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    I have the same perceptions... I'm not sure, but when using hugo 1 and mojo, it seems that electronic music are more enjoyable from my iPad. But orchestral music, dawn.... the iPad and mojo/hugo have the same crap resolution. This is not acceptable from a 500 /2000 dollars gear. Have anyone had the same impressions?
     
  16. firev1

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    Met @HitmanFluffy today and had the chance to listen to the Hugo 2. I remembered being adamant that we make a stop although he was pretty hesitant. Having heard the thing for less than 10 mins, oh boy, needed to stop already.

    Music-> Jpop crap, Satri Reference recordings
    Rig-> AK70 usb into the Chord Hugo ->HD800S

    These impressions are not very detailed since I don't have @HitmanFluffy 's patience.

    Staging-> I will describe more here, staging is indeed extremely bizarre with my vocal tracks. voice on centre channel seems to be extremely forward compared to the instruments which take the very back of the stage, almost blurry and veiled.

    Treble -> very fatiguing, especially affecting the high end of the vocal range which is my main beef.

    Unfortunately none of the filters change any of these troubling characteristics and using usb is probably worse off than SPDIF.

    The ZX2 is infinitely less troublesome and easier on the ears.
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It would be nice to do a shootout consisting of the following:

    CHORD Hugo 2, CHORD Mojo, iFi micro iDSD BL, Schiit Fulla 2, Geek Out V2, Grace m9XX, Sony PHA3.
     
  18. microCuts

    microCuts Acquaintance

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    I have a mojo and 2qute now. 2qute suits my KGST better than mojo. Mojo sounds too thick and smooth for my already warm KGST. I personally think that depth, soundstage and slam are clearly steps up on 2qute compared to mojo. I paid my 2qute brand new at 700usd only so have no complaint at all in fact I find it sounds decently for the price I paid for..but definitely not full retail value at 1.8k. I would say 2qute or perhaps Hugo not going to work with bright amp so do not bother with this combination at all. I m actually having a small desk in my rented room so I quite like the form factor of 2qute as well. I would probably try a 3qute or something at less than half of the retail price..
     
  19. bengo

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    I only used the LCD-XC, as I don't own anything better or even close in quality.

    Why do you think they are unsuitable? I do try to avoid commenting on staging for obvious reasons, although I noticed after DAVE the Hugo2 seemed very closed in.

    The way I read it, HitmanFluffy is hearing the same or very similar issues on the HD800S, which seem to be well regarded.
     
  20. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    The pre 2016 LCD-XC was a total mess IMO, it didn't scale, had a coloured mid range which lacked dynamic range, sustain was off to me as well . The newer LCD-XC fixed some of the problems, however, I still found it barely scaled, lacked resolution (particularly in the lower mids), bass extension was nice but the quality and texture of the bass was fairly lacking.

    I just don't think it is a good headphone for comparing gear and I would definitely not be testing or bothering with four figure dacs with it.

    I've read your review a few times. Since there is very little information on this DAC here, I appreciate the effort. Thanks.
     

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