flymetothemoon said:

  AK240 converted DSD to PCM before output, can anyone confirm this?

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Just got my Sys Concept optical in and connected RWAK 240 to Hugo. When playing DSD 64/128 files on the 240, the Hugo showed light blue (24/176). So Hugo is not getting native DSD through DoP. The 240 must have converted DSD to PCM for output to optical. Nevertheless, it sounded very nice, much better than my old AK120 for DSD>PCM conversion. I'll be doing more detail comparison on sources for Hugo when my QLS 360 comes in.

Aha the plot thickens. So far the iphone is the way to get all the juices from DSD
It's white when I play DSD 64 or 128
Al

alrainbow said:

I can do a comparison with this DAC later this week
Al

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Have you done a comparison with the L5 already?

One reason why I have use touch 64G with the Hugo for the past 3 months. Only wish it has the storage capacity of the AK though.

agb100 said:

 
The FPGA does not have any role in the conversion processing. The SABRE that you'll find in cheap dacs does all the conversion. Same as in the PONO.

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That is not true.  Ayre went to the ES9016 as it let them control an aspect of the conversion process they wanted to which was to implement a Minimum Phase Apodizing filter.  Obviously, Chord has more control over the entire process than Ayre with a pretty much a completely customized solution, but to say Ayre is not customizing their solution is not correct.  Also, remember not all SABRE chips are created equal and vary fairly significantly in performance so say it is same chip as cheap dacs is not correct.

If you think about it. 64 gig at DSD 64 is aniut 60 hours
Of music maybe more. If flac it's double that.
We do not need so much with us.
It's just something else we feel we need due to being greedy and spoiled
Al

Thanks Mython. I checked those out but I'm not sure they qualify -- good UI (than AK120) with DSD/USB OTG output that can output Hi Res via hugo. I'll reconfirm and read those thread and see how they perform in combination with the hugo.

The direct stream is chip less like the Hugo
I think it's a choice made not something that has to be
Or needs resources that only a handful have.
The new ps audio was completely redone
As the are qb9 was not. From the heated discussions in computoeraudiophile forums
There was no intention to make it DSD.
In a post he felt there was little to gain from it.
Now I have no bet to follow here. And I owned an qb9 at at one time.
DSD is the future for now and it's just getting started.
DSD to my ears sounds much better than PCM
And with a DAC combo like the Hugo it's made available to be portible
These are cool times for us.
Al

.

It is interesting that as ape controls there devices
They have allowed the onkyo hf.
It's odd if you ask me. And android is like an open source
And it's not available
Something is just not right here
Al

.

I wonder if I could feed the direct stream from my iphone
??

Just short while back android was ahead of apple in the hi Rez audio game. As apple only had 24/48 now apple is dsd and down and android is stuck on stupid. There must be little to no money in this for android .
If I can stream to my msb dac or direct stream from an iPad at dsd 128 and below why are we not doing it. I am going to check this out tonight if it works I cannot wait to post it many forums as a suitable transport method
Al

agb100 said:

   
You need to read between the lines. The review of the AYRE stated this: "In my experience, very few DACs convey this same sense of sonic roundness with PCM data. The Chord DACs do to some extent, the totaldac did, as well as a few others all costing considerably more than the Ayre QB-9 DSD. While this obviously isn't the only thing to talk about with the QB-9 DSD, it is to my ears what truly sets it apart. Sounds ring out true from a distinct place and they stay put making it very easy to feel the physical presence of the performers, in situ. In freakin' room..."
 
In other words, "it is to my ears what truly sets it apart." The weighty sound that is.
 
NOTE: The reviewer compared the latest DSD AYRE with EARLIER Chord DACS. According to the reviewer the AYRE almost reached the sonic plateau of EARLIER Chord DACS.
 
Personally I doubt it, but then other DAC makers assert similar nonsense.
 
The HUGO is a later and better design that owners of earlier Chord DACs are aware of and can hear; the Hugo's designer keeps asserting the same since he designed all of them.
 
I cannot speak for Lavorgna. It is clear however that in light of his own words the Hugo is superior to BOTH the AYRE and Chord's own earlier DACs.
 
It happens to be so unless one is resistant to logic and fact itself.
 
Besides, as I had shown earlier, the Hugo can be EQ'd to mimic the weighty sound of other DACs without the loss of detail and dimension the others will surely have if listened through a reference-grade system.

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AGB100, I feel like I keep calling you out and that isn't my intention so I'll apologize in advance if you feel that way.  BUT your statement above is basically false as your key fact is wrong.
 
The Ayre review was not done without hearing the Chord Hugo.  The Ayre review (2/25/14) was done AFTER the Chord Hugo review (2/14/14).  In fact, Lavorgna has both DACs in house when doing the review as he states in his reviews.  If anything, the Ayre review and its statements have the Chord Hugo specifically in mind as he had just finished hearing and reviewing the Hugo.  The rest of your reasoning is based on your misconception that the Ayre review was done without hearing the Hugo and therefore you have to guess at his conclusions about the Hugo vs the Ayre by taking into account the Hugo's designers statements about the Hugo being better than his older Chord DACs.
 
As for your comments of EQing to mimic the Ayre sound, I am unsure if I agree.  EQing will put change one particular frequency range or another.  You contend that Lavorgna is saying the sound is dark (which can be mimic by EQing), but Lavorgna never says that.  The only place that I can see where you get your "dark" comment is from the following:
 
"In my experience, very few DACs convey this same sense of sonic roundness with PCM data. The Chord DACs do to some extent, the totaldac did, as well as a few others all costing considerably more than the Ayre QB-9 DSD. While this obviously isn't the only thing to talk about with the QB-9 DSD, it is to my ears what truly sets it apart. Sounds ring out true from a distinct place and they stay put making it very easy to feel the physical presence of the performers, in situ. In freakin' room."
 
To conclude "dark" from this statement or the rest of the review (which even has less to do with a "dark" comment), you need to make two logical jumps.  One, you need to interpret the above paragraph to mean weight of sound as AGB100 does.  Then you need to conclude that "weight of sound' means dark.  Neither one of these conclusions are obvious and probably wrong in my opinion.
 
Personally, when Lavorgna talks about the "sonic roundness," I feel the statement has more to do with decay being more natural than anything frequency/EQ related.  I guess the last statement could be seen as saying the music have more "weight," but, I don't see how you can say "weight" = something frequency/EQ related.  And when Lavorgna says "sound ring out true form a distinct place and they stay put making it very easy to feel the physical presence of the performers, in situ. In freakin' room," I interpret the statement to refer to a rock solid soundstage and not something frequency/EQ related.  I can't find any other statements that seem to refer to weight or darkness of the sound.
 
Just as an overall statement, Lavorgna is a highly respected reviewer with a proven track record of having "golden ears."  It is not to say he doesn't have his biases and obviously the his review is his opinion.  But I think we should have enough respect to take him at his word and meaning, and not try to reinterpret his statements to suit our own biases/opinions.  Personally, I am fine with his review of the Chord and resulting ranking as Class B.  I'll wait to see how the Chord desktop DAC turns out and, plus, I didn't notice any other DACs on the Class A, and Class B, for that matter, that I care to lug around with me aside from the Hugo which makes it unique.

alrainbow said:

If you think about it. 64 gig at DSD 64 is aniut 60 hours
Of music maybe more. If flac it's double that.
We do not need so much with us.
It's just something else we feel we need due to being greedy and spoiled
Al

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If you are fine with 64G memory, good for you! But I don't think it's fair to call anybody "greedy and spoilt" for wanting more than 64G in this day and age where you can have 128G in a micro sd card! 
 
Come to think about it, IMO, from the view point of the general mass, we are all "greedy and spoilt" when it comes to audio reproduction, trying to find and squeeze the best sound and performance from the gears in the market or the ones we own. LOL