[SearchOfSub]

Check out thecableco.com. I love their lending library around cables. Really let's you audition the differences.

 
Thanks for the info .Should have known about this site before I bought my other cables!

 

[robrandtoul]

Qobuz, Hugo and HD800's. Does it get any better than this?

 

[Pepsican]

are you referring to this one? it got reviewed yesterday, very highly scored 9.9, for a audiophile motherboard, its up there with the top gaming boards as well, might considering getting this to compliment my hugo.

You're still better off with a dedicated PCIe USB card. The reason is simple: the CPU and RAM are on the northbridge, while the USB controllers are on the southbridge. Using the standard USB ports is therefore the 'long' route to output. PCIe however, sits on northbridge too and has a direct connection to RAM and CPU. Because the path is shorter there is less opportunity for jitter and interference to creep in.

In general, mobos are not designed for hi-fi. You're probably best served by taking a mobo that is as bare as possible so it is less 'busy'. If you use an ATX power supply, contemplate one with very low ripple (the best can do around 11-15 mVpp). Still better is using a linear psu, but that means limitations in how much power you can use.

 

[obsidyen]

I'm taking my first steps in the audio world , so this might be a rookie question... does using hugo with a Mac (mini or others) will be better then with PC, (sound wise) while playing FLAC or WAV files?

 
No. PC is as good if not better. Don't buy into the Apple hype.

 

[Pepsican]

Question: does the revised version of Hugo still come with a square cap on the TOSlink port? I ask because it was not in my box when I purchased my ex-demo model. Thanks.

 

[Pepsican]

No. PC is as good if not better. Don't buy into the Apple hype.

Agreed to some extend. Apple is probably a bit better when used as-is. But with little effort you can get much better results under Windows. Customising an Apple for hi-fi is much more difficult. Opening up the box alone is an adventure in itself.

 

[Nordoen]

  Should I be trying to get a SPDIF signal out of my Macbook for Hugo?  I have a Halide Bridge USB/SPDIF converter but it doesn't seem to work with Hugo, not sure it fits the coax jack

Hi,
 
I'm using Audirvana on a MacBookPro into the Hugo via the stock USB to micro USB cable supplied by Chord. I also have a Naim UnitiServe that I connect to the Hugo via SPDIF (Naim DC 1 cable) or via the optical cable supplied with the Hugo. I've done multiple comparisons between the MacBook via USB vs the UnitiServe via SPDIF and also extended listening using just one source or the other. While the UnitiServe just nips it in terms of soul and warmth, Audivirvana via USB is very, very good, and I could easily live with it as my sole source. I honestly don't see the need to go SPDIF from the MacBook.
 
The Hugo is the most cable (and source) agnostic DAC that i've encountered.
 
The rest of the system is the Naim SuperNait2 feeding Amphion Argon 3 speakers via BIS Audio Vivat cables. I know, not a headphone system, but nonetheless highly revealing.
 
Jan

 

[Nordoen]

Isn't it more down to software than type of operating system?
 
(sorry, in reply to the post by obsidyen above claiming that PC is better than Apple... forgot to hit *quote*)
 
Jan

 

[Sound Eq]

i think the reason why cables are discussed a lot is because we spent so much money on hugo and want to get the ultimate from it, so if getting a better cable will give more sq then we would go for it, but for me i need to be certain that things will be better before shedding money on a very very very minor improvement, cause i am now torn between getting a better cable or another headphone as for me the audeze with hugo does not give me the bass punch i look for, i know that getting another cable might not improve bass with audeze as much as getting another headphone, so I want to think hard what to do where my money should go

 

[ALRAINBOW]

As I am sure the flaming is coming shortly but I have to say it anyway. Cables are mostly pride of ownership about 80 to 90 percent as USB cables do matter unless they are horrible it does not matter. Digital audio is all about the dac and attached CPU to it. I heard for myself the great improvement with a optical coax and the ak240 it was very good . But also really no better than my iPhone 5. However doing the same with a coax from the Hugo was horrible in comparison to me. So jitter rally does matter . And for this reason the CPU matters. Also it's because you need a processor that can do the job needed especially with dsd . I do not care for a Mac book pro but my iMac is Stella .The iMac is a I7 intel. It's not that the MacBook Pro is bad it's not but when you hear the difrence when it's correct weather it's a PC or Mac it's what we want in this hobby to have .
Now are you saying the audeze is not enough bass on the Hugo ??
Al

 

[Sound Eq]

As I am sure the flaming is coming shortly but I have to say it anyway. Cables are mostly pride of ownership about 80 to 90 percent as USB cables do matter unless they are horrible it does not matter. Digital audio is all about the dac and attached CPU to it. I heard for myself the great improvement with a optical coax and the ak240 it was very good . But also really no better than my iPhone 5. However doing the same with a coax from the Hugo was horrible in comparison to me. So jitter rally does matter . And for this reason the CPU matters. Also it's because you need a processor that can do the job needed especially with dsd . I do not care for a Mac book pro but my iMac is Stella .The iMac is a I7 intel. It's not that the MacBook Pro is bad it's not but when you hear the difrence when it's correct weather it's a PC or Mac it's what we want in this hobby to have .
Now are you saying the audeze is not enough bass on the Hugo ??
Al

if u think that audeze with hugo has great bass then i am certainly deaf or i don't belong to audiophile category, I heard the hugo with a cheap sms headphone and thats how bass should sound. the only bad thing about sms it is a little veiled in in mid and high this is why i went to the basshead thread for recommendation, to me music without bass is boring.
 
The audeze is a great headphone for certain music but definitly not for EDM or synth in my book

 

[Clemmaster]

are you referring to this one? it got reviewed yesterday, very highly scored 9.9, for a audiophile motherboard, its up there with the top gaming boards as well, might considering getting this to compliment my hugo.

This or the micro-ATX version that I just ordered: GA-Z97MX.
We shall see...

 

[etnt]

 
It is.  Just wondering if you installed it for HD and it was somehow using it when you used SD.  Are you on Mac or PC?

Win7 x64. The output device is showing as "USB Audio Dac" in foobar.
 
Anyway back to using HD USB.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

In own the lcd3. It's fine if course there us better but
Also do not take offense if we dis agree and I am not claimng to have better ears or whatever
Al

 

[dannyhc]

You're still better off with a dedicated PCIe USB card.
If you use an ATX power supply, contemplate one with very low ripple (the best can do around 11-15 mVpp). Still better is using a linear psu, but that means limitations in how much power you can use.

What is the best bang for buck USB 3.0 Pci Express card you can get and power supply?
 
Do you think this offers good value for money?
 
http://ppaproduct.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/audio-grade-usb-30-pcie-card.html