[miceblue]

I have tried the K10 with the Hugo and didn't like it because the Hugo's background hiss was pretty audible over my music at low volume levels and started to annoy me.

I have a pair of K10's and with the music muted, I can just hear Hugo's noise - but only when I switch Hugo off is it noticeable, it is smaller than background noise. But when you play CD, you can hear the master tape noise, due to Hugo's and the K10's transparency, but its not annoying, just a slight hiss and a rumble from the concert hall.

Rob 

But it's not the recording at all, it's the Hugo. I didn't hear it with the JDS Labs C5D with the same setup. The Hugo's background hiss is almost as bad as the LH Geek Out, which my unit has a noise rating of ~19.5 μV compared to the C5D's ~6 μV.

I don't think I have any music with a noise floor high enough to hear.

My setup:

 

[Rob Watts]

But it's not the recording at all, it's the Hugo. I didn't hear it with the JDS Labs C5D with the same setup. The Hugo's background hiss is almost as bad as the LH Geek Out, which my unit has a noise rating of ~19.5 μV compared to the C5D's ~6 μV.

I don't think I have any music with a noise floor high enough to hear.

My setup:

That does not sound right to me. Hugo's noise (with no source) is 5uV A wt, and this is true on all units passing production, as dynamic range is always 120.0 dB +/- 0.1dB, as the DAC noise is down to resistor noise (constant) and to a lesser extent op-amp noise (also constant). So if you think you are getting a lot more than this, then please get Hugo checked out.
 
Rob

 

[SilverEars]

Well, let me chime in on my experience.  I heard significant audible noise when the Hugo was set to 16-44.1 via usb.  I couldn't pick up noise with my NT6 with optical at 24-192.  I believe this noise which is not something subtle maybe a result of hardware issue.
 
So let me ask, have you raise the bit depth and rate on the USB?  Also, have you tried optical?

 

[Duncan]

That does not sound right to me. Hugo's noise (with no source) is 5uV A wt, and this is true on all units passing production, as dynamic range is always 120.0 dB +/- 0.1dB, as the DAC noise is down to resistor noise (constant) and to a lesser extent op-amp noise (also constant). So if you think you are getting a lot more than this, then please get Hugo checked out.

Rob

Rob, to be fair to the other poster, using FAD FI-BA-SB (I hate their model number designation!) IEMs, I also get hiss (with no music playing / no source selected) through the Hugo, but not with any other gear that I have...

Would be happy to mail them to you to investigate / analyse if you'd like...

Duncan.

 

[obsidyen]

I don't get hiss with Senn IE800 or Beyerdynamic MMX 102 IE.

 

[frankrondaniel]

I definitely don't notice hiss with either IE800 or SE846 IEMs.

 

[Duncan]

In different news, the very contentious (in Head-Fi circles) Denon D7100 sound so wide and airy with Hugo - sure people will mock me here, however - this combination is quite possibly the best I've ever heard with headphones in all my time (with exception to the Senn Orpheus and Sony MDR-R10 with their respective price points) - definitely - to these ears, smokes the LCD2...

Good stablemate to the Senn IE800.

Happy days for me

 

[obsidyen]

I get no hiss whatsoever with either Sennheiser IE800 or Beyerdynamic MMX 102 IE iems. Are you sure the hiss is not caused by your PC? Low quality usb components might cause hiss, I think.

 

[gonzfi]

So then, what's the crack with the black version? I quite badly want one because I'm a bit shallow and think it looks cooler than silver.

 

[Currawong]

  Well, let me chime in on my experience.  I heard significant audible noise when the Hugo was set to 16-44.1 via usb.  I couldn't pick up noise with my NT6 with optical at 24-192.  I believe this noise which is not something subtle maybe a result of hardware issue.
 
So let me ask, have you raise the bit depth and rate on the USB?  Also, have you tried optical?

 
This wont be the result of bit depth, it is the result of some IEMs being extremely sensitive.
 

In different news, the very contentious (in Head-Fi circles) Denon D7100 sound so wide and airy with Hugo - sure people will mock me here, however - this combination is quite possibly the best I've ever heard with headphones in all my time (with exception to the Senn Orpheus and Sony MDR-R10 with their respective price points) - definitely - to these ears, smokes the LCD2...

Good stablemate to the Senn IE800.

Happy days for me

 
Denon changed them mid-production. The original ones sounded awful, but the current D7100s are OK IMO. Unfortunately after everyone trashed them here they've been pretty much ignored.
 

So then, what's the crack with the black version? I quite badly want one because I'm a bit shallow and think it looks cooler than silver.

 
Unobtanium. Time for an email suggesting they do a limited run though at least.

 

[miceblue]

I get no hiss whatsoever with either Sennheiser IE800 or Beyerdynamic MMX 102 IE iems. Are you sure the hiss is not caused by your PC? Low quality usb components might cause hiss, I think.

I don't think USB noise is the issue at hand with regard to the DAC section. The Geek Out is USB-powered whereas the Hugo is powered by battery, but I heard the background hiss on both units. The JDS Labs C5D can be powered by either USB or battery and I was using the USB-powered mode.

The Geek Out and Hugo are probably built for larger, less sensitive, headphones. The C5D in comparison was specifically built for sensitive earphones, that was one of the design goals for the product, so it has a very low noise rating (JDS Labs measured 5.297557 μV compared to my Geek Out 450's 19.76 μVRMS).

Were USB noise an issue, I would think the cable that was provided with the Hugo, the Silver Dragon, would be better at reducing the USB noise than the $1 Monoprice cable I was using with the C5D.

I'm thinking the K10 I had was just really sensitive, and likewise for the 8C CIEM.

 

[Duncan]

One humorous thing for me is that the jack on the smaller Denon cable fits the Hugo perfectly, absolutely made to measure...



No way it could be any bigger, absolutely the right size, makes this feel very secure in my pocket, knowing the chassis of the Hugo is the stress point should an accident happen.

 

[SilverEars]

   
This wont be the result of bit depth, it is the result of some IEMs being extremely sensitive.

I don't mean bit deph, there was loud audible noise when it was set to default 16-44.1, then it went away when I changed it.  This leads me to think it was result of some sort of hardware issue that I was experiencing.  I had no issues with stock Hugo cable.  I don't have issues with stock cables with any of DACs using high bitrate USB.  The cable will relay USB noise if significant, I don't see RFI induced unless there is a EM source nearby.

 

[daveyston23]

I definitely don't notice hiss with either IE800 or SE846 IEMs.

 
I definitely hear the Hugo's noise floor with SE846, whereas the SE846/AK240 pairing is nearly dead silent.

 

[kkcc]

Adding my experience, very very very slight noise with tg334 when no music playing, only noticeable when actively comparing vs the unit turned off, and in absolutely silent room.

No noise with music ever, except background/environment noise e.g. ambiance, musician flipping their scores, picking up a bow or repositioning his cello etc that I didn't noticed in the recording before (mostly from quiet passages in older classical recordings).