I respect everyone's right to openly express their opinion about products, but it is obvious to anyone without an axe-to-grind about the Hugo, that this thread is proactively anti-Hugo.
I won't mince my words: it makes me wary. I'm cool with people expressing negative opinions about gear I like, and, likewise, I occasionally express negative opinions about some products, too.
No product is perfect, and the Hugo is no exception, but to compare it to DACs and amps several times as big, and some of them considerably more expensive, hardly seems appropriate.
Head-fi is one of the largest specialist websites for headphone-related-audio in the world, but, impressive though it's traffic throughput may be, it can be easy to become myopic when visiting this microcosm.
We have a thread here with a relatively small number of people expressing how inadequate they feel the Hugo to be. In the personal experience of these few people, they may be sincere in feeling it falls short of their expectations.
But what is being overlooked is how many hundreds of people around the world are thoroughly appreciating the extraordinary performance the Hugo has brought to the market, in such a compact and portable form. I don't consider Chord's marketing of the Hugo to be bombastic, either.
What is also being overlooked is that the Hugo is being appreciated not just by headphone-focused customers, but also by some users of fullsize hi-fi systems costing substantially more than the most glamorous desktop headphone-centric gear.
Frankly, to slate the Hugo in comparison to desktop gear, and then flippantly concede, in a couple of throw-away words, that it is more portable, is potentially misleading to folks who are new to this market segment. They may understandably read the negative remarks and focus upon them, rather than noticing the fact that apples are being compared to oranges in a tone that implies that apples are being compared to apples. I'm sure some will be keen to quickly counter this viewpoint by pointing out exceptions, but, overall, the point legitimately stands.
I have absolutely no affiliation to Chord, and I respect (and support) everyone's right to free speech and constructive criticism. However, I have experienced the Hugo, and consider it a damn decent product which, whilst not exactly cheap, offers excellent performance in a remarkably portable (and very flexible) package. And Fisher Price toys aren't made from diecast magnesium, last I checked...
Criticism is one thing, but comparing apples to oranges and crusading from that dubious foundation does no one any favours.
I'm not being personal, with any of this; I'm simply pointing out how this thread comes across to those of us without an axe-to-grind about the Hugo.
