I had a lightning strike at my French house which killed the USB input on my very expensive Benchmark Audio DAC3L. It would have to go back to the USA for repair as there is nobody in Europe who can do a warranted repair. This would then involve customs complications in both directions and being...

Since the digital output from the Mac Mini is just 1's and 0's, as long as there are no high resistance joints in the cable, a high quality cable is pretty much a waste of money. I would go for an Amazon Basics cable as reasonable quality for a modest price. Wilson

Dekoni pads all fitted. Getting the last 2 to 3 mm into the quite tight slot on the rim of the T5P-2 headphones, without getting a wrinkle is quite a challenge. I used a tool on my mini Swiss Army knife which I think is meant for pushing the cuticle down on nails. Using the plastic ring might be...

Can someone who has tried them please confirm that the model of Dekoni sheepskin pads I require for my T5P Mk.2 phones are EPZ-DT78990-SK. How difficult are these to fit? Thanks Wilson

I bought a 2go early in its life when the wifi did not work properly and a number of other features were missing in action. I sent it back for a refund. Wilson

I have just some research on USB noise. It seems this is only an issue when the connection is transmitting powet, which in the Hugo 2 case it would not be. Even then badly smoothed or isolated power supplies appear to be the issue. I use Benchmark Media DAC 3L DACS in both U.K. and France. Now...

They aren’t.

Does anyone know of a company who can replace the horrible Hugo 2 Micro-USB charge socket with a more robust USB-C, where I don’t have to locate a pair of reading glasses to see the plug and socket orientation? My charge socket is becoming erratic again. Wilson

I think it is a race to the slowest between Spotify for lossless and Apple for their classical only streaming service. I will probably change from Qobuz to Apple as the classical selection on Qobuz is too biased towards early music, choral and baroque for my personal tastes. Wilson

I think that comes under the heading of "so far so good". They are not branded, so I suspect come from the usual cheap as chips Chinese factories. They look suspiciously like the blue 18650 lithium cells that come with Chinese made LED torches, which I usually replace with Nitecore ones, where...

My suspicion would be the internal lithium batteries on the 2Go. I don't think Chord use very good quality lithium batteries on their products. I had to replace the batteries on my infrequently used (but regularly recharged) Hugo2 after just 2 years. I bought replacement batteries from Audio...

You only have to look at the figures on my Krell amplifier. Its power output 250WPC but its power supply is 2.5 kW. In hot weather I direct a cold air fan towards its cooling fins. That is the excess power you need for class A and the Evolution 2250 is modified class A rather than pure Class A...

Desktop mode on the Hugo 2 is supposed to be automatic when the unit has been plugged into the charger for 24 hours but it just seems a bit of a coincidence that the batteries failed, soon after leaving it connected to the charger for just over a month. I would guess the batteries had previously...

You can but see my post 21474 above, that I suspect I damaged the rechargeable Li-Ion batteries by leaving the Hugo 2 plugged into the charger for a month non-stop, when using it as a system DAC, while my Benchmark Media DAC-3L was away being repaired. Wilson

Just had to replace the 2 lithium ion batteries in my Chord Hugo 2, as it would neither charge nor start up. Disappointing after less than 2 years. I wonder if it might have been when I used it for a month as a system DAC at my French house, while getting my Benchmark Media DAC 3L repaired after...

I find the cups a little bit on the shallow side. The other issue I had was the weight pressing through the ever thinning hatch on top of my head. I have now padded the head band with real lambskin with the tightly curled lambs wool on the side next to my head. This was a big improvement. I...

I suspect the 2Go may work better on Android than iOS. I waited and waited for FW updates and when it arrived it fixed nothing. I could not get the 2Go to connect to any Apple WiFi network and Qobuz streaming never worked when I still had the 2Go, neither did BBC streaming unless you connected...

I suspect the 2Go is a dead end, especially given how many people (me included) sent them back for refunds, when they just did not preform as advertised. Wifi connectivity was awful. Wilson

I don't like layers of adapters so I ordered a USB-C to Micro USB from Amazon (about €8) and that works fine with my M1 Mac Mini with the Hugo 2 showing up in sound options. You have to select it in the source button on the Hugo, second button from the left. USB input is when the button is...

I disagree about opting for optical over coax. I don't think the problem lies with the cables but the signal is going to have to run through two converters 1) digital to optical and 2) optical to digital. Both of these converters run a risk of signal degradation and adding noise. Wilson

I have been having problems with my Benchmark Media DAC3L since my house in France was struck by lightning just before I left France last autumn to come back to the UK for the winter. I only found this out when I got back to France a couple of days ago. I feared the DAC3L would have to go back...

I am always suspicious as to just how good a Micro USB socket and plug can be, given the tiny areas of contact and possibility of dirt and/or corrosion. There are physical limitations on TOSLINK optical, so whenever possible, the best method is digital coaxial. An expensive cable is a waste of...

Many thanks folks. My bad. I thought the only digital input to the Hugo 2 was via the Micro USB. Just looked again and there is the Toslink input - Doh! I am now much more comfortable about sending my Benchmark Media DAC3L back to the USA for repair. I have been told by others their service turn...

The week I left my French house in the Autumn, it was struck by lightning. In spite of extensive anti-lightning precautions, quite a lot was damaged and having just got back there a day and a half ago, I am finding other damaged items. I knew the TV, Freesat box, Apple wifi boosters and American...

Buying from Europe is now a nightmare in the UK, due to the total stupidity of Brexit. I am still waiting for a VAT/import duty refund from HMRC of over £300 from last May for returned faulty goods. If Beyer have these cables, I will buy it via Polar Audio who are local to me in the UK, are the...