Analog Squared Paper Discussion Thread.
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Got a new source for my TU-05 : Finally I received my HUGO !
![size]](http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif[size=13px][/size])
Very first listening, but so far I prefer HUGO->TU-05 better than HUGO alone (with my Roxane & with my TH-900).
may be I am too intoxicated by the warm tube sound of my TU-05 to really appreciate the "purity" of the HUGO alone
Anyway, I am happy
Anyone HUGO + TUR-06 ?
I'like to see picture of them stacked together : since they have the same foot-print, they should assemble better than HUGO+TU-05, but... will this HUGO + TUR-06 stack sound as good as HUGO + TU-05 ??
Very first listening, but so far I prefer HUGO->TU-05 better than HUGO alone (with my Roxane & with my TH-900).
may be I am too intoxicated by the warm tube sound of my TU-05 to really appreciate the "purity" of the HUGO alone
Anyway, I am happy
Anyone HUGO + TUR-06 ?
I'like to see picture of them stacked together : since they have the same foot-print, they should assemble better than HUGO+TU-05, but... will this HUGO + TUR-06 stack sound as good as HUGO + TU-05 ??
GermanGuy
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Anyone can help me to find some Kobe Kogyo Corp. "Ten" 3S4 ?
At the moment i have the same problem - my second TEN 3S4 arrived yesterday, but can't find the first one arrived some weeks ago!
GermanGuy
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just found the first one, so now it' s time to listen to some music!
xplosive
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Sorry no picture but i did try them before. They just looks like two tur06 stacks together. hugo is thinner though.
Thanks,
was the "HUGO+TUR-06" bringing a noticeable SQ improvement compared to HUGO alone ? what Headphone you used with ?
xplosive
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I was using with ak240, connect it to the hugo using tosslink. For the headphone i was using my grado ms-1 mod, and final audio lab1.
the connection to tur06 was rca to mini.
I am actually a bit confuse to set them properly. I set line out at the ak240, on the hugo i have to increase the volume bit by bit as if i put too much volume they start to distort. Then i start to set the volume on tur06.
Imo I don't really recommend ak240+hugo+tur06. I find it quite hard on setting the volume right. I find the cymbal sound funny too.. maybe just my ears.
ak240 + hugo also seems a waste for me since the combo can not play the dsd songs that the ak240 really shines for.
However I can hear the sound improvement using the lab1. I actually recommend using hugo with the lab1 or any hard to drive headphones like lcd, they sound amazing. without it i find the lab1 sound a bit compressed on the high. This is the only picture i got from last time.
So my best setting still ak240+tur06+grado with 24 bit or dsd recordings, the tur06 really make "reverb" sound from string instruments, vocal, and room ambiance (sense of space) amazing on good live recordings. The excitement of this setup makes my heart pumps up faster by couple of heart beat...
With the hugo in between they sound too refine for my liking. But if you like refine / hi-fi kind of sound that are layered neatly in every area, they are for you.
the connection to tur06 was rca to mini.
I am actually a bit confuse to set them properly. I set line out at the ak240, on the hugo i have to increase the volume bit by bit as if i put too much volume they start to distort. Then i start to set the volume on tur06.
Imo I don't really recommend ak240+hugo+tur06. I find it quite hard on setting the volume right. I find the cymbal sound funny too.. maybe just my ears.
ak240 + hugo also seems a waste for me since the combo can not play the dsd songs that the ak240 really shines for.
However I can hear the sound improvement using the lab1. I actually recommend using hugo with the lab1 or any hard to drive headphones like lcd, they sound amazing. without it i find the lab1 sound a bit compressed on the high. This is the only picture i got from last time.
So my best setting still ak240+tur06+grado with 24 bit or dsd recordings, the tur06 really make "reverb" sound from string instruments, vocal, and room ambiance (sense of space) amazing on good live recordings. The excitement of this setup makes my heart pumps up faster by couple of heart beat...
With the hugo in between they sound too refine for my liking. But if you like refine / hi-fi kind of sound that are layered neatly in every area, they are for you.
I was using with ak240, connect it to the hugo using tosslink. For the headphone i was using my grado ms-1 mod, and final audio lab1.
the connection to tur06 was rca to mini.
I am actually a bit confuse to set them properly. I set line out at the ak240, on the hugo i have to increase the volume bit by bit as if i put too much volume they start to distort. Then i start to set the volume on tur06.
Imo I don't really recommend ak240+hugo+tur06. I find it quite hard on setting the volume right. I find the cymbal sound funny too.. maybe just my ears.
ak240 + hugo also seems a waste for me since the combo can not play the dsd songs that the ak240 really shines for.
However I can hear the sound improvement using the lab1. I actually recommend using hugo with the lab1 or any hard to drive headphones like lcd, they sound amazing. without it i find the lab1 sound a bit compressed on the high. This is the only picture i got from last time.
So my best setting still ak240+tur06+grado with 24 bit or dsd recordings, the tur06 really make "reverb" sound from string instruments, vocal, and room ambiance (sense of space) amazing on good live recordings. The excitement of this setup makes my heart pumps up faster by couple of heart beat...
With the hugo in between they sound too refine for my liking. But if you like refine / hi-fi kind of sound that are layered neatly in every area, they are for you.
Thanks for this detailed answer.
I do not really understand why the AK240>HUGO>TUR-06 bring additional volume setting problems !
When you use AK240>HUGO>TUR-06, then there is no volume issue on the AK240 side since it output digital with NO volume setting possible. So you just have 2 volume setting left : on the HUGO and on the TUR-06.... exactly like when you use AK240>TUR-06: also 2 volume setting possible : on the AK240 and on the TUR-06 .
xplosive
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I always set maximum volume / line out on the ak240. With ak240 + tur06 I only make volume adjustment on the tur06. With hugo on between I have to set the volume on the tur and the hugo. Maybe it is not going to be hard once you find the max volume out of the hugo that not makes distortion on the amp. Some recordings like dsd you need more volume to extract the detail out. On the other hand on 16 bit recording i tend to make the volume lower, That makes setting both volume on the hugo and tur06 bit troublesome for me to get the volume right.
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Hey Folks,
I finally got a chance to do some side by side comparisons with my various gear>HD800's. USB=Vox on MacPro (trashcan) in Hog, bit perfect, mode. All music was HD ~ 88.2/24bit. There's nothing scientific here, just my impressions.
USB>Hugo>HD800: Plenty of drive. So clear you can turn it up way louder than you should be listening. Incredible detail, and I mean incredible. Nothing to complain about.
USB>Hugo>TU-05>HD800: There seems to be a compatibility issue here. The Hugo is giving too much volume (RCA Cables) into the TU-05, sort of like a Les Paul with the volume all the way up into a tube guitar amp. You have to back off on the Hugo volume control to make this work. And it sounds very good.
USB>Meridian Director>TU-05>HD800: This combo is so good that I'm considering selling the Hugo. The Director powers from a Morphie Juice Pack so it works on the go. This is the combo that I relax and start enjoying the music. There is lovely detail, wonderful pitch definition, but it's not so analytical that you only want to listen to the best masters.
An example is the reverb on the piano on 'Lady Stardust' from Bowie's '...Ziggy Startdust...'. I have an SACD rip to 88.2 flac. With the Hugo straight into the HD800's, it sounds like a layer of fake reverb. With the Director/TU-05 the reverb blends more with the instrument but also has more pitch definition - you have the impression that you could hear each note of the chord from the reverb alone. A fun discovery of listening to the entire album through the Director/TU-05 combo is that almost every song has two vocal tracks, and two guitar tracks, one in each ear. Through a good stereo these blend into a seamless whole. Through a top headphone rig each is distinct.
I also experimented with the AK120 feeding both DAC's and my experience was similar, but these devices seem to be slightly optimized for USB. From my brief listen at a recent meet-up I would say that the AK240 would be a better investment than the Hugo because frankly I don't take any of this big gear with me when I'm truly on the go. I listen to the UERM's straight out of my DAP.
I haven't really gotten into DSD, even though I have access to a lot of it from my SACD ripping. I'll report back if this tips things towards the Hugo.
A side note is that I don't like the powering scheme of the Hugo. If something plugs into USB it should be able to get power that way.
A note on the TU-05: I'm still listening to the stock tubes and loving them. I have the upgraded transformers and bass seems to be completely adequate. I also haven't heard the TU-05 without the fancy volume pot so I can't report if that helps or hurts.
I finally got a chance to do some side by side comparisons with my various gear>HD800's. USB=Vox on MacPro (trashcan) in Hog, bit perfect, mode. All music was HD ~ 88.2/24bit. There's nothing scientific here, just my impressions.
USB>Hugo>HD800: Plenty of drive. So clear you can turn it up way louder than you should be listening. Incredible detail, and I mean incredible. Nothing to complain about.
USB>Hugo>TU-05>HD800: There seems to be a compatibility issue here. The Hugo is giving too much volume (RCA Cables) into the TU-05, sort of like a Les Paul with the volume all the way up into a tube guitar amp. You have to back off on the Hugo volume control to make this work. And it sounds very good.
USB>Meridian Director>TU-05>HD800: This combo is so good that I'm considering selling the Hugo. The Director powers from a Morphie Juice Pack so it works on the go. This is the combo that I relax and start enjoying the music. There is lovely detail, wonderful pitch definition, but it's not so analytical that you only want to listen to the best masters.
An example is the reverb on the piano on 'Lady Stardust' from Bowie's '...Ziggy Startdust...'. I have an SACD rip to 88.2 flac. With the Hugo straight into the HD800's, it sounds like a layer of fake reverb. With the Director/TU-05 the reverb blends more with the instrument but also has more pitch definition - you have the impression that you could hear each note of the chord from the reverb alone. A fun discovery of listening to the entire album through the Director/TU-05 combo is that almost every song has two vocal tracks, and two guitar tracks, one in each ear. Through a good stereo these blend into a seamless whole. Through a top headphone rig each is distinct.
I also experimented with the AK120 feeding both DAC's and my experience was similar, but these devices seem to be slightly optimized for USB. From my brief listen at a recent meet-up I would say that the AK240 would be a better investment than the Hugo because frankly I don't take any of this big gear with me when I'm truly on the go. I listen to the UERM's straight out of my DAP.
I haven't really gotten into DSD, even though I have access to a lot of it from my SACD ripping. I'll report back if this tips things towards the Hugo.
A side note is that I don't like the powering scheme of the Hugo. If something plugs into USB it should be able to get power that way.
A note on the TU-05: I'm still listening to the stock tubes and loving them. I have the upgraded transformers and bass seems to be completely adequate. I also haven't heard the TU-05 without the fancy volume pot so I can't report if that helps or hurts.
GermanGuy
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this time posting the summary before posting the details:
1. the TEN 3S4 is definetely the best sounding DL92 / 3S4 tube i have listened to up to now.
2. i like the Telefunken diamond base berlin made DF96 / TEN 3S4 combo, great sounding with the Beyer T5P.
3. Using my diy grado style headphone the RFT DF97 / TEN 3S4 combo is just playing and fighting to get my new dream combo, the detail retrieval, precision, pinpoint localisation, attack and decay f.e. of guitar strings, the beauty of sound while beeing so spacious and yes, having this great bass extension and texture, the clarity presenting each detail so detailed ...
So if you can get one, sorry two TEN 3S4 .... this is an outstanding tube.
4. The fight is over, the RFT DF97 / TEN 3S4 combo just won the game with presenting J. S. Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium, Rilling in a never heard, new and outstanding quality!
1. the TEN 3S4 is definetely the best sounding DL92 / 3S4 tube i have listened to up to now.
2. i like the Telefunken diamond base berlin made DF96 / TEN 3S4 combo, great sounding with the Beyer T5P.
3. Using my diy grado style headphone the RFT DF97 / TEN 3S4 combo is just playing and fighting to get my new dream combo, the detail retrieval, precision, pinpoint localisation, attack and decay f.e. of guitar strings, the beauty of sound while beeing so spacious and yes, having this great bass extension and texture, the clarity presenting each detail so detailed ...
So if you can get one, sorry two TEN 3S4 .... this is an outstanding tube.
4. The fight is over, the RFT DF97 / TEN 3S4 combo just won the game with presenting J. S. Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium, Rilling in a never heard, new and outstanding quality!
GermanGuy
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@Sam Edwards - just one hour ago i was near to press the buy button to get a meridian director but thought it would be better to ask you about your experience with the chord hugo, so beeing very happy to read that the director is the way to go!
So GG you prefer the RFT DF97 / TEN 3S4 combo to the Telefunken diamond base berlin made DF96 / TEN 3S4 combo !
GG, I am not that convinced that the director win over the HUGO. I have a HUGO with TH-05 and it is incrédible. It's a mater of taste I présume
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