[Falcaw]

Hi Guys,
 
I thought I would ask for some help choosing between these two. Unfortunately I have no local dealers that sell the chord hugo so can't audition it. I do have access to a vega though which from the reviews is apparently just amazing.
 
My problem. 
 
I have a home hifi system
 
Macbook air > arcam rdac > Prima Luna prologue classic > Magnepan 1.7's
 
and my portable head phone rig that I use mainly as a dekstop rig at work
 
Centrance hifi m8 > Senn HD 800's
 
So currently the weakest link in my system is the Arcam rdac and I want to upgrade.
 
I am looking for a dac that has DSD capability, only need usb input but supports at least 24bit/192khz but most of all that the dac is a big step up in sound stage particularly in 3D depth, detail retrieval and naturalness compared with my arcam.
 
So I was thinking about looking into the Vega which is local about $4000.
Without listening to it yet here are the pros and cons for me
 
Pros over Chord Hugo
- Digital volume control (Prima luna doesn't have a remote so this is a bonus)
- Different filter options
- Femto Clock?
 
Chord hugo pros over vega
 - Price ( for around $2500)
 - Head amp at home. I have heard that the amp inside the hugo is pretty good and sometimes it is annoying to always transport my hd 800s and hifi m8 from work back to home for latenight listening (i live in an apartment).
For the same price total as the vega I could buy the hugo and a set of lcd-2's to add a different sound to my collection (and or give an awesome portable option for my girlfriend who also loves music.), or even a burson soloist. This is one reason I am thinking of this option as it gives me a head amp at home.
 
So I think out of both the hugo gives me more bang for my buck but the main question is.....
 
What is the difference in sound? Is the vega worth it over the hugo? 
 
Unfortunately I can't audition both. I was hoping someone here had heard both or tried the Hugo as just a reference DAC or even better a/b vs's the Vega.
 
Thanks guys any help would be appreciated.

 

[SearchOfSub]

I would also be very interested in hearing someones opinion of the two... anyone?

 

[CoLdAsSauLt]

Bump
 
Somebody? Having the same difficult decision ahead
to pair with a Stratus most probably (feel free to suggest something better in your opinion by pm).

 

[SearchOfSub]

I can't believe no one a/B ' ed Hugo vs vega. These 2 seems like the top affordable dacs nowadays.

 

[agooh]

to my ears vega is better than Hugo by 5%.

 

[CoLdAsSauLt]

  to my ears vega is better than Hugo by 5%.

Aha, the long awaited guy exists and goes by the name of agooh Could you elaborate please?
What headphones were used to make that statement? 

 

[Solrighal]

I can't believe no one a/B ' ed Hugo vs vega. These 2 seems like the top affordable dacs nowadays.

I'm sorry I can't help with your specific problem but I have to say you have a strange definition of "affordable".

 

[agooh]

 I used: Lcd3 fazor, fotex Th900,Akg 551,Philips L1,X1,Hd598,M 100,T1...

 

[scott hifi]

i sell both at the shop where i work.... i own a Hugo and the Aries streamer from Auralic.
 
The Vega is very nice we use one hooked directly to a pair of their Mono Blocks and it work very well.
I choose the Hugo over the Vega because i liked the sonic signature of the Hugo over the Vega along with the Hugo's feature set.
The Hugo does have its drawback when it comes to Cable fitment but thats about it.

 

[SearchOfSub]

How does the Aries streamer sound compare to a CD through transport?

 

[scott hifi]

Oh leaps and bounds better with the right hi res file