[-HaVoC-Tzu-]

I just read few articles about this dac. At which section you like it more than Hugo 2 in your system?

While the Hugo 2 is more pinpoint accurate at imaging, the Ares 2 has a more beautiful sound overall, more smooth and holographic. It’s how I wish my vinyls would sound tbh. I just enjoy music more on the Ares 2.
The Ares 2 isn’t trying to sound pinpoint accurate like the Hugo 2 is, it’s trying to sound nice instead.

For gaming,I would pick the Hugo2 only because there is an audio delay due to the Ares 2 buffer, Hugo 2 does not have a recognizable delay.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

While the Hugo 2 is more pinpoint accurate at imaging, the Ares 2 has a more beautiful sound overall, more smooth and holographic. It’s how I wish my vinyls would sound tbh. I just enjoy music more on the Ares 2.
The Ares 2 isn’t trying to sound pinpoint accurate like the Hugo 2 is, it’s trying to sound nice instead.

For gaming,I would pick the Hugo2 only because there is an audio delay due to the Ares 2 buffer, Hugo 2 does not have a recognizable delay.

Hoo, thanks for your info!

 

[KC2020]

Sure thing. I have the dac 1 and 2 and lkve them, so I'm sure the 3 will be excellent as well.

Now that you've had the DAC 3 for a while how do you think it compares to the DAC 2 and DAC 1 ?

 

[340519]

Now that you've had the DAC 3 for a while how do you think it compares to the DAC 2 and DAC 1 ?

To be completely honest, I can't hear a difference. They are all excellent but alas it's not like "wow this one sounds better."

 

[thomaskong78]

I had got Schitt Freya + about three hours ago.

Although I had enjoyed Raal Sr1a driven by Jot R for the last three months for open and exciting sound, sometimes it got close to hot.

I got Freya+ to tame the sound of Sr1a.

I skipped stock JJ tubes and inserted Nos Amperex 6sn7 gtb in gain stage and Sylvania gtb on buffer stage into Freya.


Sr1a driven by Freya and Jot R sounds much more musical to me than driven by Jot R.


Out of curiosity, I am driving HD 800s out of Rca output of Freya using "Hosa TPR-257" adapter bought from Amazon.

Wow, Freya+ is also a killer amp for HD 800s.

I had driven HD 800s by headphone output of Dave and HMS.

It sounds transparent but with one note bass.


But with Freya in the chain after Dave, HD 800s sounds almost perfect with nice soundstage, clean details and full and textured bass.

 

[katulu]

I run mine out of Neutron->Chord HMS->Chord DAVE->Apex Teton(USAF596/Tung-sol 5998/6SN7W)->HD800S

And even WITHOUT my PEQ to neutral this thing sounds OUT OF THIS WORLD amazing. I honestly would LOVE to hear anything that can make the HD800S sound better than this. My PEQ'ed STAX rig barely (barely!) edges it out as far as "best sound ever".

 

[koven]

I honestly would LOVE to hear anything that can make the HD800S sound better than this.

Perhaps an Apex Pinnacle could...

 

[katulu]

Perhaps an Apex Pinnacle could...

Hmm by what I've read, it didn't seem the Pinnacle had the same level of synergy with the HDs the Teton had... but of course, could be...

 

[KC2020]

To be completely honest, I can't hear a difference. They are all excellent but alas it's not like "wow this one sounds better."

Your honesty is commendable and with it you've joined an elite group. There are quite a few well known audio engineers and producers who would tell you they can't tell the difference between them. I've compared them on very high end studio monitors ($30K PMC in a well known Nashville studio) that are extremely revealing and found no need to replace my DAC-1s.

 

[HulalaHifi]

Just upgraded my headphone DAC/AMP to Hugo 2 for my Sennheiser HD800s, very happy with this combo; not just the pinpoint accuracy, also the amount of details I can hear now, just Wow; what surprised me the most is it doesn't sound bright at all, not a single bit, and the bass is very accurate, clean and fast. Both treble and mid range have lots of details, well layered and sounds very fine. Before I was concerned about Hugo 2's power and thinking it might need a dedicated amp, but not anymore now!

 

[Skeith]

Just upgraded my headphone DAC/AMP to Hugo 2 for my Sennheiser HD800s, very happy with this combo; not just the pinpoint accuracy, also the amount of details I can hear now, just Wow; what surprised me the most is it doesn't sound bright at all, not a single bit, and the base is very accurate, clean and fast. Both treble and mid range have lots of details, layered very well and sounds very fine. Before I was concerned about Hugo's power and thinking if it needs a dedicated amp, but not anymore!

Add 2go to make your Hugo 2 sounded more full bodied and more organic...

 

[RickInHouston]

Get a Benchmark DAC3 HGC and be done. Listen to things khow it was meant to sound. Uncolored. Good or bad.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Save your money, go to the audio science review forums and investigate what matters with DACs and look at the many measured devices. I have now selected my last two DACs based on the fantastic wealth of scientific measurements there and both have been affordable and fantastic sounding SMSL models. I was on the Hugo2 tour, I have owned a Mojo and various other DACs including the NAD M51 and an Audiolab model amongst others and I can tell you without a moments hesitation I would take the SMSL M200 over the Hugo2 as a DAC. The M200 is audibly transparent, massively more affordable and also features extremely well implemented Bluetooth 5. I would get some of the wonderful and affordable gear to pair with the 800S, which I owned by the way and drove with a great tube amp with fabulous tubes as well as from a great solid state amp. An amp simply needs to provide adequate, stable clean power, enough for the dynamic peaks of the load. Even $300 amps these days can more than fit that bill and the same goes for the DACs. The days of being trapped into spending thousands of dollars on amps and DACs to get what we need is long over.

And to clarify, this community also offers great information, just not objective measurements and while I say I would take the M200 over the Hugo2 as a DAC that isn't because the Hugo2 isn't a great device, it is just that as a DAC the M200 sounds every bit as good, but is so much more affordable.

 

[-HaVoC-Tzu-]

dunno about smsl m200, but i have the smsl su8-v2 and it sounds way worse than hugo 2/qutest and ares 2

 

[Sonic Defender]

dunno about smsl m200, but i have the smsl su8-v2 and it sounds way worse than hugo 2/qutest and ares 2

No it doesn't, I'll put huge money on you not being able to tell them apart in multiple trial, blind listening tests. Any difference you are hearing is because you expect the more expensive Hugo2 to sound better and you are comparing using sighted listening tests. If you level matched and did blind listening tests, multiple trials you couldn't tell them apart.