[earnmyturns]

Yes, I know, "bits are bits, asynchronous USB and so on"…. Have a nice life.

Don't put words in my mouth that I did not say. Bits are encoded physically, and poor physical representation can have audible consequences. Chord gear, in my experience, is very sensitive to ground loops and other electrical noise effects. So your supplementary equipment may be helping, but for electrical isolation, not for digital reasons.

 

[MarkParity]

Really enjoying my 2Go/Hugo2 at the moment with BubbleUPNP I found the "Proxy Qobuz" setting makes everything work perfectly in 2Go's Hotspot mode, up to and including 192khz streamed over my data connection.

The only problem is its not really for use on the go without a bag so I've got a Poly/Mojo2 arriving today I think that will be pocket friendly just about albeit with a large bulge in the front of my jeans which to be honest is a problem I've lived with for many years anyway so I'm not bothered.

 

[NYanakiev]

Do let us know how you get on with the Poly. I had both 2Go and Poly over for testing and ended up buying the Hugo 2+2Go. Poly was, sadly, just as unstable/unpredictable as I when I owned one. It doesn’t automatically switch between playback methods and it was nowhere near as stable a Roon endpoint as 2Go.

Based on what I heard from Chord, however, Poly will be getting a software update to bring it up to 2Go‘s ability to not drop off the wifi network when moving between mesh Wi-Fi zones.

 

[MarkParity]

Do let us know how you get on with the Poly. I had both 2Go and Poly over for testing and ended up buying the Hugo 2+2Go. Poly was, sadly, just as unstable/unpredictable as I when I owned one. It doesn’t automatically switch between playback methods and it was nowhere near as stable a Roon endpoint as 2Go.

Based on what I heard from Chord, however, Poly will be getting a software update to bring it up to 2Go‘s ability to not drop off the wifi network when moving between mesh Wi-Fi zones.

Yes no problem, as I have 2Go experience I was able to setup Poly in 30 seconds (Hotspot mode) connect to it within 1 minute and its been working flawlessly for the last three hours. There is a sticker on the box saying it has v3.0+ F/W and GoFigure says it has F/W 3.0.0 installed.

I did have a Mojo 2 back when it was first released but mine had a fault whereby it burned out, luckily a cheaper set of IEMs, so I returned it.

I happy to report this Mojo2 is working great and sounds very nice.

 

[NYanakiev]

The one thing I find annoying (outside of the comparatively poor wifi chips of both add-ons) is Chord's stubborn reluctance to add a 4.4mm balanced jack.

The Hugo 2 sounds about as good as my A&K SP3000 but having to use adapters makes things very cumbersome..

 

[MarkParity]

The one thing I find annoying (outside of the comparatively poor wifi chips of both add-ons) is Chord's stubborn reluctance to add a 4.4mm balanced jack.

The Hugo 2 sounds about as good as my A&K SP3000 but having to use adapters makes things very cumbersome..

Ditch the 4.4mm cable and get a perfectly good 3.5mm cable. OK I know that probably isn't a solution but Chord Electronics are correct we really don't need balanced if the single ended output is done right but Head-Fi...

 

[NYanakiev]

Ditch the 4.4mm cable and get a perfectly good 3.5mm cable. OK I know that probably isn't a solution but Chord Electronics are correct we really don't need balanced if the single ended output is done right but Head-Fi...

Easier said than done when you have already invested in what consider the right cables.

 

[c1pseudonaz]

Not sure it is the right thread, but it is my first post...
I recently purchased a Hugo2, plugged into a spare smartphone with UAPP, which serves as a upnp renderer.
Despite convenience of the 2go, will I benefit of better sound quality versus a smartphone ? I found a used 2go at fair price but still a bit more expensive than an old smartphone
Maybe this has been discussed already but did not find the keywords to jump on the right thread. Thanks

 

[MarkParity]

Not sure it is the right thread, but it is my first post...
I recently purchased a Hugo2, plugged into a spare smartphone with UAPP, which serves as a upnp renderer.
Despite convenience of the 2go, will I benefit of better sound quality versus a smartphone ? I found a used 2go at fair price but still a bit more expensive than an old smartphone
Maybe this has been discussed already but did not find the keywords to jump on the right thread. Thanks

Whenever that question comes up I always say digital is digital, some agree some disagree.

Where 2Go wins out is that it allows a bit more separation between the phone and the Hugo2 and its I/O cables, Hugo2 like the original Mojo is very susceptible to RF noise pickup which can result in noise heard over the output.

Interestingly Mojo2 doesn't suffer with this issue, the output stage was redesigned, the reason why I mention this is when/if Hugo3 is released I'm sure it will have this revised output stage and will not have the same RF induced noise issue as Hugo2.

Will Hugo3 keep micro USB though to maintain compatibility with the 2Go that is a question.

 

[c1pseudonaz]

Thank you
So this is the subject of "Usb sound", and indeed there are many discussions around.
In my use case I may have to invest first in better headphones then. Thanks for giving me directions, a lot a research to come!

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Chord Hugo2 & 2Go, or FiiO M17?

I am looking for a transportable streaming-capable player, that has a 1/4” output jack (don’t like adapters). My search has narrowed to either the FiiOM17 or the Chord Hugo2 plus the 2Go streamer. Cost is not a factor.

Chord Hugo2 & 2Go advantages:

• Better sound quality (near as I can tell with my Hugo 1, Chord playing an MQA file with only 1st stage decoding sounds a bit better than my iBasso DX170 playing the same file with full 2-stage MQA decoding)

M17 advantages:

• Full MQA unfolding (1st and 2nd stage)
• Integrated user interface (don’t need a separate phone or tablet to control music transport)
• Slightly smaller - could fit into pocket
• Possibly better return policy (from Amazon, no questions asked)

Am I missing anything? Even though the advantages to the M17 are more numerous, I find I still lean toward the Chord. I felt I was burned by the FiiO X5iii, my first experience with a FiiO streaming DAP, in that it was slow, buggy, didn’t run Tidal, etc., etc. But I have heard things about a temperamental WiFi connectivity on the Chord 2Go, as well as a buggy control user interface running its GoFigure app on an iPhone to tell it what and how to play.

 

[NYanakiev]

Chord Hugo2 & 2Go, or FiiO M17?

I am looking for a transportable streaming-capable player, that has a 1/4” output jack (don’t like adapters). My search has narrowed to either the FiiOM17 or the Chord Hugo2 plus the 2Go streamer. Cost is not a factor.

Chord Hugo2 & 2Go advantages:

• Better sound quality (near as I can tell with my Hugo 1, Chord playing an MQA file with only 1st stage decoding sounds a bit better than my iBasso DX170 playing the same file with full 2-stage MQA decoding)

M17 advantages:

• Full MQA unfolding (1st and 2nd stage)
• Integrated user interface (don’t need a separate phone or tablet to control music transport)
• Slightly smaller - could fit into pocket
• Possibly better return policy (from Amazon, no questions asked)

Am I missing anything? Even though the advantages to the M17 are more numerous, I find I still lean toward the Chord. I felt I was burned by the FiiO X5iii, my first experience with a FiiO streaming DAP, in that it was slow, buggy, didn’t run Tidal, etc., etc. But I have heard things about a temperamental WiFi connectivity on the Chord 2Go, as well as a buggy control user interface running its GoFigure app on an iPhone to tell it what and how to play.

I used to own the Fiio M17- the thing is far thicker than the Hugo2Go combo and doesn't sound nearly as good.

You don't really need Gofigure to play music on the Chord duo, plenty of excellent apps on both iPhone and Android.

Chord's idea here is why invest in a subpar screen when you can use a phone/tanlet/laptop instead. Wifi on my new mesh Wi-Fi has been rock solid and playback on Roon has been great.

 

[MarkParity]

Chord Hugo2 & 2Go, or FiiO M17?

I am looking for a transportable streaming-capable player, that has a 1/4” output jack (don’t like adapters). My search has narrowed to either the FiiOM17 or the Chord Hugo2 plus the 2Go streamer. Cost is not a factor.

Chord Hugo2 & 2Go advantages:

• Better sound quality (near as I can tell with my Hugo 1, Chord playing an MQA file with only 1st stage decoding sounds a bit better than my iBasso DX170 playing the same file with full 2-stage MQA decoding)

M17 advantages:

• Full MQA unfolding (1st and 2nd stage)
• Integrated user interface (don’t need a separate phone or tablet to control music transport)
• Slightly smaller - could fit into pocket
• Possibly better return policy (from Amazon, no questions asked)

Am I missing anything? Even though the advantages to the M17 are more numerous, I find I still lean toward the Chord. I felt I was burned by the FiiO X5iii, my first experience with a FiiO streaming DAP, in that it was slow, buggy, didn’t run Tidal, etc., etc. But I have heard things about a temperamental WiFi connectivity on the Chord 2Go, as well as a buggy control user interface running its GoFigure app on an iPhone to tell it what and how to play.

Also consider a PolyMojo2. I own both the 2GoHugo2 and the PolyMojo2. I got the PolyMojo2 for portability when out walking but it does hold its own against the Hugo2 when used as a transportable solution as well, I don't think I could pick one from the other in a blind test.

I gave up chasing the MQA, it sounds good don't get me wrong and I have no issues with it as many here on Head-Fi do but its difficult to get the full unfolding across all my devices so I signed up to Qobuz again and everything works as it should all the way up to 192Khz 24bit which I can stream even in the car and when out and about walking.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

@MarkParity , thanks for the suggestion for the Mojo2/Poly, but I do want a system with a 1/4” headphone output (don’t like to use adapters… always the wrong place). Mojo2 does not have a 1/4” output, does it?

 

[MarkParity]

@MarkParity , thanks for the suggestion for the Mojo2/Poly, but I do want a system with a 1/4” headphone output (don’t like to use adapters… always the wrong place). Mojo2 does not have a 1/4” output, does it?

True, I apologise for wasting your time.