[OK-Guy]

 

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Shanghai International High-End HiFi Show (SIAV 2015) ​

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Date: 24th - 26th April 2015​

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Venue: SIAV 2015​

             Shanghai International Exhibition and Convention Center​

             2727Riverside Avenue, Puddong​

Shanghai, China.​

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Booth number - 5T02​

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Dita Audio (China) will be hosting Chord Electronics at the upcoming SIAV event - John Franks will be unveiling and presenting the Chord Hugo TT on Saturday 25th, also on display will be the Hugo and 2Cute with a multitude of differend sources.​

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Chord's host Dita-Audio have built a special event stand that will be revealed on Friday... I'll post some photo's of the Dita stand on Friday (apparently John's not allowed to see it).​

 

[AlanU]

  Hmmmm ...  A $579.00 dac vs a $1795.00 dac. I wonder?
 
Sorry, I couldn't help myself. If it sound's like I was being a smart%^&*#**, I assure you I was only kidding.
 
You asked a valid question. The Hugo is an extraordinary amp at it's price and the 2Qute is the Hugo with minor differences.
 
If it would fit in your finances then I would go for the 2Qute. I would think the real question will be the 2Qute vs Yggdrasil.  
 
As far as differences in sound signature couldn't tell you because I don't have one!!! Argh  ....... Chord get the lead out!!
 
I could be wrong (What do I know?) but the 2Qute will smoke the Uber. There may be others who could chime in here but I suspect it will be the same answer.
 
 
One thing to consider is personal preference. 
 
What I find with most dacs from the range of $1000+ all seem to have different flavours of sound and decent across the board. 
 
I own a Canadian made tube dac from SpaceTech Labs. It's not pretty but I'll have to say its extremely versatile. Since I can change the tube rectifier to a solid state full wave diode rectifier it will provide more of that common solid state sound. Most tube setups will add pleasant harmonic/overtones that is extremely difficult to get from a solid state dac. My Tube dac provides a holographic effect while it images. The solid state dac puts the emphasis on the sound signature the designer has pre determined accentuating high/mids/low frequencies. As you may discover some dacs provide hyper detail while some have more musical interpretation to the music. My tube dac has given me the most true to life, intimate  female vocals in my livingroom with my 2 channel. Melody Gardot's voice is unlike any solid state dac I've used.
 
We seem to have this predetermined idea what music "should" sound like. In a concert Chris Botti's trumpet sounds more realistic with my tube dac because in real life the trumpet is not isolated in a "pin point" manner like many hyper detailed or solid state dac's presentation. At the concert there is a blend of the stage with imagery but not pin point of the location of the stage. On the other hand if your like the sound of your dac .....that's all that really matters. 
 
The human ear is not clear cut in determining technical merits of a dac. "we" listen to music and hope to have a pleasant experience without ear fatigue. This is where there's such a following for tubes be it pre amplification or via tube amplification. 
 
I've found that my current dac I use for my 2 channel can change the signature sound by simply rolling tubes. Going from a tube buffer using a 6550 to a 6L6gc to a Kt66 I can transform  the sound to my liking. I found the KT66 sounded incredible with my totem forest's but as i went to the Totem Earth's I prefer using the 6L6GC. These are thing that I cannot do with a solid state dac. 
 
For musical enjoyment some rave about the MHDT Havana dac that has tube buffering. I've never heard this dac but the reviews are stellar. A friend of mine is happy with his $5000 Blue circle dac........ 
 
I've noticed that the only way to determine what you like is that you must buy the dac or get a "trial". The synergy of your dac/amplifier/cabling/power conditioning and speaker/HP is the determining factor.
 
I've hear the well reviewed Nad m51 dac and it was "ok" with my friends setup. 
 
As far as sound signature is concerned I've discovered that you can also change the sound of a dac simply by using a USB/spdif converter (pc based audio rig). My Stello U3 provided a very warm tubey musical presentation while my Concero HD  (used as converter) have a wider dynamic soundstage but more hyper detailed. This is where buying different converters can also change the sound of a dac. Look at Bel Canto for example they have the budget Ulink, mLink and Ref link that all have a different characteristics. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Zaiki]

I heard qute hd on a speaker system. When comparing density with hugo using as a dac, hugo was outplayed by qute hd.

 

[Rob Watts]

I am wondering the same thing.
I have had a 2Qute for a few days. And it mostly sounds good. However all material sounds a little dynamically compressed (music sounds 'loud') and high hats sound very metallic. This doesn't align with anyone else's experiences and I'm wondering if my tube pre-amp is being overdriven by too high an input voltage?

Note that the 2Qute replaced a Chord Qute EX, which sounded great without these issues.

All of Chords FPGA DAC's have been 3v RMS at 0 dBFS (even the DAC 64) on RCA, so 2 Qute is same level as Qute EX.
 
I ran it a little higher than usual so people could use passive volume controls directly into power amps and have a decent volume control range. 
 
Rob

 

[HumanMedia]

Thanks for this info. And I may have spoken in haste. I have had the DAC playing 24/7 for a couple of days now, and the metallic twang is fading and it feels a little more relaxed. Maybe this does settle a bit with 'burn-in'. More info coming when I have it a little longer.

 

[RubyTiger]

Thanks for this info. And I may have spoken in haste. I have had the DAC playing 24/7 for a couple of days now, and the metallic twang is fading and it feels a little more relaxed. Maybe this does settle a bit with 'burn-in'. More info coming when I have it a little longer.

 
Speaking of holographic imaging; how does the 2Qute fair? I like classical music so how good are the instruments separated? Their specificity in location? Also, have you noticed if individual voices can be heard which could not previously with your other dac? I know a lot can come into play here like the quality of speakers, headphones, amp's and other (cables) thing's in the signal chain. But what are your observations in these areas?

 

[AlanU]

   
Speaking of holographic imaging; how does the 2Qute fair? I like classical music so how good are the instruments separated? Their specificity in location? Also, have you noticed if individual voices can be heard which could not previously with your other dac? I know a lot can come into play here like the quality of speakers, headphones, amp's and other (cables) thing's in the signal chain. But what are your observations in these areas?

 
I know this question isn't directed to me but I know that the solid state dac would be the best bet for hyper details. What I find they typically lack is the overtones/ distortion a tube setup would provide. This is probably something not easily analyzed with measurement equipment but the "trusting your ears" as the tubes would provide pleasant distortion.
 
specific instrument separation is something that i find to be a "hyper detail" rather than holographic.  I guess in the real world a symphony orchestra in a beautiful theater blends and combines the musical instruments while still providing general location of the instruments. I find most solid state dacs have needle point location of instruments. This is what we assume is a reference point in grading how well a dac operates. This is where musical merits may not be the perfect technical detail but what gives pleasure to the human ear.
 
This is where there seems to be a trend of people using a solid state dac,  tubed preamp and solid state amplifier to get the best "medium" for high detail isolation and organic pleasure to the ears.

 

[Cenacheros]

It would be great to have an idea of what kind of sound the 2Qute produces.Smooth,thin,full,bright,detailed,etc.?? Thanks.

 

[RubyTiger]

   
I know this question isn't directed to me but I know that the solid state dac would be the best bet for hyper details. What I find they typically lack is the overtones/ distortion a tube setup would provide. This is probably something not easily analyzed with measurement equipment but the "trusting your ears" as the tubes would provide pleasant distortion.
 
specific instrument separation is something that i find to be a "hyper detail" rather than holographic.  I guess in the real world a symphony orchestra in a beautiful theater blends and combines the musical instruments while still providing general location of the instruments. I find most solid state dacs have needle point location of instruments. This is what we assume is a reference point in grading how well a dac operates. This is where musical merits may not be the perfect technical detail but what gives pleasure to the human ear.
 
This is where there seems to be a trend of people using a solid state dac,  tubed preamp and solid state amplifier to get the best "medium" for high detail isolation and organic pleasure to the ears.

 
No disrespect meant, but do you want the source of your system to be lacking in providing the best performance and detail as possible? Like in my case I'm buying the 2Qute so I can pair it with a very good tube amp. Of course, if I didn't think the amp was capable of making use of the 2Qutes hyper details then it might be a worthless cause (or not) and I would be no better off with it in the chain. So, I agree it's a matter of preference but also usability. My philosophy, flawed as it may be, is I'm always looking ahead and buy my components in consideration that they could be used as part of a future setup. Hopefully I'm finished but you know how that goes.

 

[AlanU]

   
No disrespect meant, but do you want the source of your system to be lacking in providing the best performance and detail as possible? Like in my case I'm buying the 2Qute so I can pair it with a very good tube amp. Of course, if I didn't think the amp was capable of making use of the 2Qutes hyper details then it might be a worthless cause (or not) and I would be no better off with it in the chain. So, I agree it's a matter of preference but also usability. My philosophy, flawed as it may be, is I'm always looking ahead and buy my components in consideration that they could be used as part of a future setup. Hopefully I'm finished but you know how that goes.

 
I totally see your point. 
 
However system synergy is extremely important to the chain of events. For example I personally couldn't listen to a dragon fly v1.2 as to my ears its not musical in any way or form however it has gobs of fatiguing hyper detail with a solid state sound.
 
I've been informed to purchase a Chord dac but never pulled the trigger (yet).
 
With a tube amplifier you can at least roll tubes $$$$$ to get the sound your after if you feed it a hyper detailed source. However to find the right mix of not rolling off the lows and high while retaining detail is another topic. Every solid state dac sort of has a predetermined "soundstage" size built into the circuitry. This is somewhat a fixed "soundstage".
 
With tubes its all about how you roll your tubes for your sound your after. If the dac your using is analytical and cold you still may struggle to get the organic sound your after.
 
evil hobby........

 

[Jodet]

Anyone have experience how 2Qute or Hugo stacks up against Schiit's DACs, namely Bifrost Uber?

 
I've owned both the Bifrost Uber (very good for the price) and the PS Audio NWD.   The NWD was definitely better than the Bifrost Uber.  
 
I'm very close to trying the 2Qute, waiting to hear back from my dealer on availability. 

 

[Zojokkeli]

   
I've owned both the Bifrost Uber (very good for the price) and the PS Audio NWD.   The NWD was definitely better than the Bifrost Uber.  
 
I'm very close to trying the 2Qute, waiting to hear back from my dealer on availability. 

 
Do post your impressions when you get to hear it. I have too many things on my plate to upgrade my DAC yet, but when I will, it's definitely going to be this bad boy.

 

[dgently]

Here is one stores comments on the 2qute... Haven't read the English version yet. Saw the Dutch one before and read it (But I don't know Dutch, so you can imagine
http://www.artsexcellence.com/downloads/reviews/chord.2qute.artsexcellence.english.pdf

 

[RubyTiger]

Nice review but he doesn't know what he's talking about in reference to the Audioquest Diamond. I have a lesser dac (32 bit Sabre with 9018) paired with the Audiophilleo 2 with pure power and the Diamond makes a huge difference in sound quality. I'm waiting to get my hands on the 2Qute so I can hear for myself.
 
If he's speaking from an economic stand point and saying the diamond is just to expensive to pair with a $1795 dac then I understand where he's coming from. But, take the Diamond, add a SPDIF Convertor and a great dac and you can have a truly reference system.
 
What I want to know about the 2Qute concerns finesse. It's the little things that count. I like to call it how sweet it sounds. And that's what keeps me up listening all through the night.
 
You know it's good when calling it quits and going to bed is not what you want to do.

 

[AlanU]

I am wondering the same thing.
I have had a 2Qute for a few days. And it mostly sounds good. However all material sounds a little dynamically compressed (music sounds 'loud') and high hats sound very metallic. This doesn't align with anyone else's experiences and I'm wondering if my tube pre-amp is being overdriven by too high an input voltage?

Note that the 2Qute replaced a Chord Qute EX, which sounded great without these issues.

You may need to roll your tubes on the pre amp section. Changing components may disrupt the synergy of the chain. You may need to change the tube on the pre amp to match the sound signature your after.
 
This is where I'm so tempted to play with different dacs but I do find that the AC powered dacs  with removable IEC cables allows a potential of tweaking the sound signature. Using a foundation research LC1, aural symphonics cappaccino, furutech alpha3, grant fidelity PC 1.5, Audio sensibility statement power cord all change the sound signature of my tube dac aswell as even my Burson DA160. 
 
I am quite intrigued in the 2Qute...... I'm still casually looking So far i've yet to hear a solid state dac that gives the intimacy of vocals in my livingroom with my Totem Earths. My spacetech labs tube dac still has been a reference for me. I wish I had more local audiofile friends locally......