[514077]

If anyone's interested, the Chord Ultima amplifier system is reviewed in Issue Feb 2019 of HiFi News.

Thanks. I read a review or maybe a preview of it a couple of months ago. I'd give someone elses right foot if only to hear it.

 

[willryu]

Just did another extended listening comparing TT to Hugo2 with Utopia, Hd650, tia fourte and IE800. Totally subjective but to me the TT still wins for enjoyment and the 2 for detail.

Gun to head. Cocked. Finger on trigger. Pick one. Curious what you would choose...

 

[Progisus]

Gun to head. Cocked. Finger on trigger. Pick one. Curious what you would choose...

Well since you put it that way.... TT. Sure is nice to take the H2 and iPhone along with Roon to the pool though.

 

[GreenBow]

A Soundaware D300REF transport/streamer arrived yesterday, and I played around comparing different transport set-ups with it. The different set-ups were:

1. Raspberry Pi with Dietpi > Schiit Wyrd > USB.
2. iMac Mini 2012 > iFi iUSB 3.0 (with linear PSU) > Singxer F1 > coax 1.
3. Soundaware D300REF networked > coax 2.

There was nothing in it between 1 and 2. Using the D300REF results in better instrument reproduction -- they just sound more real. It's not dramatic, but subtle.

I think what is causing the "bright" comments with the Hugo 2 is the transport/source some people were using, especially given the Hugo 2's USB input isn't isolated, and harshness can come across as brightness (and false detail). A VERY obvious example is to get a very long, very poor quality optical cable and connect with that. I did as much with a Sony cable here that I have that wont transmit 192k. The sound is harsh and unpleasant. I speculate that the internal circuits, in an effort to deal with the massive jitter, generate a lot of noise that gets through to the analog side.

On the other hand, even with a reasonable transport, such as most DAPs, the sound is great. With an excellent transport, better still.

I've only used Hugo2 USB, on my PC and from a Sony DAP. It sounds fine to me, and both sound the same, I think.

I did try an optical vs USB comparison. However I found no difference. In truth though, I would need to do a more substantive comparison. E.g. listen to optical for a week, and then switch back.

I only have a cheap 3m optical cable. (Or a 0.5m which will not reach.) I never found optical to sound harsh though. I saw no change from USB, and just ended up listening to optical for a while. Bit of a long story, but I only stuck with optical for half a day at most. .... I could try for fun also, to see if my cable will transmit 192KHz, but I doubt it would.

I always found the Hugo 2 balanced. Sometimes my music seems a bit toppy, and sometimes a bit bass heavy. It seems to be down to the recording, as it should be. It's surprising because my speakers only go down to 50Hz, and lose a couple of octaves. I still get a fair impression though.


On a side note. I read that cheap optical cables can cause reflections on the inside of the casing. It was in a HiFi Choice 'are quality digital cables worth it' article.

 

[ZappaMan]

Tt has a single bnc, so sure m scaler works. So do servers on tt.

What server do you have again?

Did you hear the scandal, apparently over on the other great audiophile site, they say a nuc running audio Linux, with a decent power supply, is comparable to zenith se.
So you can get the sq of a top end server for £700 (excluding power supply).

I will be trying this in time, as funds allow.

The nuc should be employed as end point, but improved also with 2 nuc as server and end point.

 

[miketlse]

What server do you have again?

Did you hear the scandal, apparently over on the other great audiophile site, they say a nuc running audio Linux, with a decent power supply, is comparable to zenith se.
So you can get the sq of a top end server for £700 (excluding power supply).

I will be trying this in time, as funds allow.

The nuc should be employed as end point, but improved also with 2 nuc as server and end point.

Andrew Everard has an interesting article in the new hifi news magazine.

 

[ZappaMan]

Andrew Everard has an interesting article in the new hifi news magazine.

Is that a free resource ?

 

[Whazzzup]

What server do you have again?

Did you hear the scandal, apparently over on the other great audiophile site, they say a nuc running audio Linux, with a decent power supply, is comparable to zenith se.
So you can get the sq of a top end server for £700 (excluding power supply).

I will be trying this in time, as funds allow.

The nuc should be employed as end point, but improved also with 2 nuc as server and end point.

Antipodes audio DX 3, have not heard zenith but there are several things going on in antipodes tech that may provide a better result, hard to say as little a/b but as an example I wouldn’t add any box from any company between my DX and my tt as of yet, that’s how good. As far as alternatives, there always will be but I ain’t handy, I’ll leave it to folks that have some expertise in these fields. But if it can bring prices down, it seems the great audio inflation has yet to fully run its course.

 

[miketlse]

Is that a free resource ?

I will pm later.

 

[flyte3333]

I will pm later.

Me too please!

 

[officerdibble]

I've also been enjoying trying different setups with my H2

Best so far is Audiolab 8200 cd as transport > optical > Hugo 2 > Audiolab m-pwr > Kef LS50

Beats my Mac mini > usb/optical > h2 by a considerable margin. More detail, terrific bass delineation. Not heard Redbook sound this good.

Making me think a quality streamer may have merit..

 

[Ike1985]

Yup understood. I only meant grounding the USB source if using USB input of Hugo2.

The strange thing is that you were getting hum with only optical input of Hugo2?

So you only (initially) had 3 things connected to Hugo2 and you were getting audible hum? Optical input, 5Vdc SMPS and your IEMs?

Normally groundloop hums happen due to 'loops' formed between multiple PSU's but with optical isolation, you don't have any 'loop' through Hugo2?

Most important thing is you solved the issue of course but maybe @Rob Watts could explain the mechanism for hum when only using optical input with Hugo2 directly driving cans (no separate headphone amp).

Some interesting notes:

1. The hum is there even when there is no source. I completely removed my phone, placed it far away and just plugged in hugo2 charger (with the hugo on or off, doesn't matter) and the hum was there.

2. Interestingly, my IEM cable has metal connectors near the 2 prong pin (furutech I believe), when I touch my fingers on the connectors with the charger plugged in, I get a static like buzz that's louder than the hum. The connectors can be seen below. Also putting my hand on different metal things around me makes the hum louder. Putting my hand on Hugo2 or the metal 3.5 adapter on my cable makes the hum completely disappear.

 

[flyte3333]

Putting my hand on Hugo2 or the metal 3.5 adapter on my cable makes the hum completely disappear.

Already mentioned a couple times before, grounding Hugo2 may help...

 

[Ike1985]

Already mentioned a couple times before, grounding Hugo2 may help...

Cool, just wanted to report since it was a weird effect. Groundhog on the way, thanks for all the help man, I'll let you know how it does. Really interested in their plug unit too. Very cool stuff.

 

[miko64]

Anybody any news re 2go for Hugo? Im getting impatient. I use since 4yrs intel nun with ubuntu 16.04lts (currently) and mpd for Hugo and media tomb for linn.. Running it headless works perfectly, but is obviousely not as portable and chic as 2go... Ps intalling the stuff is really a piece of cake.