Chord Electronics - Hugo 2 - The Official Thread

[musickid]

i definitely agree jmill. but there will always be a doubt lingering away deep in there somewhere. one has to ask themselves firstly what are their motivations for pursuing this audio headphone hobby? as i see it if its to enjoy your music, (which the majority strive for here) can you enjoy it with the gear you currently have? if yes no problem. however if you want to experience the ultimate in audio reproduction advancements because you love the music so much then you have to pay the premium to reach that point. thats my conclusion so far. any thoughts? (thanks triode)

 

[paul2qute]

Well I do much of my listening using the Tidal HiFi streaming and I use Dave and don't consider that overkill for the Tidal service. I can clearly tell the improvement to the Tidal HiFi service by using Dave compared to the HugoTT or indeed compared to another competitors DAC costing ~ £10,000.

I have ordered the Blu2 CD/upscaler which I will mostly use with Tidal. I do not consider that will be overkill.

Notice that I haven't said anything about cables. Keep your money in your pocket and just make sure you have cables with decent plugs on the end. Save the money for towards a better DAC in due course.

I'm so so jealous!!!!I should of done better at school

 

[paul2qute]

I'm wondering as we aren't getting any younger if John Franks and Rob watts will put something in place when they retire like teaching all they know for someone to take over the business,it would be sad for all that knowledge to be lost forever, I'm happy to do an NVQ level 1 in electronics to carry on the Chord name

 

[buzzlulu]

I still remain extremely confused.  Hugo2 was at CanJam NY and CanJam Singapore.  Didn't anyone hear them???
 
I purchased a Mojo in December and was mighty impressed.  I had the opportunity to have a Hugo1 for demo and was not that impressed.  When I was at CanJam NY the Chord person I spoke to said that he preferred Mojo to Hugo1.  Newer technology was what he said.
 
So I can speculate on what I think Hugo2 will sound like (better than Hugo1 I hope - newer technology) however - once again - no one heard a Hugo2 at any of the CanJam's???

 

[Triode User]

I'm so so jealous!!!!I should of done better at school

No, it's just that I have slaved away for about 45 years and it's pay back time.

 

[paul2qute]

No, it's just that I have slaved away for about 45 years and it's pay back time.

Made up for you,you have worked for it so yes treat yourself mate

 

[musickid]

can i confirm hugo 2 will only have a charging cable and not the charger. i have an anker power port 5 which supplies 2A over each of 5 ports. i also have the powerline micro usb charging cable. (i bought this in january as i thought i was getting a mojo at some point)
 
also i came across these rubber isolation type pads  which sell at around £20 for 4 from audio serenity. i know hugo 2 will have some little 'feet' or pads but will these benefit the hugo 2?
 
http://www.audioserenity.co.uk/iso-9h-35/set-of-4-iso-9h-35-isolation-feet/
 
also i think this is better than nvq1 lol       https://engineering.leeds.ac.uk/courses/PG/F310/embedded-systems-engineering
 
 thanks mk

 

[Rob Watts]

 

Really this all depend how component you are in taking a unit apart, there are eight external and four internal screws the batteries have detachable connectors and are easily plugged in. We can provide batteries on request. I would ask though that if any one is at all unused to handling batteries to take time to study them in order to fully comprehend the safety issues before undertaking the replacement procedure. Many retailer would be happy to do this for you if they have a service engineer.

Thanks John,
That is great to hear and is a big upgrade from Hugo1. Any upgrades to the sensitivity of the power supply or battery charger over the Hugo1? Or is this now a mute point with the charging being performed via 5V Vbus?

The battery charger actually has 3 modes of operation - half charge where it draws 1 A (cyan on power switch), or full charge at 2 A (white). 
 
The third charging mode is the desktop mode (magenta). When you plug in a charger for longer than 24 hours it will enter desktop mode - and here I have gone for maximum battery life by doing two things - balancing the charge current to match the current drawn by Hugo 2, so no net current flowing into the battery; and running the battery voltage at 8.1 to 8.2 V, which maximizes the battery life. In desktop mode continuous usage does not count to the charge discharge cycle; and even if the battery fell to only 10% capacity Hugo 2 will still function fine in desktop mode.
 
Rob

 

[Triode User]

  can i confirm hugo 2 will only have a charging cable and not the charger. i have an anker power port 5 which supplies 2A over each of 5 ports. i also have the powerline micro usb charging cable. (i bought this in january as i thought i was getting a mojo at some point)
 
also i came across these rubber isolation type pads  which sell at around £20 for 4 from audio serenity. i know hugo 2 will have some little 'feet' or pads but will these benefit the hugo 2?
 
http://www.audioserenity.co.uk/iso-9h-35/set-of-4-iso-9h-35-isolation-feet/
 
also i think this is better than nvq1 lol       https://engineering.leeds.ac.uk/courses/PG/F310/embedded-systems-engineering
 
 thanks mk

The Chord site says you get a 2A USB charger.

 

[Triode User]

  The battery charger actually has 3 modes of operation - half charge where it draws 1 A (cyan on power switch), or full charge at 2 A (white). 
 
The third charging mode is the desktop mode (magenta). When you plug in a charger for longer than 24 hours it will enter desktop mode - and here I have gone for maximum battery life by doing two things - balancing the charge current to match the current drawn by Hugo 2, so no net current flowing into the battery; and running the battery voltage at 8.1 to 8.2 V, which maximizes the battery life. In desktop mode continuous usage does not count to the charge discharge cycle; and even if the battery fell to only 10% capacity Hugo 2 will still function fine in desktop mode.
 
Rob

Now you're just showing off.

 

[toears]

The battery charger actually has 3 modes of operation - half charge where it draws 1 A (cyan on power switch), or full charge at 2 A (white). 

The third charging mode is the desktop mode (magenta). When you plug in a charger for longer than 24 hours it will enter desktop mode - and here I have gone for maximum battery life by doing two things - balancing the charge current to match the current drawn by Hugo 2, so no net current flowing into the battery; and running the battery voltage at 8.1 to 8.2 V, which maximizes the battery life. In desktop mode continuous usage does not count to the charge discharge cycle; and even if the battery fell to only 10% capacity Hugo 2 will still function fine in desktop mode.

Rob

Cool. Rob is cool

 

[uzi2]

I just contacted my dealer. i was due to collect my hugo 1 on the 15th april. i had a long listening session in their demo room. i also auditioned the mojo elsewhere and the naim v1 and moon 230had. see previous post review. i had some good luck in that i found a good buyer for my earmax pro tube amp very recently. this brought the price difference between the hugo 1 vs hugo 2 much closer. i was still missing a chunk though as the hugo 1 was on offer for £1125. after plenty of thought and reflection i contacted someone close to me who agreed to act as guarantor so that i can pay the small outstanding amount that bridges a hugo 1 to hugo 2 later, pending a check by dealer. i shall now be the proud owner of a black hugo 2 in a few weeks unless this whole thing does not work which is a very small probability. living as a postgraduate student such manouvers are common. it only adds to the appreciation of the music and product. im sure plenty of others do such things too but find it difficult to broadcast here. im still convinced ultimate reference is a deja vue dave. theres no way they would name it such just to let us down. especially when mojo has its rightful filter and projected new home.:happy_face1:  from the increased reach of the interpolation filters in the hugo 2 the sonic adjustment will be a true revelation. taps, taps, taps.

mini update (Just reserved a black hugo 2 for end of april. 100% guaranteed with full payment taken care of.) a big big thankyou to all members that have patiently helped and guided me to this point and for sharing their knowledge and expertise) mk

Strange that you should go to all that trouble of auditioning a number of DACs and then commit to buying one that you have not heard...

 

[jlbrach]

  I still remain extremely confused.  Hugo2 was at CanJam NY and CanJam Singapore.  Didn't anyone hear them???
 
I purchased a Mojo in December and was mighty impressed.  I had the opportunity to have a Hugo1 for demo and was not that impressed.  When I was at CanJam NY the Chord person I spoke to said that he preferred Mojo to Hugo1.  Newer technology was what he said.
 
So I can speculate on what I think Hugo2 will sound like (better than Hugo1 I hope - newer technology) however - once again - no one heard a Hugo2 at any of the CanJam's???

I got to listen at canjam but truthfully listening at these places with all the noise and hustle and bustle really leaves much to be desired!

 

[canali]

  I got to listen at canjam but truthfully listening at these places with all the noise and hustle and bustle really leaves much to be desired!

that is the thing I read repeatedly with many of these Canjams:
the conditions don't seem ideal (subpar, really) for really being able to properly assess many products.
i mean it get it: renting out full rooms for noise isolation etc, can be pricey for many vendors, let alone
not necessarily possible logistically due to space or other conventions/meetings happening.

 

[musickid]

i auditioned the hugo and was beyond very impressed. ive also heard the mojo. if taking a gamble that the hugo 2 will sound better to a larger degree based on the evidence presented i am willing to take that chance that the hugo 2 will sound better than a hugo 1. so ive ordered a hugo 2. this has to be akin to betting on two horses in a race one with a significant head start. hardly a risk uzi2.
 
 
 
 
can you charge hugo 2 from an imac usb port out of curiosity.
 
 
 
also will these pads benefit hugo 2?      http://www.audioserenity.co.uk/iso-9h-35/set-of-4-iso-9h-35-isolation-feet/