[Whazzzup]

zappa it needed to be said. Also upgrades pray on insecurities, which i don't get. If you like you're music be happy, its end game no matter what anyone says, but head fi is there for those that need to know, or keep up with the jones's. Not knocking i find head fi fascinating from a don't get to close perspective

 

[miketlse]

I do love this answer, or my wallet does, but can this be explained?

I will have a go based on the criteria that you mentioned, but this will represent my personal opinion, and not everyone will agree.

I am like many owners on the Chord threads, in that I bought a Mojo, then upgraded to a Hugo 2. Some of those owners then upgraded to the TT2 or DAVE.

The Mojo was a revelation, and I found that I was enjoying music again - both my existing collection (and hearing new things in tracks, that were previously masked) plus completely new to me genres like jazz.
Mojo was the best performer that I had listened to in the price range. In fact the Mojo performed such magic with RBCD, files, that I decided that I no longer needed to lust after paying for expensive hires copies of files.
I found that I preferred using the optical input because that provided the most neutral sound, compared to usb which did exhibit a marginally brighter sound - other owners have the opposite preference.
Would the Mojo satisfy your criteria?
Yes, I believe so, based as follows:

• compact and portable
• you have optical and usb, so you are not restricted there
• you are restricted to 3.5 for headphones, but that is not a showstopper
• cheap, for the performance that it offers

So pausing on the Mojo plateau, and rediscovering your music again, is a perfectly reasonable strategy.

Why spend more, and buy a Hugo 2?
The Mojo is great, but to me the Hugo 2 improves on most aspects, plus adds flexibility as to whether 3.5 or 1/4 headphone plugs, can direct drive speakers (provided you do not want to listen to loud music), future proofed by connectivity to MScaler.
The downside for you is that it costs more.
Hope this personal view helps in some way.

 

[21qz]

I’m currently running with a grace m9xx, just looking for a noticeable upgrade. Thanks for all the wisdom guys!

 

[Scrum92]

I too upgraded from Mojo and for what it's worth part of the appeal of Hugo 2 was the desktop mode. Hugo 2 is as much a desktop all-in-one as it is transportable. That's not to say that Mojo cannot be used as a static, desktop device because many, like I did, do just that.

Personally I kept a USB cable handy on my desk and let the battery run down, but some prefer to leave it permanently plugged in.

 

[Northern Light]

All PSUs have a 50 or 60Hz (mains frequency) related leakage current - of the order of 10's of uA - so really small. But this leakage current wants to be earthed, and if it is via your body via your headphones then the current will take that path, and flow through the HP causing an audible hum. So its a ground loop via your own body - to stop the hum you simply need a single low impedance path to ground, so earthing Hugo 2 will stop the hum. It's this leakage current that can give you the tingling sensation when you touch the anodised metalwork. Note that a single low impedance ground connection won't create a ground loop - unless there are two paths.

I only ever noticed it in Indonesia once, and it turned out that the mains voltage was a whopping 310V - and even then I had to touch my HP connectors to get the audible buzz.

Thanks @Rob Watts for shipping in on the issue of hum. To clarify, do you describe the scenario of humming when touching the Hugo, or the humming disappearing when one touches the Hugo? I am having problem with the latter...For the former, ifi believes to provide an earthing solution, if I understand their website correctly. But what about a humming that disappears when touching the Hugo? Would the same solution work too?

Many thanks!!

 

[Ike1985]

All PSUs have a 50 or 60Hz (mains frequency) related leakage current - of the order of 10's of uA - so really small. But this leakage current wants to be earthed, and if it is via your body via your headphones then the current will take that path, and flow through the HP causing an audible hum. So its a ground loop via your own body - to stop the hum you simply need a single low impedance path to ground, so earthing Hugo 2 will stop the hum. It's this leakage current that can give you the tingling sensation when you touch the anodised metalwork. Note that a single low impedance ground connection won't create a ground loop - unless there are two paths.

I only ever noticed it in Indonesia once, and it turned out that the mains voltage was a whopping 310V - and even then I had to touch my HP connectors to get the audible buzz.

I have been trying to stop the hum for some time now with Hugo2 when it's charging. It's loud so I do everything I can to not use it while charging. I am also familiar with the itchy-shock-tingle sensation as my right ear consistently does this when it's charging and also the EMI/RF is louder on the right side. I am looking into the ISO Regen as a possible solution, I really want to solve this.

 

[Triode User]

I have been trying to stop the hum for some time now with Hugo2 when it's charging. It's loud so I do everything I can to not use it while charging. I am also familiar with the itchy-shock-tingle sensation as my right ear consistently does this when it's charging and also the EMI/RF is louder on the right side. I am looking into the ISO Regen as a possible solution, I really want to solve this.

Sorry to hear of your issues. I am interested in what the EMI/RF noise sounds like on the right. I have only ever heard RF noise as a slight hardening of the treble and not as an individual noise in its own right.

 

[Ike1985]

Sorry to hear of your issues. I am interested in what the EMI/RF noise sounds like on the right. I have only ever heard RF noise as a slight hardening of the treble and not as an individual noise in its own right.

BEEP BEEP SHOOSH SCRRRRRRR BACKGROUND STATIC NOISE THROUGHOUT BEEP BEEP BEEP. It changes with whatever youre doing, for example if i'm downloading a flac album and streaming it's awful. Sometimes moving the phone around (phone establishes a better signal) makes it better. Sounds like annoying static with beeps.

 

[Triode User]

BEEP BEEP SHOOSH SCRRRRRRR BACKGROUND STATIC NOISE THROUGHOUT BEEP BEEP BEEP. It changes with whatever youre doing, for example if i'm downloading a flac album and streaming it's awful. Sometimes moving the phone around (phone establishes a better signal) makes it better. Sounds like annoying static with beeps.

Have you got a router nearby?

 

[flyte3333]

I have been trying to stop the hum for some time now with Hugo2 when it's charging. It's loud so I do everything I can to not use it while charging. I am also familiar with the itchy-shock-tingle sensation as my right ear consistently does this when it's charging and also the EMI/RF is louder on the right side. I am looking into the ISO Regen as a possible solution, I really want to solve this.

Didn't we discuss the iFi Groundhog 3 months ago?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...fficial-thread.831345/page-1009#post-14724298

You said a Groundhog was on the way... Did you try it?

I mentioned last time that it's expensive for what it does (USD49) but if someone doesn't want to DIY, it might be an easy option. Especially if you can try without risk via Amazon..

 

[Hooster]

I’m currently running with a grace m9xx, just looking for a noticeable upgrade. Thanks for all the wisdom guys!

I would just enjoy the Grace I I were you. I am sure it is pretty good.

 

[musickid]

I would buy hugo2/2go for a real lasting system and solid investment.

 

[Northern Light]

Didn't we discuss the iFi Groundhog 3 months ago?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...fficial-thread.831345/page-1009#post-14724298

You said a Groundhog was on the way... Did you try it?

I mentioned last time that it's expensive for what it does (USD49) but if someone doesn't want to DIY, it might be an easy option. Especially if you can try without risk via Amazon..

If I understand ifi correctly, the Groundhog is designed to work if humming increases when touching — they call it their “touch test” . In our cases, the humming stops when touching the Hugo. Would the same cure work?

Cheers!

 

[flyte3333]

If I understand ifi correctly, the Groundhog is designed to work if humming increases when touching — they call it their “touch test” . In our cases, the humming stops when touching the Hugo. Would the same cure work?

Cheers!

Rob's mentioned that Hugo2 needs to be grounded in your case. The Groundhog will help to ground Hugo2 (or your USB source...).

As mentioned above you can ground Hugo2 (or USB source) for way less than USD49 if you're ok with DIY, otherwise it's a good solution.

As mentioned, if you can try it risk free (refund if it doesn't work) then I would just order it and try for your system.

If you click that link above, there was a discussion about Groundhog. From memory I included a screenshot of the manual... Otherwise just pull up the manual on the iFi website.

 

[miketlse]

BEEP BEEP SHOOSH SCRRRRRRR BACKGROUND STATIC NOISE THROUGHOUT BEEP BEEP BEEP. It changes with whatever youre doing, for example if i'm downloading a flac album and streaming it's awful. Sometimes moving the phone around (phone establishes a better signal) makes it better. Sounds like annoying static with beeps.

Have you experimented with adding a ferrite choke to your usb cables?