[514077]

  As far as US dealers, I have a great authorized Chord dealer down here in Texas, who splits time in Florida. He's really fair and really fast with the shipments. I wouldn't deal with anybody else now for Chord stuff...well, and he's a dealer for all high-end headphones and various. Just sayin'.

My local Chord dealer, Audio Two in Windsor, has always treated me excellently.  He's got a pre-order for me.

 

[rcoleman1]

  As far as US dealers, I have a great authorized Chord dealer down here in Texas, who splits time in Florida. He's really fair and really fast with the shipments. I wouldn't deal with anybody else now for Chord stuff...well, and he's a dealer for all high-end headphones and various. Just sayin'.

Yup. Thanks for the heads up @EVOLVIST . Great source for TOTL goods. Love this forum...Chord Hugo 2 preorder in process!

 

[musickid]

after reading through the last 4-5 pages of contributions and not intending to get bogged down again in "filter" quick sand now that Rob has clearly explained everything.....i must say Peter Hyatt's thoughts and analysis of the hugo 2 are really spot on here. for someone who also comes from a non technical background Pete sums up the hugo 2 vision and actual real mode of intended operation perfectly. so we have a mojo / dave hybrid. not expecting full Dave sound quality of course.
 
my first five albums// artists to test hugo 2 streaming tidal lossless: very eclectic.
 
1) Rokia Traore the African celebrated vocalist. (also Emily Clare Barlow live in Tokyo.)//to test very fine female vocals.
 
2) Niccolò Paganini my favoured violinist. will try various pieces.
 
3) Contemporary Reggae: Vybz Cartel// She's Holding on//Not a love song// these two tracks on repeat i love them so much. very deep vocals and unreal melody dealing with life on a plate// raw.
 
4) Friends Solomun//try a serious electronica dance track here
 
5) Charles Earland jazz organist// more today than yesterday//addicted to the organ on this piece
 
6) Dire straits your latest trick for the melody//for the saxophone//for the lyrics//repeated at least 5 times lol.

 

[paul2qute]

Ha I've thought that one through. though surprisingly Rob didn't seem to pleased, I told him my long term future plan is to map Robs brain at the quantum level and lay the data into a gigantic twentyfifth generation liquid cooled Xilinx FPGA then we can call on him whenever we need a new design, of course we will naturally, have to dissect his brain in the first place but as I told him "everyone must make sacrifices for the greater good "

What a fantastic idea, wish I thought of it first

 

[musickid]

I found this great impression of the inner workings and circuitry of hugo 2. using the zoom function you get a very good look. till now i have not found a similar representation anywhere else.
 
 
http://www.iglooaudio.co.uk/chord-hugo-2.html?gclid=CIjBq7jy29ICFYEy0wodD7kDQQ

 

[paul2qute]

I found this great impression of the inner workings and circuitry of hugo 2. using the zoom function you get a very good look. till now i have not found a similar representation anywhere else.


http://www.iglooaudio.co.uk/chord-hugo-2.html?gclid=CIjBq7jy29ICFYEy0wodD7kDQQ

Looks well smart that pic of inside the Hugo 2

 

[flyte3333]

I used the short giveaway USB cable and a short £10 optical cable. The USB is a quality RF specified cable, but sure nothing fancy. And yes, under the circumstances of this test, galvanic isolation would not make a difference; but YMWV depending upon the source, and whether the output is connected to a power amp.
 
Rob

 


Incredible. You must be filtering the crap out of the USB input noise, even more than in the Mojo (there's a little more space in the Hugo 2 to do this and other things I guess).

Also, why does it depend whether the output is connected to a power amp? Just asking out of genuine interest, not in a smart ***** way

And can we get some pics of the Hugo 2 board !

Not to dwell on the Mojo but USB galvanic isolation made a huge improvement in my system. Quite shocking actually (Surface Pro 4 i5 > Powered USB Hub > Curious USB cable > Mojo). But unfortunately high speed USB galvanic isolation (for 24/96 music and above) doesn't come cheap. I am using the PS Audio LANRover which while expensive, really shocked me. For whatever wrong reason I was expecting increased smoothness by adding the LANRover but the overly smooth sound of the Mojo disappeared and all the treble details I was missing with the Mojo suddenly came alive. I guess that's what dirty PC USB noise did in my system. Quite a revelation for me.

Back to the Hugo 2, the plus side is I already have the USB isolation gear ready to go for the Hugo 2, which I will use to power my Sennheiser HD800S and as a Dac with my PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium in my speaker system.

 

[Triode User]

I used the short giveaway USB cable and a short £10 optical cable. The USB is a quality RF specified cable, but sure nothing fancy. And yes, under the circumstances of this test, galvanic isolation would not make a difference; but YMWV depending upon the source, and whether the output is connected to a power amp.
 
Rob

 


Incredible. You must be filtering the crap out of the USB input noise, even more than in the Mojo (there's a little more space in the Hugo 2 to do this and other things I guess).

Also, why does it depend whether the output is connected to a power amp? Just asking out of genuine interest, not in a smart ***** way

And can we get some pics of the Hugo 2 board !

Maybe the power amp issue is that it is earthered as opposed to using headphones?

 

[flyte3333]

Maybe the power amp issue is that it is earthered as opposed to using headphones?

 
Thanks. How might that affect the noise performance of USB input vs Toslink input, in the context of galvanic isolation of the USB input. 

 

[miketlse]

Maybe the power amp issue is that it is earthered as opposed to using headphones?

That sprung to my mind as well - maybe a power amp could be a source of mains power electrical 'noise' contaminating the Hugo 2, via the interconnect cables.

 

[miketlse]

  Although I struggle with much of Rob's technical language, I understand his communication.  
 
The Hugo 2 is not so much an improvement of Hugo as it is the taking of DAVE and making it into a smaller, portable DAC/amp.  It appears to have been a great technical challenge that required much trial and error mixed with imagination and perseverance.  
 
For those of whom DAVE is out of reach, this is marvelous news. 
 
I continue to read, research and learn.  My understanding is that Mojo was a presentation to the general public of the quality of a DAC like Hugo making it a wild success. 
 
Hugo 2 is like a presentation to audiophiles who cannot, for whatever reason, reach  DAVE.  
 
I continue to be grateful for a company who's commitment to excellence matches their communication and responsiveness to customers.  They've provided something for all music loves, from those who have only known music through smart phones, to the well-heeled audio  connoisseur who's tastes (brain interpretation) have developed.  
 
With the magic that Mojo has brought us, the wait period for Hugo 2 has only been softened by reading the posts here!  
 
For those who've ordered Hugo 2: 
 
What music are you planning to test drive Hugo 2 with first?
 
I'm still undecided but will try varying genres as I want to hear vocals, piano, choral, etc.  I am working on my list: 
 
*Sgt. Pepper's"  (straight through the album though I might want to jump around!) 
 
*Bob Dylan's "Series of Dreams" for the Daniel Lanois heavy handed effects 
 
*Swan Lake" 
 
*Gordon Lightfoot's "Song for a Winter's Night"  (timbre) 
 
*Fleetwood Mac's "Sara"  (soundstage) 
 
Mark Knopfler's *Heart Full of Holes"  
 
"Rites of Spring" 
 
I need to add in strong piano and perhaps Ma cello solo
 
What will you be test driving Hugo 2 with?  

 
An interesting challenge. I have been exploring many different musical avenues in recent months, and every now and again I do hear a CD and think that it would be interesting to hear it again using the Hugo 2.
 
You omitted the cymbal from the start of Fleetwood Macs 'Dreams', that you pointed out a few weeks ago, on the Mojo hits thread.

 

[paul2qute]

An interesting challenge. I have been exploring many different musical avenues in recent months, and every now and again I do hear a CD and think that it would be interesting to hear it again using the Hugo 2.

You omitted the cymbal from the start of Fleetwood Macs 'Dreams', that you pointed out a few weeks ago, on the Mojo hits thread.

Talking of Fleetwood Mac,tango in the night remastered deluxe box set coming out end of March, can't wait for that

 

[musickid]

I have an anker powerline micro usb charging cable. apart from being used as a charging cable it is also described as being able to sync data. i have used it to transfer photos from my fuji camera to my imac no problems. can this cable also be used to transfer digital audio from imac to hugo 2 or is not really designed for this? ie its really just a charging cable.  thanks mk.

 

[514077]

@Peter Hyatt, m which Mark Knopfler album does Heart Full of Holes come from?

 

[elviscaprice]

 

  I used the short giveaway USB cable and a short £10 optical cable. The USB is a quality RF specified cable, but sure nothing fancy. And yes, under the circumstances of this test, galvanic isolation would not make a difference; but YMWV depending upon the source, and whether the output is connected to a power amp.
 
Rob

 


Incredible. You must be filtering the crap out of the USB input noise, even more than in the Mojo (there's a little more space in the Hugo 2 to do this and other things I guess).

Also, why does it depend whether the output is connected to a power amp? Just asking out of genuine interest, not in a smart ***** way

And can we get some pics of the Hugo 2 board !

Not to dwell on the Mojo but USB galvanic isolation made a huge improvement in my system. Quite shocking actually (Surface Pro 4 i5 > Powered USB Hub > Curious USB cable > Mojo). But unfortunately high speed USB galvanic isolation (for 24/96 music and above) doesn't come cheap. I am using the PS Audio LANRover which while expensive, really shocked me. For whatever wrong reason I was expecting increased smoothness by adding the LANRover but the overly smooth sound of the Mojo disappeared and all the treble details I was missing with the Mojo suddenly came alive. I guess that's what dirty PC USB noise did in my system. Quite a revelation for me.

Back to the Hugo 2, the plus side is I already have the USB isolation gear ready to go for the Hugo 2, which I will use to power my Sennheiser HD800S and as a Dac with my PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium in my speaker system.

​I suspect, more like sure, you will find similar results with Hugo 2 in combination with your isolation components.   Which I hope you report upon in this thread once tested.  I'm going to hold out for the desktop version ONLY, hopefully with that DAC, the option for power supply choice, can be an even further enhancement to performance.