[dontfeedphils]

there is no chance I’ll break the glass, I’m talking about just like transporting it daily in a backpack, I’m not going to be dropping it or anything. At worst I’ll be sliding it under an airplane seat, and jostling it around, not smacking it into stuff

I wouldn't worry about it. It's basically some balls and electronics in a giant block of aluminum.

I move it back and forth between home and work all the time without issue.

 

[Triode User]

be careful with it its fragile

now you tell me!

you’ll be telling me next that my TT2 will break if it topples off the too shallow shelf that @Christer has got me to put it on!

 

[ceeloChamp]

I wouldn't worry about it. It's basically some balls and electronics in a giant block of aluminum.

I move it back and forth between home and work all the time without issue.

Great! I was kind of worried if there were sensitive parts that could easily be broken

 

[111MilesToGo]

Great! I was kind of worried if there were sensitive parts that could easily be broken

There had been reports here that the glass balls started to rattle and even became inoperable. Might be manufacturing defects, might be design, might be inadequate handling by the user ...

 

[musickid]

Might be..........

 

[Ta6ypeTka]

I'm listening to H2 on the go daily for 3-4 hours. I used to listen to H2 only (without Wa8), and I've been using it with a simple leather case, puting H2 (in this leather case) either in the jacket's pocket or in the small specifically bought belt-bag. Had completely no any troubles, besides the semi-regulating volume wheel lol. But I've managed to solve it.

 

[miketlse]

there is no chance I’ll break the glass, I’m talking about just like transporting it daily in a backpack, I’m not going to be dropping it or anything. At worst I’ll be sliding it under an airplane seat, and jostling it around, not smacking it into stuff

You should be fine providing:

• don't leave cables connected (same as for Mojo) when you put the Hugo 2 in the backpack, to avoid the plugs placing stress on the sockets
• 'not smacking it into stuff' - I noticed after a few months that there was a hairline crack on the plastic bluetooth window. I have a vague recollection of dropping the Hugo 2 on one occasion, and everything looked/worked ok afterwards, but I presume that was the cause. Anyway, also take care when carrying the Hugo 2 in a bag, because it is easy for a swinging bag to bump into table legs or doors as you walk.

Apart from the above examples of risk, I think the Hugo 2 is robust in normal use.

 

[piercer]

So I finally gave up on waiting for the 2go. Instead I have gone for this

https://stackaudio.co.uk/link/

A mighty piece of kit that I only recently discovered.

I currently have the SA Link connected to the Hugo 2 in line out mode and it sounds superb . I bought it at Nintronix in Welwyn Garden City where I had an amazing day. The upshot is that I am going to be swapping my Hugo2 for a Qutest to go with it.

Stack Audio are a company based in the UK who make great kit in machined aluminuim casing. Chord are a company based in the UK who make great kit in machined aluminium casing. Hold on a minute... I have a dream - they should get together and make the best streamer ever!

 

[nishan99]

Can this DAC be permanently powered for a desktop use? and if so, does it get very hot while charging and operating at the same time?

 

[gadbois]

Can this DAC be permanently be powered for a desktop use? and if so, does it get very hot while charging and operating at the same time?

Rob Watts commented on this further back in this thread, post #3946.

 

[wilsonlaidlaw]

I wondered whether there would be any audible benefit from a higher quality charger/power supply, like some other DAC manufacturers offer. However, a rechargeable battery always acts like a first class smoothing and voltage regulating device for mains supply step down and rectification. About 50 years ago while at university, I was using a Uher portable 5¼" tape recorder as my main music source but feeding it 4 x C size batteries on a regular basis got expensive. I tried a mains power pack but the hum level was unacceptable, until one day I put my 6v motorcycle lead acid battery in parallel on the same circuit to charge it. To my amazement, the hum completely vanished, so I continued to use that scheme, which had the additional benefit of my Aermacchi no longer running out of lighting during evening trips, due to its very feeble generator.

Wilson

 

[miketlse]

does it get very hot while charging and operating at the same time?

The Hugo 2 is similar to the Mojo:

• Both have thermal protection circuits, to prevent the dac operating above 60C
• Both the charging and music data processing generate heat, so
  • operating just music data processing on its own, generates the least heat
  • operating music data processing, plus charging the battery from a near empty condition, generates the most heat
  • operating music data processing, plus trickle charging the battery from a near full condition (or when in Hugo 2 desktop mode),generates only slightly more heat than just music processing on its own.

 

[Scrum92]

I've been thinking about USB vs. optical...

When I first got my Hugo 2 optical wasn't really an option for me because my motherboard had no optical out but I built a new PC in July last year with a Z390 AORUS Pro motherboard... which does have an optical out. It seems to me (based on this thread only) that optical is the better choice and at best you are trying to match USB with optical and in my continuing quest for the best source I've spent the morning looking into optical cables and reading through this thread's many discussions on the topic.

Fast forward a few hours and I've ordered the QED Reference Quartz optical cable.

Using an old, cheap optical and DirectSound I seem to be getting pops/clicks, but do not with USB (driverless). Of course, this is solved when using Audirvana and WASAPI so my plan is to have both cables plugged in and swap between them. USB for Discord, gaming, YouTube etc and optical for listening sessions. It's actually a bit more convenient believe it or not: when I use WASAPI with USB I need to restart Chrome in order to watch videos, but with these being two distinct devices within Windows I can swap between them and an application exclusively controlling the Hugo 2 seamlessly.

Looking forward to getting the QED cable!

 

[vourt]

I've been thinking about USB vs. optical...

When I first got my Hugo 2 optical wasn't really an option for me because my motherboard had no optical out but I built a new PC in July last year with a Z390 AORUS Pro motherboard... which does have an optical out. It seems to me (based on this thread only) that optical is the better choice and at best you are trying to match USB with optical and in my continuing quest for the best source I've spent the morning looking into optical cables and reading through this thread's many discussions on the topic.

Fast forward a few hours and I've ordered the QED Reference Quartz optical cable.

Using an old, cheap optical and DirectSound I seem to be getting pops/clicks, but do not with USB (driverless). Of course, this is solved when using Audirvana and WASAPI so my plan is to have both cables plugged in and swap between them. USB for Discord, gaming, YouTube etc and optical for listening sessions. It's actually a bit more convenient believe it or not: when I use WASAPI with USB I need to restart Chrome in order to watch videos, but with these being two distinct devices within Windows I can swap between them and an application exclusively controlling the Hugo 2 seamlessly.

Looking forward to getting the QED cable!

Please update if there was any improvement (or not) from moving the USB to optical.

 

[Scrum92]

Please update if there was any improvement (or not) from moving the USB to optical.

Will do.

To be honest, at very best, it's going to be subtle I suspect. However, I want to ensure that I am feeding my Hugo 2 with a purer signal and I know that Rob Watts has been vocal in this thread about optical being the reference output so my thinking goes that if I can, I should.