[Melting735]

Thank you all, folks. I think I will get an allo nirvana first to test water.

 

[pkny]

Thank you all, folks. I think I will get an allo nirvana first to test water.

You can test to see if you can hear the difference between stock power supply and internal batteries first.

 

[sneill321]

Many thanks for sharing this details I will contact X-Fi first thing tomorrow.

Hi,

How did your service/repair go?
Did X-FI help arrange this for you?

I am considering buying a used Hugo 2 and live in Ireland so assume any future repair would need to go though medientechnik-bentlage.de in Germany...

 

[miketlse]

Hi,

How did your service/repair go?
Did X-FI help arrange this for you?

I am considering buying a used Hugo 2 and live in Ireland so assume any future repair would need to go though medientechnik-bentlage.de in Germany...

I suggest emailing support@chordelectronics.co.uk and asking their opinion.
Yes I know that Chord can come across as quite rigid in terms of warranty, but historically they can be flexible for some inquiries.

 

[elira]

I suggest emailing support@chordelectronics.co.uk and asking their opinion.
Yes I know that Chord can come across as quite rigid in terms of warranty, but historically they can be flexible for some inquiries.

I contacted them once about a Poly not doing what it was supposed to do and they never answered.

 

[sneill321]

I suggest emailing support@chordelectronics.co.uk and asking their opinion.
Yes I know that Chord can come across as quite rigid in terms of warranty, but historically they can be flexible for some inquiries.

Thanks but your reply already suggests they're not that receptive...

I contacted them once about a Poly not doing what it was supposed to do and they never answered.

Thanks for your reply - I sent them an email before and also got no reply... So curious how @ nigel801 got on by going through a dealer in Netherlands ( his unit was bought in Spain...)

 

[miketlse]

Thanks but your reply already suggests they're not that receptive...


Thanks for your reply - I sent them an email before and also got no reply... So curious how @ nigel801 got on by going through a dealer in Netherlands ( his unit was bought in Spain...)

If you don't ask, you don't get.

 

[sneill321]

If you don't ask, you don't get.

Thanks for providing that email address, I thought I had previously sent Chord a query but cannot find my email in my sent items folder - so have just sent a new email asking about their warranty repair pocess.

Update: I got a reply from Chord on the same afternoon which confirmed not to send from Ireland to UK due to customs/taxes and was advised to contact Chord's Irish distributor instead.
Kudos to Chord for replying in <3 hours / @ miketise - thanks for your post/prompt

 

[Noony]

On the eve of Chord releasing their hugely unanticipated 2go upscaler, knowing this thread shall shortly be filled with headfiers ruminating over the best way to fund the Dave plus sampling rates on offer (let’s face it, there won’t be much change out of £2k, maybe £3K!). I just want to take this opportunity to put it out there about what is increasingly looking like the headphones worlds best kept secret. Namely the tiny little “boutique” amplifier called the Vorzamp Pure II. Now I’ve been using Hugo 1 and subsequently Hugo 2 to push this little German power house for 7 or 8 years now, and I’ve kind of forgotten that no one else is (probably). This is a bit of a shame because it really does have the ability to take Hugo 2 (and other similar sounding products) to a whole different level of SQ. Certainly I can remember in 2014ish that it was the sole reason I didn’t fire Hugo 1 into the skip way back then, and I certainly wouldn’t have been using Hugo 2 for as long as I have without the assistance of a couple of these amazing amplifiers. Don’t get me wrong, I do know the sound of Hugo 2 straight out of the box, of course I do, with a variety of different transducers. It is still the best sounding portable DAC that I’ve bumped into. And I must have listened to it now and then for as much as 15 or 20 seconds at a time as a “DAC/amp” over the years. But for my money a DAC with an excellent variable discrete output that forms the basis of a world class pre amp is exact what Hugo is, and to really make it sing you need to get it to push an amplifier (much) higher up the audiophile food chain. Now I appreciate in the world of headfi top trumps the Hugo output is class A and powerful enough to run a small West African country, so why on earth would you want to use it to drive a stupid little fag packet of an amp that has a fraction of the power? Surely it must be much slower with weaker transients and completely unable to deliver any kind of meaningful musical experience. Well the answer of course is that when you actually

listen to it, almost the exact opposite is true. This amplifier is the real deal, utterly analogue in the same way Hugo is hopelessly digital, and has the ability to take your listening experience to a whole new level. Now of course this isn’t across the board, and it’s very much transducer dependant, generally speaking people with IEMs or HPs that are detail monsters are going to benefit the most. (Planar guys can stop reading now). But certainly if anyone gets the chance to give this little amplifier a try with their favourite gear it’s certainly worth a go. Even without Rob Watts’s latest creation on Monday, the H2 experience can get a whole lot better without spending a whole lot of money.

 

[GreenBow]

On the eve of Chord releasing their hugely unanticipated 2go upscaler, knowing this thread shall shortly be filled with headfiers ruminating over the best way to fund the Dave plus sampling rates on offer (let’s face it, there won’t be much change out of £2k, maybe £3K!). I just want to take this opportunity to put it out there about what is increasingly looking like the headphones worlds best kept secret. Namely the tiny little “boutique” amplifier called the Vorzamp Pure II. Now I’ve been using Hugo 1 and subsequently Hugo 2 to push this little German power house for 7 or 8 years now, and I’ve kind of forgotten that no one else is (probably). This is a bit of a shame because it really does have the ability to take Hugo 2 (and other similar sounding products) to a whole different level of SQ. Certainly I can remember in 2014ish that it was the sole reason I didn’t fire Hugo 1 into the skip way back then, and I certainly wouldn’t have been using Hugo 2 for as long as I have without the assistance of a couple of these amazing amplifiers. Don’t get me wrong, I do know the sound of Hugo 2 straight out of the box, of course I do, with a variety of different transducers. It is still the best sounding portable DAC that I’ve bumped into. And I must have listened to it now and then for as much as 15 or 20 seconds at a time as a “DAC/amp” over the years. But for my money a DAC with an excellent variable discrete output that forms the basis of a world class pre amp is exact what Hugo is, and to really make it sing you need to get it to push an amplifier (much) higher up the audiophile food chain. Now I appreciate in the world of headfi top trumps the Hugo output is class A and powerful enough to run a small West African country, so why on earth would you want to use it to drive a stupid little fag packet of an amp that has a fraction of the power? Surely it must be much slower with weaker transients and completely unable to deliver any kind of meaningful musical experience. Well the answer of course is that when you actually listen to it, almost the exact opposite is true. This amplifier is the real deal, utterly analogue in the same way Hugo is hopelessly digital, and has the ability to take your listening experience to a whole new level. Now of course this isn’t across the board, and it’s very much transducer dependant, generally speaking people with IEMs or HPs that are detail monsters are going to benefit the most. (Planar guys can stop reading now). But certainly if anyone gets the chance to give this little amplifier a try with their favourite gear it’s certainly worth a go. Even without Rob Watts’s latest creation on Monday, the H2 experience can get a whole lot better without spending a whole lot of money.

I would not use those amps. I would buy some Shure KSE 1200.

I never understand the point of an amp, unless you're system matching your headhones to the H2. H2 has way enough power for any headphones or IEMs that I have. (I have the Shure KSE 1200.)

 

[MarkParity]

I would not use those amps. I would buy some Shure KSE 1200.

I never understand the point of an amp, unless you're system matching your headhones to the H2. H2 has way enough power for any headphones or IEMs that I have. (I have the Shure KSE 1200.)

Or the 7HZ Timeless, I've been listening to the Hugo2/7HZ Timeless pairing over the weekend they do seem to play very well together.

I do have the KSE1200 and have used Hugo2 as the source but as crazy as it sounds I think I prefer the Timeless.

 

[Melting735]

Mojo 2 is out. Is Hugo 3 still going to be far away?

 

[Kentajalli]

Thanks for providing that email address, I thought I had previously sent Chord a query but cannot find my email in my sent items folder - so have just sent a new email asking about their warranty repair pocess.

Update: I got a reply from Chord on the same afternoon which confirmed not to send from Ireland to UK due to customs/taxes and was advised to contact Chord's Irish distributor instead.
Kudos to Chord for replying in <3 hours / @ miketise - thanks for your post/prompt

When my Mojo was in for repair, I got a reply on Sunday morning about the progress!
God's truth.

 

[Boldakov]

I never understand the point of an amp, unless you're system matching your headhones to the H2.

Sorry, but it seems you are getting wrong here.

I have pack of headphones: Meze Empyrean, Ether C Flow, HD800 S, AKG K1000 right now on my hands.
And they sounds extremely different rihgt out of H2 vs H2+Beta 22 amp.

Not only toughth K1000 sounds different.
Even easy to drive Empyrean, wich sounds fantastic right out of H2,
became just a different headphones when connected to Beta 22 amplifier.
It's just absolutely another Meze Empyrean playing. It's way wider, way more flowless.

Hugo 2 even through my poor iFi Retro Stereo 50
(via back panel speakers connectors to XLR 4pin cable)
sounds way better than directly out of itself.

Power is the power, you can't override physics.
It controls headphones drivers smooth,
it drives the sound.
Anyway.

H2 has way enough power for any headphones or IEMs that I have.

btw with IEM the difference is not as huge as with headphones, but is still here.

I would buy some Shure KSE 1200

I would too)

 

[surfgeorge]

Just wanted to share pictures of my Hugo 2 setup:


Using the tablet stand someone recommended here on the thread, with 3D printed brackets (black) to hold the H2.
Usually I keep it at my working desk, with a magnetic micro-USB charging cable. That makes it very easy to take the stand anywhere else in the house when needed and additionally prevents wear of the micro-USB socket.



Hugo 2 is driving some Focal Clear Pro (Original) with Dekoni Limited Stellia sheepskin pads - phenomenal SQ!
Below the Clears are my IEMs and the Mojo, stacked with a HiBy R3 DAP in it's transport box on the left.