Chord Electronics - Hugo 2 - The Official Thread

[PhiQuanTu]

Will we still be able to connect & listen two headphones at the same time? Hugo 1 allows three headphones to be connected at the same time and that's a great feature that I like.

 

[Malevolent]

Will we still be able to connect & listen two headphones at the same time? Hugo 1 allows three headphones to be connected at the same time and that's a great feature that I like.

 
There are only 2 headphone outs on the Hugo 2, as opposed to the 3 on the Hugo 1. You can still power 2 devices at one go, but you will probably need an adaptor.

 

[jwbrent]

   
There are only 2 headphone outs on the Hugo 2, as opposed to the 3 on the Hugo 1. You can still power 2 devices at one go, but you will probably need an adaptor.

I prefer the Hugo 2's new connection scheme. It is much cleaner looking and there aren't any of the chassis gaps as there are on the Hugo.

 

[Mojo ideas]

will the poly module work on this new hugo?

It will get its own

 

[Mojo ideas]

Saw this as well! Very smart move that John Franks took. Some people may prefer one sound signiture over another but now I think pretty much everyone can chose the filter they think sounds best.

I wonder what difference there is between the Hugo HF+ and Mojo HF+ since both of them roll off high frequencies. Maybe the Mojo HF+ has more roll off.

Robs idea

 

[ThatPhil]

It will get its own

Either a full sized SD card slot or 2 micro ones please,

 

[Mojo ideas]

7 hours playtime a little disappointment.

We are working to increase this before production

 

[jwbrent]

  Either a full sized SD card slot or 2 micro ones please,

Yes, that would be great.

 

[elviscaprice]

http://www.vinnierossi.com/mini/
http://uptoneaudio.com/products/ultracap-lps-1
Quote:

We are working to increase this before production

​As much as Lipo batteries are a great mobile solution, there are better desktop solutions for power supply today, above links.   Would be nice to have a Chord DAC available to be powered by one of these power supplies and no galvanic isolation or 5Vbus flashing.  Make it optional??

 

[skhan007]

  Very nice.  It has the ability to switch sound signatures as well.  
 
Filters (Digital): 

Hugo (Ultimate Reference) (White)

Hugo HF+ (High Frequency roll off) (Green)

Mojo (‘Smooth’) (Orange)

Mojo HF+ (High Frequency roll off) (Red)

This might be a naive question, but never having owned a Mojo or Hugo, how is the digital filter different from EQ? I know it's a different process to roll off highs, etc., but just curious about this. 

 

[Jalo]

Well I was at CES last Friday and first stop was Chord's show room.  I have both the Mojo and Hugo for awhile now so I am familiar with the Hugo sound.  The Hugo 2 that I listened to was connected to a AK380. I have my WM1Z with me and was able to locate a few similar songs on both systems. I used my own Vega to listen to both. I listened for about half an hour and switching back and forth between similar passages to make sure I can compare the sound accurately to my auditory memory of the other system.  Right out the gate I was very surprised by the sound signature because it is quite different from Hugo.  The sound signature of the Hugo 2 is much warmer with more body which Rob confirmed that is the case from conversation afterwards.  Then I listened to my WM1Z with the same songs (Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, Nora Jones' Come away with me etc) seems like everyone has those same songs for demo.  I was very surprised that the Hugo 2 has a very similar sound q as my 1Z, warm and lush. From my conversation with Rob afterward, he seems to think that the Hugo 2 has more resolution. But being in a show condition, I do not want to render any judgement prematurely.  But I walked away feeling like the two are very similar. Without critical listening and own the Hugo 2 for awhiIe, I feel they are like 85% percent similar base on this initial impression. I am particularly impress with the additional power and I have no doubt that it will drive most full size cans to good listening level.

 

[jwbrent]

 
Well I was at CES last Friday and first stop was Chord's show room.  I have both the Mojo and Hugo for awhile now so I am familiar with the Hugo sound.  The Hugo 2 that I listened to was connected to a AK380. I have my WM1Z with me and was able to locate a few similar songs on both systems. I used my own Vega to listen to both. I listened for about half an hour and switching back and forth between similar passages to make sure I can compare the sound accurately to my auditory memory of the other system.  Right out the gate I was very surprised by the sound signature because it is quite different from Hugo.  The sound signature of the Hugo 2 is much warmer with more body which Rob confirmed that is the case from conversation afterwards.  Then I listened to my WM1Z with the same songs (Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, Nora Jones' Come away with me etc) seems like everyone has those same songs for demo.  I was very surprised that the Hugo 2 has a very similar sound q as my 1Z, warm and lush. From my conversation with Rob afterward, he seems to think that the Hugo 2 has more resolution. But being in a show condition, I do not want to render any judgement prematurely.  But I walked away feeling like the two are very similar. Without critical listening and own the Hugo 2 for awhiIe, I feel they are like 85% percent similar base on this initial impression. I am particularly impress with the additional power and I have no doubt that it will drive most full size cans to good listening level.

Good to hear ...

 

[jwbrent]

  This might be a naive question, but never having owned a Mojo or Hugo, how is the digital filter different from EQ? I know it's a different process to roll off highs, etc., but just curious about this. 

Equalizers are known for creating phase anomalies, so that is why many purists do not like using them, including me. The different filters of the Hugo 2, I expect, are part of the overall design of the digital translation to analog, and as such, would not have this problem with maintaining phase coherency.

 

[jwbrent]

We are working to increase this before production

Good to hear battery life may improve.

 

[Dobrescu George]

 
Well I was at CES last Friday and first stop was Chord's show room.  I have both the Mojo and Hugo for awhile now so I am familiar with the Hugo sound.  The Hugo 2 that I listened to was connected to a AK380. I have my WM1Z with me and was able to locate a few similar songs on both systems. I used my own Vega to listen to both. I listened for about half an hour and switching back and forth between similar passages to make sure I can compare the sound accurately to my auditory memory of the other system.  Right out the gate I was very surprised by the sound signature because it is quite different from Hugo.  The sound signature of the Hugo 2 is much warmer with more body which Rob confirmed that is the case from conversation afterwards.  Then I listened to my WM1Z with the same songs (Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, Nora Jones' Come away with me etc) seems like everyone has those same songs for demo.  I was very surprised that the Hugo 2 has a very similar sound q as my 1Z, warm and lush. From my conversation with Rob afterward, he seems to think that the Hugo 2 has more resolution. But being in a show condition, I do not want to render any judgement prematurely.  But I walked away feeling like the two are very similar. Without critical listening and own the Hugo 2 for awhiIe, I feel they are like 85% percent similar base on this initial impression. I am particularly impress with the additional power and I have no doubt that it will drive most full size cans to good listening level.

It's warm..... ? 

That's exactly at the other end from what I was oping for