[x RELIC x]

Who was it that said Hugo 2 had a fuller sound than Mojo? Like more body to each note and better bass quantity and quality? I keep reading impressions that it is more neutral than Mojo. With my own personal observations I noticed my CA Vega IEMs to have better extension in the lows and overall Hugo 2 had a much fuller yet more detailed sound than Mojo. Maybe the entire frequency range is better therefore lows, mids, and highs are all equally more fleshed out making things sound neutral across the board? Maybe that's what I was hearing...thoughts?

My thoughts...

I found that the Hugo2 is bigger, more spatial, more expressive of the notes that are in the music than the Mojo. For this reason I heard different presentations depending on different headphones and different music tracks. Difficult to describe but easy to hear. If the recording is somewhat flat then the differences are not as great and it's easier to just focus on FR differences, which, to me, isn't huge. If the recording is dynamic then this is easily heard, and things like bass or sparkle feel bigger in their overall presentation. In direct comparison I found the Mojo more one-note and smaller in presentation. I'd say it's a bigger step toward the DAVE end of the spectrum in this regard than the Mojo. Not to take anything away from the Mojo, which I still enjoy, but the Hugo2 is just better, IMO.

 

[x RELIC x]

so the hugo2 arrived on my desk (as per the tour)
..my hifi friend feels the SQ diff over the mojo will be a 'mere 5-10% max'
..guess we'll see...( and the dave to hugo 2 only another 10-15% max)
feel free to chime in those who've listened to all 2 or 3 side by side.

5min audition? In this game 5-10% could be huge to some, minor to others. YMMV.

 

[Whazzzup]

I felt hugo 1 was better than mojo, sure mojo seemed a bit warmer. lets hope ch2 is another step up. Im still blown away by hugo through my DHC cable into encore. Spent a few days at st annes spa lounging at the pool and listening, still knocks me back now and then hugo does. Have a week till the tour loner for more comprehensive thoughts then.

 

[canali]

5min audition? In this game 5-10% could be huge to some, minor to others. YMMV.

and it's truly hard to quantify something as subjective as audio isn't is: what is 10% to one might be 20% (or more..or less) to another.
just like looking at 2 tv sets: one OLED (let's say) and and the other NON OLED..two people looking at them might come up with hugely different numbers on pic quality.

 

[Currawong]

It'll depend on the music, and the headphones, and the person's bias as well.

 

[canali]

It'll depend on the music, and the headphones, and the person's bias as well.

yes: key variable here: headphones quality.

 

[x RELIC x]

and it's truly hard to quantify something as subjective as audio isn't is: what is 10% to one might be 20% (or more..or less) to another.
just like looking at 2 tv sets: one OLED (let's say) and and the other NON OLED..two people looking at them might come up with hugely different numbers on pic quality.

/OT

Terrible analogy.

Unless using local full array dimming LED then OLED easily and readily will destroy any transmissive display quality regarding black levels and perceived colour saturation, and even then there is bloom around the locally dimmed LED to contend with. I was fortunate to demo the Brightside's full array local dimming LED display tech in 2003 (being in the film and TV industry) and it was absolutely stunning at the time, but OLED is simply the better tech given that you can fully turn off individual pixels. In bright rooms there may be an advantage to LED LCD TVs but that's about where the advantage ends and brightly lit rooms are not the best for 'critically' watching movies. Like listening to open back headphones in a coffee shop.

I get what you're saying though.

/OT

 

[Wyd4]

Tried the Hugo 2 today with the Westone w80 (First listen so comparisons wouldn't be fair) and isine20 which I have listened to day in day out since getting them with my ALO CDM.

Personally I was very impressed by its ability to render detail and still be incredibly musical.

I do not have the kind of money required to take one home, but I was truly impressed.

Kind of reminded me of the musicality of the Mojo, detail of the Hugo and sound stage of the idsd.
The build is impeccable and what you would expect from an expensive device.

After the Hugo2 and the CDM, I compared them briefly and informally against the ak70, ak300. No volume matching etc so this is a very off the cuff feeling in the plums kind of comparison,
The AK70 sounded brittle and thin and somewhat hard when compared to the Hugo2.
The AK300 sounded better than the AK70, a bit more refined and smoother, but when compared again to the Hugo2, it had less body and meat on its bones.

When I compared my ALO to the Hugo2 I found the Hugo2 to be more resolving, more detail, better controlled bass. It also had more driving power. Just a smooth clean musical sound.
The ALO in my VERY SUBJECTIVE opinion sounded a little more natural in the mids, darker in the highs. The bass on the CDM is more boomy and slow by comparison.
Separation goes to the Hugo2 as well with similar width in sound stage between the pair.

All in all, I am happy with my ALO CDM and it put up a good fight, but if funds were not a problem it would be in the classifieds and I would have a Hugo2 on order.

 

[canali]

/OT

Terrible analogy.

Unless using local full array dimming LED then OLED easily and readily will destroy any transmissive display quality regarding black levels and perceived colour saturation, and even then there is bloom around the locally dimmed LED to contend with. I was fortunate to demo the Brightside's full array local dimming LED display tech in 2003 (being in the film and TV industry) and it was absolutely stunning at the time, but OLED is simply the better tech given that you can fully turn off individual pixels. In bright rooms there may be an advantage to LED LCD TVs but that's about where the advantage ends and brightly lit rooms are not the best for 'critically' watching movies. Like listening to open back headphones in a coffee shop.

I get what you're saying though.

/OT

thanks for your support, xrelix...not...lol

.and i do know the diffs of oled vs non oled...i was about to pull the trigger..until i'd read the upcoming hdmi standards that are about to change soon yet again,
thus resulting in price drops....plus a cheaper way for LG to make their OLED screens, I'd read, as well.
(no wonder i was offered an LG OLED for cheap at the beginning of the yr)

...but i'm moving from the topic at hand...hugo2 vs mojo...will be interesting when i plug it in tonight.

 

[MacedonianHero]

For seemingly power hungry TOTL headphones such as the Hifiman 1000 V2 that may need more than the CHORD Hugo 2 can supply for larger sound stage, dynamics, improved bass impact/slam, I have come across several reasonably priced amps that others have reported good synergy with the HEK V2 in this regard including the MicroZOTL2 tube amp, the Violectric HPA V281, the Trilogy 931 (special order from England), the very inexpensive Schiit Jotunheim, and finally the Wells Audio Milo. Has anyone heard any of these with the HEK V2 and also with the Focal Utopias?? At the moment I am mostly considering the Vioelectric vs Milo. I have heard amazing things about the Trilogy but few reviews. The Vioelectric can drive two cans at once and powerful, the Milo is most tube like and perhaps better synergy with the Focals.

I know that the CH2 without any amplification is ideal for transparency but wanted more options to try.

Thanks

Actually the Hugo 2 can easily drive the HE1000V2s without breaking a sweat with even the most complex 192kps or DSD files I have on hand. Only the LCD-4 would require a separate more powerful desktop amp.

 

[vaibhavp]

It very easy to turn down the overall gain on a Dac's output stage or amplifier to get a low noise figure like many other units. However the clever thing is to keep the gain really high over 125 plus and still keep the noise levels vanishingly low like Rob has achieved This means we don't need all those silly gain option switches that can change the sonic signature of the system. Many are there to coverup design limitations.

chord devices have 125 plus gain? Thats insane. No wonder mojo blows away every headphone you plug into it. even hard to drive planars.

also explains why you get all the loudness but miss on convincing basslines and required texture on required instruments like trumpets with full size cans. with iems all is fine except small sound stage.

 

[jlbrach]

received my H2 today after an insufferable wait...very early impressions:It was worth the weight,sounds great and looks great but i have 2 beefs....first of all when you shake it at all you hear a rattle...at first i thought it was something inside and was concerned but then I put my fingers on the balls and shook it and heard nothing...the balls shake and make that noise...also the balls all lit up and all the colors makes it like a christmas tree especially in the dark....oh well these are aesthetic things i guess...without the slightest sweat they drove the Utopia and with a turn of the volume knob they drove the Ether C Flows......

 

[supervisor]

received my H2 today after an insufferable wait...very early impressions:It was worth the weight,sounds great and looks great but i have 2 beefs....first of all when you shake it at all you hear a rattle...at first i thought it was something inside and was concerned but then I put my fingers on the balls and shook it and heard nothing...the balls shake and make that noise...also the balls all lit up and all the colors makes it like a christmas tree especially in the dark....oh well these are aesthetic things i guess...without the slightest sweat they drove the Utopia and with a turn of the volume knob they drove the Ether C Flows......

stop shaking it.

 

[Rob Watts]

After Saturday's Can-Jam I went back to my hotel and watched F1 qualifying on the TV. I was struck by how amazingly good the picture quality was, and how much visual standards has clearly improved over the past 30 years. And similarly with audio; but whereas video is easy to appreciate (nobody would say a modern TV looked worse than a 90's TV), in audio plenty of guys would claim that their (often silly money) DAC was much better - but to me it clearly looks like the equivalent to a 90's TV.

Why is there often a complete lack of objectivity when assessing audio, when to me major differences sound so clearly and obviously better? Or am I guilty of hyper sensitivity? Having said all that, my daughters claim that they can see no difference between SD video and 1080p HD video on my projector; but I suspect they are trying (successfully) to wind me up....

 

[supervisor]

you’re seeing better resolution on the TV which is easily objectively observed, IMHO. higher resolution in audio is harder to quantify, or even describe, for some reason.

I think “better” as you use it, is objectively apparent–but the majority of the population will never hear a Chord Hugo 2 unfortunately.

the more discerning listeners and the audiophile hobbyists are the only ones paying attention. and then they can’t even agree on which adjectives to use!