[jlbrach]

the rattle i heard initially was the balls moving around,when i put my fingers on the balls to hold them in place the rattle went away which was a relief

 

[miketlse]

It sounded like a screw. The short glimpse I caught led me to conclude it is probably a screw

In that case, hold the hugo 2 above your head, and turn it upside down so that the screw will drop onto the lid. Hopefully with a bit of gentle shaking the screw will move to the middle of the window, where you will be able to see it better.

 

[guerph]

the rattle i heard initially was the balls moving around,when i put my fingers on the balls to hold them in place the rattle went away which was a relief

Yeah I tried that too rattle did not go away, you can hear it moving around in the case.

In that case, hold the hugo 2 above your head, and turn it upside down so that the screw will drop onto the lid. Hopefully with a bit of gentle shaking the screw will move to the middle of the window, where you will be able to see it better.

Tried this too, but couldn't get the damn thing to come into view.

I've informed audio46 about the issue. Will see what they suggest.

 

[snk8699]

It sounded like a screw. The short glimpse I caught led me to conclude it is probably a screw

I have the same rattle sound with the balls as every other owner; however, I picked it up the other day and a screw fell out onto my desk. It was one of the ten screws on the back of the device, but naturally I was surprised. If it had fallen on the carpet, I probably would have never noticed and vacuumed it up at a later time. I screwed it back in and tightened the rest at the same time. I know it's not the same as something loose inside the case, but I just wanted to point out that it's entirely within the realm of possibility. Please let us know what you find.

 

[highfell]

So the UK tour has started. We thought we would give our US & Canadian friends a head start -

I have had Hugo2 for 24 hours. It's been used through my tube amp & stereo speakers and also on the train into my SE846s.

Music played includes

YES - Tales from topographic oceans (Steve Wilson remix)
Rush - Permanent Waves (Hi Res)
Jan Garbarek Hilliard Ensemble - Officium

Initial impressions

Hugo 2 really is very detailed. instrument separation is very distinct. Clarity is exceptional but so is the timbre of guitars or the vibrancy of Wakwman's organ solos. The wind instruments (are they oboes?) and chanting of Officium through the home speakers sends shivers down my spine.

Through the IEMs particularly the increased clarity does suggest a lightness of bass (as Rob has explained )

I am very impressed. Hugo2 is certainly an uplift from Hugo and versus Mojo it starts to feel like more of a 'step change' , although step change would be exaggerating I guess

I already have a Hugo 2 on order and initial impressions are that I have made a good decision to upgrade from Hugo and that I won't regret my decision.

The detail and sonic capability of the Hugo 2 are both remarkable.

 

[highfell]

Small point but the rattling of the plastic balls does give the incorrect impression that Hugo 2's build quality may not quite be quite so "rolls Royce" and cheapens the impression (a notch)

 

[Doody]

Small point but the rattling of the plastic balls does give the incorrect impression that Hugo 2's build quality may not quite be quite so "rolls Royce" and cheapens the impression (a notch)

Agreed.

But it sounds so F&^!ING fantastic I don't care .

They'll fix it in Hugo 2.1. I still won't care.

Doody

 

[guerph]

The rattling balls has never bothered me, not on the Mojo and not on the Hugo. A screw flopping around inside the case and after closer examination, a loose screw on the underside (thanks @snk8699 for the heads up), is troubling. My $300 NUC had a screw loose inside...I cracked it open, tossed the unused screw and didn't give it a second thought. But, I expect more from a $2200 DAC made in England.

 

[Hooster]

Fascinating thread, and great post by Rob. He is very generous with information.

Regarding the QC issues, then it appears that Chord has anticipated this and kept units in reserve to immediately replace the ones that have problems. This is most commendable.

I feel that there are some lessons to take home from this, first and foremost that it pays to be patient.

 

[audionewbi]

Has anyone tried testing variety of cheap to expensive iem with their hugo2? It would be nice to see how much a difference source/dac/amp like hugo 2 makes to iem of different pricing.

I certainly like warmer tuned Iem with my original Hugo and I got to say the new HUGO 2 does hiss less which makes using my hum pristine possible. However with my HUGO I can't pair everything and I need to use an external amp to alter the sound and hiss.

A down under hugo 2 tour would have been great.

 

[iAudio365]

I just installed the WIndows 10 CE driver straight up and didn't even install the other separate win10 driver. Was I supposed to install the Windows 10 driver first then the Windows CE driver after??

Can anyone tell me the answer to this? My hugo 2 is working fine, but was I supposed to download both win10 drivers or just the CE version as that is the edition I'm running.

 

[Hooster]

Can anyone tell me the answer to this? My hugo 2 is working fine, but was I supposed to download both win10 drivers or just the CE version as that is the edition I'm running.

If it is working, don't fix it would be my advice. You seem to have the correct driver and it seems to be working. Be happy.

 

[Doody]

just install the driver appropriate to your win10 version, dude. you should be fine.

 

[snk8699]

Has anyone tried testing variety of cheap to expensive iem with their hugo2? It would be nice to see how much a difference source/dac/amp like hugo 2 makes to iem of different pricing.

I certainly like warmer tuned Iem with my original Hugo and I got to say the new HUGO 2 does hiss less which makes using my hum pristine possible. However with my HUGO I can't pair everything and I need to use an external amp to alter the sound and hiss.

A down under hugo 2 tour would have been great.

My apple earbuds have never sounded so good. Truly. I am intimately familiar with the sound signature since I take conference calls with them on a daily basis and directly out of the iPhone they are dynamically flat with a 2D soundstage. The Hugo 2 adds a lot of body to the sound, fleshes out much more detail, but ultimately exposes the technical deficiencies across the FR. I had the same experience when I owned the DAVE. Some of my favorite headphones on my Hugo were not nearly as enjoyable on the DAVE. System synergy will still be a variable in the overall experience and you will obviously enjoy some pairings over others. Once you find your favorite pairing, however, your musical enjoyment should transcend to the next level.

I've read many of your posts and reviews and can't see how you wouldn't enjoy Hugo 2 for all it's worth. The majority of my DAC experience has been with Chord products and it still took a couple of hours to get acclimated to what I was hearing. Now that I am settling into the signature and the technical capabilities Hugo 2 has to offer, I can fully appreciate the finer nuances over its predecessor. More details to come on my experience later, but I urge you to get your hands on one for a longer period of time.

 

[guerph]

audio46 got back to me, they are going to replace it, letting me hold on to this unit in the meantime.

Gave it a charge, listening now on pair of MrSpeakers ÆON and also for a few mins with my Ety ER4SR. First listening impression with ÆON...feels like my ears are being penetrated by a unicorn horn. Seriously, my ear canals are tingling...quite literally. Sound is not marginally better than the Mojo (which I have been listening to all day)...but by a huge margin better. Will report back after I compare to my 2Qute later tonight.

I can't imagine finding a better pairing than with the ÆON simply stunning. Sounds like they were made for each other.