[uzi2]

Gotta disagree with you that cables make no difference with Hugo 2.

The Curious is smooth, dynamic, and insightful; I have about 90 hours on it and it has been improving over time.

Please explain how a cable can improve with time.

 

[514077]

i don't believe that a 10 thousand pound usb cable vs a 1 pound usb cable makes a difference with hugo 2. the design of H2 exhibits near enough complete immunity to jitter. i do believe expensive cables make a difference with some other dacs. differing opinions make the discussions here more interesting. also optical sounds identical to usb on H2. From my simple tests.

I've never heard a $10,000 cable, and I suspect, neither have you. I don't know what difference that would make. But my silver dragon seemed to provide a bit of crispness that the original stock of Hugo 1 didn't have. But, I'm not entirely convinced that it actually did. There is no question that audio cables affect and or shape sound to a small, but noticable degree. I'm not convince for or against USB or other types of signal cable.

 

[maxh22]

i don't believe that a 10 thousand pound usb cable vs a 1 pound usb cable makes a difference with hugo 2. the design of H2 exhibits near enough complete immunity to jitter. i do believe expensive cables make a difference with some other dacs. differing opinions make the discussions here more interesting. also optical sounds identical to usb on H2. From my simple tests.

I don't believe one needs to spend ten thousand on a usb cable to get good sound, the Curious cost me $160 and I think It was well worth it. You have said yourself that you found your Macbook air to sound better than your iMac so there must be something to it. Have you done a comparison between the Forest and stock grey cable?

Please explain how a cable can improve with time.

I can't, I don't have an engineering background to do so. What I can say is that Curious themselves have said that the cable improves with time and they recommend burnin. Right out of the box it was just a bit better than the stock Mojo cable, after several days of playing music it started to improve. Notably, soundstage width, depth, layering, and smoothness was refined with more hours on the cable. YMMV ofc.

 

[musickid]

if hugo 2 measurements indicate that jitter is no longer an issue of concern (which they did) then it makes zero difference which type of usb cable is used. it is transferring minute voltages which are read as 0 and 1's. if the timing of the digital transmission is inaccurate hugo 2 compensates for this jitter and adjusts accordingly. good usb cables in line with recognised standards should be the main concern. that's my opinion anyway.


its amazing how a single comment triggers off a barrage of responses on here!!

 

[jmills8]

i don't believe that a 10 thousand pound usb cable vs a 1 pound usb cable makes a difference with hugo 2. the design of H2 exhibits near enough complete immunity to jitter. i do believe expensive cables make a difference with some other dacs. differing opinions make the discussions here more interesting. also optical sounds identical to usb on H2. From my simple tests.

Have you tried three different cables yourself or you read that any cable will do ?

 

[musickid]

im using audioquest forest 30 pounds. sounds identical to stock plus kabeldirekt optical.

 

[ciukas]

On a slightly related topic, I use the supplied USB cable to connect my Hugo 2 to my TOTL but slightly noisy laptop (I've repasted it w liquidmetal, and it runs very cool in the low 30s but obviously not as quiet as a fanless system). I found that the addition of the AQ jitterbug plugged in a USB 3.0 hub connected to a USB-C port makes a small but audible difference in sound- the vocals are slightly more forward, slightly more weight throughout the mid to low frequency range. The effect is most noticeable on recording with high background noise, the removal of the AQ Jitterbug would quickly reveal more high frequency hiss.

The USB-C port is located right beside the dedicated USB 3 port for the Hugo 2.

I have a IsoRegen/LPS-1 combo, and a Lush USB cable incoming so I will be able to report changes (if any) then with the Hugo 2.

 

[jmills8]

im using audioquest forest 30 pounds. sounds identical to stock plus kabeldirekt optical.

Have you tested usb cables cause I did hear a difference using usb than optical.

 

[juang1985]

Hello Everyone

Got a quick question for you... I got an email from Moon audio saying that they got a few black Hugos 2 units but no silver ones ( i ordered silver one) They gave me the option to change the color to black if I want it faster.

I did not get the black one thinking the black paint can start to chip off with a minor impact ect ect... vs the silver one probably has no paint and is aluminum color.

Can someone tell me what their thoughts are on the black paint ?? maybe someone that had a Hugo 1 black for a while and knows how that black paint holds off...

Thanks in advance

 

[musickid]

to be honest all of my efforts and time and money are for a major headphone upgrade later this year. mr speakers aeon or focal elear. the forest cable is doing its job i've forgotten it.

its not black paint. the black is much smarter than silver i have it. nothing will chip off lol. the black is anodised aluminium too.

 

[maxh22]

if hugo 2 measurements indicate that jitter is no longer an issue of concern (which they did) then it makes zero difference which type of usb cable is used. it is transferring minute voltages which are read as 0 and 1's. if the timing of the digital transmission is inaccurate hugo 2 compensates for this jitter and adjusts accordingly. good usb cables in line with recognised standards should be the main concern. that's my opinion anyway.


its amazing how a single comment triggers off a barrage of responses on here!!

Take a look at this article: http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/07/dont-worry-usb-happy/

On a slightly related topic, I use the supplied USB cable to connect my Hugo 2 to my TOTL but slightly noisy laptop (I've repasted it w liquidmetal, and it runs very cool in the low 30s but obviously not as quiet as a fanless system). I found that the addition of the AQ jitterbug plugged in a USB 3.0 hub connected to a USB-C port makes a small but audible difference in sound- the vocals are slightly more forward, slightly more weight throughout the mid to low frequency range. The effect is most noticeable on recording with high background noise, the removal of the AQ Jitterbug would quickly reveal more high frequency hiss.

The USB-C port is located right beside the dedicated USB 3 port for the Hugo 2.

I have a IsoRegen/LPS-1 combo, and a Lush USB cable incoming so I will be able to report changes (if any) then with the Hugo 2.

Agree with the Jitterbug comments for sure, it adds some smoothness and weight to vocals. Also looking forward to your impressions with the Lush cable and Iso/lps-1 combo

PS: I assume you are going to be using an adapter with the Lush cable to terminate to Micro-usb, here is a good adapter I recommend:

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQUSBMIC

 

[miketlse]

Can someone tell me what their thoughts are on the black paint ?? maybe someone that had a Hugo 1 black for a while and knows how that black paint holds off...

Both the black and silver are anodised aluminium, so are equally hard wearing. You should make your choice based on which colour you normally prefer, or which colour goes best with your decor, etc.

 

[juang1985]

to be honest all of my efforts and time and money are for a major headphone upgrade later this year. mr speakers aeon or focal elear. the forest cable is doing its job i've forgotten it.

its not black paint. the black is much smarter than silver i have it. nothing will chip off lol. the black is anodised aluminium too.

Thanks for the fast response. I will email them back and get the black one if this is the case.

 

[juang1985]

Both the black and silver are anodised aluminium, so are equally hard wearing. You should make your choice based on which colour you normally prefer, or which colour goes best with your decor, etc.

Thank you! I always liked the silver a bit more over the black one. But looks like there might be some shortage on the silver ones. I like the black one too so i will go for the black one.... I should have it here by the weekend

 

[musickid]

at the end of the day there can never be total agreement on usb "tweaks" for H2. i prefer to keep the path as simple and direct as possible. pcusb-h2. let h2 do its job without interference. it has important missions to complete.