[nanaholic]

Isn't Pentaconn jack balanced?

Pentaconn jack has 5 poles - positive/negative for left and right channel, plus a ground pin, theoretically it can be wired for both balance and unbalance connection.

 

[514077]

Interesting read. I hope I haven't made it a secret here exactly how much I hate the micro usb connection on my HUGO.
The article strenghted my already strong suspicion of cost related reasons for CHORD's decision to keep it even on HUGO 2.
Meanwhile, they seem to have no problems at all charging more for HUGO 2 than they did for HUGO.

Honestly, you haven't made much of a secret of anything you hate.

 

[Light - Man]

Honestly, you haven't made much of a secret of anything you hate.

I reckon it is more of a love-hate relationship between Christer and JF (but my wife reckons I am wrong - most of the time).

 

[Whazzzup]

 

[Deftone]

The Aeon Flow Closed + Chord Hugo 2 = best transportable option available today?

I think some would argue that it is LCDi4 + Hugo2

But if you value isolation while on the go then look elsewhere.

 

[Christer]

Honestly, you haven't made much of a secret of anything you hate.

Nor about things I like I hope?
There was a fair bit of irony included in that message.
And as far as my obsession with price is concerned I suppose it is time for me to say something on the same level as John Cleese did when as a knight he had had both his legs and and one arm chopped off by his opponent. "Let's call it a draw!"

 

[iAudio365]

Can anyone recommend a really nice amp to go with the h2?

I’m thinking maybe tubes, maybe, but never owned tube amps before, I had a mcintosh mha100 but have moved that one on. I like single ended just fine not really interested in balanced tbh from my personal experience I never heard a single iota of difference.

Price wise I’m not to fussed but maybe 2k or so depending, I know the h2 has an amp anyway but my old mcintosh made a big enough difference for me to sit up and take notice hence my new search for something that pairs well with the h2.

 

[lithiumnk]

"The sibilance problem is caused by RF interference that the USB cable is sending into Hugo 2. In general, brightness and a sense of fatigue is caused by RF.

A simple solution is an optical cable (TOSLink) but you must disconnect the USB cable, otherwise the RF interference will still cause a problem.

Or you can try adding ferrite cores like I posted here:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/does-chord-dave-system-need-a-dcc.809287/#post-13799263

The galvanic isolation on Hugo TT's USB port is only a partial solution, it doesn't filter out all of the interference. That's why I recommend either an optical cable or ferrite cores that clip on to the USB cable. You will get the best sound with Hugo TT and Hugo 2 if you follow this advice.

When you have no RF interference you end up with a big powerful sound with a very refined treble, stunning transparency and utterly addictive musicality.

Hugo 2 has an optical cable in the box. I can't remember if Hugo TT comes with an optical cable. So to try an optical cable won't cost you any money. 20 ferrites on your USB cable will cost about the same as a couple of draught beers.

You'll love the TT, but please bear in mind that the galvanic isolation isn't good enough to give you all of what TT can do. I owned one for over a year before I bought DAVE. I had trouble with sibilance on my TT initially, which turned out to be RF interference. I thought it was my headphones (HD 800 S) but it was just RF."

@Rob Watts

Is any of this true? I don't have any optical source to see if there's any sonic upgrade from USB to check for myself.

Initially my pairing of HUGO 2 + LCD i4 had RF/HUMMING noise on iMac.
After applying ferrite cores the troublesome noise is gone.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[jonstatt]

Initially my pairing of HUGO 2 + LCD i4 had RF/HUMMING noise on iMac.
After applying ferrite cores the troublesome noise is gone.
Thanks for the advice.

I will have to try this too then. Does anyone know if the bundled USB cable with the H2 is of reasonable construction (shielding etc)?

 

[wldcohso]

Initially my pairing of HUGO 2 + LCD i4 had RF/HUMMING noise on iMac.
After applying ferrite cores the troublesome noise is gone.
Thanks for the advice.

Is that the original micro usb cable that came with your H2 or after market and would you say LCDi4 is better than 64audio Tia Fourte?

 

[lithiumnk]

Is that the original micro usb cable that came with your H2 or after market and would you say LCDi4 is better than 64audio Tia Fourte?

The cable came with H2. Few ferrite cores were there on my old cables. I never noticed them. I have applied only one.
I have never tried the Tia Fourte.
Checkout this post by eaglewings on lcdi4 official thread ...LCD i4 vs Tia Fourte & U18 Tzar.Post #1103
You can also read his review of lcd i4 .

 

[Arpiben]

Interesting read. I hope I haven't made it a secret here exactly how much I hate the micro usb connection on my HUGO.
The article strenghted my already strong suspicion of cost related reasons for CHORD's decision to keep it even on HUGO 2.
Meanwhile, they seem to have no problems at all charging more for HUGO 2 than they did for HUGO.

With no wish to wound you more since you already lost arms and legs in the battle, but IMHO, USB-C:

• share almost the same form factor as microUSB
• has no benefit for a USB 2.0/1.1 audio data usage.

What is the use of USB C cables or connectors, even if backward compatible (passive cable), when what you are connected to don't take any advantage of it now or in future (speed/power management)?

 

[musickid]

it would be a mistake to pair H2 with any amp for headphone listening imho.

 

[Audio-Mark]

it would be a mistake to pair H2 with any amp for headphone listening imho.

I agree. I have a Violectric V280 but like the Hugo 2 better without this beautiful amp.

 

[514077]

it would be a mistake to pair H2 with any amp for headphone listening imho.

Although I agree with you wholeheartedly, and that technologically it's counterproductive to put a barrier btw H2 and your HP, I can see why people would think it a good idea. So, I'd wafflingly say it's a judgement call.