[wakka992]

Hi guys,

Does anyone know if the Chord Hugo 2 micro usb 5V 2A charger is a standard one, not a special charger designed by Chord?
Just wondering whether i could power the Hugo 2 while in the office with a iFi iPurifier2 5V 2.4A instead of bringing the stock brick with me.

Thanks!

 

[musickid]

don't risk it. for 100% peace of mind use the one the manufacturer gives you. i believe in tweaking all parts of a system apart from power.

 

[514077]

UELong windows imho is the best platform for connecting to chord dacs to take full advantage of dedicated chord drivers and the advantages considering that faulty usb data packets are not processed 'optimally' by macs.

i use a imac ssd as roon core to exploit the quad hd screen for roon. i will be using my new windows hp laptop ssd as roon bridge to connect to chord gear. here the imac controls the laptop wirelessly getting the best of both worlds.

i will be receiving a new h2 very soon. my 2018 plan revolves around this unit functioning without fault. i was left alone in the summer after waiting 3-4 months only to be disappointed more than once. hopefully stress free now.

so my masterplan for 2018 is to connect a blu2 to hugo 2.

giving me the absolute best price: performance results. dave/blu2 for headphone listening is beyond my means. i do not use a speaker set up.

if anyone has a similar masterplan get in touch here. i may be starting a new thread in the new year for prospective, aspiring h2/blu2 owners or current owners.

please be advised such a thread would not really suit those with an inclination to approach major decisions in a logical, cost effective or rationale manner. (it does actually make perfect sense no matter which way you try to analyse it!!)

happy new year to all. mk

Excellent, MK. Thanks for your opinion about Windows. I'm certainly not gonna trash my expensive Windows machine for a Mac. And I agree with you: cars and food for that matter, are mere vehicles for survival. Music is for enjoyment. Enjoy spending your hard-earned money for whatever you think best. And happy new year.

 

[miketlse]

Hi guys,

Does anyone know if the Chord Hugo 2 micro usb 5V 2A charger is a standard one, not a special charger designed by Chord?
Just wondering whether i could power the Hugo 2 while in the office with a iFi iPurifier2 5V 2.4A instead of bringing the stock brick with me.

Thanks!

The Chord charger is from this product line, configured for 5V and 2.1A. It is not a 'heavy brick'.
I normally use the Chord charger, but I think that I have used a Samsung phone charger on one or two occasions without any issues.

 

[musickid]

happy new year UE.

 

[Light - Man]

Excellent, MK. Thanks for your opinion about Windows. I'm certainly not gonna trash my expensive Windows machine for a Mac. And I agree with you: cars and food for that matter, are mere vehicles for survival. Music is for enjoyment. Enjoy spending your hard-earned money for whatever you think best. And happy new year.

Agree with nearly all you say except for the food bit, I would have to put it right up there along with music.

Windows all the way for me also (with the bonus of lots of free programs).

 

[wakka992]

The Chord charger is from this product line, configured for 5V and 2.1A. It is not a 'heavy brick'.
I normally use the Chord charger, but I think that I have used a Samsung phone charger on one or two occasions without any issues.

ok, not a brick, still I have to unplug it to take it with me.
Since it's a standard SMPS with no Chord awesomeness I'll use the iPower 5V that i already have at the office then.
Thanks!

 

[miketlse]

some guys love cars i just love music.

Looks like you are populating the top layer of Maslows pyramid, with things that give you musical/creative pleasure.

 

[jscmd2000]

The Audirvana Plus supports FLAC, WavPack, APE, Cue Sheets (https://audirvana.com)

I expect whatever they learn from having designed and released the Poly will result in the 2go being better in some respects.



Are you talking about converting FLAC to ALAC? Since I like having playlists, I use Roon now.

Thank you for your suggestions. Yes FLAC to ALAC for iTunes, but I don't use iTunes anymore since TIDAL is more than good enough for me, I want to be able to access my high-res flac files a bit more easily. I will check them out!

 

[musickid]

musical absorption transcends self-fulfillment. Beethoven said music is a higher revelation than knowledge and wisdom. music can transport you back in time.

 

[wakka992]

ok... at the risk of sounding paranoid I have to ask this: my last desktop DAC was grounded as it had the classic 3 prong power cord, but since the Hugo 2 SMPS is a 2 prong one, does the battery powered Hugo 2 (and reflectively the MoJo) need to be grounded? If yes, what should I ground, the power supply or the input connection (or both)?

Before answering bear in mind that I use USB input on my Hugo 2, but after the PC I have an Intona Galvanic Isolator, and between the Intona and the Hugo 2 I have an iFi iDefender, a little gadget that effectively "break" the ground connection and inject new power from a secondary LPS.

So my chain is as follow:
PC -> Intona -> iDefender (powered by 5V LPS) --> Hugo 2 USB input

thanks for your input

 

[musickid]

how do you ground a ps or input?

 

[wakka992]

how do you ground a ps or input?

I could ground the USB input with the iDefender, I just need to use a grounded LPS to inject 5V power.
I can also ground the Hugo' SMPS, by using iFi groundhog (or with the rudimental but effective tips from UpTone Audio' JohnSwenson from the CA thread named "SMPS and grounding").

 

[dmance]

@wakka992
When I reviewed the Hugo2 my chain was like yours (but MP-U1 instead of iDefender).
I suggest the following:
- change the order: PC->iDefender->Intona. This provides the Intona with clean 5V power. It makes a difference.
- add ferrites after (and before) the components. As per several dozen posts on HeadFi forums - and my own ears, these work. As per recommendation from R.Watts, I used Wurth 74271633 (100Mhz-2.5Ghz) and Wurth 74271131 (1Mhz-1Ghz), both sized to fit well around my USB cable. Dont forget to order the key so you can remove and mix and match for best effect.
- RF noise from the PC makes it way to your DAC despite the Intona. Yes, RF noise crosses the Intona air-gap and even low level noise on any of the four USB pins or cable metal sheath affects the DAC. This is controversial but inexpensive to discover for yourself - the ferrites are like $5 each. I have about 16 on my USB cable.

 

[musickid]

I don't think for hugo 2 it is necessary. but you'd better check for sure. i did read in the blu2 manual it needs to be earthed. (is earthed the same as grounding).

also how would you actually go about earthing a piece of equipment like blu2?