[Currawong]

Hey guys been a while since I’ve been around these parts. Holidays are over and income tax around the corner so it’s been hard not surfing the web trying to figure out my next toys. Hugo2 as been on my list as #1 since the first time I’d heard it at canjam nyc back in February. I’m seeing a lot of them being for sale on the forums lately and am wondering why. Issues? Does it not drive big powerful headphones the way people thought it would? I appreciate the time and hope you all had a great New Years

There were a couple of issues with the very first units which have been solved. As far as I can tell, they have sold a HUGE number of them. I found 15 Hugo 2 FS ads on the forums in total. Some people moved up to the DAVE, other people I don't know.

 

[nanaholic]

Yep, it was plugged in the entire time while the case was on... learning as I go

You can leave it in the case when the H2 is left charging for 24hrs ie when it is in desktop mode and the battery charging circuit is bypassed.

 

[Triode User]

You can leave it in the case when the H2 is left charging for 24hrs ie when it is in desktop mode and the battery charging circuit is bypassed.

Desktop mode does not bypass the battery charging circuit. Instead the battery is maintained at a lower charging voltage for longevity of the battery.

 

[nanaholic]

Desktop mode does not bypass the battery charging circuit. Instead the battery is maintained at a lower charging voltage for longevity of the battery.

It’s bypassed - says so in the manual.

 

[x RELIC x]

It’s bypassed - says so in the manual.

That doesn’t say bypassed... it simply means the current in=current out so no net charge.

Earlier in the thread Rob has said the battery is not bypassed, and that the user wouldn’t want to bypass the battery (bold emphasis by me):

No I didn't miss it, I had intended to respond when I got back to the office, as it's not an easy post to answer. Then I forgot about it... No the battery is not bypassed, and nor would you want it too, as it offers very low noise.

One of the problems I wanted to address with Hugo was the super cap issue - in particular you could hear the super caps when in DAC mode. So clearly, the PSU needed improving.
What is not understood by many designers is that the PSU is a source of distortion - and is a function of signal related currents, the PSU impedance, and the amps power supply rejection ratio (PSRR).

The PSRR was not good enough, so to eliminate this problem I created a boost PSU voltage that sat on top of the battery. This was then linearly regulated, and supplied the amplifier (not the OP stage). Thus the signal dependent and distortion generating part was separated from the sensitive side. This arrangement gave a 10,000 times improvement to the problem, without using super-caps.

The proof of the effectiveness of this is with the stereo separation slide:



Why this is important is the lack of distortion from the PSU - there is only a faint trace of 2nd harmonic at -170 dB, with no higher order harmonics at all - and this is with the other ch running 213 mW into a 33 ohm load.

As to changing the supplied PSU with a linear one, then with headphones don't bother - you can't hear the PSU connected or not.

Rob

It will be in desktop mode as long as the charger is connected. If you turn Hugo 2 off, then it will charge the battery to 100%, then turn off the charger. Normally, you would leave it on all the time in desktop mode, as it only consumes 2W, the battery voltage won't wear the battery out, and the battery is not being charged / discharged, as charger current matches Hugo 2 current draw. This strategy gives the maximum life possible; also the power supply is such that if the battery capacity falls to 0%, Hugo 2 will still function with the charger connected.

 

[MikeRight]

There were a couple of issues with the very first units which have been solved. As far as I can tell, they have sold a HUGE number of them. I found 15 Hugo 2 FS ads on the forums in total. Some people moved up to the DAVE, other people I don't know.

In my case I am selling one Hugo2 because Santa brought me two units at the same time this year I was a very good guy!

But I am totally astonished with this DAC. Never imagine such a great sound from 800s.

Besides I totally understand people who try to find even better sound and upgrade to Dave. I have never tried it... and I will be very careful not to do it.

 

[myhalis]

Chord DACs are immune to jitter, because they re-clock the signals when they arrive at the DACs.

I am not sure if such an absolute statement is true. Does this mean that the choice of a USB cable doesn't matter or USB is the same as coax? You may want to give it a shot yourself.

Regarding re-clocking. I have used GPS time to synchronize vehicle sensor measurements. GPS time has an accuracy of several nanoseconds. How much accuracy can H2 achieve on its own and how much is necessary?

In my listening tests, I find significant differences when I plug my Hugo 2 to recent dell laptop (the worst), iMac, ipad pro, and macbook pro. I haven't been very thorough yet but there are differences in the attack and decay of notes and how much holographic or flat the sound is. With the Utopia, I did some blind tests with a friend using Hugo 1 (not H2) and the benefits of a better USB cable were hard not to notice in a NYC apartment. For sure, H2 to my ears is not as sensitive to cables as H1. Nevertheless, my experience says that one should pay attention to both the transport and the source even if H2 does a better job than H1.

I am tempted to try coax or the ifi micro usb3.0. However, the logical thing is to wait for the 2go poly appendix to H2. I will try. I know Rob has said that USB or coax didn't make any difference to the sound of DAVE. DAVE is not he same as H2 though.

 

[Whazzzup]

I am not sure if such an absolute statement is true. Does this mean that the choice of a USB cable doesn't matter or USB is the same as coax? You may want to give it a shot yourself.

Regarding re-clocking. I have used GPS time to synchronize vehicle sensor measurements. GPS time has an accuracy of several nanoseconds. How much accuracy can H2 achieve on its own and how much is necessary?

In my listening tests, I find significant differences when I plug my Hugo 2 to recent dell laptop (the worst), iMac, ipad pro, and macbook pro. I haven't been very thorough yet but there are differences in the attack and decay of notes and how much holographic or flat the sound is. With the Utopia, I did some blind tests with a friend using Hugo 1 (not H2) and the benefits of a better USB cable were hard not to notice in a NYC apartment. For sure, H2 to my ears is not as sensitive to cables as H1. Nevertheless, my experience says that one should pay attention to both the transport and the source even if H2 does a better job than H1.

I am tempted to try coax or the ifi micro usb3.0. However, the logical thing is to wait for the 2go poly appendix to H2. I will try. I know Rob has said that USB or coax didn't make any difference to the sound of DAVE. DAVE is not he same as H2 though.

get an external server running roon core, problem solved.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

After having a dry aged steak in Geneva, Hugo2, Mojo and I researched and cooked a dry aged Prime Rib for large family Christmas dinner. Coated w butter, garlic salt and white pepper.

It was, indeed, a success...

For Hugo2 and Mojo.

 

[GreenBow]

I am not sure if such an absolute statement is true. Does this mean that the choice of a USB cable doesn't matter or USB is the same as coax? You may want to give it a shot yourself.

Regarding re-clocking. I have used GPS time to synchronize vehicle sensor measurements. GPS time has an accuracy of several nanoseconds. How much accuracy can H2 achieve on its own and how much is necessary?

In my listening tests, I find significant differences when I plug my Hugo 2 to recent dell laptop (the worst), iMac, ipad pro, and macbook pro. I haven't been very thorough yet but there are differences in the attack and decay of notes and how much holographic or flat the sound is. With the Utopia, I did some blind tests with a friend using Hugo 1 (not H2) and the benefits of a better USB cable were hard not to notice in a NYC apartment. For sure, H2 to my ears is not as sensitive to cables as H1. Nevertheless, my experience says that one should pay attention to both the transport and the source even if H2 does a better job than H1.

I am tempted to try coax or the ifi micro usb3.0. However, the logical thing is to wait for the 2go poly appendix to H2. I will try. I know Rob has said that USB or coax didn't make any difference to the sound of DAVE. DAVE is not he same as H2 though.

Rob Watts told us that the Hugo 2 had better RFI protection than the Hugo (1). Therefor making the sound better.

The jitter aspect is easy to grasp though. 44100 samples arrive per second, (e.g. for CD quality music). The Chord DAC sends for these asynchronously, using a better clock than the computer source. Then when the signals arrive it clocks them again iso-synchronously. ... At least, that is what I understand. It was explained to me by Rob for the Chord Mojo. USB is iso-asynchronous.

Secondly someone else told me that on USB if there is an error in a sample. The Chord DAC will re-send for the information, but I am not sure if that's right. Only because I can't remember who said it or where.

Regarding cables, a good quality cable is said to make a difference because shielding prevents errors in signals. (Which kind of contradicts USB on chord DACs re-sending for data if there is an error.)

USB though is prone to noise on the USB power lines. This noise gets into the analogue parts of the DAC. Apparently that causes a slightly brighter sound to the music and bit of listening fatigue. ... Since I heard about this, I bought an Audioquest Jitterbug and was suitably impressed how it calmed the Mojo. Whereas some people found it caused their Mojo to sound so calmed that they preferred the Mojo without the Jitterbug. I think the change is just so clear that it leaves the Mojo sounding its warmer smoother self. Something they were not used to. Brighter sound can give the impression of more detail and more soundstage. I guess then that the shock of the warmer sound was possibly too much.

I like the Audioquest Jitterbug with my Mojo, and I am using it now with Hugo 2.

 

[514077]

Hmm, I would much rather see a Davina used by the truly dedicated people in the acoustic Classical and Jazz business who record as transparently and non manipulated simply mic'd as possible, than by the so called mastering engineers in the pop and rock genres.
Well recorded music needs no mastering!
Mastering is manipulation.

Music is music, in whatever flavour. Maybe you should google PSAudio and read Paul McGowan's post from today about audiophiles vs snobs.

 

[514077]

Rob Watts told us that the Hugo 2 had better RFI protection than the Hugo (1). Therefor making the sound better.


Secondly someone else told me that on USB if there is an error in a sample. The Chord DAC will re-send for the information, but I am not sure if that's right. Only because I can't remember who said it or where.

Regarding cables, a good quality cable is said to make a difference because shielding prevents errors in signals. (Which kind of contradicts USB on chord DACs re-sending for data if there is an error.)

USB though is prone to noise on the USB power lines. Apparently that causes a slightly brighter sound to the music and bit of listening fatigue. ... Since I heard about this, I bought an Audioquest Jitterbug and was suitably impressed how it calmed the Mojo. Whereas some people found it caused their Mojo to sound so calmed that they preferred the Mojo without the Jitterbug. I think the change is just so clear that it leaves the Mojo sounding its warmer smoother self. Something they were not used to. Brighter sound can give the impression of more detail and more soundstage. I guess then that the shock of the warmer sound was possibly too much.

I like the Audioquest Jitterbug with my Mojo, and I am using it now with Hugo 2.

I believe that's how USB works in general, not just for Hugo2. If better shielding can cut down on the number of errors that the H2 has to re-require, I'm in favour of whatever modification helps.

 

[wakka992]

The colour for 1A charging is cyan - it's not blue. Note that when the unit is close to fully charged, the charger takes less power, so a 1A charger would initially be cyan when the battery is flat, but will switch to white or full charge rate later on. The circuit monitors the input voltage, and will only go into 1A charging mode if the charger PSU voltage drops.

It will show blue if it is fully charged, and the unit is switched on. If the unit is off, and charger connected, then the light being off indicates end of charge.

When its in desktop mode and the unit is on, then it will indicate magenta. Disconnecting the charger will reset desktop mode. In terms of longevity, Li batteries do not care if you run to 80% and then charge; you will get the same life if you discharge to 0%; so a 20% discharge will allow 5 times more charge/discharge cycles. In desktop mode, the battery is no longer being charged or discharged, so effectively battery life is not dependent upon charging and discharging.

Rob

Hi Rob,

when my Hugo 2 is in desktop mode (and I only use Hugo 2 as a desktop unit, thanks for the handy remote BTW), do you think a 1A charger would be better than the stock 2.1A one, as less current to dissipate the better?

Thanks!

 

[yoghurtlidlicker]

Hi Rob,

when my Hugo 2 is in desktop mode (and I only use Hugo 2 as a desktop unit, thanks for the handy remote BTW), do you think a 1A charger would be better than the stock 2.1A one, as less current to dissipate the better?

Thanks!

it must be 2.1A otherwise it won't work.

 

[Whazzzup]

Hi Rob,

when my Hugo 2 is in desktop mode (and I only use Hugo 2 as a desktop unit, thanks for the handy remote BTW), do you think a 1A charger would be better than the stock 2.1A one, as less current to dissipate the better?

Thanks!

Do you think the designer would endorse going off spec?