[dontfeedphils]

Somebody posted a pretty cool looking stand/holder for their Hugo 2 a little while back and it made me want to design and have one printed as well. It sits at a 50 degree angle, holds it on the side just a little bit so it won't interfere with connections, has 4 cutouts for the rubber feet on the bottom of the Hugo 2, a cutout through the stand for the IR window, and 4 recessed areas on the bottom to add rubber feet if you'd like.

The files are in the link below.

https://goo.gl/nZUq5A

 

[Deftone]

Just wanted to say I am exceptionally pleased with my Hugo2. The sound quality streaming Bluetooth MP3's from bandcamp is exceptional and when running FLAC to it via UAPP it's out of this world. Pairing with A18 + M20 module. Great work, looking forward to the 2go.

Does your Zeus get much play time or mostly A18s?

 

[Currawong]

My speaker amplifier doesn't like the lack of Hugo2 grounding. As soon as I plug in the charger I get a ground loop hum.
I'm looking for a linear power supply that can run 24/7 and keep the Hugo2 in desktop mode. Any suggestions?
I bought one off ebay that hasn't arrived yet, but having done more research, I don't trust the specs.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/15W-Regulated-Linear-Power-Supply-Regulated-Power-Supply-Support-5V-Output-/263563851089?hash=item3d5da13551

You don't need a linear power supply, that wont improve anything. If you're getting a ground loop hum, try find out where the loop is. Is your computer/source on a different power board, for example.

 

[ecapsretliab]

You don't need a linear power supply, that wont improve anything. If you're getting a ground loop hum, try find out where the loop is. Is your computer/source on a different power board, for example.

No everything is on the same power board. I've tried other amplifiers and had no problems. All I know is that the amplifier has a non-common ground and seems to pickup a lot of noise. For example, if I use an ifi iPower 5V, I get loud buzzing through my speakers. With the stock charger it's just the hum, and I can make it go away if I run a chassis ground between the amplifier and the metal plug on one of the interconnects to the Hugo2. But that adds a lot of mess to my setup. I figure an LPS with a three prong AC plug will solve everything.

 

[Christer]

Thank you. It is a new 2018 MacBook Pro 13-inch model with Retina display and two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports (on one side) connected to a SanDisk Extreme 900 1.9TB SSD and Hugo2. Yes, the Hugo2 is connected with a USB-C to micro B cable. The MacBook Pro weights 3 pounds. With the SSD (fairly power hungry) playtime is about 7 hours with a lossless signal path, about the same as Hugo2.

Thanks for your response.
I am still keeping my files on firewire 800 portable drives. But I suppose there are adapters between firewire and USB-C as there is between USB 2 and USB-C.
I am thinking of getting something similar for next winter's travels.
Is the one you have upgradable?
I need one where I can change harddrive and upgrade ram and such whenever needed.
Some recent macs seem to be non upgradable.
The main reason I will never buy a macbook air is that they are obviously completely non upgradable.
Cheers Christer

 

[Currawong]

No everything is on the same power board. I've tried other amplifiers and had no problems. All I know is that the amplifier has a non-common ground and seems to pickup a lot of noise. For example, if I use an ifi iPower 5V, I get loud buzzing through my speakers. With the stock charger it's just the hum, and I can make it go away if I run a chassis ground between the amplifier and the metal plug on one of the interconnects to the Hugo2. But that adds a lot of mess to my setup. I figure an LPS with a three prong AC plug will solve everything.

Got it. I've had a similar problem when hooking up multiple amps with the Hugo as a source.

 

[asia]

Thanks for your response.
I am still keeping my files on firewire 800 portable drives. But I suppose there are adapters between firewire and USB-C as there is between USB 2 and USB-C.
I am thinking of getting something similar for next winter's travels.
Is the one you have upgradable?
I need one where I can change harddrive and upgrade ram and such whenever needed.
Some recent macs seem to be non upgradable.
The main reason I will never buy a macbook air is that they are obviously completely non upgradable.
Cheers Christer

For USB-C to FireWire I believe two Apple adapters are required:
Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter

I am using a similar two Apple adapter solution for USB-C to gigabit Ethernet. It is reliable and very fast.

I believe the current MacBook Pro Retina are not upgradeable, both RAM and SSD are soldered.

 

[skypablo]

Somebody posted a pretty cool looking stand/holder for their Hugo 2 a little while back and it made me want to design and have one printed as well. It sits at a 50 degree angle, holds it on the side just a little bit so it won't interfere with connections, has 4 cutouts for the rubber feet on the bottom of the Hugo 2, a cutout through the stand for the IR window, and 4 recessed areas on the bottom to add rubber feet if you'd like.

The files are in the link below.

https://goo.gl/nZUq5A

Another nice idea!!!

My holder is made by 2 parts to be attached together, that allows me to use very few 3d material and gives the hugo2 some good air flow (using 4 rubber feet under the basement). You can see it again in the original post https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...official-thread.831345/page-788#post-14129275

 

[rkt31]

members pls help. i bought hugo 2 it is working very fine. i have fiio x3 ii. the coaxial output is sent to c2g converter which feeds the optical out to hugo. the c2g converter is working perfectly and sound is also ok but i want to replace fiio x3ii with a dap having optical out. any cheap solutions under $200 or so ? xduoo x10 is not available india .

 

[buyao4]

Hello, I have a Hugo 2 since a year, great device. I use it with Beyerdynamic T5p with lovely results, and in my main system with a Leben CS-300F (Integrated tube 15W) to a Devores Orangutan O/93, great sound, but I feel little lack of power. So a month ago I bought a E.A.R 534 (poweramp 50w), a legend, but I think I lost definition, some guys said that I should put a PreAmp between Hugo 2 and EAR, that the 47k ohm of Ear are not a good match with Hugo.

What do you think? I know that Hugo have enough out volts, but it could have a lack of current? Should I spend 1K or 2K in a good preamp?

Thank you,

 

[Rob Watts]

Hello, I have a Hugo 2 since a year, great device. I use it with Beyerdynamic T5p with lovely results, and in my main system with a Leben CS-300F (Integrated tube 15W) to a Devores Orangutan O/93, great sound, but I little lack of power. So a month ago I bought a E.A.R 534 (poweramp 50w), a legend, but I think I lost definition, some guys said that I should put a PreAmp between Hugo 2 and EAR, that the 47k ohm of Ear are not a good match with Hugo.

What do you think? I know that Hugo have enough out volts, but it could have a lack of current? Should I expend 1K or 2K in a good preamp?

Thank you,

The T5P is an extremely easy load to drive, and very sensitive - Hugo 2 is capable of ear bleeding levels, as 90dB SPL is only 0.045 VRMS - and Hugo 2 can deliver over 40 dB more at 5.3 v RMS. And the 0.5A output current capacity will never get used as the 33 ohm load is easy. So any external amps will degrade transparency with absolutely no drive benefits...

 

[514077]

The T5P is an extremely easy load to drive, and very sensitive - Hugo 2 is capable of ear bleeding levels, as 90dB SPL is only 0.045 VRMS - and Hugo 2 can deliver over 40 dB more at 5.3 v RMS. And the 0.5A output current capacity will never get used as the 33 ohm load is easy. So any external amps will degrade transparency with absolutely no drive benefits...

I think, Rob, that he was referring to his speaker setup with his new E.A.R. power amp. He thought there might be an impedance imbalance between H2 and the input.

 

[JaZZ]

Rob, his E.A.R. 534 power amp is meant for driving speakers...

...so he's asking if its lack of transparency could be fixed by inserting a preamp into the signal path. (My answer would be a definitive «no».)

Kevin, you were faster than me!

 

[buyao4]

@JaZZ, @UELong , exactly, I meaning the connection with EAR 534, this are his specifications, @Rob Watts could be an "incompatibility"?

• Power output: 50 watts/channel; bridgeable to 100 watts mono; (24Hz – 15kHz at 1% THD into rated load)
• Power Bandwidth: 15Hz – 40kHz at < 3% THD
• I.M.Distortion: < 1% at any level from 10mW to 50 Watts
• Output Damping Factor: 18
• Signal to Noise Ratio :92dB
• Input Sensitivity: 1V
• Input Impedance: 47k Ohms
• Power Consumption: 260 watts total
• Weight: 20kg
• Size: W 16 (405mm). D 16 (405mm). H 6 (150mm)
• Valves: 2 x ECC83. 2 x ECC85. 8 x EL34

Thank you.

 

[Rob Watts]

Apologies; the talk of a lack of current threw me into thinking it was about Hugo 2 driving the headphones directly.

You will always degrade the sound by adding a pre-amp; but some prefer the added softness caused by adding capacitors in the signal path, and the addition of second harmonic distortion, adding more bloom. But in my opinion this is very much not a step forward; if the system is too bright or analytical one must resolve that issue, and not add more distortion or coloration to superficially balance the sound - unless one actually enjoys chasing ones tail...

But to answer the question correctly, no there is absolutely no technical reason why Hugo 2 can't drive the EAR 534 perfectly. The impedance mismatch isn't actually a real consideration for audio. If the EAR sounds less transparent than the Leban, then the obvious conclusion is that perhaps the Leban is simply more transparent than the EAR....