[Phronesis]

First off is the treble situation. Now this is very subjective but having heard the Hugo2 at length I can see what Vlad is talking about, and while I appreciate detail pace and resolution of the Hugo2 it can be a bit too much on some genres of music with a headphone that also lilts towards treble. Not everybody listens to carefully prepared audiophile recordings, and the Hugo2 can be ruthless with less than perfect productions. When you want to kick back and chill to your favourite album this is probably what a lot of people don’t want.

We should be clear that the Hugo 2 has been measured to show an essentially flat frequency response. We don't have guess whether or not there's more treble. If there's a perception of increased treble, that may reflect the Hugo 2 revealing, through increase detail or whatever, a headphone which is too bright, with that brightness being less apparent with other DACs.

 

[Currawong]

To be blunt, the "ruler flat frequency response" thing has been flogged to death when talking about numerous devices. Our perception of tone has to do with a lot more than that. Heck, it's readily possible to make a circuit that has a measured flat FR but has been tweaked to have a different level of crosstalk at different frequencies, giving a sound like some tube amps. And that's just getting started.

 

[PaulOlivetti]

Sure, that's possible.

But my subjective listening experience is that on the Mojo, the Utopias do not cause me to wince when listening to Lindsey Stirling's Elements (orchestral version). They do on the H2. Unfortunately, I don't have a McIntosh DAC/amp to compare. I openly admit that the Utopias do ALSO have an emphasis on treble, as do the HD800s, which one could conclude, could mean elevated treble on headphone + elevated treble on H2 = very very elevated treble. I certainly wouldn't dispute that, but it doesn't change the fact that on a few songs, this combination causes me to wince on --- JUST A FEW --- songs, which then leads to the reasonable conclusion that the H2 does elevate treble. As someone who prefers a more prominent treble, this is a good thing in general, but there are limits, even for a mid/treble preferrer like me.

Despite this, I clearly love the H2 to no end, and if I had to give one up, for me (and I guess for many) the choice would easily be to give up the Mojo, as I stated my love (or should I say, lust, or maybe, obsession) of the H2 for a larger subset of my library.

Just another person's opinion obviously, but I think tekkster's critique is nuts. Or let's just say, naive.

I've been a recording and mastering engineer for 30+ years and have worked in some of the finest monitoring environments created, including Ocean Way Nashville and Westlake LA. Out of curiosity I listened to a ton of recordings through the H2 through my Kii Threes and Kaiser Encores for specifically what he's talking about and never once heard anything like it except for on either bad or intentionally bright mastering, where yes, you hear nastiness. Probably everyone here knows, but the latter has been a common practice for decades, especially through the eras of NS10s and even some of the underpowered B&W systems in classical environments. I can't tell you how many times mastering and even mix engineers threw in either an ndB shelf 10k boost or later used some plug-in almost like a reflex to make up for HF-compromised listening environments where the recordings would end up getting played (this was in the era before IEMs, and HF was eaten by acoustic factors like rugs/sofas/curtains/car upholstery so we tried to compensate for all that. Usually the client went to their car and said "I can't hear the treble like I can in the studio."). Add to that the phase shift that the plug-ins put in, especially the bad ones like Waves operating at 16/44 as they did in the day, made HF nasty and sharp and crunchy.

FWIW that's all I hear going on. I can't hear anything like what he's talking about going on with the H2 generally. Plus obviously if it were global to the unit, you'd hear it on every recording.

No, the H2's not perfect; it can't handle very complex orchestral music as cleanly and fluidly as the DAVE. But even those "overwhelmed" moments are pretty few and far between on the H2. IMO anyway.

 

[hf6576]

I do find the power source significantly influences the sound quality.
The high is shrill for some pop songs with the original power supply, but everything is smooth if I use the internal battery, which has already been discussed in the thread.
I tried different power source. The most satisfying one is my power bank. It indeed adds weight to low end, bringing more balance and authority. I'm going to purchase a new power bank to make H2 in desktop mode, because the old one can't charge and be charged at the same time.

 

[PaulOlivetti]

Just read that Verge review. I wouldn't take him too seriously. He says stuff like "and the higher up you go in price with headphones, the more prominent high frequencies become.", which is obviously total nonsense, and "the balance is simply off", which means precisely nothing. Then he says going to tubes is like a warm hug. Well duh. Tubes are a completely transient-deadening technology and the complete opposite of what the timing of the high-end DACs can provide. But that must be the sound he likes. Personally, I could never go back after hearing the transients of ride cymbals and high hats and slap bass for example that we get now.

I do love tubes and understand the allure of that sound. But calling it better is a pretty silly thing to do if you're trying to be a legit audio gear reviewer.

But then he says stuff like its sound doesn't "feel like it was designed for humans" and "Chord’s engineers forgot what a headphone amplifier and DAC is supposed to be". Um...what? I get you want to trash the H2, but to go all ad hominem and say Rob and the Chord gang are so stupid they were just trying to design a test instrument or something, if that's even what you're saying, just shows what an amateur this guy is.

Essentially, it feels like he's about 17, just outta high school trying to get his journalism gig going or something and just writing sensationalism to get clicks so they'll hire him again. I wouldn't take him too seriously.

 

[PaulOlivetti]

I do find the power source significantly influences the sound quality.
The high is shrill for some pop songs with the original power supply, but everything is smooth if I use the internal battery, which has already been discussed in the thread.
I tried different power source. The most satisfying one is my power bank. It indeed adds weight to low end, bringing more balance and authority. I'm going to purchase a new power bank to make H2 in desktop mode, because the old one can't charge and be charged at the same time.

Yeah, I've had a similar experience. But even more dramatic for me is the difference in quality between BT/USB input and optical. My jaw dropped when I heard how much better optical sounds. It opened the space like I couldn't believe. I guess that's a flaw too. I'd love for it to sound that good BT/USB on airplanes, but I guess you can't have everything.

 

[FunkyBassMan]

Just read that Verge review. I wouldn't take him too seriously. He says stuff like "and the higher up you go in price with headphones, the more prominent high frequencies become.", which is obviously total nonsense, and "the balance is simply off", which means precisely nothing. Then he says going to tubes is like a warm hug. Well duh. Tubes are a completely transient-deadening technology and the complete opposite of what the timing of the high-end DACs can provide. But that must be the sound he likes. Personally, I could never go back after hearing the transients of ride cymbals and high hats and slap bass for example that we get now.

I do love tubes and understand the allure of that sound. But calling it better is a pretty silly thing to do if you're trying to be a legit audio gear reviewer.

But then he says stuff like its sound doesn't "feel like it was designed for humans" and "Chord’s engineers forgot what a headphone amplifier and DAC is supposed to be". Um...what? I get you want to trash the H2, but to go all ad hominem say Rob and the Chord gang are so stupid they were just trying to design a test instrument or something, if that's even what you're saying, is just...geez.

Essentially, it feels like he's about 17, just outta high school trying to get his journalism gig going or something and just writing sensationalism to get clicks so they'll hire him again. I wouldn't take him too seriously.

Basically what Vlad says is the Hugo2 audio reproducer is horrible because it reproduces audio too perfectly.

"This Ferrari is perfect in every way. Perfect handling, incredible acceleration, tremendous brakes. But...it just doesn't feel very drive-ish to me. Worst kind of car ever."

Someone tell me how this guy still has a job?

 

[PaulOlivetti]

Basically what Vlad says is the Hugo2 audio reproducer is horrible because it reproduces audio too perfectly.

"This Ferrari is perfect in every way. Perfect handling, incredible acceleration, tremendous brakes. But...it just doesn't feel very drive-ish to me. Worst kind of car ever."

Someone tell me how this guy still has a job?

LOL well said.

Maybe he'll like it more when he can reach the pedals haha.

 

[PaulOlivetti]

Basically what Vlad says is the Hugo2 audio reproducer is horrible because it reproduces audio too perfectly.

"This Ferrari is perfect in every way. Perfect handling, incredible acceleration, tremendous brakes. But...it just doesn't feel very drive-ish to me. Worst kind of car ever."

Someone tell me how this guy still has a job?

He says Chord "went down the wrong path of pillaging the homes of innocent villagers".

That tells you all you need to know: this guy literally spends his time eating red vines and playing video games. I wouldn't ask him anything about audio.

But if you need to know how to kill the Ork so you can get past the wizard, he's your man.

@Rob Watts must want to cry that morons like this can have an influence on how his hard work gets perceived.

 

[tekkster]

Let me get this straight...to re-quote, you say

"never once heard anything like it except for on either bad or intentionally bright mastering, where yes, you hear nastiness."

So, you didn't heard "nastiness" like what I'm describing for just a couple of songs in my library.

Except, you also say "except on either bad or intentionally bright mastering"

Which means, what, that you have heard it, on a few recordings?

----

Okay, all I said, from the very beginning was that I experience "wince inducing treble" on a couple of songs in my library.

----

And that makes me noting that the wince inducing pain happens

[when I pair the H2 with the HD800 or Utopias, with just a couple of songs, and does not occur with those songs using any other combination]

equates to me being "nuts" or "naive"

----

And how is it, exactly, that noting an experience is "nuts" or "naive"

The bigger question is....why was I even moved to respond. I'm just repeating the same thing over and over. Plus, really, blows me away that:

My - I experience this on the H2 with a couple of songs

vs.

Your - never hear it except on some [modifer] recordings

Sounds so different to your mind.

 

[PaulOlivetti]

Let me get this straight...to re-quote, you say

"never once heard anything like it except for on either bad or intentionally bright mastering, where yes, you hear nastiness."

So, you didn't heard "nastiness" like what I'm describing for just a couple of songs in my library.

Except, you also say "except on either bad or intentionally bright mastering"

Which means, what, that you have heard it, on a few recordings?

----

Okay, all I said, from the very beginning was that I experience "wince inducing treble" on a couple of songs in my library.

----

And that makes me noting that the wince inducing pain happens

[when I pair the H2 with the HD800 or Utopias, with just a couple of songs, and does not occur with those songs using any other combination]

equates to me being "nuts" or "naive"

----

And how is it, exactly, that noting an experience is "nuts" or "naive"

The bigger question is....why was I even moved to respond. I'm just repeating the same thing over and over. Plus, really, blows me away that:

My - I experience this on the H2 with a couple of songs

vs.

Your - never hear it except on some [modifer] recordings

Sounds so different to your mind.

You totally miss the point. Where you're nuts or naive is to blame the H2 if you only hear it "with just a couple of songs, and does not occur with those songs using any other combination".

If that's the case, it's not the H2 obviously.

 

[tekkster]

What is not "nuts" is the fact that I don't experience the shrill with the songs I mentioned with any other DAC combined with the HD800 or Utopia.

In other words,
The notation that
- Keep same headphones (as I specified)
- Keep same songs (as I specified)
- Keep same everything else (as I specified)
- Use other DACs.

causes no shrill on the songs I specified.

But replacing any other DAC with the H2 in the combination i listed over and over again,

causes the violin's highest notes cause me to wince,

resulting in the conclusion that:

- For a couple of songs
- And with the two combinations I listed, and no other combination
- The H2 vs. any other DAC,
- causes wince inducing treble.

means that I'm "nuts" or "naive"

What world am I living in....

 

[EagleWings]

Wow! One negative review or a challenging comment, and all hell breaks loose. I have never tested a Chord Dave, but I have seen comments from a few people who have tried both DACs, that say Hugo 2 is brighter than the Dave. So if a Hugo 2 is brighter than another Chord DAC, it is completely fine. But if someone calls the Hugo 2 bright in comparison to other gear, then they are talking non-sense. Real Classy. #ChordCulture

 

[tekkster]

Wow! One negative review or a challenging comment, and all hell breaks loose. I have never tested a Chord Dave, but I have seen comments from a few people who have tried both DACs, that say Hugo 2 is brighter than the Dave. So if a Hugo 2 is brighter than another Chord DAC, it is completely fine. But if someone calls the Hugo 2 bright in comparison to other gear, then they are talking non-sense. Real Classy. #ChordCulture

Thanks. Appreciate it.

It's also weird that everyone keeps ignoring that I mentioned multiple times how the H2 is stunningly amazing to me for the majority of songs I listen to. Far superior to every other DAC I have. I love it.
I wasn't agreeing with the article's final conclusion.

Just the mere mention of a tiny negative regarding the H2 on an infinitesimal number of songs and I'm in hot water here, hahaha.

 

[PaulOlivetti]

What is not "nuts" is the fact that I don't experience the shrill with the songs I mentioned with any other DAC combined with the HD800 or Utopia.

In other words,
The notation that
- Keep same headphones (as I specified)
- Keep same songs (as I specified)
- Keep same everything else (as I specified)
- Use other DACs.

causes no shrill on the songs I specified.

But replacing any other DAC with the H2 in the combination i listed over and over again,

causes the violin's highest notes cause me to wince,

resulting in the conclusion that:

- For a couple of songs
- And with the two combinations I listed, and no other combination
- The H2 vs. any other DAC,
- causes wince inducing treble.

means that I'm "nuts" or "naive"



What world am I living in....

Sure, that makes sense. I hear all kinds of flaws on the H2 that other gear won't reproduce. Pretty much ever reviewer says the same thing. That's all that's likely going on.

If there were something excessively bright about the H2, you'd hear it on almost everything.

Pretty obvious.