[Christer]

  That Chinese-made Sabre Matrix DAC just doesn't sound good, let alone sounding anywhere close to the level of Hugo. Have faith in Chord, my bro.

I assume you have auditioned it? Where did you do that?
I know measurements are not all that matter for best SQ but I am surprised Chord did not target 134 dB SNR or even140dB? If it is possible to do,why not do so?
For home use one DAC I will audition as well is Hegel's HD 30 which  was listed  overall as only slightly below DAVE by HIFI NEWS last year, and which is much cheaper than DAVE.
Basically half price of DAVE in fact. And I just checked noise levels data which are obviously typical 150dB!
It was my HD 25 that  measured 140dB.
HD 30 had the lowest noise of any DAC they had measured.
And according to them the benefits of such low noise were audible.
And some 25 different HIFI Mags have reviewed it very favourably.
I still hope though that HUGO 2 will deliver the goods clearly better than HUGO, in areas that really matter to me, ie with hi res acoustic music.
I really do want close to SOTA SQ even from a portable DAC for my  extended travels, though not actaully while travelling as such. 
But if as someone here suggested, benefits with more taps in Chord DACs, are mainly to be heard with low res material I will abstain.
PS. Nice photo of Celi. I watched a rehearsal  on Youtube of Bruckner's 9th with him yesterday.
It was hardly hi res SQ but educational.
Some conductors peform music without a score Celi even rehearsed without one.

 

[elviscaprice]

Without proper source and galvanic isolation.  I expect Chord Hugo 2 to perform similar to Hugo.  If you give the Hugo's a clean stream you will be rewarded with great sound quality, big bass, mids and highs.  It is with a clean stream that I would expect the Hugo 2 to provide better sound quality over Hugo 1.

 

[ChiAki]

Well, without galvanic isolation I would also expect Hugo 2 to perform similar to Hugo ON COMPUTERS.
 
But since I'll use it more with my Astell&Kern's and Walkman's, I only have high hopes for Hugo 2 to outperform the old and out-dated Hugo

 

[ChiAki]

 
I assume you have auditioned it? Where did you do that?
I know measurements are not all that matter for best SQ but I am surprised Chord did not target 134 dB SNR or even140dB? If it is possible to do,why not do so?
For home use one DAC I will audition as well is Hegel's HD 30 which  was listed  overall as only slightly below DAVE by HIFI NEWS last year, and which is much cheaper than DAVE.
Basically half price of DAVE in fact. And I just checked noise levels data which are obviously typical 150dB!
It was my HD 25 that  measured 140dB.
HD 30 had the lowest noise of any DAC they had measured.
And according to them the benefits of such low noise were audible.
And some 25 different HIFI Mags have reviewed it very favourably.
I still hope though that HUGO 2 will deliver the goods clearly better than HUGO, in areas that really matter to me, ie with hi res acoustic music.
I really do want close to SOTA SQ even from a portable DAC for my  extended travels, though not actaully while travelling as such. 
But if as someone here suggested, benefits with more taps in Chord DACs, are mainly to be heard with low res material I will abstain.
PS. Nice photo of Celi. I watched a rehearsal  on Youtube of Bruckner's 9th with him yesterday.
It was hardly hi res SQ but educational.
Some conductors peform music without a score Celi even rehearsed without one.

Of course I have. I'm Chinese bruh. 

 

[Arpiben]

 
I assume you have auditioned it? Where did you do that?
I know measurements are not all that matter for best SQ but I am surprised Chord did not target 134 dB SNR or even140dB? If it is possible to do,why not do so?
For home use one DAC I will audition as well is Hegel's HD 30 which  was listed  overall as only slightly below DAVE by HIFI NEWS last year, and which is much cheaper than DAVE.
Basically half price of DAVE in fact. And I just checked noise levels data which are obviously typical 150dB!
It was my HD 25 that  measured 140dB.
HD 30 had the lowest noise of any DAC they had measured.
And according to them the benefits of such low noise were audible.
And some 25 different HIFI Mags have reviewed it very favourably.
I still hope though that HUGO 2 will deliver the goods clearly better than HUGO, in areas that really matter to me, ie with hi res acoustic music.
I really do want close to SOTA SQ even from a portable DAC for my  extended travels, though not actaully while travelling as such. 
But if as someone here suggested, benefits with more taps in Chord DACs, are mainly to be heard with low res material I will abstain.
PS. Nice photo of Celi. I watched a rehearsal  on Youtube of Bruckner's 9th with him yesterday.
It was hardly hi res SQ but educational.
Some conductors peform music without a score Celi even rehearsed without one.

 
With all due respect, you are mixing Jitter values and S/N ratio.
According to specs Hegel HD30 has:

1. around 11OdB S/N,
2. around 14OdB Jitter Noise Floor.

Rgds.

 

[skhan007]

   
There are some who don't believe 24/96 is audibly different from 16/44.  In my experience, even lowly 16/44 is improved with a high end DAC.  I'd expect the Hugo2 to be competitive (at least) with other DAC's in the price range like the Yggy or the Vega, both of which sound good even if you use 16/44.

Thanks- this is good to know. I suppose I'll have to wait and hear it myself. I'm hopeful to have an opportunity to A/B it with my current DAC using my lossless files and my cans. Your comment regarding 16/44 vs. 24/96- Very true. Some albums I can definitely hear the difference. Others, not so much!

 

[Christer]

   
With all due respect, you are mixing Jitter values and S/N ratio.
According to specs Hegel HD30 has:

1. around 11OdB S/N,
2. around 14OdB Jitter Noise Floor.

Rgds.

Sorry if I misquoted specs. But If so I wonder  why  they quote noise as typical -150dB for their HD 30 on their home site?
I also remember that HIFI NEWS was particularly impressed with its  very low noise.
But  anyway "the proof of the pudding is in the eating."

 

[Christer]

  Without proper source and galvanic isolation.  I expect Chord Hugo 2 to perform similar to Hugo.  If you give the Hugo's a clean stream you will be rewarded with great sound quality, big bass, mids and highs.  It is with a clean stream that I would expect the Hugo 2 to provide better sound quality over Hugo 1.

Thanks for your advice I too have been thinking of getting an Intona galvanic isolator or similar device for my original HUGO. But with all the connection problems harshness  and loud hum I have had, I basically gave up on HUGO as home DAC.
Sometimes it sounded very good indeed for half an hour or so and then  without any previous  warning,suddenly pretty horrible.
I just got fed up having to tape it into position to even make it work at all.
I would much rather have  taken only a couple of hours listening time on batteries and PROPER galvanic isolation included in HUGO 2.
Very disappointing decision indeed.
The "trains,planes and automobiles"  excuse  presented as the reason for omitting it even on HUGO2, does not apply to my music listening habits at all.
I almost always listen  to music indoors and often  with access to electricity.

 

[jwbrent]

  I still hope though that HUGO 2 will deliver the goods clearly better than HUGO, in areas that really matter to me, ie with hi res acoustic music.

 
I have zero doubt the Hugo 2 will perform better than the Hugo in all areas. Zero doubt.

 

[elviscaprice]

 
Thanks for your advice I too have been thinking of getting an Intona galvanic isolator or similar device for my original HUGO. But with all the connection problems harshness  and loud hum I have had, I basically gave up on HUGO as home DAC.
Sometimes it sounded very good indeed for half an hour or so and then  without any previous  warning,suddenly pretty horrible.
I just got fed up having to tape it into position to even make it work at all.
I would much rather have  taken only a couple of hours listening time on batteries and PROPER galvanic isolation included in HUGO 2.
Very disappointing decision indeed.
The "trains,planes and automobiles"  excuse  presented as the reason for omitting it even on HUGO2, does not apply to my music listening habits at all.
I almost always listen  to music indoors and often  with access to electricity.

​Then wait for the upgraded desktop only designs. 

 

[JaZZ]

A teaser from the DAVE thread:
 

Originally Posted by romaz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...once you hear Hugo 2 for yourself, you'll see because when I heard it for myself at CES, my first thoughts were "OMG, I'm listening to DAVE!" and it was only after a direct A/B at the Chord booth was I able to convince myself that DAVE was still noticeably better but this gap has definitely narrowed.  I would be willing to bet Hugo 2 by itself can outperform the combination of SGM 2015 and T+A 8.  At this point, I would consider Hugo 2 as the 2nd best DAC I've ever heard.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  A teaser from the DAVE thread:
 

 
Oh.... 
 
That's sure to warm up the waters for Hugo2 

 

[jwbrent]

I imagine this is wishful thinking, but I hope the add-on module to the Hugo 2 is a DAP. With the Mojo, the Poly was price and size constrained, but with the new Hugo, there's no such worry, I believe.

 

[skhan007]

   
I have zero doubt the Hugo 2 will perform better than the Hugo in all areas. Zero doubt.

I think others are agreeing with you. Seeing quite a few Hugos suddenly in the for-sale forum. 

 

[514077]

Then, forget about selling it on here.  I hope that maybe, my dealer will try to sell mine on consignment, (is that how it's spelled?) so I can get a few slippery Canadian $.  Maybe some Mojo guy will endulge himself with the older Hugo.