[canali]

hopefully Chord will come on here and present their rationale for this coaxial/rca approach per darko's link and the video enclosed.
i'm sure they thought things thru...would be nice to hear it from the source, instead of so much speculation.

 

[aut0maticdan]

   
Please apply for a job with Chord. I seriously think they need some intelligent help. 
 
Don't get me wrong, I do admire their products and innovation. I just don't understand the ergonomics.

I hear you.  The Hugo(2) is such an odd device which has carved out its own category.  Front, back, left, right are all relative to the current activity.  Not really perfect form for a desktop/console solution with other components, but can easily get the job done.  I think they did an admirable job with the layout taking two constraints into consideration: the attachment of the 2go and zero port duplication.  There is no other product I can think of that can follow you through your day and handle all of your hifi source requirements.  Think of these scenarios for the rationale:
 
- at work/your desk using headphones you are most likely using usb + headphones, so they are on opposite sides of the device, the headphone port faces you; the usb faces your computer
- at home in your living room console both RCA and optical/coaxial which are very common for streamers/tvs/appliances facing the same direction (the back of your console)
- as its own streamer/transport/dap with the 2go attached: either RCAs out facing your console or headphone port facing you
 
I think that mojo + hugoTT is really a better solution for me, but damn that $$$
 
Let's not rule out the possibility of a 2home 4home (edit: marketing

) type attachment/doc that makes it more console friendly.  But then are we talking TT prices in total?

 

[514077]

  hopefully Chord will come on here and present their rationale for this coaxial/rca approach per darko's link and the video enclosed.
i'm sure they thought things thru...would be nice to hear it from the source, instead of so much speculation.

I've had stable connection issues with the RCA plug.  The 3.5mm plug might be prefered in some cases.  If I used co-ax regularly, I think I'd like 3.5 better.

 

[RPB65]

  musiclvr...Just take $uk1500-1800 and convert, i believe.
i know chord has uk1800 but a uk vendor audio sanctuary as it going for (i believe) uk1500

No, this is not correct. It is £1800 on Audio Sanctuary, only the Hugo first edition is £1500.

 

[canali]

 
No, this is not correct. It is £1800 on Audio Sanctuary, only the Hugo first edition is £1500.

my apologies for misreading that.
(this is why i thought it was a good promo and i reached out to audio sanctuary and asked
if they could ship to canada....silly me for not slowing down)

 

[elviscaprice]

delete

 

[aut0maticdan]

  I've had stable connection issues with the RCA plug.  The 3.5mm plug might be prefered in some cases.  If I used co-ax regularly, I think I'd like 3.5 better.

It should be more durable for frequent plugs/unplugs.  I doubt the driving reason was "oh, we can get two ports out of it"  I think they added that to further enhance the product and give the new port a neat twist.

 

[JaZZ]

I can't see what's worse with a 3.5" S/PDIF port compared to an RCA variant, apart from the «strange» cable termination it implicates. RCA isn't meant for S/PDIF connections anyway, so the 3.5" connection may theoretically even be better. Moreover, everybody passably handy with a soldering iron can reterminate an existing RCA cable – just take care of the «stereo» configuration!

Maybe even make an Y cable!

 

[GraveNoX]

Many said 2Qute sounds better as a desktop DAC than Hugo because Hugo doesn't have galvanic isolation (optical is prefered) and the question is, Hugo 2 will sound better than 2Qute ?

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Many said 2Qute sounds better as a desktop DAC than Hugo because Hugo doesn't have galvanic isolation (optical is prefered) and the question is, Hugo 2 will sound better than 2Qute ?

 
That's a magical question, and the answer is secret 

 
Hugo and 2Qute don't seem to be targeted for the exact same purpose nor in the exact same price, so there might be differences. Which one is better will probably be subjective at that point. 

 

[Hooster]

  Many said 2Qute sounds better as a desktop DAC than Hugo because Hugo doesn't have galvanic isolation (optical is prefered) and the question is, Hugo 2 will sound better than 2Qute ?

 
Adding galvanic isolation yourself, before the dac is easy, so galvanic isolation can hardly be an issue. 

 

[SearchOfSub]

Would it be safe to assume that the thinking behind why the coax input is 3.5mm has something to do with the engineers making a reasoned judgement call due to their end goals? There is a lot to juggle in such a small space and to assume that because it has been done once before in the original Hugo doesn't mean it is always the optimal option from the engineers perspective when other advances have been made elsewhere in the Hugo 2.

One way to find out if it would truly make a noticeable difference is to listen to a Hugo with the straight RCA input, then the same setup with an RCA to 3.5mm jack back to an RCA jack and blind A/B test them. I would be surprised if anyone had the capability to notice the difference with their ears only with a better than 50% success rate. Willing to be wrong, but I would imagine the quality of the digital signal itself would be the more important consideration here for such a small diversion in the signal path. 

The Hugo 2 looks gorgeous and the layout makes sense for its versatility. I don't think Chord is here to give the middle finger to RCA purists. I imagine they listened to the two the two options, just like they did for choosing Apt-X over Apt-X HD. It just might be safe to say their decision after listening to the two codecs was rational and sound regardless of how my detail obsessed mind might play ping-pong with itself about the point. Same with RCA purists me thinks.

This is a world where anyone who believes they can do better is free to give it a go. I jumped to Chord from another brand, I will gladly jump brand favouritism if your product offers better sound and physical presentation.

Hi-Fi is a world of diminishing returns the more money you spend. It sounds like some people (I have it as part of me too, nothing unusual for an audiophile) are upset they can't squeeze that infinitesimally hard to perceive more sound for their price point. Is this not an example of price point induced FOMO? What is the price to satiate our insanity? If you can't afford a DAVE (like me), then be happy settling with the Hugo 2 and then meditate the rest of the insanity away with some good music to meditate to!!!! 

Hugo2 to Audioquest Nightowl Carbons and just call it a day. That's what I'll be doing.

 

[Hooster]

 
The Hugo 2 looks gorgeous and the layout makes sense for its versatility. I don't think Chord is here to give the middle finger to RCA purists.

 
I see a middle finger quite clearly. Thankfully there are a number of good choices out there, so Chord is free to give middle fingers and consumers are free to chose something that works for them. 

 

[Arnav Agharwal]

 

​

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 ​

MQA and Universal Music Group Announce Collaboration To Advance Hi-Res On-Demand Streaming
 
With Warner already on board and streaming MQA-encoded hi-res music via TIDAL, another major has signed on, announcing their collaboration with MQA today: Universal Music Group (UMG). What labels is Universal Music Group home to? Blue Note, Capitol, Abbey Road Studios, EMI, Decca Records, Deutsche Grammophon, ECM, Mercury Classics, Motown, Polydor, Verve, Virgin EMI, and more. (Click on the following link to see a complete list of Univeral Music Group's labels.)
 
Today's big news--and this is big hi-res music news--is the announcement of the agreement. Timeline for releases and additional specifics will have to come from UMG, and I'm definitely looking forward to finding out more details as soon as they're ready to say more.
 
I've attached the official press release file below.
 
  
 

Good time to request MQA support? There's still time 

 

 

[canali]

I see a middle finger quite clearly. Thankfully there are a number of good choices out there, so Chord is free to give middle fingers and consumers are free to chose something that works for them. 

Why suggest such a hostile attitude from chord? Suggesting any major company on here giving
"the middle finger" to consumers for some tech decision just sounds unprofessional.
Haven't we had enough of this sort of antagonistic wording when poly was rolled out?

Just hope chord comes on here to provide some reasoning for their approach.