Chord Electronics - Hugo 2 - The Official Thread

[Christer]

I totally agree with everything musicday says. This is one stunning bit of kit. I've been off work today. Wife's away. Got the car serviced, walked the dogs then settled in for some serious listening. Eventually I wanted to move to the living room so brought the iPad into play. When I connected the adaptor shown (forget what Apple call it) the iiPad did an update of the adapter's software. I don't want to tempt fate but it's been working perfectly now for a couple of hours (no sudden cutting output, introduced with iOS 10.3, I believe). Mesmerising....

I recognize an iPad when I see one, but what is that little thing which seems to be connected to Hugo2 and a headphone? Or to an amp?
A portable harddrive or some kind of streamer player unit?

I am still using my huge 17" or 15" macbook pro laptops and portable harddrives for all my digital hi res download albums. But I am thinking of adding some kind of player where I won´t even need a separate screen at all,that can easily be connected to a possible HUGO 2 for my next winter in Asia.
I have just put my Hugo up for sale since it is such a pita in my speaker based system and my new HEK V2 also sounds better fuller and more musical via my Benchmark DAC 2 than via my HUGO with most of my,entirely acoustic music, hi res material.
HUGO 1 and its sometimes really irritating limitations, will hopefuly be history for me soon enough.
Alas it seems that as suspected ,the lack of galvanic isolation even on HUGO 2 could be a limiting factor in comparison with some of the competition ,in a highend Speaker based system.
Meanwhile I can recommend an album that I may have underestimated a bit before I got my HEKV2.
Reference Recordings' quite recent Tchaikovsky Pathetique, symphony no 6 coupled with a suite from Dvorak's Opera Rusalka,with the Pittsburghers are both very very good indeed recording-wise.
It is available from several sites ranging from 24/96 all the way up to original master DXD and various DSD renderings DSD 64to DSD 256.
Especially the Rusalka Suite is a bit like listening to one of the old simply mic'd Living Stereos again but this time without all the limitations of late 50s tape recording
Interpretatively, the Pathetique may be a bit understated, compared to some other recordings of this timeless symphonic masterpiece. But if you know how an orchestra sounds close up on stage in a real hall few digital recordings in recent memory get as close to the real thing as this one does.
I am really looking forward to hearing how HUGO 2 handles it.
PS I 'd love to hear from early owners who also listen to large scale acoustic music, what their impressions of HUGO 2 are compared to HUGO 1
cheers Chris

 

[miketlse]

Chord Electronics members and experts elsewhere; charging and the heat it produces. Is just the nature of charging a battery. right?
How about the official reccomendation in regards to use another than the supplied PSU for charging the little good looking beast?

For the other DACs the official line was initially 'use a charger different to the supplied make, and you will void your warranty'. I think this was prudent business risk management, when faced by the initial enthusiasm of some owners to try all sorts of exotic chargers, which may not have battery protection technology (or produce higher voltage output, etc).
But gradually a few months ago, the line seemed to soften, so that Chord were prepared to suggest other reputable makes/types of PSU.
That advice should be tempered by the fact that Rob Watts always states that he can detect no impact/change in the DAC performance whether you use the supplied PSU, or buy a $500 audiophile PSU.

Best to wait for the chord response before you try using a different PSU.

 

[psikey]

I recognize an iPad when I see one, but what is that little thing which seems to be connected to Hugo2 and a headphone? or an amp?
A portable harddrive or some kind of streamer player unit?

Looks like he uses the Shure electrostatics: Shure KSE1500 (~ £2,500). Fortunately I'm still totally pleased with my Shure SE846's otherwise I'd be on the hunt for a 2nd hand set.

 

[Christer]

After over three months of waiting my new Chord Hugo 2 arrived today. On unboxing the packaging feels like it hides a premium and special product, very well designed. When do you ever get Duracell Ultra batteries included with a remote?! Even the instructions are soft touch material. Very well thought out and quality first. It's the little touches count.

I get to the Hugo 2 itself. For some reason, it looks smaller than I was expecting, that's a good thing as it's meant to be portable yet suitable for desktop home use. Again, very well designed and oozes quality from its black anodized CNC machined aluminum case, a big improvement on original Hugo. Symmetry is beauty. There are rattles that seem to come from the push buttons but I guess this is normal and nothing to worry about.

I switch it on and see that the batteries are low so I plug the charger in. My Chord Shawline RCA to XLR fit okay, as does my Belkin 1m USB C to B micro cable. Set filter to 1 (Incisive Neutral). Right, all set.

After an initial listen, a few of my questions are answered. Do I regret selling my Hugo TT? No. Is this Dave in small form factor? No. Do I prefer this to Mojo and original Hugo? Yes.




It’s so easy to listen to, it’s like my brain doesn’t have to work as hard to hear the music, it’s very organic and natural sounding. Lovely deep three dimensional soundstage, instruments sound even more lifelike with better separation. Not a hint of any noise or distortion. The filter options are subtle, I prefer to keep it on 1.

It’s difficult to make comparisons with Dave and Hugo TT as I heard those with different speakers and prior to installing acoustic treatment in my room. Please take what I say with a pinch of salt. Hugo 2 is no Dave. I heard things with Dave that I’m just not hearing with Hugo 2. It doesn’t quite render the same gigantically deep and three dimensional, yet strange, soundstage that Dave seemed to muster up. Dave, from what I can remember, also tonally sounded warmer. Hugo 2 certainly gives a taste of Dave and will not leave you wanting.

Thanks your balanced report makes real sense compared to some really hyped reports here.
A bit worrying though to read that your brain still has to work a bit hard to hear the music?
My memory of DAVE via headphones is still that huge deep very realistic soundstage combined with a level of resolution that I have basically only heard at sessions with pro gear, some of it dCs by the way, before.
I had the chance to compare both my HUGO a Mojo and DAVE .
And in those two very important respects with acoustic music,neither was even close to DAVE.
Who knows ? When a separate M-Scaler becomes a reality HUGO 2 will approach or even equal, real Dave territory?
Meanwhile I too think that is is much more realistic to expect an upgrade from HUGO 1 than a real DAVE competitor.
cheers Chris

 

[Bob9520]

Fantastic someone else that listens to damien rice delicate. It just is mind blowing on the hugo 2! I'm having a hard time hearing the difference between the filters

Me too. I just thought it was my old ears! I think that if a track is 'bright' the filters make the track slightly easier to listen to but it is a very subtle difference.

 

[halloweenman]

Chord Electronics members and experts elsewhere; charging and the heat it produces. Is just the nature of charging a battery. right?
How about the official reccomendation in regards to use another than the supplied PSU for charging the little good looking beast?

My Hugo 2 did indeed get surprisingly very warm when charging. Now it's in desktop mode it's a lot cooler and only slightly warm.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

https://www.facebook.com/pg/chordelectronics/posts/?ref=page_internal

Some fun photos with the announcement of shipping.

 

[halloweenman]

Me too! I did get a hint of a difference in the filters by not thinking about it consciously and just enjoying the music on each filter for a while.

 

[miketlse]

Any shipping today in Europe?

Mine was supposed to ship today, but I have just received an email stating that it is on back-order, and the dealer is awaiting a new date from the french distributor.

 

[evilaci]

I got my Hugo 2 yesterday.
And today i could listening to my reference songs from Loreen, In my head mixed by Ollie Olsen in order to check the low end and Everytime to check the soundstage and space.
Hugo 2 punched my Tp5 first gen so hard that i first of all did not missed the A1 at all. We all know the image of this HP. And how Beyer HP fits juiciy to their amps. I was really massive impressed by that kind of power. For me this is not more warm or more low end - it is just power from my feeling. And yes i can confirm that my brain has to handle all that kind of information because with Mojo and/or A1 i´m used to "another" sound.
On songs mixed with to much highs/compression in the voice like Ellie Gouldings Burn and with this HP i switched to filter 2 and everything is fine and more relaxed because of this insane resolution. After that i listened with the T5p 2nd gen again and i switched back to filter one; so what i wanted to say is that this is a great fine tweaking capability.
The H2 will never leave the house because i want to "relax" with it and should replace the Mojo (which never left the house too so far). But now i´m really reflective about the sale here. I now have the feeling that i need Mojo at work because just listing with the phone might get "impossible"..... even it sounds very crazy !
And no charging whining.

This will be really big love.

PS: One additional important thing for me to say is that the manual is the best i have ever seen in any product.

 

[JacquesDewitt]

Hi, can anyone give their impressions with the hd800s? And using it as a dac in an amp?

regards

 

[maxh22]

https://www.facebook.com/pg/chordelectronics/posts/?ref=page_internal

Some fun photos with the announcement of shipping.

Very interesting to see the behind the scenes development for Hugo 2, makes it that much more exciting

 

[tonyl59]

Looks like he uses the Shure electrostatics: Shure KSE1500 (~ £2,500). Fortunately I'm still totally pleased with my Shure SE846's otherwise I'd be on the hunt for a 2nd hand set.

Yes, it's the KSE1500 amp. A little more cumbersome than most headphones as a result but well worth it in my opinion.

 

[Dvdlucena]

Did someone read around the web any major review comparing Hugo2 with other Dac?
Im trying to figure out if hugo2 is a MAJOR upgrade from hugo1 or 2Qute.
Cheers

 

[jmills8]

I got my Hugo 2 yesterday.
And today i could listening to my reference songs from Loreen, In my head mixed by Ollie Olsen in order to check the low end and Everytime to check the soundstage and space.
Hugo 2 punched my Tp5 first gen so hard that i first of all did not missed the A1 at all. We all know the image of this HP. And how Beyer HP fits juiciy to their amps. I was really massive impressed by that kind of power. For me this is not more warm or more low end - it is just power from my feeling. And yes i can confirm that my brain has to handle all that kind of information because with Mojo and/or A1 i´m used to "another" sound.
On songs mixed with to much highs/compression in the voice like Ellie Gouldings Burn and with this HP i switched to filter 2 and everything is fine and more relaxed because of this insane resolution. After that i listened with the T5p 2nd gen again and i switched back to filter one; so what i wanted to say is that this is a great fine tweaking capability.
The H2 will never leave the house because i want to "relax" with it and should replace the Mojo (which never left the house too so far). But now i´m really reflective about the sale here. I now have the feeling that i need Mojo at work because just listing with the phone might get "impossible"..... even it sounds very crazy !
And no charging whining.

This will be really big love.

PS: One additional important thing for me to say is that the manual is the best i have ever seen in any product.

Great you can use EQ! Filter/Crossfeed = EQ.