[halloweenman]

Listening to Hugo 2 with headphones at the moment as I await my speakers and it just sounds wonderful. Crossfeed is a must for me, just not natural without it, on some tracks it doesn't make a huge difference yet on others it makes a huge difference. I wonder how the crossfeed implementation in roon compares with the crossfeed implementation in Hugo 2? I know roon converts to 64 bit for DSP calculations, as it does with eq, and uses digital emulation of analog circuits called Bauer Stereo to Binaural. I also wonder how roon eq will compare with iTunes eq and jriver eq? If you are just cutting bass frequencies say below 50 Hz due to room modes which eq is going to be the most transparent/accurate? I've read that digital eq is perfect for cutting frequencies but not boosting, where it's best to use an analog eq. A bit like the difference between an optical (analog) zoom and a digital zoom in image processing.

Question for Rob Watts, do any of the Hugo 2 crossfeed settings use eq to boost any frequencies? I'd also be interested to know which sets of speakers Chord or Rob use during testing?

miketlse, did you check your dealer actually placed the order with chord in Feb? I ordered mine in Feb and got it a few weeks ago.

Hugo 2 to me is like a little magic box, its lights shining like an aurora, with beautiful music flowing from just bits and bytes.

 

[audi0nick128]

Are you maybe referring to Roon?

If not and runeaudio got an easy to use eq I'll ditch Volumio

EDIT: ahh I was to slow
Cheers

 

[halloweenman]

Sorry, yes, Roon, not Rune. I edited my post to make the correction.

 

[miketlse]

miketlse, did you check your dealer actually placed the order with chord in Feb? I ordered mine in Feb and got it a few weeks ago.

The previous shipping date that I was given by the dealer was June 9th, which would have meant that I was in the first batch that Chord sent to France (see the Chord Facebook page).
For some reason the distributor or dealer, has obviously demoted me to a later batch.

 

[halloweenman]

That is just not cricket!

 

[uzi2]

By the way does HUGO 2 use super capacitors or not?
And if not? why not?
If a handy person can even add super capacitors to HUGO 1 and hear a clear improvement in SQ having done so,one would expect such parts to be taken for granted in an upgraded product like HUGO 2 wouldn't one?

Are not super capacitors also super sized? The handy person you quote made no reference to the super capacitors fitting inside the Hugo's case.
Edit: sorry I missed loads of posts when replying...

 

[Whazzzup]

Are not super capacitors also super sized? The handy person you quote made no reference to the super capacitors fitting inside the Hugo's case.
Edit: sorry I missed loads of posts when replying...

The external battery talk on Hugo while amusing has been hashed and rehashed on Hugo thread. Yes the super capacitors are roughly 4 times the size...The super Capacitors won't fit into Hugo, don't do it or attempt the patch as you risk not only warranty but frying your Hugo. If you are an electrical wizard, proceed with a mod your Hugo thread....
I will suggest that feeding my TT with antipodes audio server has been a downright religious experience, granted at more cost than Hugo 1 or two it may be overkill, but if you are looking to improve sq without voiding your warranty, roon core servers is the way to go.

 

[Christer]

No super-capacitors, because you would have something that provides no audible benefit, costs money, takes up space and may lead to maintenance issues in the future? The Hugo2 is a portable device and it comes with the compromises that entails. To me it is not competing with the likes of Benchmark's DAC 3 because it is meant to be used in a totally different way. It sounds like 3qute should provide what you are after. I think you should wait for that before deciding. Hopefully Chord will design it in an intelligent and rational way. I will take a practical economical design over a fancy expensive one any day of the week. In other words, no need for any fancy colored balls or milled from solid case. Just give us the electronics and software please. Chord, are you listening?

It would be interesting to know just how much people who buy a Hugo2 are paying for the fancy balls and case.

Well said,
I suspect that some of the HUGO 1 and now also HUGO 2 compromises are indeed made for purely commercial reasons.
I also strongly prefer products made with electronics and software choices put first and where any design choices are entirely made after having accomodated what's needed to optimize the SQ aspects of the product in question.
There is a sometimes amusing ,but more often annoying to me, psychological aspect in highend HIFI that reminds me of fashion and sports cars.
And unfortunately Chord seems to be one of the companies that play that game.
There is sometimes FAR TOO much attention paid to fancy looks and what pleases the eye of some beholders than real attention put to the best possible SQ from many products in HIGHEND HIFI.
Although I am really impressed by DAVE SQ wise I actually find its looks a bit off putting. And I strongly dislike the weird little roundish knob of a volume control it has. HUGO 1 is small enough so I don't really look at it more than when plugging it in. But HUGO 2 seems to indulge in uneccessary fancy lights and stuff that hold no interest for me whatsoever.
Why make DAVE look a bit like a little submarine?And one which also happens for some to be in need of a separate also ridiculously expensive stand? To float well when anchored?
I sometimes wish Rob would make his digital solutions available in simple really practical products where one is not forced to pay for often limiting design choices of NO real SQ importance at all.
There is too much vanity involved imho.
Although it may very well turn out that HUGO 2 indeed sounds clearly better than Benchmark's DAC 3 both in my system and via headphones, I find it easier to defend a company which with its new product make no fancy looking external changes at all!
Every thing different, except 3 instead of 2 on the simple faceplate of the new DAC 3 is in parts and other technical improvements.
There is nothing fancy about DAC 2 or DAC 3 that will attract new customers who might choose looks over SQ.
In a way I actually admire a company brave enough to have faith in the SQ of their products.
Products which by the way are used in recording studios in many parts of the world.

 

[straleno]

did you get a chance to compare to the lower priced i20's? also for straleno what is the comfort factor like.

For me, Lyra 2's are super comfortable for long sessions. I use the Campfire foam tips, which I find to be more comfortable and better sounding than silicone tips or Comply foam. Vegas are the same size, so they should be just as comfortable.

 

[jmills8]

Well said,
I suspect that some of the HUGO 1 and now also HUGO 2 compromises are indeed made for purely commercial reasons.
I also strongly prefer products made with electronics and software choices put first and where any design choices are entirely made after having accomodated what's needed to optimize the SQ aspects of the product in question.
There is a sometimes amusing ,but more often annoying to me, phycological aspect in highend HIFI that reminds me of fashion and sports cars.
And unfortunately Chord seems to be one of the companies that play that game.
There is sometimes FAR TOO much attention paid to fancy looks and what pleases the eye of some beholders than real attention put to the best possible SQ from many products.
Although I am really impressed by DAVE SQ wise I actually find its looks a bit off putting. HUGO 1 is small enough so I don't really look at it more than when plugging it in. But HUGO 2 seems to indulge in uneccessary fancy lights and stuff that hold no interest for me whatsoever.
Why make DAVE look a bit like a little submarine?And one which also happens for some to be in need of a separate also ridiculously expensive stand? To float well when anchored?
I sometimes wish Rob would make his digital solutions available in simple really practical products where one is not forced to pay for design choices of NO real SQ importance at all.
Although it may very well turn out that HUGO 2 indeed sounds clearly better than Benchmark's DAC 3 both in my system and via headphones, I find it easier to defend a company which with its new product make no fancy looking external changes at all!
Every thing diffferent, except 3 instead of 2 on the new DAC 3 is in parts and other technical improvements.
There is nothing fancy about DAC 2 or DAC 3 that will attract new customers.
In a way I actually admire a company brave enough to have faith in the SQ of their products.
Products which by the way are used in recording studios in many parts of the world.

why so much thought ?

 

[Whazzzup]

Well said,
I suspect that some of the HUGO 1 and now also HUGO 2 compromises are indeed made for purely commercial reasons.
I also strongly prefer products made with electronics and software choices put first and where any design choices are entirely made after having accomodated what's needed to optimize the SQ aspects of the product in question.
There is a sometimes amusing ,but more often annoying to me, phycological aspect in highend HIFI that reminds me of fashion and sports cars.
And unfortunately Chord seems to be one of the companies that play that game.
There is sometimes FAR TOO much attention paid to fancy looks and what pleases the eye of some beholders than real attention put to the best possible SQ from many products.
Although I am really impressed by DAVE SQ wise I actually find its looks a bit off putting. HUGO 1 is small enough so I don't really look at it more than when plugging it in. But HUGO 2 seems to indulge in uneccessary fancy lights and stuff that hold no interest for me whatsoever.
Why make DAVE look a bit like a little submarine?And one which also happens for some to be in need of a separate also ridiculously expensive stand? To float well when anchored?
I sometimes wish Rob would make his digital solutions available in simple really practical products where one is not forced to pay for design choices of NO real SQ importance at all.
Although it may very well turn out that HUGO 2 indeed sounds clearly better than Benchmark's DAC 3 both in my system and via headphones, I find it easier to defend a company which with its new product make no fancy looking external changes at all!
Every thing diffferent, except 3 instead of 2 on the new DAC 3 is in parts and other technical improvements.
There is nothing fancy about DAC 2 or DAC 3 that will attract new customers.
In a way I actually admire a company brave enough to have faith in the SQ of their products.
Products which by the way are used in recording studios in many parts of the world.

Whether to agree or not is moot. However to use an old quote from the culinary school.

You eat with your eyes..

If you like what you see great, it better taste good going down tho.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

The word "fanboys" is a short version of silencing an opinion.

Without an engineering mind, I have relied upon my ears first and secondly the arguments. Chord detractors in another forum use the word "fanboy" while blindly detracting. Here, it is passive aggressive with "likes" of every negative post on Chord, as a company, and even use compliments in attempts to indict for wrong doing, which are the most disingenuous.

What I do is this: Although I rely upon my ears and the opinions of others, noting even those who carry narrative into their arguments, I count on this one thing: truth.

The engineer who designed H2 has answered all questions and all challengers. I've watched some genuine challengers thank him, (revealing the purpose of the challenge to obtain info) while others become negative personally (the passive-aggressive) when their challenge is answered, thus revealing the purpose of the challenge. There is an element of "need to persuade" in all advertising but where the need to persuade has more emphasis on persuasion than content, its weakness is exposed.

When I listened to the video of John Franks, he was truthful. This is very important to me. He presented facts with very low persuasion. The stronger the facts, the less need to persuade.

I read Rob's posts and in all the time I have been here, he's not been stumped, rebuked, nor the "aha!" moment some may have expected realized. Why?

Because he's truthful; he knows what he is doing.

I have enjoyed Mojo enough to get a second and have done some engineering research; enough to understand why detractors, critics, and honest challengers are answered with the science. i prepaid for Hugo 2, months ago, product unseen and untested.

While holding a well manufactured item in my hand, knowing the company 's CEO is honest, and seeing what is done to challenges, the healthy scientific scrutiny embraced, I trust.

Does this make me "fanboy" in the juvenile dismissal status of groupthink?

So be it.

In our culture it is difficult to find honesty and excellence combined. When I do find it, I am loyal and I am thankful.

I am frustrated with delays and the lack of info regarding the delays, but I also recognize that the frustrations will be forgotten once the product arrives.

Chord has brought me and my family a new joy of experiencing music. The clarity of sound has inspired us to seek out new music, something that is invigorating for those of us with more years behind us than before us. I am thankful.

 

[PhiQuanTu]

So I'm revisiting this thread again after several weeks off. After 329 pages, we still don't have the concrete availability date for people in the USA yet? I'm glad I withdrew my $1,000 pre-order deposit last month.

 

[maxh22]

So I'm revisiting this thread again after several weeks off. After 329 pages, we still don't have the concrete availability date for people in the USA yet? I'm glad I withdrew my $1,000 pre-order deposit last month.

In a couple days we will know for sure if the first week of July really is the start of USA shipping

 

[tonyl59]

Well said,
I suspect that some of the HUGO 1 and now also HUGO 2 compromises are indeed made for purely commercial reasons.
I also strongly prefer products made with electronics and software choices put first and where any design choices are entirely made after having accomodated what's needed to optimize the SQ aspects of the product in question......

I've had my Hugo 2 for nearly a month now and have been enjoying its sound immensely. I've kept up with this thread and sense the frustration and patience of those yet to receive theirs.
Sometimes I've thought about chipping back in to this thread but the post partially quoted here has triggered a need to respond.
Your suggestion that Chord has made compromises on sound quality is unfounded and unwarranted. Certainly from what I'm hearing and from everything Rob and John have shared openly on this thread and elsewhere, I see absolutely no indication that any compromise has been made. Additionally, the design choices that Chord has made have significantly improved the usability of the device. Inclusion of a remote control and easily-viewable function indicators, which to me are far clearer than any built-in display, are really worthwhile and useful additions.
May I respectfully suggest that you stick to plain black boxes if you believe that inherently you are therefore getting better electronics?