[audi0nick128]

Hey there,

I am back on board and Hugo 2 is going nowhere

I have to say that I almost returned it, because the first few days it seems like my ear/brain misinterpreted the more information to be a brighter sound... So bright that I thought it was just not for me and that I would be better off with my Mojo.

But yesterday I was going to give H2 a last listen and then it happened.
When I listened to Green Days Dookie, a record I know by heart, since I once spend a three week holiday with only this CD spinning in my Sony Discman, the perceived brightness was gone and replaced with the wowing sound I expected in the first place.

I listened for another 4 hours last night and there was no fatigue anymore... So all good after all... Good thing I waited a little longer to make up my mind.

 

[514077]

Quick question. Susvara?

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Keep one of the world's most complicated DACs "simple"???

Wasn't sure if this was meant to be comical

 

[x RELIC x]

Quick question. Susvara?

Might be one of those rare cases I say I think there might not be enough power, but I haven't heard the Susvara with the Hugo2 so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Do we know when the Van Nuys case will be up for sale?
Even in desktop mode, I want to protect Hugo2.

 

[musickid]

Might not be a good idea in desktop mode due to heat dissipation or the lack of it if a case is introduced. case is best for on the move i think.

 

[514077]

Might be one of those rare cases I say I think there might not be enough power, but I haven't heard the Susvara with the Hugo2 so take this with a grain of salt.

Actually, I was wondering what it is. @JaZZ made reference to it in a post about Blue II.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Might not be a good idea in desktop mode due to heat dissipation or the lack of it if a case is introduced. case is best for on the move i think.

I live in Maine.

Summer in Maine is great sleeping weather.

I woke up the other morning to 48 degrees F.

I've used it in desktop battery mode as well as on the go, both charging and playing, and it has not gotten very warm.

 

[x RELIC x]

Actually, I was wondering what it is. @JaZZ made reference to it in a post about Blue II.

Ah, apologies. Susvara is HiFiMan's latest $6000 flagship planar headphone. It's pretty inefficient.

Here's the thread if you want to read impressions:

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/hifiman-susvara.853031/

 

[JaZZ]

Yeah, I imagine the Hugo₂ and even the DAVE might not have enough power to drive it properly. So I'm not interested in it. Even if it was 60% better than the HE1000 (mine now has V2 pads, which do a lot), it would lose 55% again through the added powerful amp. And some money, too.

 

[straleno]

Quick video showing non-functional volume control on Hugo 2: https://d.pr/bOhnMJ
Not sure about the life expectancy given combination of "heat, rattle, and roll" (to abuse Canned Heat), or "rattle and hum" (U2 - see other post).
Keeping my fingers crossed for speedy RMA via Audio46.com.
Would strongly recommend to only buy Hugo 2 from a dealer who you trust to help you when needed.

I had this exact situation as well, coincidentally also purchased from Audio46 (bought it in person about two weeks ago, I'm in NY). Initially, the volume marble had a firm, damped feel, but after using the unit a couple of hours, it became totally loose, no resistance, and didn't change the volume/color. As I fiddled with it, every so often it would "catch," and I could adjust the volume, but only for a moment. I can't tell if it's attached by friction, or an adhesive, or what, but I'll be curious to see if this pops up in other units. I assume the remote would've worked, but I never tried it.

Audio46 said they'd replace it, no problem. (Those guys are awesome, btw.) Stopped in and picked up my replacement unit yesterday morning and have been using it almost non-stop since, and so far, so good. Fingers crossed. Also, who knows why, but this unit doesn't seem to get as warm as the first one.

Listening to Mingus Ah Um on my Campfire Lyra II's as I type this, it's fantastic. I'll try to post more thoughts soon about how well they pair.

 

[miketlse]

i am reporting this comment #fakenews

juang1985, I am massive road cyclist. glad to see another maniac on here who is into cycling AND all this audio stuff. worst hobbies ever...

Just for you guys, from yesterdays Tour de France, stage 14.

 

[514077]

Ah, apologies. Susvara is HiFiMan's latest $6000 flagship planar headphone. It's pretty inefficient.

Here's the thread if you want to read impressions:

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/hifiman-susvara.853031/

Interesting. Starting to get into the great beyond. Maybe the Questyle stack could drive them, but not Chords, I think.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Just for you guys, from yesterdays Tour de France, stage 14.

Go Lance!

They all conspired against you, man, it wasn't your fault. You didn't juice. Everyone does it. Someone gave it to you while you were sleeping. The French conspired against you. They hate you ,man! You didn't juice. It was Oprah's fault. You thought you were taking cough drops and butt cream!

I couldn't resist

I love the Tour and watching the climbs is something special though the TT is fun too. I hope one day to visit on a day of the Mountain climb. I'd need a good H2 carry "man bag" thing!

 

[Mojo ideas]

I wouldn't recommend using up-sampling with the Hugo 2. The processing inside the Chord DACs is far more powerful than what Roon or computer software can do. If you imagine that Roon can up-sample the equivalent of 8x or 16x, then the original Hugo did the equivalent of 2048x! For the Hugo 2, I actually wonder what that number would be.



SNR is only a tiny part of the performance of a component. It's rather like the top speed of a car. You cannot compare the top speeds of cars and get any idea of their actual performance when being driven.

It very easy to turn down the overall gain on a Dac's output stage or amplifier to get a low noise figure like many other units. However the clever thing is to keep the gain really high over 125 plus and still keep the noise levels vanishingly low like Rob has achieved This means we don't need all those silly gain option switches that can change the sonic signature of the system. Many are there to coverup design limitations.