[ChisChas]

But unfortunately she has a very hairy boyfriend who looks very pleased and happy, can't think why? Anyone? My Hugo 2 suffering an emotional overload here.......

 

[Jawed]

Sorry for the newbie question but from what I have read here in the thread, if one uses H2 mostly as a desktop unit (connected to the mains), the better for battery health is keep H2 always on, with H2 on Intelligent Desktop Mode.
Am I right?

Yes, leave it switched on. The battery is the part of Hugo 2 that is most likely to fail in the next 20 years. Hugo 2 will work if the battery fails (it will run off the charger).

If you turn it off it starts to charge the battery. Desktop mode is about keeping the battery almost fully charged. When you turn off Hugo 2, it then starts to fully charge it. So turning off Hugo 2 regularly, after it has entered Desktop mode means you are cancelling the benefits of using the Desktop mode.

This is the reason that Hugo 2 waits 24 hours before entering Desktop mode. This period is long enough that Hugo 2 "knows" that you aren't going to use it as a portable, so it is letting the battery drain a little to stay at almost fully charged instead of fully charged.

 

[paul2qute]

I get my flare pro tomorrow and my black sorry meant colored Hugo 2 on Thursday,I kissed goodbye to my Chord 2 qute today,totally buzzing now so excited,I had a terrible year in 2017 lost my two cats with in weeks of each other and my dad 3 weeks after that,I do feel guilty feeling happy and excited but I'm sure my dad wouldn't want it any other way.I would of bought it earlier but had to pay towards the funeral so my Mrs got a loan so I could get the Chord Hugo 2,what an amazing woman,a keeper

 

[GU1DO]

I don't know ,, i see here some very respectful members that agree on the matter of power and the Hugo amp is more than enough , but it is not what i hear from, with very easy to drive headphones ,, TH-900 , Z1R , ABYSS ,

All these headphones need an external amp to give the full experience for me, and it is not just bass or bloom , its better imaging , texture & contrast ,and sense of the sound stage.

I got the Hugo2 lately and I am very very happy with the improvement it gave in my system, I am planing to upgrade my source & amp very soon ,

But Hugo2 alone doesn't cut it for me as an all in one solution ,, if that mean it is distortion what i like , then we can call the day.

 

[GU1DO]

I get my flare pro tomorrow and my black sorry meant colored Hugo 2 on Thursday,I kissed goodbye to my Chord 2 qute today,totally buzzing now so excited,I had a terrible year in 2017 lost my two cats with in weeks of each other and my dad 3 weeks after that,I do feel guilty feeling happy and excited but I'm sure my dad wouldn't want it any other way.I would of bought it earlier but had to pay towards the funeral so my Mrs got a loan so I could get the Chord Hugo 2,what an amazing woman,a keeper

Sorry to hear that man , may your loved ones rest in peace,
my respect to your wife, and i hope you enjoy your time bro.

 

[514077]

I don't know ,, i see here some very respectful members that agree on the matter of power and the Hugo amp is more than enough , but it is not what i hear from, with very easy to drive headphones ,, TH-900 , Z1R , ABYSS ,

All these headphones need an external amp to give the full experience for me, and it is not just bass or bloom , its better imaging , texture & contrast ,and sense of the sound stage.

I got the Hugo2 lately and I am very very happy with the improvement it gave in my system, I am planing to upgrade my source & amp very soon ,

But Hugo2 alone doesn't cut it for me as an all in one solution ,, if that mean it is distortion what i like , then we can call the day.

In the end, it's up to you. Enjoy your H2 as you see fit.

 

[kank]

I don't know ,,, if that mean it is distortion what i like , then we can call the day.

I totally agree with you. At the end of the day, it is what you ENJOY listening to. Nothing wrong with liking distortion if it still sound good to your ears.
High quality tube amps are great example of that, they not the best in terms of specs but damn they sound fantastic and addictive.

 

[GU1DO]

I totally agree with you. At the end of the day, it is what you ENJOY listening to. Nothing wrong with liking distortion if it still sound good to your ears.
High quality tube amps are great example of that, they not the best in terms of specs but damn they sound fantastic and addictive.

In the end, it's up to you. Enjoy your H2 as you see fit.

Sure , thanks for the replay ,, and to any one would like to try a complex track
just listen to track 26 on the OST La La Land [The Complete Musical Experience] (The Messengers - Messengers Rehearsal)
at the end of the track there is a piano layer , a vocal layer , and some other instrument layer ,, all play at the same time
in hugo all layers blend in a 2D sound ,, with external amp ,, its just play very clear and i can hear every layer position in the sound stage.

https://www.amazon.com/Land-Complete-Musical-Experience/dp/B06X97V7ZC

 

[musicmaker]

I don't know ,, i see here some very respectful members that agree on the matter of power and the Hugo amp is more than enough , but it is not what i hear from, with very easy to drive headphones ,, TH-900 , Z1R , ABYSS ,

All these headphones need an external amp to give the full experience for me, and it is not just bass or bloom , its better imaging , texture & contrast ,and sense of the sound stage.

I got the Hugo2 lately and I am very very happy with the improvement it gave in my system, I am planing to upgrade my source & amp very soon ,

But Hugo2 alone doesn't cut it for me as an all in one solution ,, if that mean it is distortion what i like , then we can call the day.

I agree and feel the same. The H2 is a great dac without question. But for headphone listening using just the H2, I felt something was missing as well. I posted about this a few pages ago and people said I was used to distortion, coloration blah blah. All of this is very subjective anyway. At the end of he day, I want to listen to music and not my gear.

People seem to get really defensive about anything less than stellar re the H2. I know they have a great marketing machine. But the H2 as a dac to my Violectric V281 is far far superior to the headphone out of the H2 alone. No contest. Not putting the H2 down. In fact, I love it as a dac. As a headphone out, I've heard better.

 

[kank]

At the end of he day, I want to listen to music and not my gear.

Absolutely, I think you hit the nail on the head. If we are mastering records, no doubt you'll want to be as close to 100% as possible. But as music lover, we just want to listen to what we think is good, not necessary what is technically more correct.
Thats the good thing about the Hugo 2, it is quite neutral itself so it forms a solid foundation to the system. You can always use something down the chain to cater for your own music taste.

But the H2 as a dac to my Violectric V281 is far far superior to the headphone out of the H2 alone. No contest. Not putting the H2 down. In fact, I love it as a dac. As a headphone out, I've heard better.

To prove how subjective listening to music can be, I have the Violectric V281 (brilliant amp, can't fault it). But I didn't like it with the H2, I rather listening to the H2 by itself. Although I do have a different headphone and cable setups which will affect with the output greatly.
I really like the H2 paired with the Cayin iha-6 though.

 

[musicmaker]

Absolutely, I think you hit the nail on the head. If we are mastering records, no doubt you'll want to be as close to 100% as possible. But as music lover, we just want to listen to what we think is good, not necessary what is technically more correct.
Thats the good thing about the Hugo 2, it is quite neutral itself so it forms a solid foundation to the system. You can always use something down the chain to cater for your own music taste.


To prove how subjective listening to music can be, I have the Violectric V281 (brilliant amp, can't fault it). But I didn't like it with the H2, I rather listening to the H2 by itself. Although I do have a different headphone and cable setups which will affect with the output greatly.
I really like the H2 paired with the Cayin iha-6 though.

Of course it depends on synergy with your headphones, cables etc. So let me ask you, do you still like H2 solo or does it sound more musical and full bodied with your Cayin in the equation ?

 

[kank]

Of course it depends on synergy with your headphones, cables etc. So let me ask you, do you still like H2 solo or does it sound more musical and full bodied with your Cayin in the equation ?

Yeh, more full bodied with the Cayin.

 

[x RELIC x]

I agree and feel the same. The H2 is a great dac without question. But for headphone listening using just the H2, I felt something was missing as well. I posted about this a few pages ago and people said I was used to distortion, coloration blah blah. All of this is very subjective anyway. At the end of he day, I want to listen to music and not my gear.

People seem to get really defensive about anything less than stellar re the H2. I know they have a great marketing machine. But the H2 as a dac to my Violectric V281 is far far superior to the headphone out of the H2 alone. No contest. Not putting the H2 down. In fact, I love it as a dac. As a headphone out, I've heard better.

I think that if anyone prefers the sound of an added amp that is great. Enjoyment is paramount. However, your preferences and assertions don’t apply to all, which is why when some say an amp is required and the amp in the Hugo2 is ‘weak’ you have to understand that it isn’t a universal preference and it certainly isn’t a measurable truth.

Sure , thanks for the replay ,, and to any one would like to try a complex track
just listen to track 26 on the OST La La Land [The Complete Musical Experience] (The Messengers - Messengers Rehearsal)
at the end of the track there is a piano layer , a vocal layer , and some other instrument layer ,, all play at the same time
in hugo all layers blend in a 2D sound ,, with external amp ,, its just play very clear and i can hear every layer position in the sound stage.

https://www.amazon.com/Land-Complete-Musical-Experience/dp/B06X97V7ZC

I looked up the dynamic range for the tracks for La La Land and although I couldn’t find the exact album that was linked, the rest of the soundtrack albums available show terriblely low dynamic range that I wouldn’t want to listen to on any gear. Perhaps the added amp isn’t as accurate and the Hugo2 shows the dynamically compressed master’s truth. I’ve certainly experienced that many times, but we can’t come to a conclusion unless someone does a dynamic range test on that particular album.

Again, nothing wrong with choosing any piece of audio gear for one’s pleasure... just that it doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone’s enjoyment or objective measurable facts.

 

[doraymon]

I think that if anyone prefers the sound of an added amp that is great. Enjoyment is paramount. However, your preferences and assertions don’t apply to all, which is why when some say an amp is required and the amp in the Hugo2 is ‘weak’ you have to understand that it isn’t a universal preference and it certainly isn’t a measurable truth.



I looked up the dynamic range for the tracks for La La Land and although I couldn’t find the exact album that was linked, the rest of the soundtrack albums available show terriblely low dynamic range that I wouldn’t want to listen to on any gear. Perhaps the added amp colors the sound and the Hugo2 shows the dynamically compressed master’s truth. I’ve certainly experienced that many times, but we can’t come to a conclusion unless someone does a dynamic range test on that particular album.

Again, nothing wrong with choosing any piece of audio gear for one’s pleasure... just that it doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone’s enjoyment or objective measurable facts.

I am in the group of people who in some occasions happened to enjoy the Hugo 2 better with the addition of an amp, namely my Pathos Aurium.
However you are introducing a very valid point in saying that the source track is a huge factor.
In my experience this is very true and I often find myself switching from one configuration to the other depending on the track.
I am too ignorant on the matter to understand why is this but it is indeed something I clearly feel.

 

[kank]

I am in the group of people who in some occasions happened to enjoy the Hugo 2 better with the addition of an amp, namely my Pathos Aurium.
However you are introducing a very valid point in saying that the source track is a huge factor.
In my experience this is very true and I often find myself switching from one configuration to the other depending on the track.
I am too ignorant on the matter to understand why is this but it is indeed something I clearly feel.

I see that you also have the HOLO audio L3, I was looking into that for my desktop setup. How would you compare it to the Hugo 2?