[hugo poon]

Interesting comment considering the RCA out and headphone out are tied to the same circuit.

That's what I thought too. In fact, I guess my first response was even more sceptical, "whoever invented this set up must have had too much time in his hands!" But now I simply don't know what to say to thank this guy - he's a genius who has made great use of his time. I and my friends are all stunned by (and enjoying) the difference that this set up has made...

 

[Currawong]

Could it be that whatever headphone plug that was on the cable before was somehow introducing a bit of crosstalk, as what you experienced shouldn't be happening.

I would be interesting in reading your impressions regarding such a comparison Amos.

I had a listen to Friday Night in San Francisco, switching between using the amp and not. Given it's a tube amp, and the slight difference in tone with my current tube selection, I can't say that Rob is wrong, as the dynamics are all there straight out of the Hugo 2. The only thing that has changed since I had my impression before is that I've bought an aftermarket cable for the Utopias. Crazy speculation, but I wonder if what I felt and what hugo poon experienced might have any relation. Maybe I should restore the set-up I had when I wrote the review (tubes and cable) and see if I can't reproduce my experience.

I'll also give the Master 9 another go. That was designed to be completely un-colored.

 

[Stu79]

Still waiting to get the Hugo 2,waiting on Chord to make the cable I need so not sure when I'll get it now,got my flare pro today,sounds quite good through my Samsung s8 plus,the Bluetooth I'm a bit dissapointed with,needs more volume but I know once I get the Hugo 2 they gonna sound amazing,when I'm in the garden I'm gonna be connecting my phone to the Hugo 2,my contract runs out in April so not sure if to get an iPhone X or Samsung s9 plus for source,in the past my iPhone slaughtered my htc 9

I've always preferred the Android system and my personal phone is a Nexus, BUT, I had given up on my phone as an audio player, because I could never get files to play in their native res or without resampling.

Just last week, I bought a camera adapter to use with my company iPhone and it works so much better! Simply connect the HD input of Hugo via the CCK and everything plays at the correct frequency, even DSD! I'm using a free Chinese app called HiByplayer to stream over my local network. It works well and can even dig into SACD rips to play individual tracks from a .iso file. The only issue I have is occasional short breaks in playback - I suspect the buffer isn't as large as when streaming to a PC app.

 

[GU1DO]

I got you... my apologies.

Spoiler: some OT dynamic range discussion

What genre do you listen to? I linked a great article earlier regarding dynamic range compression and the loudness wars, but here it is again (it will explain the whole thing):

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/ca/ca-academy/dynamic-range-no-quiet-no-loud-r643/

A video excerpt from the above article:




You can also check your music using this:

http://dr.loudness-war.info/

You can enter your artist / album and check to see what the dynamic range is on the music you listen to (if it’s in the database). I should note that a reported compressed dynamic range doesn’t always equate to poor sound as some music is simply performed that way, but it’s a rare exception. Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post, there is often audible distortions found in music that is dynamically compressed for loudness (pumped up so everything is just loud). Adele is a good example.

An example of fantastic dynamic range is the 1985 release of Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits. Also, a great example of how a re-master of the same album can ruin the dynamics in the music just to pump up the volume in the track (this is very, very common). The 2005 re-master of this album is actually much worse than the original CD, even the SACD and DVD versions. Thankfully they released better versions later, but not as good as the original where they wanted to show off the capabilities of the new CD format back then. See the results in the link below:

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Dire+straits&album=Brothers+in+arms


There’s also artists like Norah Jones that have a decent amount of music with good dynamic range but her recordings are rather flat as the vocals and instruments all seem to be mixed at the same level and there is little depth to her recordings (a studio mix decision).

Many heavy metal and rock albums are terribly mastered, but there are exceptions.

Certainly it isn’t a forgone conclusion that the source files are the reason for preferring certain gear added in the chain, but it could be a possibility or even a major factor.

No need to apologize ,, you got my attention to something i was overlooking ,,
sure it could improve my source regardless of the equipment used ..
i tried to buy (Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits album) from hdtracks.com but its not available in my country
now i am doing my research ,
Thanks

 

[Triode User]

I've always preferred the Android system and my personal phone is a Nexus, BUT, I had given up on my phone as an audio player, because I could never get files to play in their native res or without resampling.

Just last week, I bought a camera adapter to use with my company iPhone and it works so much better! Simply connect the HD input of Hugo via the CCK and everything plays at the correct frequency, even DSD! I'm using a free Chinese app called HiByplayer to stream over my local network. It works well and can even dig into SACD rips to play individual tracks from a .iso file. The only issue I have is occasional short breaks in playback - I suspect the buffer isn't as large as when streaming to a PC app.

"The only issue I have is occasional short breaks in playback"
Haha, that would be when it is transmitting all your personal passwords and details back to the provider of the free app!!

 

[GU1DO]

Wondering how many have also tried using the RCA out (instead of the "headphone outputs") for headphones and earphones; once I and my friends tried this, we are never going back to the headphone out. Everything from separation, sound stage, dynamic to naturalness is being taken to a totally different level. Just amazing.

Happy listening with the Hugo 2!

Cheers,
Hugo

I think it is the extra connection from WIREWORLD introduced the deference between the RCA and the headphone output ,
when i use Hugo 2 as portable DAC/AMP , in my experiment with cables and interconnect , it effect the sound significantly,
some times i prefer to use the ( Audioquest: Headphone Plug Adaptor ) with my Denon 7200 out of the Hugo 6.3 output although the headphone cable is terminated in 3.5 and i could use it directly to the Hugo 3.5 output but that extra adapter in the chain give better (sound stage , details) and it is very noticeable ,
on the other hand , i don't like that adapter with other setup and i use better brand that doesn't add to the sound.

 

[dmance]

I thought all Hugo2 connectors were 100% identical. Meaning ...the physical PCB traces just join the metal connections of RCA and headphone jacks.

 

[Currawong]

They are, so my theory is something to do with the plugs on the headphone cables. Supposedly 3.5mm and smaller plugs have some degree of crosstalk -- something I'll need to confirm.

For something a bit different, my transport set-up for the Hugo 2: A Raspberry Pi 3B powered off an iUSB 3.0 with custom PSU. The second USB cable there is necessary to trigger the iUSB 3.0 to power up its ports so the RPi can boot. It is running DietPi as a Roon endpoint.

 

[doraymon]

I had a listen to Friday Night in San Francisco

Great album... what format are you playing? It can make a difference in dynamic range I guess.

 

[hugo poon]

I think it is the extra connection from WIREWORLD introduced the deference between the RCA and the headphone output ,
when i use Hugo 2 as portable DAC/AMP , in my experiment with cables and interconnect , it effect the sound significantly,
some times i prefer to use the ( Audioquest: Headphone Plug Adaptor ) with my Denon 7200 out of the Hugo 6.3 output although the headphone cable is terminated in 3.5 and i could use it directly to the Hugo 3.5 output but that extra adapter in the chain give better (sound stage , details) and it is very noticeable ,
on the other hand , i don't like that adapter with other setup and i use better brand that doesn't add to the sound.

Put it this way, I guess I and several friends of mine like the Hugo 2 so much that we always have our eyes / ears open, and will be eager to try any set up or accessories that could improve the Hugo 2 even further. So despite being sceptical when we first heard of this set up, we still decided to give it a try. After all it didn't cost much (my friend managed to do it DIY).

A small 3.5 mm connector plus RCA plugs is what we began with (see the first pic); after we confirmed that such improvement is genuine (I could still recall how stunned I was by the separation, 3D, sense of living presence and naturalness), we moved on even more aggressively by making a special headphone cable having RCA plugs at the other end to connect directly to the Hugo 2 without the need to go through the 3.5 mm connector first (see the next pic). We have been sticking to this set up since then...

Have to be frank, we still have no clue why the Hugo 2's RCA out would sound better than the headphone out, yet I enjoy the sound of this set up so much that I thought I should perhaps share it with more people.

 

[514077]

No need to apologize ,, you got my attention to something i was overlooking ,,
sure it could improve my source regardless of the equipment used ..
i tried to buy (Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits album) from hdtracks.com but its not available in my country
now i am doing my research ,
Thanks

Pet peve: Downloaded music restricted by country. I don't care what the reason be.

 

[Stu79]

"The only issue I have is occasional short breaks in playback"
Haha, that would be when it is transmitting all your personal passwords and details back to the provider of the free app!!

Hehe, you may be right!

I haven't found a decent alternative that streams everything up to DSD over a local network yet. Would be glad of any suggestions.

 

[musickid]

i thought elegant gypsy was good and it is. i overlooked friday night in san francisco. excellent with pm1/mojo/roon. hugo 2 arriving march. earmax pro harmonics were stellar but prefer chord straight up no mixer shaken not stirred. whats the big deal i duuunt get it? planning ahead for 2018 mscaler with h2 or dave trade in h2. assuming h2 doesn't konk out on me again and pm1 carries on behaving well. sorted.

 

[Barra]

Wondering how many have also tried using the RCA out (instead of the "headphone outputs") for headphones and earphones; once I and my friends tried this, we are never going back to the headphone out. Everything from separation, sound stage, dynamic to naturalness is being taken to a totally different level. Just amazing.

Happy listening with the Hugo 2!

Cheers,
Hugo

Sounds interesting to try, where did you find the wireworld RCA to 3.5 female wire? Tried looking at their site and could not find it, was it custom?

 

[Hooster]

Pet peve: Downloaded music restricted by country. I don't care what the reason be.

There are three main reasons for this. Greed, sloth and ignorance.