[Deftone]

Enjoy. My forecast is that 5 years from now streaming will overtake everything. In just 6 months of roon i discovered all my old favs and built a collection of nearly 1600 artists/albums not taking into account links to other artists etc. That would cost thousands in downloads. For someone who doesn't have a library this is incredible.

Very likely but I just still hope I can buy CDs in 5 years

 

[nefilim]

Hi @Rob Watts - quick question, I'm wondering if the delay propagation of the Hugo2 (and Qutest, assume they are the same) is constant? The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to put together a multi-channel system (I have some convolution filters upstream to do room correction and low pass/high pass to integrate some subwoofers with my main channels) using this USB->SPDIF interface (https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/u-dio8), I'm concerned about clock drift between multiple DACs.

I surmise even if they are connected to the same SPDIF source, their internal jitter rejection mechanism probably introduces some kind of delay. As long as the delay is a constant function of time, an appropriate delay of the "faster" channels (if needed) would be able to keep them in sync? Or is this just wishful thinking?

Multichannel DACs are a rare thing (exasound or merging really is it for consumer) and I would love to keep using my Hugo2 (and complement it with a Qutest).

ps. Absolutely loved your DAC design masterclass, super interesting!

 

[proedros]

Since H2 only has 3.5 and 6.3 inputs, the answer to the first question is obvious...
About Wm1a and H2, I have both, plan to keep both and the answer to you question isn’t so obvious.
In SQ department, IMHO, H2 is (much) better than Wm1a. More detail, more “organic” sound, much better amplifier, etc.
But, with certain types of IEM’s like mine CA Andromeda, I suppose because OI of H2 being so low, I prefer use Wm1a instead of H2. With H2 although the great detail, separation, organic sound, etc, they become more bassy so I prefer use Wm1a (balanced) with it’s more “dry” sound although very musical.
For headphones like mine Mr Speakers AFO, the H2 is by far better. It’s really a joy the combination H2+AFO.
I have the Violectric V100 which i’m going to sell because since I have H2 I don’t use it.
With AFO, the SQ direct from H2 is way better than H2+V100.
I think for the vast majority of the available headphones, there is no need of a dedicated amplifier when using H2. Adding an amplifier will only contribute to SQ degradation. IMHO...

thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed answer , much appreciated

i will be using H2 only with CIEMs (Zeus XR and NT6) so maybe i am good with wm1a ? no headphones in this house (for now at least)

there is also the problem of finding a 4.4 > 3.5 adaptor , since all my CIEM cables have 4.4mm terminations

and i also need to buy the sony usb cable for connecting wm1a to the hugo

gain , thanx for the detailed feedback , you rock sir

 

[rkt31]

initially I used furutech f220 bulk cable and furutech fp162 plugs which fitted very well in Hugo 1. then since I had to use RCA splitter for feeding sub and amp simultaneously so I got another interconnect made of fa220 furutech bulk cable with thicker plugs. subsequently with Hugo 2 I used my earlier fp162 plug interconnect to sub through RCA and thicker RCA fururteck interconnect to headphone out through 3.5mm stereo male to 2 RCA female adaptor. now I am using both RCA out and headphone out of Hugo 2 , one for feeding active sub and other for amp . so people having expensive interconnect with thicker plug can make use of this adaptor.

 

[rkt31]

furutech makes one of the purest copper balanced bulk cable and is OEM to many high end cable brand. fa220 is one of their best balanced cable and a pseudo balanced interconnect made from this cable with a medium range RCA fururtech plugs can beat even the most expensive interconnects .

 

[ZappaMan]

The statement below is copied and pasted from the Qutest thread:

----------------
"I don't think there is anything special needed apart from simply connecting the Qutest via its full size galvanically isolated USB 2 port going out from Qutest into a MBP.
Anyway, that is what I have been doing for almost a month now since buying my Qutest here in Singapore.
I use no jitterbugs or other questionable extra "cleansers" or re-clockers .
At his seminar at Can Jam in Singapore last week, Rob very much questioned the need for such things with his dacs.."
---------------

I posted the statement below yesterday on the same Qutest thread (no answer yet) however it also applies here to the Hugo2.

"Since ROON has now enabled iOS devices to act as ROON endpoints can one connect an iPad or iPhone directly to the Qutest (obviously using the Apple CCK connector kit and USB cable) and still achieve perfect sound without resorting to "cleansers or re-clockers" as mentioned above - and specifically by Rob ?"

Has anyone played around with using an iPad/iPhone as a ROON endpoint in front of the Hugo2?

Roon remote needs a later version of iOS than iPhone 5 supports.

 

[ZappaMan]

Yep I posted about iOS Roon endpoints earlier in the thread.

As long as your WiFi network is reliable it’s fantastic.

A good test for your network is to use Roon to upsample to 32bit PCM768kHz. If you get no dropouts over a week or two of listening, your WiFi network (and entire chain) is pretty reliable.

After this test I go back to bit perfect playback.

How do you enable bit perfect playback via roon plz?

 

[flyte3333]

How do you enable bit perfect playback via roon plz?

Just disable Roon DSP and disable volume levelling. The signal path should say lossless.

 

[silvahr]

thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed answer , much appreciated

i will be using H2 only with CIEMs (Zeus XR and NT6) so maybe i am good with wm1a ? no headphones in this house (for now at least)

there is also the problem of finding a 4.4 > 3.5 adaptor , since all my CIEM cables have 4.4mm terminations

and i also need to buy the sony usb cable for connecting wm1a to the hugo

gain , thanx for the detailed feedback , you rock sir

No problem! We are a community and in a community one helps the other!
Although (to me) overall H2 is better than WM1A, the last is a great piece of gear well above the average.
CA Andromeda are known as being very source dependents.
I don't know your CIEMs but with the WM1A in balanced mode I’m sure you are good!
Cheers!

 

[opienor]

Just discovered this to be a really powerful combo. The wonderful sound of the Hugo 2 DAC with the added power of the Questyle CMA600i through MrSpeakers Ether Flow. Very punchy and fun

 

[514077]

Just discovered this to be a really powerful combo. The wonderful sound of the Hugo 2 DAC with the added power of the Questyle CMA600i through MrSpeakers Ether Flow. Very punchy and fun

I've been a fan of the Questyle sound with the current mode amplification, at least with my QP1R. Glad to hear someone combining Chord DAC with Questyle sound. I thought the two would complement each other. Not that I want an amp; but thanks for that post.

 

[proedros]

No problem! We are a community and in a community one helps the other!
Although (to me) overall H2 is better than WM1A, the last is a great piece of gear well above the average.
CA Andromeda are known as being very source dependents.
I don't know your CIEMs but with the WM1A in balanced mode I’m sure you are good!
Cheers!

you are a classy fellow , my friend - again , thank you for taking the time to answer/help

as a small token of appreciation, seeing you like RH - OKC , here is another great british band of the 90s that played some amazing prog (more spacey though) , take a second to check this album out (if you are not a fan already)

Porcupine Tree - Signify (1996)

cheers !!!

 

[natemact]

Hi, Been reading through this, the EE and DX200 thread (ok a little Hiby R6 in there too) as of late and thought I'd toss this buying advice question to any of you in these threads that might've heard all four of these products and enjoy, umm..."problem solving". Hopefully it's Hugo related enough for the thread.

After much whittling down I have the option to purchase either: DX200 w/Amp4 and Phantom ciem for $3500CAD or Hugo 2 w/ESR or similar neutral $1k ciem for $3700CAD. Hugo would be ran by Macbook Pro via Silflex optical (sounded better than AQ Cinnamon USB w/2x Jitterbug, SOTM or Sonore clearly would be better though)

Just had the opportunity with the DX200 to compare Tidal streaming to Offline mode to MicroSD and as much as I hoped not, MicroSD was clearly superior to either Tidal mode. Dammit. Offline was OK but I found Tidal streaming unlistenable (word?) after comparing the same track to MicroSD. Listening was with MD K10. I don't get the same obvious disparity in quality between Tidal and stored files when using Audirvana+ with my AQ DFR. Maybe Tidal on the Hugo 2 won't be such a compromise?

Does anyone know if the delta between the DX200/Hugo 2 is larger than between the two ciem's or vice versa? Lol, Nope. Probably not hahahaha. Would be wonderful though! I'll have the chance to compare Bravado, Phantom and LX in a month or so when the dealer here in Toronto finally gets demos in but that's all he's bringing in!!! Surprised you can even be dealer without carrying the full lineup or at least, say like 5 lol, but whatever.

Just in case any of you rightfully ask, my preference is for a reference type of tuning. The only ear/headphone I haven't sold over the years are my ER4S lol, so yes, I can appreciate even the extremes....they are great for listening to podcasts on my commute though. That sweet, sweet isolation.

I do however come from high-end 2ch so imaging and realism are #1. Last headphones were Utopia's driven by CMA800R (SDR HD800's before hence the Questyle), so I'd really like to keep that you-are-there feeling I got with the Ute's. Is that even possible with ciem's lol? I had one pair of ciem's years ago, JH13FP, but hopefully they weren't the barometer for how ciems should be judged because they didn't touch the enjoyment I got from the Audeze's, HiFiMan's and HD800's back then.

Any advise would be very much appreciated

 

[Currawong]

I don't suppose you were listening to the MQA "Masters" were you? They are deliberately compressed to make them sound more detailed. Also, all the Universal Music tracks are audibly watermarked, so I've been considering ditching TIDAL altogether.

 

[natemact]

Oh wow!! Not MQA but, I was just googling the bands I was listening to through Tidal on the DX200 and lo and behold they are on Universal lol. Crap, now I have to arrange another audition hahaha but thanks @Currawong

If anything, Tidal (+ Roon even better) will always be my favorite way to find new bands....that is until something better comes along, and it will