Chord Electronics - Hugo 2 - The Official Thread

[Rhamnetin]

Just tried the new Audio Technica AD5000s through the Hugo 2. Holy cow, these may just be some of the greatest cans for vocals ever, AND they extend nicely in both directions without any unpleasantness.

Surprising, that headphone lineup tends to have vocals that are thin and nasally at best, shouty and fatiguing at worst.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

For months, This reduced me to tears listening w H2 and Beyerdynamic T8’s.

Suddenly it’s shrill and my brain’s on the verge of exploding.

 

[SearchOfSub]

You are basically relaying what Rob Watts wrote and assuming that, those claims directly translate to superior perceived-sound-quality of Chord DACs over, all other DACs in the market. What @JohnM-73 asked in his post, and what I am asking now is, how much of those better measurement actually translates to better perceived sound quality? There were similar claims on the Mojo. It sure did measure better than some of the more expensive DAPs. But in terms of music fidelity, it does not perform on the same level of those DAPs like Lotoo Paw Gold. Sure the Chord DACs are great. But so are so many other DAPs and DACs in the market.



Considering what Rob Watts says on lower noise floor modulation causing listening fatigue is indeed true, in audio, there are other variables that contribute to listener fatigue, than just "noise floor modulation". Even with EQ, there are certain albums that I cannot listen to with my HD800S directly connected to the Hugo2. But I have listened to the same album via Sony PHA-3 without any fatigue. Just because I experienced no fatigue on the PHA-3, does it make it superior to the Hugo 2?.. No! These factors below cause fatigue more instantly:
- Listening at very high volumes
- Headphones/Amps/Albums that are harsh in the treble region
- Listening to bassy music with bass-heavy headphones
- Lack of synergy between the DAC and headphone in terms of tone and impedance

I don’t buy DACs to measure. I buy DACs to listen to and enjoy my music. To say, Chord DACs are superior to other DACs, in terms of perceived Sound Quality just based on manufacturer's claims, is simply BS. If you have personally compared the Chord DACs to other DACs and found the Chord DAC to be better, please share your experience here, and be specific as to what other DACs you compared to, and in what ways you found it to be better than those DACs, and what headphones or speakers you used in the comparison. Such kind of information is more meaningful and helpful, than say, you imagining how they compare.

Atleast Chord is not like Schiit Audio where they make an account on the other headphone website and continously praise their own products
while bashing Chord products. I have never seen this kind of behavior from a so called professional company. This guy member name "The Alchemist" says Chord Hugo sounds flat and unrefined with no air. As soon as I read that he lost all credibility with me. Then he goes on saying all Schiit products are the best DAC. He says in his profile that he works for Schiit. From my experience, it's actually the opposite of Schiit products sounding complete garbage while Hugo sounded very high class. If I were to read between the lines, Chord never speaks bad about another company because they really don't need to. Their engineering and its excellent sound back up the hype. But we have Schiit Audio here bickering about Chord products by themselves trolling on different headphone forums. I was very close to signing up on that forum to call them out on their BS but I just thought I shouldn't feed the troll. They rate the PS Audio Perfect wave MKll as the better DAC? When I purchased the PS Audio MKll it went back in the box because it sounded very digital and had a digital glare with everything. Barely any sound stage and it was just a total mess. But then they rate this as a special DAC along with their own a DACs just because they are both California based neighbour companies.

Funny thing is a random person puts up a thread title " not much DAC talk around here?" and I'm thinking in my head why would anyone waste their time talking about DACs here when any audiphille who been in the hobby for atleast a year and traded some gears would instantly know it's BS.

This company Schiit is only around because they have so many shills but they should be exposed for their lack of musical taste, bad engineering & the schills. I've been a victim myself buying 2 of their products only to sell it back the same day. They were a mess. Maybe that guy Jason S. should stop working on so many diff. projects and settle down and get his audio down first. Because to me, it really sounds pretty bad. It's really an average "C" company with ton of schills hyping their products here on headfi.

 

[Currawong]

Back to Currawong's 'no unpleasantness' statement, sure you don't mean it's rolled off, and will take a look, thanks!

Not rolled off in the treble, yet none of the hardness (AD2000) or ringing (3000ANV) one expects from AT cans that I could pick up initially. Does deep bass too, though not strongly. Fairly neutral sig. I'm going back for a second listen to see if I can find anything wrong with it, as far as is possible in a short time. Neil Young (Old Man) sounded glorious though.

Surprising, that headphone lineup tends to have vocals that are thin and nasally at best, shouty and fatiguing at worst.

Yeah, that is what was was unexpected. Sure we're not talking about a warm headphone at all, but I felt I was hearing the music clearly through them. If anything, out of the Hugo 2 it would have been pleasant if they had the typical AT vocals.

A funny thing: I introduced the engineer to CC Coletti in binaural. It was great watching his reaction.

Review coming?

Should be later on.

Is that a new headphone, pre-production?
Or did you mean adx5000?

Whoops, I forgot the X. Fixed.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Fair enough. But the point I am trying to get to is, if a large number of people with many other reference points (experience with other DAPs and DACs), actually find a certain DAP 'X' to sound better than a certain Chord DAC, in terms of transparency, blacker background, imaging precision, timbre accuracy etc., are the 'better measurements' truly indicative of the widely accepted sound quality? Of course, the 'large number of people' doesn't constitute a valid sample population. But this is a niche hobby and if there is a unanimous observation among audiophiles, however non-objective it may be, it starts to carry credibility.

Anyways, the point I am trying to make is, Chord DACs are hyped up to an extent, that makes readers buy these DACs blind. For people without other reference points, high chances that the Chord DAC is bound to sound good. And because of claims like Chord DACs are superior to other DACs, it is easy to imagine that other DACs must sound poorer than this. And they start sharing how amazing the Chord DACs are, and the process gets into a vicious cycle. But that is just one side of the story. You also have people who have other reference points, that bought the Chord DAC expecting a noticeable improvement over their other DAPs or DACs, but are disappointed as they realize it was just hype. So you end up with 2 crowds of people. One crowd who think that the Chord DACs are the best. And another crowd who starts to hate Chord products because of these kind of hype.

Realistically, Chord DACs are great, and so are many other DACs and DAPs out there.

OK so what DACS exactly sound better than Chord Hugo 1,2?

The real one that I know is on a hype train is Schiit Audio by all the shills. I know this because they are very hyped up here on headfi, but yet haven't won a single professional award or get any professional exposure much from media.

 

[SearchOfSub]

OK so what DACS exactly sound better than Chord Hugo 1,2?

The real one that I know is on a hype train is Schiit Audio by all the shills. I know this because they are very hyped up here on headfi, but yet haven't won a single professional award or get any professional exposure much from media.

Another thing is Chord Company has been around for awhile but Rob watts only joined Chord recently with the Chord Hugo. That's when Chord started getting mass exposure and hype. It's not the marketing because it's the same company that's been around for awhile. They didn't hire a new marketing expert. Not a new CEO. But a new engineer and this happened so I think it's fair to give credit where it's due. And since the new hyped wave came with the same old company, it must genuinely be the engineering that has brought on the fan base & hype.

 

[Currawong]

I wouldn't be so harsh. I have an Yggy, as yet not upgraded to the latest version. They didn't intend to use regular media but work with the Head-Fi community instead. To the credit of both Rob Watts and those guys, they are always around to explain why they do things, even if their approach is different. Same with iFi too. Each tends to get something of a hype train around their products.

 

[SearchOfSub]

I understand your point but my point remain the same. All 3 companies you mention are business companies at the end of the day. They all have the same demand and P.O's to fill, same accountants to cut paychecks sort of speak. Chord don't come with the magic cookie. But they get the best and mass exposure in professional media out of the bunch. That should ring some bell to people. So what is the difference? If you ask me, it's the excellent engineering that is on a different time level that is bringing the extra level of hype from regular media & the general hype.

Also, I am talking from experience having purchased two Schiit products and two Chord products. Schiit sounded bad while both Chord products sounded very high class. Even Audioquest Dragonfly Red that cost half the Schiit products sounded better in all areas to Schiit.

So long Schiit Audio, I will no longer be your victim. Unless you change engineers, and in spite of your undisclosed promise of a new announcement of a new and better engineered product everytime, Ive come to realization that it's coming from the same engineer with same BS principals, and the basic sound will always remain the same. Yes, even after 10,000 different topologies that they go through, the sound will basically remain the same. So long Schiit Audio.

 

[dontfeedphils]

I understand your point my point remain the same. All 3 companies you mention are business companies at the end of the day. They all have the same demand and P.O's to fill, same accountants to cut paychecks sort of speak. Chord don't come with the magic cookie. But they get the best and mass exposure in professional media out of the bunch. That should ring some bell to people.

Also, I am talking from experience having purchased two Schiit products and two Chord products. Schiit sounded bad while both Chord products sounded very high class. Even Audio quest Dragonfly Red that cost half the Schiit products sounded better in all areas.

I've owned a Bimby, Asgard 2, Wyrd, and still own an Eitr. They were all great pieces of kit and I enjoyed each for their strengths and weaknesses.

This isn't a civil war, you can take it down a notch, or three.

 

[EagleWings]

As a courtesy to the readers of this thread, I will make this my last post on this topic, as I have already made my points clear in my previous posts. The reason I wanted to make this one last post was, I think it would rude, if I did not respond if you had quoted me. If someone quoted me and I missed responding to here, please feel free to PM me and we can discuss it.

Also a kind request: Please PM me if you want to discuss this further. If you quote me again in thread, I will simply ignore and not respond. Also, in case you want to PM me, please read all my recent posts, that I made in the last 2 days, and consider all points I made in those posts. I feel like I am repeating few points again and again, that I have already covered in those posts.

People have different hearing abilities, and different conditioning and preferences regarding what they think sounds "good".

For me, "the hype" turned out to not be hype, because it led me to trying the Mojo and Hugo 2, and I bought them both because they sound significantly better to me than other DAC/amps I've tried, ranging in in price from much less than the Mojo to much more than the Hugo 2.

For sure. After all, I myself find it to be a great DAC, because of which, I own one and have personally recommended it to friends.

because you are not insulting the DAC any longer, but instead their character. Their intelligence, ears, and personal judgement on this audio topic! It is really hillarious at times reading some of the stuff.

People who raise an alternative view about a Chord DAC on a Chord thread, are often met with criticism and flak. Isn't that an insult to that person's character, intelligence, ears and personal judgement?

Praise and criticism for chord dacs both are overblown.

Thank you. That is exactly what I was getting at.

How has hugo ownership been to people?

Hugo 2 is quite good. It won't be as smooth or warm as your Mojo. But in the portable audio realm (except the SP1000, which I haven't tried), I find H2 to be the most accurate sounding. Accuracy of instrument & vocal timbre is an aspect I highly value in music reproduction and Hugo 2 does that exceptionally. Resolution, Layering, Depth, Imaging Precision and Dark background are other aspects in which it excels.

Just like the Chord Poly thread?

I am sorry, I haven't looked into the Poly thread, so I am not familiar as to what happened there.

Of course they're going to meet resistance; this is a thread about a Chord product. If you don't like the YggY on the Yggy thread, be prepared. If they're going to waste their lives hating an object, then too bad, so sad.

That's a fair statement. In fact, it happens on all threads and I am against it. I have stood against this kind of hype and shills on other threads too.

Atleast Chord is not like Schiit Audio where they make an account on the other headphone website and continously praise their own products
while bashing Chord products. I have never seen this kind of behavior from a so called professional company. This guy member name "The Alchemist" says Chord Hugo sounds flat and unrefined with no air. As soon as I read that he lost all credibility with me. Then he goes on saying all Schiit products are the best DAC. He says in his profile that he works for Schiit. From my experience, it's actually the opposite of Schiit products sounding complete garbage while Hugo sounded very high class. If I were to read between the lines, Chord never speaks bad about another company because they really don't need to. Their engineering and its excellent sound back up the hype. But we have Schiit Audio here bickering about Chord products by themselves trolling on different headphone forums. I was very close to signing up on that forum to call them out on their BS but I just thought I shouldn't feed the troll. They rate the PS Audio Perfect wave MKll as the better DAC? When I purchased the PS Audio MKll it went back in the box because it sounded very digital and had a digital glare with everything. Barely any sound stage and it was just a total mess. But then they rate this as a special DAC along with their own a DACs just because they are both California based neighbour companies.

Funny thing is a random person puts up a thread title " not much DAC talk around here?" and I'm thinking in my head why would anyone waste their time talking about DACs here when any audiphille who been in the hobby for atleast a year and traded some gears would instantly know it's BS.

This company Schiit is only around because they have so many shills but they should be exposed for their lack of musical taste, bad engineering & the schills LOL. I've been a victim myself buying 2 of their products only to sell it back the same day. They were a mess. Maybe that guy Jason S. should stop working on so many diff. projects and settle down and get his audio down first. Because to me, it really sounds pretty bad. It's really an average "C" company with ton of schills hyping their products here on headfi.

- I have zero problems when, you have personally compared a Chord DAC with other DACs, and you provide context and reasons as to, why you find the Chord DACs better than the other DACs you tested. This helps readers make an informed decision. What I am trying to fight is, people making definitive statements like 'Chord DACs are the best sounding DACs. Period!', when they have not compared it to other DACs in the price range.

- And, I am sorry to say that, the awards from these magazines and review sites, do not mean much to me. I have discovered some great products in various price points, that have hardly received any recognition, let alone awards.

- As for the Schiit DACs, I have not tried any of them, and so have not visited any of the Schiit threads. And in the future, if I do and I see shills and hype there, I won't mind standing up against it and voicing my concern there either.

- Btw, I do give credit where it is due. You can find the link to my Hugo 2 review in my profile page.

 

[SearchOfSub]

I've owned a Bimby, Asgard 2, Wyrd, and still own an Eitr. They were all great pieces of kit and I enjoyed each for their strengths and weaknesses.

This isn't a civil war, you can take it down a notch, or three.

I've owned a Valhalla 2 that is pretty much hyped up by every Schiit shills out there and it sounded a bit smooth, and I expect that since its a tube amp, but other than the smoothness it had no refinement, no texture, and no resolution at all. And I put it up for sale an hour later. This also will be my last post about Schiit as there is really no point in saying anything further.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I'd still like to know how the Hugo 2 or Qutest compare to the Audio Note DAC 4.1 (the one from ANK if I have to name one).

 

[514077]

I wouldn't be so harsh. I have an Yggy, as yet not upgraded to the latest version. They didn't intend to use regular media but work with the Head-Fi community instead. To the credit of both Rob Watts and those guys, they are always around to explain why they do things, even if their approach is different. Same with iFi too. Each tends to get something of a hype train around their products.

I've never heard a Schiit product. But, I won't say that I won't try on someday. Truth be known, I enjoyed Jason's Schiit Happened story, not to mention that he's a good marketer. Same with Paul McGowan: I subscribe to his podcasts and emails. I think that they and Chord's JF and RW have successfully adapted to todays era of self-publicity. No wonder they all have loyal groups of customers and slaggers on the other side. I love my H2 with the HPs and IEMs paired with it.
And, wasn't Rob around as far back as the Chord 64 or something like that? The original Hugo just changed the playing field quite a bit.

 

[514077]

I understand your point but my point remain the same. All 3 companies you mention are business companies at the end of the day. They all have the same demand and P.O's to fill, same accountants to cut paychecks sort of speak. Chord don't come with the magic cookie. But they get the best and mass exposure in professional media out of the bunch. That should ring some bell to people. So what is the difference? If you ask me, it's the excellent engineering that is on a different time level that is bringing the extra level of hype from regular media & the general hype.

Also, I am talking from experience having purchased two Schiit products and two Chord products. Schiit sounded bad while both Chord products sounded very high class. Even Audioquest Dragonfly Red that cost half the Schiit products sounded better in all areas to Schiit.

So long Schiit Audio, I will no longer be your victim. Unless you change engineers, and in spite of your undisclosed promise of a new announcement of a new and better engineered product everytime, Ive come to realization that it's coming from the same engineer with same BS principals, and the basic sound will always remain the same. Yes, even after 10,000 different topologies that they go through, the sound will basically remain the same. So long Schiit Audio.

Far from bringing balance to all things that be, you seem to have a bone to pick with Schiit. To me, Mike Moffet sometimes comes across a bit kirmuginly. But, some people take his pronouncements as gospel. I'm inclined to listen to Rob Watts' posts as I can learn whatever I can follow. In other words: Room for everyone. I think a lot of the past 100 or so posts have gotten a bit intense. Don't know about you guys, but I'm for sleep. Maybe some of you should, too.

 

[Satir]

As a courtesy to the readers of this thread, I will make this my last post on this topic, as I have already made my points clear in my previous posts. The reason I wanted to make this one last post was, I think it would rude, if I did not respond if you had quoted me. If someone quoted me and I missed responding to here, please feel free to PM me and we can discuss it.

Also a kind request: Please PM me if you want to discuss this further. If you quote me again in thread, I will simply ignore and not respond. Also, in case you want to PM me, please read all my recent posts, that I made in the last 2 days, and consider all points I made in those posts. I feel like I am repeating few points again and again, that I have already covered in those posts.



For sure. After all, I myself find it to be a great DAC, because of which, I own one and have personally recommended it to friends.



People who raise an alternative view about a Chord DAC on a Chord thread, are often met with criticism and flak. Isn't that an insult to that person's character, intelligence, ears and personal judgement?



Thank you. That is exactly what I was getting at.



Hugo 2 is quite good. It won't be as smooth or warm as your Mojo. But in the portable audio realm (except the SP1000, which I haven't tried), I find H2 to be the most accurate sounding. Accuracy of instrument & vocal timbre is an aspect I highly value in music reproduction and Hugo 2 does that exceptionally. Resolution, Layering, Depth, Imaging Precision and Dark background are other aspects in which it excels.



I am sorry, I haven't looked into the Poly thread, so I am not familiar as to what happened there.



That's a fair statement. In fact, it happens on all threads and I am against it. I have stood against this kind of hype and shills on other threads too.



- I have zero problems when, you have personally compared a Chord DAC with other DACs, and you provide context and reasons as to, why you find the Chord DACs better than the other DACs you tested. This helps readers make an informed decision. What I am trying to fight is, people making definitive statements like 'Chord DACs are the best sounding DACs. Period!', when they have not compared it to other DACs in the price range.

- And, I am sorry to say that, the awards from these magazines and review sites, do not mean much to me. I have discovered some great products in various price points, that have hardly received any recognition, let alone awards.

- As for the Schiit DACs, I have not tried any of them, and so have not visited any of the Schiit threads. And in the future, if I do and I see shills and hype there, I won't mind standing up against it and voicing my concern there either.

- Btw, I do give credit where it is due. You can find the link to my Hugo 2 review in my profile page.

Of all reviews on Chord Hugo 2 I've read, put yours right up there at the top. Really don't know what to make of Vlad's Hugo 2 article, though understand his dislike for micro USB as no fan either.