[Currawong]

Thanks for this really great response. I was not thinking any of the Abyss would work, but glad to hear you get great sound on them straight out of the Hugo 2. I know @Currawong felt he was loosing a bit out of the Utopia when he first reviewed Hugo 2, but if I recall correctly, I think he later changed his mind after a cable swap. Appreciate the great insight.

I can't remember what I intially thought, but I'm pretty happy with the Utopias out of the Hugo 2, which, of the gear I have here, produces the most detail. I don't mind compromising with a good tube amp sometimes, as I like the synergy more with music that isn't as well-recorded to begin with.

Any one in here get a Holo Spring 2 or Denafrips Ares 2? Would you like to share something about how do they hold up with Hugo 2?

I liked the Holo Spring 2 with regular, CD-quality music in NOS mode, as it had that euphonic sound that made listening wonderful, but I wasn't as impressed with high-res, and DSD sounded completely flat with it. Though I don't listen to DSD-encoded music that often, the Hugo 2 is vastly better with it.

 

[royiko]

I liked the Holo Spring 2 with regular, CD-quality music in NOS mode, as it had that euphonic sound that made listening wonderful, but I wasn't as impressed with high-res, and DSD sounded completely flat with it. Though I don't listen to DSD-encoded music that often, the Hugo 2 is vastly better with it.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I rarely do DSD. Most of my time is on Qobuz or my ripped CD library. I do use the HQPlayer. I think the main point for R2R Dac is that one use HQPlayer to do the OS and let it play the hi-res natively. But you seem to say that for Hi-res, Hugo 2 is better? For sure, Hugo 2 is a versatile product.

FYI, I currently use Denafrips Ares 2, which is also an R2R dac. I do love the euphonic sound it providing, easy to listen, and smooth. But its less resolving. That's why I am thinking whether to pick Hugo 2.

 

[royiko]

Had the Ares 1 briefly. Not even close. It was fine, but really not all that special. I got the Soekris 1421 at the same time to compare, and kept that one. The Hugo is better overall, in terms of detail and punchiness especially. I sold the Ares. Some things were just missing from the music which came out clearly on the other 2.

Thanks for your comment. For sure, Ares 2 can't hold against Hugo 2 but Ares 2 is like a 1/3 price of Hugo 2. Since Soekris 1421 is also an R2R, how's it stand against Hugo 2?

Have you tried Spring 2 or Pontus? They seem in the same price region of Hugo 2. So that would be interesting. Like a good R2R Dac vs a good D-S Dac. Maybe that also depends on the synergy of the system or personal taste.

 

[thehutch]

Two things:

As others have said, Hugo 2 ==> HEKse is a very good pairing. I’m listening to that system right now. Open, airy headstage, check. Detail for days, check. Linear tonality, clean, well-extended bass, check. Plenty of power, check.

Also, H2 drives all my cans well, even my Heddphone. Volume on H2 is indicated by the color of the ‘volume ball’, from low to high: red-yellow-green-blue-violet-white. Utopia plays red/yellow. HEKse yellow/green. Hedd plays green/blue, so there’s some Heddroom left

(Additional note re: H2 ==> Hedd.There’s a hard-to-define character to this combo. I was just listening to ‘Aja’ via H2 / Hiby R6pro ==> Hedd. R6p is quite powerful and has no problem driving Hedd. But the H2 is better — on the title track the piano is just a little richer from H2, slightly tinny from R6pro. Sax sounds more realistic as well.)

Wow, surprised about the Hedd. That’s great to know. Thank you.

 

[JaZZ]

Wow, surprised about the Hedd. That’s great to know. Thank you.

I'm another one who likes the HEDDphone on the Hugo₂.

 

[nigel801]

You can't bypass its «amplifier section» – both headphone output and line output are directly connected to the DAC's analogue output stage. You can just add another amplification stage (for whatever purpose). And there's no «DAC only mode», just a volume preset to 3 volts max.

I have noticed that putting Hugo 2 in line out mode by pressing both cross-feed and power button the light turns purple nut I still can increase the volume is it correct.

 

[JaZZ]

I have noticed that putting Hugo 2 in line out mode by pressing both cross-feed and power button the light turns purple nut I still can increase the volume is it correct.

Yes, that's correct – as thehutch has already pointed out earlier.

 

[robo24]

Thanks for your comment. For sure, Ares 2 can't hold against Hugo 2 but Ares 2 is like a 1/3 price of Hugo 2. Since Soekris 1421 is also an R2R, how's it stand against Hugo 2?

Have you tried Spring 2 or Pontus? They seem in the same price region of Hugo 2. So that would be interesting. Like a good R2R Dac vs a good D-S Dac. Maybe that also depends on the synergy of the system or personal taste.

In terms of overall how pleasing the sound is to me personally, the Hugo is better but the 1421 (and the 1541-the version with balanced) is surprisingly close, given the price. Some day I'll probably sell off both and get a TT2. I haven't heard the other Denafrips DACs or the Spring 2. My exposure to DACs is limited to the several I've bought blind and owned in the past 2 years.

 

[moemoney]

I have noticed that putting Hugo 2 in line out mode by pressing both cross-feed and power button the light turns purple nut I still can increase the volume is it correct.

Purple I believe stands for desktop mode

 

[thehutch]

Purple I believe stands for desktop mode

It’s really just a volume setting that outputs 3v RMS, which is standard line-level power.

 

[TypodCrowd]

It’s really just a volume setting that outputs 3v RMS, which is standard line-level power.

A little on the hot side of line level, but yes.

 

[vonBaron]

I know this question was posted few times but...
Anyone know good usb micro b to usb c and micro b to usb a cable for Hugo2?

 

[thehutch]

I know this question was posted few times but...
Anyone know good usb micro b to usb c and micro b to usb a cable for Hugo2?

Not sure on usb c, but I have the Curious Cables Hugo link (short micro b to a) and it’s great. Like $170USD, which was way less than their longer USB cable. The one thing is the link is really fragile and inflexible, you won’t have a lot of options in terms of how you set up your gear.

 

[vonBaron]

Thanks but micro b to a must be at least 1m for me.

 

[538110]

With Curious Cables, you can order a custom length with a custom order.