[MartynB85]

I’m currently rocking a Mojo and Poly, cans are Focal Elegia’s and Quad Era-1’s.

I pretty much exclusively listen at my desk, at home and i’m getting an itch to upgrade. Finding myself checking out H2’s n eBay.

Have been A/Bing the Mojo and DF Red and to be honest, I don’t think I could tell them apart if I did a blind test.

I’m thinking of moving the Mojo Poly combo on and picking up a H2. I can use the DF Red for when I’m about and H2 when I’m home.

I know it is high end in comparison to the Mojo, but it is worth the upgrade? Will the H2 knock my socks off when coming from the Mojo?

 

[surfgeorge]

I’m currently rocking a Mojo and Poly, cans are Focal Elegia’s and Quad Era-1’s.

I pretty much exclusively listen at my desk, at home and i’m getting an itch to upgrade. Finding myself checking out H2’s n eBay.

Have been A/Bing the Mojo and DF Red and to be honest, I don’t think I could tell them apart if I did a blind test.

I’m thinking of moving the Mojo Poly combo on and picking up a H2. I can use the DF Red for when I’m about and H2 when I’m home.

I know it is high end in comparison to the Mojo, but it is worth the upgrade? Will the H2 knock my socks off when coming from the Mojo?

I've had the Mojo for about 2 years and bought the Hugo 2 a little over a month ago.
I really like the Mojo, but when I found a good deal close enough for personal pickup I took the chance to meet the seller and try the H2 with my best IEMs, the Sony IER-M9. The difference was bigger than I had expected.

The whole frequency range sounds more defined on the H2, and more even.
In comparison the Mojo has a more liquid presentation, bass is softer and slower, mids more lush and treble more fluid.
H2 adds significant texture and definition to the whole frequency range, but it's most obvious in the bass, then the treble and finally in the mids. Bass is particularly well defined and more extended. Additionally it has a bigger soundstage and more precise imaging.

The downside is that music through the H2 is more intense, it's demanding more attention, the Mojo is more relaxing.

 

[joshnor713]

I've had the Mojo for about 2 years and bought the Hugo 2 a little over a month ago.
I really like the Mojo, but when I found a good deal close enough for personal pickup I took the chance to meet the seller and try the H2 with my best IEMs, the Sony IER-M9. The difference was bigger than I had expected.

The whole frequency range sounds more defined on the H2, and more even.
In comparison the Mojo has a more liquid presentation, bass is softer and slower, mids more lush and treble more fluid.
H2 adds significant texture and definition to the whole frequency range, but it's most obvious in the bass, then the treble and finally in the mids. Bass is particularly well defined and more extended. Additionally it has a bigger soundstage and more precise imaging.

The downside is that music through the H2 is more intense, it's demanding more attention, the Mojo is more relaxing.

Exactly my impressions! It's why I kept the Mojo instead of sell it off. Still use it quite a bit. While they both have Chord's "sound", very different experience to me.

 

[thehutch]

I’m currently rocking a Mojo and Poly, cans are Focal Elegia’s and Quad Era-1’s.

I pretty much exclusively listen at my desk, at home and i’m getting an itch to upgrade. Finding myself checking out H2’s n eBay.

Have been A/Bing the Mojo and DF Red and to be honest, I don’t think I could tell them apart if I did a blind test.

I’m thinking of moving the Mojo Poly combo on and picking up a H2. I can use the DF Red for when I’m about and H2 when I’m home.

I know it is high end in comparison to the Mojo, but it is worth the upgrade? Will the H2 knock my socks off when coming from the Mojo?

Comments above are spot on. Hugo 2 is huge leap up, but I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of my Mojo.

 

[kkrazik2008]

I faced this choice myself a little while ago. The Qutest is really for speaker systems. If you want the greatest transparency for driving headphones then it has to be the Hugo 2. You also get 3 levels of crossfeed. If you must use USB, the lack of isolation is easily sorted with an iFi iGalvanic3.0. Personally I've concluded that optical is the best way to drive it. My Quiet PC has optical and away from the PC I use a Cowon Plenue R2 which also has optical. This way I can listen anywhere in the house or indeed out of it.

Hi, I was wondering if you would mind elaborating on the reasons the Qutest is suited for a speaker system vs. used with a headphone amp+headphones? I ask as reading through this thread, connecting the Hugo 2 to another headphone amp in line-out mode, such as nice tube amp, it is essentially double amping. To avoid double amping the Qutest seems to be more appropriate?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Hooster]

Hi, I was wondering if you would mind elaborating on the reasons the Qutest is suited for a speaker system vs. used with a headphone amp+headphones? I ask as reading through this thread, connecting another headphone amp such as nice tube amp it is essentially double amping. To avoid double amping the Qutest seems to be more appropriate?
Thanks in advance.

Not sure what you mean. More appropriate than what?

The Qutest is not a headphone amp so connecting a headphone amp to it is not double amping.

 

[kkrazik2008]

Not sure what you mean. More appropriate than what?

The Qutest is not a headphone amp so connecting a headphone amp to it is not double amping.

Sorry for the lack of clarity, I was referring to using the Hugo 2 as a DAC feeding a tube amp. Somewhere in this thread, or perhaps the Qutest thread it was implied that the Hugo 2 amp portion is not fully bypassed.

 

[Hooster]

Sorry for the lack of clarity, I was referring to using the Hugo 2 as a DAC feeding a tube amp. Somewhere in this thread, or perhaps the Qutest thread it was implied that the Hugo 2 amp portion is not fully bypassed.

Yes, that would be correct. It is not bypassed at all. Using a tube amp with a Hugo 2 is strictly speaking double amping but there is no law against that. If it sounds better to you, then by all means go for it.

 

[kkrazik2008]

Yes, that would be correct. It is not bypassed at all. Using a tube amp with a Hugo 2 is strictly speaking double amping but there is no law against that. If it sounds better to you, then by all means go for it.

Thanks, I have no clue how it will sound as I only have the Mojo which seems to be vastly different. Hence a dilemma on which Chord DAC to upgrade, however @technobear indicated the Qutest was suited for a speaker set up. Hence my question to better understand why.

 

[jlbrach]

Not sure what you mean. More appropriate than what?

The Qutest is not a headphone amp so connecting a headphone amp to it is not double amping.

the H2 is not an amp either

 

[kkrazik2008]

the H2 is not an amp either

Hence the confusion within this thread. I’m still wondering why the Qutest is better for speakers vs. headphones When using a dedicated headphon amp. There are lots of conflicting information and yet no additional details to explain why.

 

[Hooster]

the H2 is not an amp either

Yes, yes.. the chip is the amp. Chord has decided to call the Hugo2 a headphone amplifier so I will do the same.

 

[Hooster]

Hence the confusion within this thread. I’m still wondering why the Qutest is better for speakers vs. headphones When using a dedicated headphon amp. There are lots of conflicting information and yet no additional details to explain why.

I would go for the qutest all day every day in that case. Why?
Cheaper.
You can upgrade the power supply.
No batteries that fail.

 

[kkrazik2008]

I would go for the qutest all day every day in that case. Why?
Cheaper.
You can upgrade the power supply.
No batteries that fail.

Thank you for the recommendation, and straight to the point approach. I’m with you, if Chord calls the Hugo 2 an amp, it’s an amp.

 

[technobear]

Thank you for the recommendation, and straight to the point approach. I’m with you, if Chord calls the Hugo 2 an amp, it’s an amp.

Except that it isn't. The output stage of Qutest and Hugo 2 are the same.

So why do I say Qutest is better suited to a speaker rig. It's simple. The Hugo 2 gives you amazing sound from headphones for £1800. Qutest is £1200 and you will need to spend at least that again, probably more, to get a headphone amp good enough to beat the sound that comes out of Hugo 2. Of course if you want the colourations and distortions added by a valve amp or you want an amp with EQ or other features or need extreme amounts of power for poorly designed headphones, then Qutest is the way to go.