[pkny]

Mine does the same if I charge and play. Depends on the charger also. I now stand the unit on it's side which helps with heat surface area exposure to air and seems to help.

I'll stand the unit on it's side. Hope it helps.

 

[pkny]

I did more tests today. Below are what I did:
-- Testing 1 for automatic/thermal shutdown with stock charger connected:

1. Charged it overnight
2. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was blue.
3. Plugged in the charger to top off the battery.
4. Once the power light was off, turn on the unit.
5. Connected an IEM (18ohm) to it, and then play some music via USB input.
6. Hugo2 shut down by itself after 20 minutes.
7. Measured the temperature. Hugo2 was 43 deg. C. Ambient temperature was 20 deg. C
8. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was green.

--Testing 2 for automatic/thermal shutdown with Samsung 2.0A charger connected:

1. Charged it until the power light went off.
2. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was blue.
3. Plugged in the charger to top off the battery.
4. Once the power light was off, turn on the unit. Let Hugo2 stands on it's side.
5. Connected an IEM (18ohm) to it, and then play some music via USB input.
6. Hugo2 shut down by itself after 10 minutes.
7. Measured the temperature. Hugo2 was 43 deg. C. Ambient temperature was 25 deg. C
8. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was green.

--Testing 3 for battery life and automatic/thermal shutdown:

1. Charged it until the power light went off.
2. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was blue.
3. Connected an IEM (18ohm) to it, and then play some music via USB input.
4. Hugo2 played music for 1 hour without shutting down.
5. However, the battery light was Red. Meaning from Blue to Red is only 1 hour.
6. Measured the temperature. Hugo2 was 43 deg. C. Ambient temperature was 25 deg. C

Summary:

• Test 1 and test 2 has the same result – with charger plugin, Hugo2 shutdown by itself after 10 to 20 minutes of usage. Stand on it's side or lay flat does not matter.
• Test 3 shows the battery life from Blue to Red is only 1 hour. My Mojo can do more than 5 hours from Blue to Red connecting the same IEM. The battery from the Hugo2 (which I received from a dealer yesterday) has extremely short life.

So, that means I can only use the Hugo2 for a little more than 1 hour with the internal battery, or 20 minutes with the charger plugin. Could someone please give me some advice? Although, I really love the sound from Hugo2, I cannot use it more than an hour. And that really frustrates me.

 

[dontfeedphils]

I did more tests today. Below are what I did:
-- Testing 1 for automatic/thermal shutdown with stock charger connected:

1. Charged it overnight
2. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was blue.
3. Plugged in the charger to top off the battery.
4. Once the power light was off, turn on the unit.
5. Connected an IEM (18ohm) to it, and then play some music via USB input.
6. Hugo2 shut down by itself after 20 minutes.
7. Measured the temperature. Hugo2 was 43 deg. C. Ambient temperature was 20 deg. C
8. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was green.

--Testing 2 for automatic/thermal shutdown with Samsung 2.0A charger connected:

1. Charged it until the power light went off.
2. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was blue.
3. Plugged in the charger to top off the battery.
4. Once the power light was off, turn on the unit. Let Hugo2 stands on it's side.
5. Connected an IEM (18ohm) to it, and then play some music via USB input.
6. Hugo2 shut down by itself after 10 minutes.
7. Measured the temperature. Hugo2 was 43 deg. C. Ambient temperature was 25 deg. C
8. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was green.

--Testing 3 for battery life and automatic/thermal shutdown:

1. Charged it until the power light went off.
2. Unplugged the charger to check the battery level. It was blue.
3. Connected an IEM (18ohm) to it, and then play some music via USB input.
4. Hugo2 played music for 1 hour without shutting down.
5. However, the battery light was Red. Meaning from Blue to Red is only 1 hour.
6. Measured the temperature. Hugo2 was 43 deg. C. Ambient temperature was 25 deg. C

Summary:

• Test 1 and test 2 has the same result – with charger plugin, Hugo2 shutdown by itself after 10 to 20 minutes of usage. Stand on it's side or lay flat does not matter.
• Test 3 shows the battery life from Blue to Red is only 1 hour. My Mojo can do more than 5 hours from Blue to Red connecting the same IEM. The battery from the Hugo2 (which I received from a dealer yesterday) has extremely short life.

So, that means I can only use the Hugo2 for a little more than 1 hour with the internal battery, or 20 minutes with the charger plugin. Could someone please give me some advice? Although, I really love the sound from Hugo2, I cannot use it more than an hour. And that really frustrates me.

There's something wrong it would appear. Why not utilize the warranty?

 

[mammal]

So, that means I can only use the Hugo2 for a little more than 1 hour with the internal battery, or 20 minutes with the charger plugin. Could someone please give me some advice? Although, I really love the sound from Hugo2, I cannot use it more than an hour. And that really frustrates me.

I had the same issue - needed to listen to Hugo 2 for more than that, and was either getting thermal shut downs or running out of battery pretty quick. The solution at the time was to buy an external amplifier (also battery powered) that would be transparent, have a better battery life, all in hopes to keep Hugo 2 as my DAC.

Eventually I realised, since due to pandemic, I am at home anyway so I sold Hugo 2 and said amplifier and bought TT2 instead, having it connected to an extension cord wherever I listen to music.

 

[pkny]

There's something wrong it would appear. Why not utilize the warranty?

Yes, I am waiting for the dealer's reply. This is the second unit. The first one I got has a faulty 3.5mm output that shorts my IEM. What is the chances of getting two faulty units?

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Yes, I am waiting for the dealer reply. This is the second unit. The first one I got has a faulty 3.5mm output that shorts my IEM. What is the chances of getting two faulty units?

I think you said they were open box. So... higher than normal chance? Anyway, H2 is not supposed to shut down like that. I would stop wasting efforts and just get it replaced.

 

[pkny]

I think you said they were open box. So... higher than normal chance? Anyway, H2 is not supposed to shut down like that. I would stop wasting efforts and just get it replaced.

Good to know that H2 shouldn't shut down like that. I've already sent a message to the dealer. While waiting for him to reply, I like to experience/test different things. Also, H2 is a big step up from my Mojo. I can't stop listening from it. Well, I can because H2 shut down from itself.

 

[OceanRanger]

I had the same issue - needed to listen to Hugo 2 for more than that, and was either getting thermal shut downs or running out of battery pretty quick. The solution at the time was to buy an external amplifier (also battery powered) that would be transparent, have a better battery life, all in hopes to keep Hugo 2 as my DAC.

Eventually I realised, since due to pandemic, I am at home anyway so I sold Hugo 2 and said amplifier and bought TT2 instead, having it connected to an extension cord wherever I listen to music.

I too had a thermal shutdown issue on battery with my first Hugo2. I took it back to my dealer and traded it for the demo unit, which has worked quite well. I wonder about how common is this issue?

 

[mammal]

I too had a thermal shutdown issue on battery with my first Hugo2. I took it back to my dealer and traded it for the demo unit, which has worked quite well. I wonder about how common is this issue?

Yeah I have never been lucky, I guess my usage pattern caused it since both Hugo 2 as well as Mojo developed battery issues after a while. They even had to replace my Mojo.

 

[Tanalasta]

Reasonably common. My unit does the same

 

[Dalmonegrig]

So, that means I can only use the Hugo2 for a little more than 1 hour with the internal battery, or 20 minutes with the charger plugin. Could someone please give me some advice?

Your device is defective and needs to be replaced under warranty.
My device can operate autonomously from 6.5 to 7 hours.
The thermal shutdown of my device occurs during long-term simultaneous listening and charging, the desktop mode is not active (the ambient temperature is more than 30 degrees).
When listening to the device in desktop mode, there was never a thermal shutdown.

 

[ZekeAdebayo]

What are your opinions of a DDC for a Hugo 2, the ifi Igalvanic is an example. Do they make a difference or are they kind of unnecessary? I have a HP Omen with a i7 processor, a GTX 1060 graphics card, and a bigger fan inside for cooling purposes. Not sure if there's enough inside to create enough electrical noise to have an impact in my rig. Hugo 2 (via USB from pc to my Stellia, or the Hugo 2 to the Rotel RA-1572 integrated speaker amp via some well made RCA Cables to my speakers with the PC being my source again).

 

[WaveTheory]

What are your opinions of a DDC for a Hugo 2, the ifi Igalvanic is an example. Do they make a difference or are they kind of unnecessary? I have a HP Omen with a i7 processor, a GTX 1060 graphics card, and a bigger fan inside for cooling purposes. Not sure if there's enough inside to create enough electrical noise to have an impact in my rig. Hugo 2 (via USB from pc to my Stellia, or the Hugo 2 to the Rotel RA-1572 integrated speaker amp via some well made RCA Cables to my speakers with the PC being my source again).

I have some thoughts on this here: https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/do-the-singxer-su-2-worth/24066/17

 

[ZekeAdebayo]

Thank you for sharing, I'll definitely take a look. Also curious to get Mr. Watt's honest opinion on this topic.

 

[Rob Watts]

Sensitivity to USB noise is very complicated and depends on a number of factors. If you are using Hugo 2 in a mobile situation (everything battery powered), USB sounds identical to optical, and so is completely immune to SQ problems. But if you have a mains powered source, and Hugo 2 is feeding a mains powered amp, then RF noise currents can flow, and this will deteriorate SQ as it can increase noise floor modulation. A mains powered source is fine, if Hugo 2 is battery powered and you are using headphones only - you need a mains loop to create issues.

As a general advice I would avoid using digital to digital converters (DDC), as this just increases the number of mains loops in the system, making things sound brighter due to more noise floor modulation. If your system has more than one mains connected component, then using optical as your source will be the best sounding input, as optical theoretically completely isolates source noise. That said, source noise potentially could still be an issue with optical if you have intersecting mains loops of the source with the rest of the system. I said it was complicated!

The rule of thumb with sources is the warmer sound is the better, more accurate performance, as it indicates lower noise floor modulation. It is only noise floor modulation that can affect sound quality with bit perfect sources. Noise floor modulation occurs because random RF noise creates intermodulation distortion in the analogue electronics, and this will increase noise with the music signal - so you get a noise pumping up and down with the music, and this makes it sound artificially brighter. All Chord DACs (unlike all other DACs) have unmeasurable noise floor modulation - but unfortunately we can perceive noise floor modulation well below measurable limits. This sensitivity is why it is such a massive issue.

Happy listening, Rob