[rwelles]

Does anyone know of a company who can replace the horrible Hugo 2 Micro-USB charge socket with a more robust USB-C, where I don’t have to locate a pair of reading glasses to see the plug and socket orientation? My charge socket is becoming erratic again.

Wilson

Wouldn't be easier to just put a very small piece of light-colored tape by the correct port and the top of the cable connector?

 

[uzi2]

Does anyone know of a company who can replace the horrible Hugo 2 Micro-USB charge socket with a more robust USB-C, where I don’t have to locate a pair of reading glasses to see the plug and socket orientation? My charge socket is becoming erratic again.

Wilson

USB-C is inherently noisy. Be careful what you wish for...

 

[ChrisGB]

Does anyone know of a company who can replace the horrible Hugo 2 Micro-USB charge socket with a more robust USB-C, where I don’t have to locate a pair of reading glasses to see the plug and socket orientation? My charge socket is becoming erratic again.

Wilson

You can get a little magnetic adapter that you fit permanently into the Micro USB port and it attaches to a USB C terminated cable by magnet. No idea what it would do (if anything) to the sound though.

 

[Kentajalli]

USB-C is inherently noisy. Be careful what you wish for...

I gave you a "Like" for a funny post!

 

[Kentajalli]

Wouldn't be easier to just put a very small piece of light-colored tape by the correct port and the top of the cable connector?

Or do what I did a couple of years ago, use a left-angle plug!
Never need to look.

 

[uzi2]

Why is it funny? USB-C creates a huge amount of RF interference and can seriously affect Zigbee networks.

 

[Kentajalli]

Why is it funny? USB-C creates a huge amount of RF interference and can seriously affect Zigbee networks.

You are serious?
Where did you read this?
The EU commision is forcing everyone to adopt it. We should inform them quickly.

 

[uzi2]

Do your own research. I'm sure there was a good reason why Rob didn't implement it in his design.

 

[wilsonlaidlaw]

I have just some research on USB noise. It seems this is only an issue when the connection is transmitting powet, which in the Hugo 2 case it would not be. Even then badly smoothed or isolated power supplies appear to be the issue. I use Benchmark Media DAC 3L DACS in both U.K. and France. Now these are well known in the high end audio community for having around the lowest noise floor in the business at below -130dB. I have an M1 Mac Mini connected via USB. Even with my ear right up against my ATC SCM 40-2 speakers, I cannot hear any noise. So it would seem that a well designed USB interface can be completely noise free.

 

[miketlse]

Why is it funny? USB-C creates a huge amount of RF interference and can seriously affect Zigbee networks.

This is the first mention of Zigbee that I can recall seeing, so maybe USB-C will not be an issue for 99% of owners.

 

[Kentajalli]

This is the first mention of Zigbee that I can recall seeing, so maybe USB-C will not be an issue for 99% of owners.

OK , I read about this.
What can I say! "Little knowledge is a dangerous thing".
It seems, 2.4ghz wireless, can be susceptible to any noise at on or about same frequency .
USB 3 protocol can produce a little RFI at about 2.5ghz!
So if there is a low-power wireless connection nearby a noisy USB 3 socket, we may have a small problem.
Now, USB-C , just like any USB connection, can operate in USB 1, 2 or 3 protocol!
Indeed USB audio is mostly USB 2, but can be USB 1 (not common), but not USB 3.
So USB-C or not, this noise issue never happens.
BTW, the C type, is just a connection type, just like type A or type B, or micro ......

 

[miketlse]

OK , I read about this.
What can I say! "Little knowledge is a dangerous thing".
It seems, 2.4ghz wireless, can be susceptible to any noise at on or about same frequency .
USB 3 protocol can produce a little RFI at about 2.5ghz!
So if there is a low-power wireless connection nearby a noisy USB 3 socket, we may have a small problem.
Now, USB-C , just like any USB connection, can operate in USB 1, 2 or 3 protocol!
Indeed USB audio is mostly USB 2, but can be USB 1 (not common), but not USB 3.
So USB-C or not, this noise issue never happens.
BTW, the C type, is just a connection type, just like type A or type B, or micro ......

But the term 'Zigbee' does not appear here, so do we have an issue or not.

 

[Kentajalli]

But the term 'Zigbee' does not appear here, so do we have an issue or not.

Zigbee is a low-power 2.4ghz wireless connection.
It could be those little dongle receivers that come with wireless mouse ir keyboard.
ZigBee can be more susceptible because it is both "low power" and "2.4ghz".
For Audio we have no problems . ZigBee is not used for audio, neither is USB 3 protocol.
So there.

 

[Currawong]

The problem with USB-C is that it isn't just a port, but requires resistors connected to certain pins (on the computer end) to tell the "computer" connected what kind of connection/cable is in use. This will only apply if a USB 3 or better cable is used (USB-A 9-pin or USB-C). One advantage of USB-C is that if you get a USB 3 capable cable it will have better shielding. Though, a proper 90 Ohm USB 2 cable will be shielded as well.

Just dropping in to announce my Summer Project is complete and final. I likely won't be back until Hugo3. I don't have energy for this hobby, only if I allocate energy for Summer Projects. I was really worried that this project would not work as it deals with passive power supplies in which there is no precedence. If you search this thread for "Ground Loop", you will understand more the leak in which I'm trying to plug. At the same time, my USB optical cable has a similar issue. It's optical so it isolates USB DATA, but for USB PWR the only way to power was via Mains USB port. WTH. So I was able to isolate USB PWR at the same time off Mains. This is important because both the USB optical and the Toslink optical are both plugged into the Hugo2 at the same time. USB DATA can leak (Ground Loop) from the Gaming PC via Mains, but not with optical. USB PWR can leak (Ground Loop) from the charging via Mains, but not with charging via Super Capacitors. Any USB leak can impact the Toslink side internally within the Hugo2 like a Trojan Horse even though the Toslink is isolated. So it's a bit of a surprise this project is an success as so many things could go wrong.

I'm running 3000 Farads of Super Capacitor power which should last 20 years @24/7 since they are Industrial Strength. These are the same Super Capacitors used at Heathrow International Airport to keep the Computers running, not recent Computer Technical Software issues, and keep the lights on so very Industrial. My final test was to see if the Hugo2 hiccups at all over 3 weeks. Fortunately, it always remained in Intelligent Desktop Mode. Yay.



So I built a custom Solid Core USB Cable to plug into the Hugo2. Solid Core is not vulnerable to EMI/EFI because it's Solid. So I'm making sure no leaks anywhere.



The other outlets I can use for USB optical, etc.

I built a few. Besides 5V, other one is for Clocking.



I'll post a diagram of my chain, but I need to give a summary to get a better understanding of the chain.

There's no precendence for my chain as it's a variation of dCS and Chord philosophy chain. dCS combines precision clocks for accuracy to pair with their FPGA DAC. I do the same but use State Of The Art (SOTA) clocks for accuracy to pair with Chord FPGA DAC because I like to stay within the CIEM realm only. It's too easy to go crazy as those dCS users spend 6 digits on their chain. Speaker users are even worse. I'm fortunate to stay within a 'Goldilocks Zone' with performance on par with the best headphone and speaker chains but at a decent value due to experience in this hobby. I don't like the variance of headphones and speakers so those would never interest so I'm quite ecstatic with my chain.


^^ As you can see dCS DACs have master clocks already, but still can be improved upon with the source.


^^^ I easilly get the lifelike and 3D sound, it's euphoric. External clocking.

Here's some recent post from dCS Bartok. I get the following qualities too as dCS clock + dac users. I never thought about my chain more electro-stat-like, but that describes it pretty well:



https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dcs-bartok.901647/post-17593731

Clocks can get quite expensive. "External clocking makes a big difference in music presentation on dCS gear" or in my case Chord gear. No dCS DAC user can run a DAC alone, 95% buy a dCS clock along with their dCS DAC.



https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dcs-bartok.901647/post-17593731



https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dcs-bartok.901647/post-17451855

Just wanted to give some background on clock+dac before presenting my chain to give a better understanding of what is going on:



I'm running arguably the world's best Toslink chain independent of DAC / Transducers / Etc. I am running the World's Best Passive Power Supply for Audio. No Mains.

So it is as close to a dCS chain as possible in 2023 that you can get with CIEMs without spending six digits. It certainly sounds like six digits because I'm going crazy procuring the expensive CD media and moving on from fiddling with Audio gear.

You know, you could have just bought a 2go and it would have saved you all the hassle of not having to explain to the TSA that you aren't trying to blow up the plane every time you fly.

 

[wilsonlaidlaw]

I bought a 2go early in its life when the wifi did not work properly and a number of other features were missing in action. I sent it back for a refund.
Wilson