[miketlse]

What we need with Hugo3 isn't more taps

We need 10 band parametric EQ - more advanced than Mojo's limited EQ.

The only way to do this is like Qudelix 5K do it - an iOS/Android app that sends the EQ developed in the app (via Blutooth), stored on the DAC, that doesn't need the phone for the EQ to work.

You just use the app to develop the EQ.

Essentially a Qudelix 5K on steroids - this would be a game changer because there is nothing like it for portable use with the power of the Hugo2

That's the only thing they need to work on and add and it would be a game changer. Maybe USB-C input too.

I'm with you regarding the EQ.
On top of that I would like the TT2 capacitors and output power level, but I know that is fantasy land unless they make the case larger.

 

[flyte3333]

I'm with you regarding the EQ.
On top of that I would like the TT2 capacitors and output power level, but I know that is fantasy land unless they make the case larger.

More power will take a hit on battery life.

10 band EQ would already suck heaps more and battery technology hasn't really taken a giant leap forward and FPGA

Cut back on taps if need be - we all know when it comes to taps vs 10 band PEQ option which will give biggest potential difference in SQ, able to be picked in double blind testing depending what EQ you do

 

[jlemaster1957]

More power will take a hit on battery life.

10 band EQ would already suck heaps more and battery technology hasn't really taken a giant leap forward and FPGA

Cut back on taps if need be - we all know when it comes to taps vs 10 band PEQ option which will give biggest potential difference in SQ, able to be picked in double blind testing depending what EQ you do

This post is after 4 months. While a 10 Band PEQ might be great, for those of use who are Roon users, with the advent of Roon ARC Muse, via which one can select a pre-set PEQ for a given HP/IEM in Roon, and stream that via iPhone or Android to Mojo 2 or Hugo 2, the additional of PEQ would not (for me YMMV) be an adequate addition to justify the purchase of a higher end unit. Having said that, I would welcome any new upgrades for the simple reason that it will (I hope) lead Chord to further drop prices on the outgoing tech. Already in late summer 2023 there were substantial price drops, and some of these units (Mojo 2 in particular) are selling out at the lower price point. If TT2 price dropped to $4000 new, I'd figure out a way to mobilize the cash to get one- and it's not far off that now Open Box.

 

[flyte3333]

This post is after 4 months. While a 10 Band PEQ might be great, for those of use who are Roon users, with the advent of Roon ARC Muse, via which one can select a pre-set PEQ for a given HP/IEM in Roon, and stream that via iPhone or Android to Mojo 2 or Hugo 2, the additional of PEQ would not (for me YMMV) be an adequate addition to justify the purchase of a higher end unit. Having said that, I would welcome any new upgrades for the simple reason that it will (I hope) lead Chord to further drop prices on the outgoing tech. Already in late summer 2023 there were substantial price drops, and some of these units (Mojo 2 in particular) are selling out at the lower price point. If TT2 price dropped to $4000 new, I'd figure out a way to mobilize the cash to get one- and it's not far off that now Open Box.

That's all fine and I have a lifetime Roon license.

But I am also aware that there are way more non-Roon users than there are Roon users.

I try to look at the bigger picture. I'm sure Chord are also looking a wider than Roon audience, to sell more units.

PEQ is a game changer for lots of people.

PEQ can have a much bigger difference in sound quality than 50k taps vs 1M taps....

 

[Digital Enigma]

Isn't Rob a one man band? its impressive we get as many Dacs as we do from Chord. Id much rather have the slower approach than Chifi with a new model every 3 months.

Hugo3 and all these others you mentioned are likely to come one day, but for now everything already sounds great. don't forget to enjoy the music today.

 

[carl54321]

I was thinking the Lina since it's got the headphone amp in the stack... but yeah you're right, the Vivaldi, with the upsampler and the clock, is like $90k, though it's focused on the full range speaker market isn't it? And doesn't include an amplifier, so will run you even more if you actually want to hear the output

I was thinking the Lina since it's got the headphone amp in the stack... but yeah you're right, the Vivaldi, with the upsampler and the clock, is like $90k, though it's focused on the full range speaker market isn't it? And doesn't include an amplifier, so will run you even more if you actually want to hear the output

In pursuit of excellent DAC's, how does the Holo May compare to the Chord Dave?

 

[powermod]

In pursuit of excellent DAC's, how does the Holo May compare to the Chord Dave?

This may depend on the personal taste, listening capabilities and signal chain. Both are certainly absolutely excellent. I don't own (and didn't listen to) them but there are a few reviews on YT and in forums with somewhat inconclusive statements. Some prefer the May over the Dave some the Dave over the May, someone stated that already the TT2 sounds very similar to the May. Anotherone preferred May over TT2+M-sclaer. This all supports what I said in the first sentence.
One of the most painful things of this hobby is, unless you get the stuff you are interested in on your desk to A-B-test it, you will always be curious about the other options ^^

 

[ericx85]

I had the KTE May. It really is a fantastic dac, but for me it's too crutched on HQ Player to sound great. If you strictly use the dac to only listen to music then that's absolutely fine and the May will put a hard to kill smile on your face for a VERY long time. I use my PC for a variety of things though and just didn't like how the May sounded outside of HQ Player after awhile and found myself using the Gustard X/A26 for a while then eventually now the TT2 which I prefer the most.

There really isn't a "whats better" and it's absolutely a preference. I like that the upsampling dacs can sound great on their own and still get some improvement from HQ Player, even if it's not at the same level of improvement it gives the May. I also found that I just prefer the air/clarity DS/FPGA dacs have over R2R. DS can sound pretty good as long as you're not buying a very cheap one. Matrix, Gustard, maybe Burson but I don't think they've done a dac in a while, all use good components into their dacs to make them sound great and not just to look nice on a graph. You could even give Schiit a try which is somewhere between DS and R2R sound signatures from what I understand.

 

[powermod]

I had the KTE May. It really is a fantastic dac, but for me it's too crutched on HQ Player to sound great. If you strictly use the dac to only listen to music then that's absolutely fine and the May will put a hard to kill smile on your face for a VERY long time. I use my PC for a variety of things though and just didn't like how the May sounded outside of HQ Player after awhile and found myself using the Gustard X/A26 for a while then eventually now the TT2 which I prefer the most.

There really isn't a "whats better" and it's absolutely a preference. I like that the upsampling dacs can sound great on their own and still get some improvement from HQ Player, even if it's not at the same level of improvement it gives the May. I also found that I just prefer the air/clarity DS/FPGA dacs have over R2R. DS can sound pretty good as long as you're not buying a very cheap one. Matrix, Gustard, maybe Burson but I don't think they've done a dac in a while, all use good components into their dacs to make them sound great and not just to look nice on a graph. You could even give Schiit a try which is somewhere between DS and R2R sound signatures from what I understand.

What is your source and connection for the TT2? Just USB?

 

[ericx85]

I use a SRC-DX into the coax for my TT2 because I wanted to get what was considered the "best" input for upsampling on the TT2. I honestly didn't notice much of a difference between it and straight USB, but I did have some quirks with straight USB which could be related to AMD platforms I'd assume that would sometimes cause the audio to sound off, like a vader effect was put on it. It was easy to fix by just switching audio sources to and back. But I never get the issue with the src-dx which is why I stick with it. If you have no desire to upsample with HQplayer or whatnot, I'd just use optical or coax with a decent DDC to avoid PC noise. Straight USB works find too if you don't end up with the weird quirks I did, its galvanically isolated but some people feel it's not as good as the others because the TT2's usb module supposedly makes its own noise people claim they hear.

The Mays usb is also isolated, if you get the KTE version, not sure about the level 2. I did feel however that with a DDC, i2s into the may sounded better and it's i2s input also had less latency than the usb. Granted the latency might only exist on their later titanis usb that was rolled out to fix issues with AMD CPUs to run 1.5mhz pcm. Since I used HQPlayer to upsample DSD with it, I didn't mind on losing out the 1.5mhz PCM when I had it.

 

[powermod]

Thanks for the hints. I'll receive a TT2 in a few days Then I can safely first try USB and hope to not observe these quirks

 

[carl54321]

Thanks for the hints. I'll receive a TT2 in a few days Then I can safely first try USB and hope to not

This may depend on the personal taste, listening capabilities and signal chain. Both are certainly absolutely excellent. I don't own (and didn't listen to) them but there are a few reviews on YT and in forums with somewhat inconclusive statements. Some prefer the May over the Dave some the Dave over the May, someone stated that already the TT2 sounds very similar to the May. Anotherone preferred May over TT2+M-sclaer. This all supports what I said in the first sentence.
One of the most painful things of this hobby is, unless you get the stuff you are interested in on your desk to A-B-test it, you will always be curious about the other options ^^

True, you need to A-B test the gear in your own setting to really grasp the differences. Hard to do with such expensive gear. Could always resell the loser of the bunch.

 

[penmarker]

[edited]
The name makes me wonder if the Suzi is a stereo amp in the Hugo family form factor. Maybe an initial digital amp, to allow the TT2 levels of power output, and act as a Proof of Concept for the digital amp family.

Hey you're absolutely correct.

Stars Pickers Audio in Damansara, Malaysia witnessed a packed house yesterday as the founder of Chord Electronics, John Franks, and their product designer, Rob Watts, took centre stage. The occasion not only served as a platform to unveil their new Chord ULTIMA integrated amplifier but also provided a unique opportunity for the audience to gain insights into the company's future product plans.

Previously, Chord had hinted at a modular product known as the Suzi but had not disclosed any additional details. Yesterday, John Franks finally presented us with 3D renders of the product, revealing that the Chord Suzi will be a modular power amplifier designed to connect seamlessly with the Chord Hugo2. Additionally, he introduced another upcoming phono pre-amplifier, the Chord Suzi Pre, which will also be compatible with this modular system.

John Franks has this to say about the inspiration and design of the Suzi, “The kids have building block toys and I thought that’s a good idea for a modular product. And the shape itself is based on my kid’s shoe box. By making it modular we can make it a standalone product and at the same time provide a stackable form factor with compatible devices.”

The upcoming Suzi Pre will serve as a phono stage for both moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) cartridges. It will also have various loading and impedance settings to better match it with your phono system. It can also be used as a standalone phono stage using a small attachment that converts the RCA output from the side to the rear. When paired with the Suzi power amplifier, it will receive power from the Suzi.

Unlike other audio companies that focus a lot on linear power supplies, Chord has been firm on their stand that a good SMPS power supply is better than a linear power supply. “Linear power supplies are very transparent,” John Franks explained, “So there’s a lot of electronic interference beyond the human frequency range that can pass through. Even if it is within the megahertz range, it can introduce modulated interference in the audible range.”

“With a properly made SMPS there are filters on the input and output so we can reduce the interference drastically.” he added.

I asked them why they use colours to show bitrate, inputs, and volume instead of position or text indicators for most of their products, “Well think of it this way, you’re standing from across the room and you look at the amp. You will know exactly what is going on based on the colours on it,” Rob Watts answered with that end note.

 

[technobear]

Hey you're absolutely correct.

Stars Pickers Audio in Damansara, Malaysia witnessed a packed house yesterday as the founder of Chord Electronics, John Franks, and their product designer, Rob Watts, took centre stage. The occasion not only served as a platform to unveil their new Chord ULTIMA integrated amplifier but also provided a unique opportunity for the audience to gain insights into the company's future product plans.

Previously, Chord had hinted at a modular product known as the Suzi but had not disclosed any additional details. Yesterday, Rob Watts finally presented us with 3D renders of the product, revealing that the Chord Suzi will be a modular power amplifier designed to connect seamlessly with the Chord Hugo2. Additionally, he introduced another upcoming phono pre-amplifier, the Chord Suzi Pre, which will also be compatible with this modular system.



Rob Watts has this to say about the inspiration and design of the Suzi, “The kids have building block toys and I thought that’s a good idea for a modular product. And the shape itself is based on my kid’s shoe box. By making it modular we can make it a standalone product and at the same time provide a stackable form factor with compatible devices.”



The upcoming Suzi Pre will serve as a phono stage for both moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) cartridges. It will also have various loading and impedance settings to better match it with your phono system. It can also be used as a standalone phono stage using a small attachment that converts the RCA output from the side to the rear. When paired with the Suzi power amplifier, it will receive power from the Suzi.

Unlike other audio companies that focus a lot on linear power supplies, Chord has been firm on their stand that a good SMPS power supply is better than a linear power supply. “Linear power supplies are very transparent,” Rob Watts explained, “So there’s a lot of electronic interference beyond the human frequency range that can pass through. Even if it is within the megahertz range, it can introduce modulated interference in the audible range.”

“With a properly made SMPS there are filters on the input and output so we can reduce the interference drastically.” he added.

I asked them why they use colours to show bitrate, inputs, and volume instead of position or text indicators for most of their products, “Well think of it this way, you’re standing from across the room and you look at the amp. You will know exactly what is going on based on the colours on it,” John Franks answered with that end note.

The one in the suit is John Franks. The one in the blue shirt is Rob Watts.

 

[penmarker]

The one in the suit is John Franks. The one in the blue shirt is Rob Watts.

That’s a big blunder by me, amended. Thanks!