[Here2rock]

  perhaps there is something wrong with your TT because what you describe is simply not the TT...it is one thing to say you like a different sound signature but what you describe is simply not the TT most everyone has heard

 
I don't think that there was anything wrong with the TT because it is a very reputable shop in Sydney. 

 

[rgs9200m]

I love my TT as a DAC but find it needs an amp to really shine. It needs the bloom and extra oomph of a powerful amp. Just my ears here.

 

[Here2rock]

  I love my TT as a DAC but find it needs an amp to really shine. It needs the bloom and extra oomph of a powerful amp. Just my ears here.

 
Would you kindly share your current set up with TT?

 

[x RELIC x]

Finally I got to audition the Chord Hugo TT. 

I was expecting to be blown away with the sound but I was let down by it completely and did not connect with my music at all. I found no clarity in the sound,there was no dynamics in the sound at all. It was just a cold listening experience. There was no separation or details in the sound. The biggest disappointment was listening to the vocals, they were just sounded so muddy to me. 

How do I best describe the listening experience?  It was a bit like I was listening to a mono sound, lacking stereo imaging.Yes the sound was clean without distortion with plenty of volume but just did not got me to engage with my music. The sound was not as such that I wanted to listen to the same track again and again, I was searching those missing details but found none of those details.

.....

Curious, what system you are used to listening to? Might help to understand your perspective as your findings are very different from most.

 

[quantx]

  I know, that is the surprising thing and I am a big fan of British engineering in general. I wonder some of these are paid/biased reviews.
 
I had high hopes for the TT and willing to make a purchase but it is hardly a worthwhile purchase for me if it is not connecting to my music. 

Something is wrong with your TT or your setup.

 

[AlanYWM]

  
I don't think that there was anything wrong with the TT because it is a very reputable shop in Sydney. 

 
I have to agree with those who are familiar with the TT that the TT you heard is most likely faulty or very badly setup. Just to share my experience, I recently tested the Chord Dave. I have listened to the Dave on many occasions before but this was the first time I heard it sounding so bad. The SQ was so harsh that I felt it was worse than the Mojo. If not for my listening experience with the Dave and other Chord DACs, I would have concluded that the Dave was not a good sounding DAC. After some troubleshooting, I found out that one of the connectors was not properly inserted. Once everything was setup properly, the Dave performed flawlessly.
 
The TT is a very nice sounding DAC. It can scale very nicely if your setup is good and I agree with a few TT owners here that it will do well with a good external amp.
 
The new year will be quite exciting for Chord followers as there will be at least 3 new products to be launched. Don't worry. There is nothing that will replace the TT - yet.
 
Happy New Year to everyone here.

 

[Whazzzup]

This review sounded like more than preferences at play which also leads me to "this does not compute" reply.

 

[andyschaub]

Finally I got to audition the Chord Hugo TT. 

I was expecting to be blown away with the sound but I was let down by it completely and did not connect with my music at all. I found no clarity in the sound,there was no dynamics in the sound at all. It was just a cold listening experience. There was no separation or details in the sound. The biggest disappointment was listening to the vocals, they were just sounded so muddy to me. 

How do I best describe the listening experience?  It was a bit like I was listening to a mono sound, lacking stereo imaging.Yes the sound was clean without distortion with plenty of volume but just did not got me to engage with my music. The sound was not as such that I wanted to listen to the same track again and again, I was searching those missing details but found none of those details.

The headphones I tried with it included, Focal Utopia, Focal Elear, LCD-3, HE 1000 V2, Edition X V2, an even the low end Audioquest Nighthawk.

The source used was Windows 10 PC, using the USB cable, playing FLAC and DSD files. 

I listened to these tracks among others:

Coldplay - Birds, Up & Up, Yellow.
Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally, Wonderful Tonight.
Michael Jackson - Human Nature, Bad, Billie Jean
Bryan Adams - Heaven, Summer of 69
The Jacksons - Shake Your Body To The Ground
Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground
Adele - Hello

I had a similar experience, although I was listening to mostly classical and jazz. I opted to keep my Ayre QB-9 DSD and although I have a Codex that I use in a completely different system, I think the QB-9 DSD sounds better, although there is always the QX-5 Twenty. I'm also very fond of the Simaudio 280D, which I use in my main system as a streaming DAC with a Melco N1A to store AIFF files and a LAN using all AudioQuest Ethernet cables and Apple routers. I will say that Aurender N100H pairs extremely well with the Codex whereas the QB-9 DSD prefers my iMac. I'm using the entry level Stealth USB cable with the Codex and the AudioQuest Diamond with iMac and QB-9 DSD.

 

[Whazzzup]

"I was expecting to be blown away with the sound but I was let down by it completely and did not connect with my music at all. I found no clarity in the sound,there was no dynamics in the sound at all. It was just a cold listening experience. There was no separation or details in the sound. The biggest disappointment was listening to the vocals, they were just sounded so muddy to me. "

It just doesn't compute. Charlotte Cardin sounds fantastic. Granted I have little comparison knowledge but if TT is veiled with no detail or seperation I feel like I'm living in an alternate universe. Although don't take any offence.

 

[rgs9200m]

Windows PC --> Audioquest diamond usb cable--> HugoTT --> Stealth Indra IC(RCA) --> Rudistor RP010B headphone amp --> Hifiman HEKv2/Grado PS1000e/LCD4 headphones.
 
(I also have a Headamp GSX2 amp that I have used instead of the Rudistor amp and it also sounds great, but I prefer the Rudistor because I listen to popular music like the Beatles and such and I like the Rudistor's warm/plump/full signature a lot.)
I don't need any EQ with the HEK or the Grado phones. I use Jriver with my own ripped CDs or Tidal.
It's a really fine sounding system to my ears; full of life, bloom, detail and not fatiguing.
 
(The power cord for the Rudistor amp is a Shunyata Anaconda Alpha, about 10 years old. There is no power conditioning. Without the amp, direct from the TT, there just isn't as much fullness/bloom/bass-power as I desire. The amps just seem to make the music fall out of the headphones with no sweat.)
 
It's also a nice system for my desktop because it generates virtually no heat at all from anywhere. Just the slightest bit of warmth on the Rudistor if I put my hand on it.
[I also like Stevie Wonder a lot. Innervisions and his 60's music is great.]
 
I picked the Rudistor after trying a bunch of other amps a few years ago because it sounded the best to me, with a great solid bass and sweet silky highs and liquid mids.
But I don't know what's up with Rudistor now; I think they may have shut down. Their website doesn't work. But like I said, the Headamp GSX2 is absolutely fine with the TT, with superb bass and overall definition and musicality.
I keep it as a backup amp. It does generate heat though.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  I know, that is the surprising thing and I am a big fan of British engineering in general. I wonder some of these are paid/biased reviews.
 
I had high hopes for the TT and willing to make a purchase but it is hardly a worthwhile purchase for me if it is not connecting to my music. 

 
I don't think wasn't biased beyond my personal sonic preferences and experiences.

 Read all the other comments here as well from listeners with the TT in their home for quite a bit of time and not just a "in-store audition". I didn't want to love it as much as I did as I wanted to not have to pay the really high price for the TT...but in the end I couldn't let it go back so I bought the review unit and here I am later a year with it still in my system. In fact I would say your comments here are the outlier. So either everyone is wrong or something was wrong with your experience. In store listening is NEVER ideal nor do I really even believe my ears until I get the unit at home for a week or two with my own recordings and headphones before I can really truly pass judgement.
 
I'd suggest a closer audition with another unit in a familiar setup. What other DACs do you have experience with?

 

[jlbrach]

   
I don't think wasn't biased beyond my personal sonic preferences and experiences.

 Read all the other comments here as well from listeners with the TT in their home for quite a bit of time and not just a "in-store audition". I didn't want to love it as much as I did as I wanted to not have to pay the really high price for the TT...but in the end I couldn't let it go back so I bought the review unit and here I am later a year with it still in my system. In fact I would say your comments here are the outlier. So either everyone is wrong or something was wrong with your experience. In store listening is NEVER ideal nor do I really even believe my ears until I get the unit at home for a week or two with my own recordings and headphones before I can really truly pass judgement.
 
I'd suggest a closer audition with another unit in a familiar setup. What other DACs do you have experience with?

his description of the TT is so far from the consensus that I do not take it seriously...for sure one can quibble with certain elements of any product...I owned the TT and loved it and only sold it to upgrade to the Dave....one may like a mercedes better than a BMW but if one tells me the BMW is a lousy car that drives poorly etc I have to wonder about his frame of reference ....personally I do not think this is a serious critique

 

[Here2rock]

Curious, what system you are used to listening to? Might help to understand your perspective as your findings are very different from most.

 
This is my first step into the serious high end of Headphones Hi-Fi. I currently listen to music on my PC, this has been the case for last 10 years or so as I had very little time devoting listening to music. I currently use Logitech 2.1 speakers with my PC which cost me about $500 a while back, to be honest they sound a way lot more better than the Hugo TT + LCD 3 or any other combination I tried costing 10 times or more than those speakers.
 
This is directly in conflict with the general view that the headphones are the least expensive way to get great sound. 

 

[Here2rock]

  I have to agree with those who are familiar with the TT that the TT you heard is most likely faulty or very badly setup. Just to share my experience, I recently tested the Chord Dave. 

 
I don't believe there was anything wrong with the setup, I plug in the cables a couple of times as I was switching between Hugo TT and Oppo HA-1 just to find the difference between the two.

 

[Here2rock]

It just doesn't compute. Charlotte Cardin sounds fantastic. Granted I have little comparison knowledge but if TT is veiled with no detail or seperation I feel like I'm living in an alternate universe. Although don't take any offence.

 
I can understand that it does not compute with view from others, but those are my honest views, to be honest the Oppo HA-1 sounded better to my ears running the same cable and setup just the different drivers for Windows.