[christian u]

 Chord Hugo vs iFi idac2,
is the Hugo so much better?
$2400 vs 400$?
Is it possible that there is such a difference in the quality of the DAC's?
Or is it build quality?
Or production costs?
 
      
 
 
 
 
                                                                             
http://ifi-audio.com/audio_blog/idac2-special-ifi-music-sampler-dsd-album-by-sound-liaison/ 
 
 http://chordelectronics.co.uk/products-info.asp?id=92
 
If anyone has the possibility to compare them directly, the 3 same source files in DSD, PCM and FLAC from Sound Liaison's iFi sampler would make for excellent comparison material.
 
http://www.soundliaison.com/
 
The Hugo has received excellent reviews, only negative I found was this;
 

 

Hugo has the same problem as any portable amp I have ever tried: It picks up low frequency telecommunication transmissions. If a smartphone is close by it struggles to have a good signal, therefore jumps down to Edge or GPRS technology, you can hear the electromagnetic interference through your headphones. This is an issue that I perceive with all amps so far, but perhaps Chord can think about using a similar EMI shielding as smartphones have for their next device so that train rides can be even more enjoyable.

I haven't found any reviews on the iFi Idac2 yet except Head-Fi member Rickyleelee's which was rather possitive;
http://http://www.head-fi.org/products/ifi-micro-idac2-usb-dac-hp-amp/reviews/13581
 
the cons were;

 

Cons

- The device doesn’t have any battery or AC/DC adapter (or iPower) but is USB powered.

- The iDac2 may not have enough power to push high-end/decent headphones (like Sennheiser HD700 or above) so you may need micro iCan for better performance.

- The iDac2 seems not designed for the portable/mobile devise due to insufficient power supply through these devices.

 

[vnmslsrbms]

Yeah I think sq can be compared, but the ifi line really is for home use. It's a compact desktop rig. Having to pair it with power source etc is a royal pita. Unless you like carrying it around with you. A huge tower of bricks that is that professes your ifi love.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kheadfi]

ok. See your point.
What about the quality of the DAC's.
I believe the Hugo has a better amp but if you only look at the DAC, is the Hugo still better?

 

[Mifi]

Good question! The DAC.
Somebody here must know.

 

[velvetx]

Personally I have not heard the iFi dac2 but I can vouch for the Hugo. One thing to note with the Hugo it doesn't matter as much what you are plugging it into say your phone or your DAP. From my experience Hugo does most of the heavy lifting with Chords custom audio chip.

I know this doesn't really help but say buying a $400 dac and having to spend another thousand on a decent DAP doesn't make sense why not just spend $2,400 bucks on one shot and have something that is great no matter what.

 

[christian u]

Good point

 

[Vartan]

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1015/iFi_Audio_iDAC2_Amplifier_Review.htm

 

[buson160man]

I do not know about the ifi dac but I have been using the ifi usb power filter and it has made a huge difference in the way my teac ud501 dac sounds. The effect is anything but subtle. The ifi filter really cleans up most if not all the garbage that my desktop computer produces on its usb out. I highly recommend using the ifi usb filter. But I do have to say that the effect of the ifi filter is noticeably improved by the usb leash they sell splitting the usb signal and isolating the signal from the power. But the usb cable is not cheap it costs more than the ifi filter module. But after hearing what the usb leash does I can never go back to a regular usb leash. I was using a audioquest cinnamon usb cable before I got the ifi usb power filter.

 

[Kheadfi]

  http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1015/iFi_Audio_iDAC2_Amplifier_Review.htm

Thats a very good review. He is using the Oppo 3 HPs which is a very easy to drive pair. What is the limit the ifi can handle?

 

[christian u]

Personally I have not heard the iFi dac2 but I can vouch for the Hugo. One thing to note with the Hugo it doesn't matter as much what you are plugging it into say your phone or your DAP. From my experience Hugo does most of the heavy lifting with Chords custom audio chip.

I know this doesn't really help but say buying a $400 dac and having to spend another thousand on a decent DAP doesn't make sense why not just spend $2,400 bucks on one shot and have something that is great no matter what.

Did you have any problems with interference noise? I read somewhere that the Hugo is not well isolated.

 

[JWahl]

Personally I have not heard the iFi dac2 but I can vouch for the Hugo. One thing to note with the Hugo it doesn't matter as much what you are plugging it into say your phone or your DAP. From my experience Hugo does most of the heavy lifting with Chords custom audio chip.

I know this doesn't really help but say buying a $400 dac and having to spend another thousand on a decent DAP doesn't make sense why not just spend $2,400 bucks on one shot and have something that is great no matter what.

 
I think a lot of what you're paying for with the Hugo is the fancy casework and British manufacture.  I'd be curious to see the Meridian Director fed by good USB source like iFi iUSB compared to the Hugo or even just the 2Qute.  I used the Meridian + iFi iUSB and before owned the iDSD without iUSB.  When moving from the Meridian setup to my current Schiit Yggdrasil, it was a step up, but not as much as I expected.  And that's more of a nod to the Meridian than a knock on the Yggy.  Especially after the Director is being cleared out at half price now, for new model.

 

[christian u]

is it the chipset one should look at; Burr Brown Dac vs a Dac designed by Robert Watts? 

 

[Kheadfi]

But surely the Hugo has a much stronger amp than the iFi, that is at least as important.

 

[yangian]

   
I think a lot of what you're paying for with the Hugo is the fancy casework and British manufacture.  I'd be curious to see the Meridian Director fed by good USB source like iFi iUSB compared to the Hugo or even just the 2Qute.  I used the Meridian + iFi iUSB and before owned the iDSD without iUSB.  When moving from the Meridian setup to my current Schiit Yggdrasil, it was a step up, but not as much as I expected.  And that's more of a nod to the Meridian than a knock on the Yggy.  Especially after the Director is being cleared out at half price now, for new model.

Hi, any comments on Director and iDSD? Thanks!

 

[JWahl]

 
Hi, any comments on Director and iDSD? Thanks!

 
Unfortunately I didn't have them at the same time.  I thought the iDSD was an excellent value for what it is and it's excellent feature set.  But I ultimately found myself preferring the tonal balance off of my old Schiit Modi.  This was in conjunction with an Eddie Current Super 7 amp.  At least when I used a USB battery to power it, instead of computer power.  The iDSD in my setup just seemed to have something off in the midrange, like some kind of recession.  But I didn't really notice it until comparing.  Mostly noticeable in classical music with stuff like french horns sounding a bit recessed to my ears.  Later after selling the iDSD, I got the iUSB and it improved the Modi even further.  I was going to stick with the Modi until jumping on a true high end DAC like the Yggdrasil I have now, but I got curious since the Director was on sale for $350 so I pulled the trigger.  I found it further improved on the Modi.  But again, this was with the iUSB.  I didn't try the director alone, and didn't care to.  The biggest strength of the Director was it's sense of staging and space.  It really opens up the soundstage.  I think the quality oscillators in it, need clean power fed to it to get the best results.