[etnt]

@reeltime @etnt @UELong @Whazzzup @montanari Thanks for the helpful comments! I might be making a significant phone call tomorrow...

Good luck to whichever your choice. I also started with H1 and was looking to upgrade.

Tested the TT and then the Dave. I cannot remember the TT signature now but recall it being an improvement but not as wow-ing as when first listening to the Dave.

From then on, chord now have mojo, poly, h2, qutest and blu2, and possibly more to be announced at the Munich show.

I would advise that you choose one for your use case. Even if you don't need it on the go and need to move it between setups, then quetest or h2 might best fit you depending on whether you need the pre and amp sections.

I'm not a fan of using battery powered products for purely desktop use, so if the use case is purely for a single desktop setup, then Dave imo is the way to go.

There's much discussion on bluh2, bludave and possibly bluqutest, and speculations of standalone m-scaler.

My personal take, bludave is still at the current pinnacle. If chord cannot fulfill the demand for the blu2, I don't really see them releasing a standalone m-scaler; and even if they do release one, I don't believe the price will be significantly lower as what many are hoping for.

You can of course also wait till the munich show before deciding on your next move, since it's just a few weeks away.

 

[Whazzzup]

Why are we talking blu Dave on a chord 1 thread. They cost as much as a loaded accord.....don’t doubt its sweet but so are my antipodes and tt . I’m starting to get a little jaded I guess with the Pom poms trying to eco system at ridiculous prices when it took a lot just to figure out the difference from ch1 and ch2. For sure if I was new to chord ch2 is a great portable. Chord needs to develope a new tt2 to put the option for a real desktop alternative to Hugo.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Can you characterize the differences between the Hugo and Hugo 2? I’m considering the upgrade. My use will be entirely desktop.

I published an extensive comparison of the Hugo (1) vs. the Hugo 2 here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/chord-hugo-2.22209/reviews?page=3#review-18920

Scroll down to July 24 2017 and look for my review “I’m SOLD! Even better than the Hugo (1)!”

 

[Whazzzup]

One of the few who felt this way but it should be known


Conclusions. At first i found it difficult to understand the differences between Ch1 and Ch2. Ch1 rougher edges or distortion or whatever having less pulse arrays and taps does, gave me the perception of more bass impact, edgier mids and more distinct vocals and keyboards. This given a lot of the genres I like, was not really negative. But as listening went on I started to get the nuance, the tighter bass had a bit more colour and depth, the distinct mids gave a pinch more width and the smoother presentation and gave the notes a more rounded feel, smooth vocals became appealing and detailed. Is it a night and day difference, no. Chord did a very good job on the original. But it is a smoother less edgy more colourful wide presentation, albeit subtly so. The longer I listened to ch2 the more i liked it, then again the longer I listened I listened to CH1 the more i liked that as well. CH2 I had to conclude was my preferred dac over time.

La900 was scrumptious under Ch1 and Ch2 with the same subtle differences that I noticed with encore. Hd800S was the same as la900 and encore with the subtle differences between CH1 and CH2, TT played hd800S best.

While I can't speak for anyone else but concerning the burning question of should I upgrade from CH1? Well it depends on how easy one can part with 3 G CAD, how much the smoother detail is desired or the edgy colour of ch1 bothers you. Myself I will not for now, but every black friday or boxing day sale where i can get 20 or more % off I will think about it, so don't be surprised if my signature changes from ch1 to ch2 in the future.
Concerning new customers from no Dac or Mojo or whatever, just do CH2 and be done with it.

Concerning TT well Im sure CH2 will find its way on to desktops as a portable replacement, more than CH1 has, but TT will stay as my desktop until TT2 is launched. It was just better for the job all around, course I'm not sure if it was as refined but it was preferable for the job of playing my full size cans, period.

 

[AndrewH13]

One of the few who felt this way but it should be known


Conclusions. At first i found it difficult to understand the differences between Ch1 and Ch2. Ch1 rougher edges or distortion or whatever having less pulse arrays and taps does, gave me the perception of more bass impact, edgier mids and more distinct vocals and keyboards. This given a lot of the genres I like, was not really negative. But as listening went on I started to get the nuance, the tighter bass had a bit more colour and depth, the distinct mids gave a pinch more width and the smoother presentation and gave the notes a more rounded feel, smooth vocals became appealing and detailed. Is it a night and day difference, no. Chord did a very good job on the original. But it is a smoother less edgy more colourful wide presentation, albeit subtly so. The longer I listened to ch2 the more i liked it, then again the longer I listened I listened to CH1 the more i liked that as well. CH2 I had to conclude was my preferred dac over time.

La900 was scrumptious under Ch1 and Ch2 with the same subtle differences that I noticed with encore. Hd800S was the same as la900 and encore with the subtle differences between CH1 and CH2, TT played hd800S best.

While I can't speak for anyone else but concerning the burning question of should I upgrade from CH1? Well it depends on how easy one can part with 3 G CAD, how much the smoother detail is desired or the edgy colour of ch1 bothers you. Myself I will not for now, but every black friday or boxing day sale where i can get 20 or more % off I will think about it, so don't be surprised if my signature changes from ch1 to ch2 in the future.
Concerning new customers from no Dac or Mojo or whatever, just do CH2 and be done with it.

Concerning TT well Im sure CH2 will find its way on to desktops as a portable replacement, more than CH1 has, but TT will stay as my desktop until TT2 is launched. It was just better for the job all around, course I'm not sure if it was as refined but it was preferable for the job of playing my full size cans, period.

Hugo 2 is now upstairs in former kids bedroom driving my 2 channel hifi. Best suited there as plugged in permanently and remote useful for input and volume change. Hugo 1 being used in lounge driving Ethers and Grado headphones, plus iems, fed from Fiio Dap.

I've swopped Hugo 1 and 2 over countless times, and either way, I enjoy them both. I like the tone of 1, the detail of 2, but really, both let me enjoy the music and forget what I'm using. I had the TT for review and it was great, just out of my price range. No one would go wrong with any of the three .

 

[chesebert]

That's reassuring. Let me reach out to Bluebird and find out. Thanks!

Sent my unit for repair to George Meyer AV in LA. Here are what I have earned:

1. It's the battery...it's always the battery...ugghh

2. If you buy your unit through a dealer, you can only get service through that specific dealer. So even though I am still under warranty, I am not able to send the unit to any dealer in the US for warranty service. This resulted in my paying the full repair price - $400 (including shipping) .

3. The battery itself is very expensive. Chord charges over $300 just for the part - price gouging? Special battery?

4. George Meyer is excellent in workmanship, turnaround time and customer service.

5. It could just be me, but I think the new battery makes the unit sound better - greater bass slam and PRaT than before.

Overall, my unit sounded a bit better than before and I can get back to listening.

 

[malcolm.mcintyre]

I replaced the batteries in my Hugo recently myself. Total time 20 minutes, total cost less than 40 USD.
Hi-fi used to be a hobby for those who enjoyed tinkering with equipment rather than a spending contest.

 

[chesebert]

I replaced the batteries in my Hugo recently myself. Total time 20 minutes, total cost less than 40 USD.
Hi-fi used to be a hobby for those who enjoyed tinkering with equipment rather than a spending contest.

That's not a fair comment. You are in UK and can readily obtain the replacement battery. It's much more difficult in the States - no clue if anyone carries it. We all pick and chose where to spend money. I buy most of all of my stuff used and don't change for 5+ years. If something breaks, I will pay a professional to fix it so I can use it for 5+ more years. I stopped "tinkering" with my stuff 10 years ago - it's counterproductive and a waste of time and ultimately money.

 

[miketlse]

Sent my unit for repair to George Meyer AV in LA. Here are what I have earned:

1. It's the battery...it's always the battery...ugghh

2. If you buy your unit through a dealer, you can only get service through that specific dealer. So even though I am still under warranty, I am not able to send the unit to any dealer in the US for warranty service. This resulted in my paying the full repair price - $400 (including shipping) .

3. The battery itself is very expensive. Chord charges over $300 just for the part - price gouging? Special battery?

4. George Meyer is excellent in workmanship, turnaround time and customer service.

5. It could just be me, but I think the new battery makes the unit sound better - greater bass slam and PRaT than before.

Overall, my unit sounded a bit better than before and I can get back to listening.

It is not Chord doing the price gouging, because the batteries are much cheaper at dealers in the UK.
This forum mentions that chord charge only £50 currently, so someone is adding in a big profit margin, to push the price up to $300.
They are even cheaper if you buy the equivalent parts and diy yourself.

 

[Triode User]

That's not a fair comment. You are in UK and can readily obtain the replacement battery. It's much more difficult in the States - no clue if anyone carries it. We all pick and chose where to spend money. I buy most of all of my stuff used and don't change for 5+ years. If something breaks, I will pay a professional to fix it so I can use it for 5+ more years. I stopped "tinkering" with my stuff 10 years ago - it's counterproductive and a waste of time and ultimately money.

But it was a fair comment. Even if you do not tinker I am sure there are small repair shops in the States just as there are in UK that charge low hourly rates and can probably source the batteries at similar prices to UK or indeed purchase from the UK. In a quick search have found supplies of a replacement battery without transport restrictions. The $300 quoted for the supply of the battery through Chord is a rip off. They are readily available at between £10 and £20 each inc tax in the UK.

You chose to get the work done through Chord which is fine but there are other cheaper routes to getting the work done.

 

[514077]

I replaced the batteries in my Hugo recently myself. Total time 20 minutes, total cost less than 40 USD.
Hi-fi used to be a hobby for those who enjoyed tinkering with equipment rather than a spending contest.

So did ham radio. I'm a poor hand with a soldering iron. I know lots of blind guys who are great with DIY'ing; not my strongpoint.

 

[Stenso]

I would be happy to buy and send replacement batteries from the UK at cost if that would help.

 

[514077]

I would be happy to buy and send replacement batteries from the UK at cost if that would help.

That is great for you to volumteer to do that. But, aren't there supposed to be some shipping restrictions on those batteries, being li-ion or whichever? They might be dangerous to send.

 

[Stenso]

Triode User mentioned that he had found a source of restriction free compatible batteries, if he sends that to me as a PM, I would happily organise the process for fellow Head-fiers. And thanks for your kind comment UELong.

 

[miketlse]

Triode User mentioned that he had found a source of restriction free compatible batteries, if he sends that to me as a PM, I would happily organise the process for fellow Head-fiers. And thanks for your kind comment UELong.

Very public spirited of you, if this can help any Hugo owners.