[OK-Guy]

  I have been told by multiple people that the new version of Hugo sounds better than the first version.... This is not a fact I have verified myself and also not a complaint... it would be good if someone who has access to both versions and validate if this claim is true...

 
I emailed my contact at Chord about this and I've got a reply which I'll go into more detail later as I will include the minor changes on the inside that were made when the 'casing' was altered, this should also clear things up for Al... alas I'm now going to pull my 'sport-card' out of the hat and raise LFC's British GP & Wimbledon and include the 'le Tour de France' which is also going on in England... my eyes need to be satisfied as much as my ears, well sometimes.

 

[OK-Guy]

  Have heard enough now to acknowledge the Hugo is as special as the interweb would lead to believe. Tested using all headphones in my signature.
(Please note this is an initial early Sunday morning pre-breakfast posting as writing time has been set aside for during the British GP and Wimbledon Final - getting no exercise in the process woo!!)
 
The Hugo reminds me of the Invicta (when used as a headphone dac/amp) that I have previously home demoed. Nothing is particularly emphasised. What you do get is a fantastic neutral and natural sound. No hint of a "digital sound" as may be present in lesser DACs. Soundstage is very spacious. Not just horizontally from ear-to-ear on a 2D plane but height and in particular depth also. The speed, separation and airiness of instruments is incredible. You can pick out location and everything is rendered with good impact. Voices are very rich, detailed and 'natural'. Furthermore you are able to "hear" the room. It is just a holographic sound. Treble is well extended without any harshness or brightness. Love. The Hugo is very detailed but not in an annoying or grating manner at all. As the soundstage and separation is so top notch it is not that you can pick out each element of the recording but you are hearing new things in the music too. The bass on this thing has incredible impact, punch and control - listening with SE846 and TH900 has left me shaken and stirred. Very good transparency - it is hard to multi-task as the Hugo allows you to melt into the music.
 
All this from a package with a smaller footprint than a CD case!!
One point - Chord, please please please give us Black finish like with the Chordette Qute.
 
Addendum.
So.... would anyone like to buy my my Clas -dB and Pico Power rig??

 
 
enjoyed that... btw Federer in 4 sets, love to see Button win the GP though Rosberg will probably cruise it.

 

[Sound Eq]

   
I emailed my contact at Chord about this and I've got a reply which I'll go into more detail later as I will include the minor changes on the inside that were made when the 'casing' was altered, this should also clear things up for Al... alas I'm now going to pull my 'sport-card' out of the hat and raise LFC's British GP & Wimbledon and include the 'le Tour de France' which is also going on in England... my eyes need to be satisfied as much as my ears, well sometimes.

and how can u know which version i have

 

[OK-Guy]

  and how can u know which version i have

 
I don't but I'll try my psychic powers (they're crap in all honesty)...

 
being a bit more focused, there should be no sonic differences between the two, if people say there is a difference we are splitting-hairs so to speak and it's about as relevant as the mouse-fart on 'Kind of Blue'. 

 

[seeteeyou]

.

 

[Duncan]

and how can u know which version i have

RCA and power switch placement / depth are different...

 

[rgs9200m]

I have a diamond from audioquest. The truth us the PPA red USB us just as good.
But we still need adaptor. So what adaptor is the poster using.
 

Well, with all due respect, no, no, no! The AQ diamond is amazing and sounds wonderful and makes a big difference in the sound quality for me. I just call'em as I hear 'em, and I hear this loud and clear.
(Well, OK, I've never heard the PPA, so I have to take that back, but vs. the stock and aq carbon, the change is strikingly good.)

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Did you try the foil. Not joking.
Al

 

[RoundRound]

Gentlemen,
How long does your Hugo last on battery power?
 
It's supposed to be 14 ours no? I'm getting a little over 4 hours on constant usage at reasonably low volumes (HD700 headphones 150 Ohms).
 
I've been using this Hugo for about a week now, almost non-stop
I'd charge the battery fully and then deplete it almost completely and go again... Could it be the batteries are still conditioning? or is this a defective unit?
 
Thanks!

 

[sonictransducer]

Has anyone tried using the Hugo with the Sony Xperia Z2? Apparently the Z2 allows Hi-Rez otg output, without the need for the audio pro app. That could be great with the Hugo, IF the Hugo can read the signal. But I'm not sure if it could. In my experience with other Android phones, the Hugo won't recognize the signal connected to the HD input without using that app.

 

[OK-Guy]

In answer to people’s questions about the differences between the mk1 & mk2 Chord Hugo I have a few answers that should appease peoples surmises…
 
There has  been only one production change to Hugo’s production board assembly, this came after the first batch of assembled boards were used up in manufacturing. The case design modifications allowed Chord to make minor changes inside, they could now could cut in a new printed modified circuit board.  
 
The changes were minor and mostly mechanical, one of which was the tooling of the red/ black RCAs block (hence different RCA colours)… The only electrical modification was to increase the playing time of Hugo by about an hour when the HD USB input is not being used, this was achieved by switching off all the high data rate USB circuitry,  FPGA's etc when it's not in use. 
 
This modification carried out by the team at Chord can never be retrofitted to the first Hugo unit, that said… it has been included on all units built onwards from the first week of April.
 
Note: there were no measurable sonic advantages whatsoever that Chord could detect from this USB modification.
 
A note from my Chord contact…
 
The team at Chord perhaps, unlike some, are generally reluctant to publish something we can't really measure and put it over as a significant sonic improvement.
 
Even though if over time a person or two can discern a slight difference that is all to the benefit of the product this is because when a design change is made and tested it's to a very limited number of lab samples. When this modification went into the product this part of the design could certainly not have been implemented into the first thousand units as it had not been proven at the time of launch. Indeed one part of it had not even been considered or designed at that time… ends 

 

[RoundRound]

  In answer to people’s questions about the differences between the mk1 & mk2 Chord Hugo I have a few answers that should appease peoples surmises…
 
There has  been only one production change to Hugo’s production board assembly, this came after the first batch of assembled boards were used up in manufacturing. The case design modifications allowed Chord to make minor changes inside, they could now could cut in a new printed modified circuit board.  
 
The changes were minor and mostly mechanical, one of which was the tooling of the red/ black RCAs block (hence different RCA colours)… The only electrical modification was to increase the playing time of Hugo by about an hour when the HD USB input is not being used, this was achieved by switching off all the high data rate USB circuitry,  FPGA's etc when it's not in use. 
 
This modification carried out by the team at Chord can never be retrofitted to the first Hugo unit, that said… it has been included on all units built onwards from the first week of April.
 
Note: there were no measurable sonic advantages whatsoever that Chord could detect from this USB modification.
 
A note from my Chord contact…
 
The team at Chord perhaps, unlike some, are generally reluctant to publish something we can't really measure and put it over as a significant sonic improvement.
 
Even though if over time a person or two can discern a slight difference that is all to the benefit of the product this is because when a design change is made and tested it's to a very limited number of lab samples. When this modification went into the product this part of the design could certainly not have been implemented into the first thousand units as it had not been proven at the time of launch. Indeed one part of it had not even been considered or designed at that time… ends 

Thanks mate,
So If I have the black and red RCA outputs its a Mkii unit? There's no difference between the Mark IIs right?

 

[OK-Guy]

now I'm confused did you mean between mk1 & mk11(2)?

 

[RoundRound]

  now I'm confused did you mean between mk1 & mk11(2)?

Yes

 

[OK-Guy]

I'm glad you never saw it as a flippant answer... we all know how easy it is to open 'Pandora's Box' on Head-Fi.
 
I'm pretty sure both mk1 & mk2 Hugo's are sonically the same the only differences are pretty much visual imo (& the ones mentioned).
 
my contacts at Chord are fairly reliable with answering Head-Fi'ers questions I fire over to them, sometimes there's a delay as they're busy guys... think they appreciate the feedback in truth.