[ted_b]

  I have only ever had one instance of the earth shattering change.... 
 
Rob   

 
..............go on. 

 

[Rob Watts]

I think you can guess what that was - this is the Hugo thread!

 

[Lutrty]

A question to the OLIMEX USB ISO users
 
I bought a Olimex to use between my Synology NAS and the Hugo. However, it does not work, the Hugo is not recognize by the Synology; it is recognize by my MacAIr, though. Being my technical knowledge VERY limited, my only deduction is that it might need a power supply as it has an input for one. 
 
Have anyone faced this situation? Do you think the issue is the lack of a power supply? If so, will adding one will offset the expected benefits from the Olimex?
 
Thank you in advance for the support!
 
PS: the sound coming out from Synology > Chord > Naim amp is already excellent - however by reading the Olimex related threads, it seems it can be even better!

 

[ubs28]

   
In terms of volume, absolutely. In terms of it's ability to bring out the best in these very demanding headphones, I'm afraid the answer is no. The Taurus is the only amp I own with the ability to do that, although many claim you need a tube amp to tame the HD800 treble - I've got mine hooked up to the Taurus as I type this and I'm not experiencing any issues with the treble. Source is the Marantz SA-14S1 and it's onboard headphone amp is whole lot 'spikier' with classical SACDs than the Taurus, at least at this early stage in the burn-in process. FWIW, I dont have any issues with the way the Hugo drives the HD800 - in the absence of the Taurus I'm sure I could live with it - it just doesnt present them in their best light. 

What differences do you notice in terms of sound and how much % different is it? 

 

[estreeter]

 
What differences do you notice in terms of sound and how much % different is it? 

 
Please don't ask for percentages - it's all subjective and it comes down to your musical preferences and the way you perceive differences. Unless we are talking measurements, I just don't believe that percentages apply in this hobby - I'm also not a fan of the star system used by several magazines. I've already given my impression of the difference it makes to the sound signature of the HD800 - again, totally subjective and several here disagree completely. Unfortunately that's the nature of this hobby.

 

[M Coupe]

depends on which ears you are wearing doesn't it?  A listen for yourself is always the answer.  

 

[Kakki]

  A question to the OLIMEX USB ISO users
 
I bought a Olimex to use between my Synology NAS and the Hugo. However, it does not work, the Hugo is not recognize by the Synology; it is recognize by my MacAIr, though. Being my technical knowledge VERY limited, my only deduction is that it might need a power supply as it has an input for one. 
 
Have anyone faced this situation? Do you think the issue is the lack of a power supply? If so, will adding one will offset the expected benefits from the Olimex?
 
Thank you in advance for the support!
 
PS: the sound coming out from Synology > Chord > Naim amp is already excellent - however by reading the Olimex related threads, it seems it can be even better!

Hi, I'm using USB-ISO between iPhone5S and Hugo and it is working good without any external power supply.
 
If possible, I would recommend trying your phone to check if your USB-ISO is not broken.

 

[Rob Watts]

The Olimex only works with the SD USB. It does not work at all on the HD USB input, and is only good up to 48 kHz.

 

[TokenGesture]

I just briefly demoed the HD800 with Hugo. Now I want an HD800

 

[Somphon]

  The Olimex only works with the SD USB. It does not work at all on the HD USB input, and is only good up to 48 kHz.

 
hi Rob,
 
Just curious and please forgive my lack of knowledge. Olimex helps improve sounds by eliminating ground noise. Would toslink connection achieve the same? Some how I find these two sounds different.

 

[ubs28]

I just briefly demoed the HD800 with Hugo. Now I want an HD800

It sounds excellent. I'm using my Chord Hugo with HD800. I originally bought it for my Shure SE846, however the HD800 uses it the most. 

 

[rkt31]

listened few DSD files using foobar SACD plugin and fidelizer with audiophile setting. DSD sounded very very smooth through Hugo. there was absolutely no grain and background seemed to be pitch dark. some people have reported in past slight lack of dynamics with foobar SACD plugin but I did not feel so at all, may as compared to j river there is such some dynamics but the sound thru j river is somewhat processed even with asio. foobar is more natural , unforced,transparent and smooth

 

[Lutrty]

Thank you, Rob. I worked just fine with the SD USB. Cheers.

 

[Rob Watts]

   
hi Rob,
 
Just curious and please forgive my lack of knowledge. Olimex helps improve sounds by eliminating ground noise. Would toslink connection achieve the same? Some how I find these two sounds different.

Don't apologise for lack of knowledge - I would not be doing this if I wasn't discovering new things.
 
You have two things going on - the RF noise leaking into Hugo's ground plane, then creating havoc with the analog electronics. Random RF noise creates noise floor modulation (the noise pumps up and down with the audio signal) making it sound harder and bright - if it gets really bad, the treble will sound grainy and aggressive. The second problem is signal related audio frequency noise; this is at its worse at 0 when all the bits changeover from all 0's to all 1's (and 1's to all 0's) as the signal crosses through 0 and goes negative. This small current gets into the ground plane and corrupts the analogue signal, making the fundamental linearity worse - so a -120dB signal will now be say -119dB. These very small changes have the audible effect of confusing the brains ability to perceive depth of sound-stage. Depth of image is a hobby horse of mine, both from the listening POV and from the understanding POV (why is reproduced audio so bad at reproducing depth? what are the engineering factors?). Now I know that fundamental linearity is important to depth perception, but to what levels is it important, and are there other factors?
 
Anyhow, I digress. The Olimex will eliminate the LF noise currents. As to RF, it has a few pF of capacitive coupling, but optical will be perfect from this POV. But I think a few pF is good enough isolation. On my tests, I have a Olimex on the SD, and another USB card fed via optical. I can't hear a difference between them when the source is the same, so if you are hearing something, then I think perhaps something else is at play.
 
Rob

 

[Somphon]

Don't apologise for lack of knowledge - I would not be doing this if I wasn't discovering new things.

You have two things going on - the RF noise leaking into Hugo's ground plane, then creating havoc with the analog electronics. Random RF noise creates noise floor modulation (the noise pumps up and down with the audio signal) making it sound harder and bright - if it gets really bad, the treble will sound grainy and aggressive. The second problem is signal related audio frequency noise; this is at its worse at 0 when all the bits changeover from all 0's to all 1's (and 1's to all 0's) as the signal crosses through 0 and goes negative. This small current gets into the ground plane and corrupts the analogue signal, making the fundamental linearity worse - so a -120dB signal will now be say -119dB. These very small changes have the audible effect of confusing the brains ability to perceive depth of sound-stage. Depth of image is a hobby horse of mine, both from the listening POV and from the understanding POV (why is reproduced audio so bad at reproducing depth? what are the engineering factors?). Now I know that fundamental linearity is important to depth perception, but to what levels is it important, and are there other factors?

Anyhow, I digress. The Olimex will eliminate the LF noise currents. As to RF, it has a few pF of capacitive coupling, but optical will be perfect from this POV. But I think a few pF is good enough isolation. On my tests, I have a Olimex on the SD, and another USB card fed via optical. I can't hear a difference between them when the source is the same, so if you are hearing something, then I think perhaps something else is at play.

Rob

Hi Rob
Thanks for your reply. So can we just replace Olimex with optical, as the later can play hires to get the same quality of music?