[isquirrel]

  whats the price range of the TT

The TT is AUS $6,400 versus the Hugo at $2,200

 

[estreeter]

  Too true. I used be on a photography group where definitions of "travel camera" ranged from really compact to 8x10 rigs. Even a light field camera (say a Linhof Technika) comes in at 3kg, before film, tripod, bag, lens, meter....

 
I made the point in a recent thread on Audiokarma - bemoaning the acceptance of the iPod and other 'consumer junk' - that to those serious about photography the point-and-shoot digital camera I own would be seen in the same light, and people taking photos with their phones might as well delete the images as soon as they've taken them. We see the world through the prism of our own obsessions - a terrible metaphor but its the best I can do. I used to drive around in a heavily modified V8 wondering how people could bear to drive such 'boring' cars - now I cant understand how I spent so much on a gas guzzler ..... 

 

[Dobrescu George]

   
I made the point in a recent thread on Audiokarma - bemoaning the acceptance of the iPod and other 'consumer junk' - that to those serious about photography the point-and-shoot digital camera I own would be seen in the same light, and people taking photos with their phones might as well delete the images as soon as they've taken them. We see the world through the prism of our own obsessions - a terrible metaphor but its the best I can do. I used to drive around in a heavily modified V8 wondering how people could bear to drive such 'boring' cars - now I cant understand how I spent so much on a gas guzzler ..... 

i think that i totally agree with you... but this is the basic of life, everyone invests on what matters to them.. like, i want some of the best audio possible, i pay lots, and carry heavy stuff, but feel awesome, but as far as camera and photos go, i think that you really have to have something to make a photo of to have a great camera. and someone to see it. i mean, i would get into it, i already have a great camera, but whenever i get close to something worth taking a picture of, it is by accident, and i only have my phone. it has pretty great camera, somewhere near sgs4. i cannot complain, but i don't take lots of pictures either. i never understood why older phones, with say 1.3mp camera got better resolution and colors and etc than new phones with 10+mp cameras.
 
but back on to the thread, i consider that chord is a great company, and pushing the envelope is a great thing to do, it is the only way we will ever evolve, and i totally support it!

 

[Sam Edwards]

  any new gadget from chord coming out soon, that is portable ?

Did you hear about the Qute 2?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749582/chord-electronics-2qute-dac-announced

 

[ted_b]

Quote:

  any new gadget from chord coming out soon, that is portable ?

 
Quote:

  Did you hear about the Qute 2?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749582/chord-electronics-2qute-dac-announced

 
Two things:
1)  It is called the 2Qute
2) it is not portable (requires ac)

 

[Sam Edwards]

   
Two things:
1)  It is called the 2Qute
2) it is not portable (requires ac)

I bet there's a way to rig it to run off a battery pack...

 

[seeteeyou]

Yeah, that's the 12V/0.5A power source I had in mind. Quite transportable IMHO when we consider its size and this LPTECH YM04 could provide 20,000mAh from its LiPo
 

 

---

 
2Qute = 400g
YM04 = 510g
 
Awesome as a travel rig? They have a thicker/heavier model with 30,000mAh as well.

 

[Jalo]

In portable application, how do you connect the Hugo to an outside portable amp? Through the pair of RCA? Or using the headphone out? It is my understanding that it is the same signal for all the outputs. So it is true that there is no difference between the headphone out and the line out (RCA)? Has anyone tried to compare the various outputs? One more question, if using headphone as output, do you control the volume using the Hugo or the external amp? Thanks for helping.

 

[Sound Eq]

  Did you hear about the Qute 2?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749582/chord-electronics-2qute-dac-announced

is the qute operated by battery as well, and if yes
 
would u consider the following setup ideal for portable use
 
ipod---qute2--alo mk3---audeze lcd2

 

[isquirrel]

In portable application, how do you connect the Hugo to an outside portable amp? Through the pair of RCA? Or using the headphone out? It is my understanding that it is the same signal for all the outputs. So it is true that there is no difference between the headphone out and the line out (RCA)? Has anyone tried to compare the various outputs? One more question, if using headphone as output, do you control the volume using the Hugo or the external amp? Thanks for helping.

You connect it to an external amp through the RCA outputs, ideally set the volume to around the 2V mark, the following chart supplied by Rob Watts should assist. Use the external amp to control volume.
 

 

[isquirrel]

  is the qute operated by battery as well, and if yes
 
would u consider the following setup ideal for portable use
 
ipod---qute2--alo mk3---audeze lcd2

Don't believe the Qute is battery powered, otherwise the above setup should work nicely.

 

[ted_b]

No, as I stated only six posts up, neither the Qute HD, Qute EX (nor upcoming 2Qute) are battery powered.  They require plugging into ac power.

 

[eugenius]

I had a brief test with the Hugo and I liked it's sound but I still have some questions for Hugo owners:
 
1. Does it have on/off thump into speakers/headphones on power-up/power-down?
2. Does the volume control work without digital decimation at lower volume levels?
3. Can you leave it always plugged in without ruining the batteries?
4. What does a battery swap cost?
5. Does the crossfeed work only on the headphone output or it affects the RCA's too?
6. Output impedance for both RCA's and headphone outputs. Does it have different output impedance on some headphone outputs? - I looked in the manual and it only says the damping factor is >100 and they list the power into 8ohms so I presume it's under 0.08 ohms but I'd like to know the exact impedance.
7. Does the black version scratch easily?  How thick is the "black stuff" on it - is the case completely black or is it just lightly anodized?
8. In my apt-x bluetooth tests when I set the HTC One down, moved two meters and put my body between the Hugo and the One, sometimes the music cut out ... how's your experience with the bluetooth range and stability with your devices? Was this because of the Hugo or because of my phone? Do you always have a stable connection across the room if there's no blocking or minimal blocking (people passing)?
9. Can you adjust the volume separately for the RCA's and the headphone outs?
10. Do you have to take out the headphones to use the RCA's or can you use both?
 
That's about all I can think of right now ... thanks.

 

[Lannie]

Finally got round to buying a Hugo. I was not really surprised that I preferred the AK240 into the Hugo over the AK240 balanced into my Auralic Taurus Mk II.
However I was surprised that I preferred the AK240 into the Hugo, over my Linn Klimax DS balanced into the Auralic - really was blown away.
This is one amazing bit of kit!!!

 

[uzi2]

  I had a brief test with the Hugo and I liked it's sound but I still have some questions for Hugo owners:
 
1. Does it have on/off thump into speakers/headphones on power-up/power-down?
2. Does the volume control work without digital decimation at lower volume levels?
3. Can you leave it always plugged in without ruining the batteries?
4. What does a battery swap cost?
5. Does the crossfeed work only on the headphone output or it affects the RCA's too?
6. Output impedance for both RCA's and headphone outputs. Does it have different output impedance on some headphone outputs? - I looked in the manual and it only says the damping factor is >100 and they list the power into 8ohms so I presume it's under 0.08 ohms but I'd like to know the exact impedance.
7. Does the black version scratch easily?  How thick is the "black stuff" on it - is the case completely black or is it just lightly anodized?
8. In my apt-x bluetooth tests when I set the HTC One down, moved two meters and put my body between the Hugo and the One, sometimes the music cut out ... how's your experience with the bluetooth range and stability with your devices? Was this because of the Hugo or because of my phone? Do you always have a stable connection across the room if there's no blocking or minimal blocking (people passing)?
9. Can you adjust the volume separately for the RCA's and the headphone outs?
10. Do you have to take out the headphones to use the RCA's or can you use both?
 
That's about all I can think of right now ... thanks.

I can answer quite a few, but I think it best that you address your concerns directly to Chord.