[Duncan]

Who lives their lives by measurements anyway?

...except tailors, CAD users, ruler manufacturers...

Pah! You get my point though, if it sounds good, it is good...

 

[Currawong]

@Rob Watts  What is the USB connected to when you make those measurements? 

 

[Rob Watts]

Currawong - the USB used is actually the worst sounding source - my Dell T1650. This has the AP software too.
 
Duncan - measurements are very important as they are "objective" reality - if the instrument has enough precision of course. I don't do any listening tests until I get excellent measurement performance. But if you can measure an error you can probably hear it, but I have had countless times where I hear a clear and easily discernible difference but with absolutely no measurable difference. The ear/brain has incredible powers of resolution, way better than the performance of the ears would suggest based upon hearing thresholds.
 
Rob  

 

[TokenGesture]

Hi Rob - I met you at the Headroom show in London earlier in the year and told you I used a NOS Dac in my desktop system not the Hugo. You took it very well but expressed some surprise!  Well I can tell you I have now seen the error of my ways - the Hugo is now firmly ensconced as my primary DAC, desktop and portable !
 
I was using Optical but someone shoved my macbook and sheered off the cable tip, which is now lodged in the optical out port!  I'll try and get that fixed, but in the meantime I'm getting great results from USB with the addition of the Schiit Wyrd.

 

[StryGR]

So do I. The insertion of Wyrd brought new level of USB excitement in Hugo!

 

[mathi8vadhanan]

It is included in the new batch of Chord Hugo.

Ohh, so you didn't have to mod the stock cable, after all. @OK-Guy, is it possible to purchase this new short cable separately?

 

[OK-Guy]

  Ohh, so you didn't have to mod the stock cable, after all. @OK-Guy, is it possible to purchase this new short cable separately?

I'll ask tomorrow and get back to you, hth...

 

[rgs9200m]

About the Wyrd, any idea if I have a long USB cable (like 3 meters) from my computer to my Hugo if the Wyrd should be closer to the computer or the Hugo?
[A] Computer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------->Wyrd------>Hugo
or 
Computer----->Wyrd------------------------------------------------------------------------------>Hugo

 

[OK-Guy]

 
a little something while we await an answer... hard to resist...

 

[StryGR]

  About the Wyrd, any idea if I have a long USB cable (like 3 meters) from my computer to my Hugo if the Wyrd should be closer to the computer or the Hugo?
[A] Computer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------->Wyrd------>Hugo
or 
Computer----->Wyrd------------------------------------------------------------------------------>Hugo

Scenario A.
 
The signal is cleaner in the output of the Wyrd and we don't want to make it "dirty" again (shorter length, less prone to interference).

 

[AndrewOld]

  In tests conducted when Hugo was being developed, there was no significant difference in measurements from optical, coaxial or USB.
 
But recently in order to be able to test Dave, I purchased a Audio Precision APX555. This sets new standards in test equipment, being able to measure distortion at -150 dB with 2.5v RMS input.
 
So I thought I ought to re run the measurements:
 
Dynamic range (-60dB, ref full OP, Awt)
Optical:   -120.7 dB (l) -120.7 dB (r)
Coaxial:  -120.7 dB (l) -120.7 dB (r)
USB:      -120.7 dB (l) -120.7 dB (r)
 
All identical.
 
Using 3v RMS output THD and noise ref full OP A wt:
 
Optical:    -114.6 dB (l) -114.2 dB (r)
Coaxial:   -115.5 dB (l) -115.0 dB (r)
USB:       -115.5 dB (l) -115.4 dB (r)
 
Surprise in that the clearly better sounding optical (smoother much deeper sound stage) is slightly worse; this is possibly an AP ground issue.
 
On jitter using the J-test, I can resolve 500 fS of data related jitter - and I measured absolutely no jitter artifacts at all with all of the inputs.
 
Here is a stereo plot from the USB input using 24b 48k J-test, the -160dB noise floor equates to jitter of 500 femto S.
 

 
 So there is no significant measurement difference from the USB to the optical or coaxial inputs. And, Hugo has no measurable (its below 500 fS) source jitter artifacts on USB, optical or coaxial inputs.
 
Rob

 
Rob - Thank you for such a comprehensive reply. And such a good sounding (and measuring) DAC. I am swithering as to whether I should upgrade my Hugo to  a TT to feed my active ATCs, or wait for a DAVE .. 

 

[OK-Guy]

  @OK-Guy, is it possible to purchase this new short cable separately?

 
the answer is a big 'yes' but you will have to contact your local Chord Electronics distributor/dealer to get one, hth
 
link: http://www.chordelectronics.co.uk/retailers.asp
 
 
in other news... the Chord-Team are gearing-up for a busy month of shows in the UK & Europe, list below:-
 
Canjam – London
Dates: 29th & 30th August
 
Link: http://www.head-fi.org/t/762797/canjam-london-2015-is-official-august-29-30-2015
 
Audio Show East – Ipswich
Dates: 4th & 5th September
 
Link: http://www.signals.uk.com/audioshoweast201.html
 
National Audio Show – Whittlebury Hall (nr. Silverstone)
Dates: 19th & 20th September
 
Link: https://www.chestergroup.org/nationalaudioshow/2015
 
X-Fi Audio Show 2015 – Eindhoven (Holland)
Dates: 26th & 27th September
 
Link: http://x-fi-audioshow.nl/

 

[mathi8vadhanan]

   
the answer is a big 'yes' but you will have to contact your local Chord Electronics distributor/dealer to get one, hth
 
link: http://www.chordelectronics.co.uk/retailers.asp
 

Thanks, @OK-Guy. I just sent out an email to Bluebird, listed as your US retailer.

 

[OK-Guy]

  Thanks, @OK-Guy. I just sent out an email to Bluebird, listed as your US retailer.

 
Jay's a good guy, he'll sort you out no probs...

 

[phonomat]

Folks, I need help. I posted a while ago, looking for a headphone to pair with my brand new Hugo and was recommended the Fostex TH-900, which I subsequently acquired. So far, so good. Only problem is, erm, I don't really like what I hear.

And I'm afraid I have to say it's not so much the Fostex as the Hugo that doesn't really do it for me. I'm afraid I belong to the faction that perceives the Hugo as sounding relatively bright and lean, quite a bit too much so for my taste, to be frank. So, in short, I need something to beef things up. I like my sound to be very full-bodied and speaker-like, if that makes sense. And apparently, much more warm than I was aware of before I got the Hugo (so at least this has been a learning experience). The thing is, I desperately keep turning the volume up to get that sweet bass, going to insane volumes, but all I get are piercing highs that make me cringe. I really appreciate what Hugo brings to the table, the soundstage is nice, it sounds very clear, crisp and detailed, but that blanket of bass that I like to wrap myself in is just missing.
 
I think you can see where this is heading: I would be immensely grateful if any of you could recommend a portable amp with ample bass boost that I can use with Hugo as a DAC on the go. I'm hesitant to sell the Hugo just yet. When I have the amp, I will compare how it sounds with and without Hugo and sell th Hugo off if the difference is not noticeable enough to justify keeping both. Perhaps a noob like me owning such a refined device is just pearl before swine.
 
I know something like this is hard to quantify, but how detrimental would the effect of adding something like the Zo FS to the chain be on overall SQ? I know that this kind of thing is frowned upon by some, but I just have to pursue the sound signature that is right for me. Hell, at this point I would even give the Digizoid Zo a go. To be honest, I was kind of excited when I heard that it has treble adjust as well as bass boost, but sobered up quickly upon learing that both just go in the + direction. An amp that can actually add bass and subtract treble would be my dream. Is there such a thing, or am I chasing shadows? Alternatively, I would just settle for an amp with a very warm, analog-sounding signature (and the fattest bass boost on the planet) to balance things out for me.
 
tl;dr: I need OOOOOOOOOOMPH!

As much of it as I can get.
 
I really hope you guys can help me, I'm a sad little monkey right now.