Hm, wouldn't the source technically be the Hugo itself? But I have it connected via USB to my Sony Vaio laptop (and I'm ashamed to say that I almost prefer the sound of the laptop directly powering my 'phones as compared to Hugo.The Hugo sounds more detailed and spacier, but quite a bit hinner, brighter, less bassy to me -- at least that is the case with my Ultrasone Pro 900s, the Fostex jack doesn't fit into the Vaio's headphone out, so I haven't tried). Same with my Sony ZX-1, can't plug the Fostex in there, but from memory I think that I had the same impression with the Ultrasone. The highs on the Hugo just seem to somehow increase way more than the bass with high volumes.
I seem to remember, incidentally, that there were others that described that phenomenon (audionewbie and hykhleif come to mind), so I'm not sure it's not the Hugo. Perhaps it's just the fact that the synergy is not my thing. That damn treble is just sooo hot! And I don't mean that in a good way. It would be interesting if others could chime that have had a similar experience.
Edit: I'm just listening to some vinyl rips I made myself, and things actually improve a bit; the sound is warmer, fuller, a little darker, all in all a bit more to my liking. The lower end improves, but still I can't dispose of that overly upfront treble.
USB and any other digital output will output the signal as provided by foobar, hence equalized.
Count yourself lucky that nowadays tone controls can be done in the digital domain – without any signal-degrading analogue electronics components in the signal path!
Very illustrative (your preferences)!
thou can only assume that one likes a bit of bloat to their music...
All joking aside, I actually think this is an important point: I have somehow gotten it in my head that the Hugo is straining to give my the sheer POWER that I am after. I really need to have the feeling that my amp is infinitely more powerful than my headphones, that there is a bottomless pit of sound that I dive into and lose myself in when I fire my gear up. I cannot say how much of this is psychological. It would be interesting if I would hear the Hugo differently if it was a larger unit, but I somehow doubt it. The thing is, I need the transportability, because I work at home and move from my desk to the living room to the balcony to the garden all the time. So I need a monster, but one that follows me around willingly.
Perhaps it might help to put basic principles aside and be more specific. Has anyone ever added a Headstage Arrow, a VorzAmp Duo or a Digizoid Zo FS to the chain and not run away screaming? If so, I dare you to speak up.
All joking aside, I actually think this is an important point: I have somehow gotten it in my head that the Hugo is straining to give my the sheer POWER that I am after. I really need to have the feeling that my amp is infinitely more powerful than my headphones, that there is a bottomless pit of sound that I dive into and lose myself in when I fire my gear up. I cannot say how much of this is psychological. It would be interesting if I would hear the Hugo differently if it was a larger unit, but I somehow doubt it. The thing is, I need the transportability, because I work at home and move from my desk to the living room to the balcony to the garden all the time. So I need a monster, but one that follows me around willingly.
Perhaps it might help to put basic principles aside and be more specific. Has anyone ever added a Headstage Arrow, a VorzAmp Duo or a Digizoid Zo FS to the chain and not run away screaming? If so, I dare you to speak up.
