[OK-Guy]

Fortis review of the Hugo-TT is up, bit of a comparison with the Hugo... enjoy...

 
link: http://www.head-fi.org/products/chord-hugo-tt/reviews/14019
 
may the force tour be with you...

 

[rkt31]

those so called yggdrasil vs Hugo reviews of previous Hugo owners surfaced rather suspiciously just after the release of yggdrasil. imho don't believe everything in those comparison. some users have already found TT version to be more natural than yggdrasil. I think Hugo tech is much more sophisticated than yggdrasil. mere use of multi bit dac and keeping bits intact does not mean it is better than Hugo. as already mentioned Hugo has big advantage in the form of digital preamp. with suitable power amp it is much more versatile and transparent than any other type of preamp whether passive or active.

 

[Raika]

you ruined my life I'm about to order yggy , now I read this ,huh
 
maybe it's better to wait and order Dave or Totaldac D1-Dual DAC .

 

[OK-Guy]

I'm not allowed to comment on rival products but unfortunately I have a confession to make (why do I feel as if I'm attending my first AA meeting)... I heard DAVE nine-months ago, there I said it.
 
Had a meeting with John & Edd at Chord today where we talked about DAVE, I told them how Rob let DAVE loose on my Sister & made her cry... now my Sister is not one for sob-stories or malingerers being a Nurse so reducing her to tears must of took something special especially when she has absolutely no interest in Hi-Fi... the track that undid it for her was by Al Green - For The Good Times, after about a couple of minutes listening to the track my Sister took off the headphones with tears just starting to run down her cheeks and said 'sorry Rob I've got to stop listening as you're making me cry, that is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard'... it was one of those rare profound moments that you really don't know what to say in reply.
 
if people ask me how good DAVE is I'll just say, it made my Sister cry so no doubt it'll be emotionally involving.

 

[rq1111]

Need advices on Chord Hugo. I just bought it yesterday and I connect it to my exposure 2010s2 cd player and amp. I realise the sound is worst than before which is sharp although more detail. I did not bypass the volume when i try. When I turn the volume too high on Hugo, the system sounds distorted so I turn the volume down. Do I need the Hugo to be burn in? How long do I need to burn in? Hope to hear opinions. Thanks!

 

[elviscaprice]

  you ruined my life I'm about to order yggy , now I read this ,huh
 
maybe it's better to wait and order Dave or Totaldac D1-Dual DAC . ​

 
At least your comparing apples to apples, not.  Maybe some grouping in price range / features would make sense or is your budget unlimited?

 

[elviscaprice]

Need advices on Chord Hugo. I just bought it yesterday and I connect it to my exposure 2010s2 cd player and amp. I realise the sound is worst than before which is sharp although more detail. I did not bypass the volume when i try 

A - Bypass what volume?  What are you talking about here?  You can't bypass the volume on the Hugo, you can only set the ouput level.

When I turn the volume too high on Hugo, the system sounds distorted so I turn the volume down.  

A - The Exposure is an integrated amp (not ideal with Hugo), so you need to send it a set voltage level from the Hugo, see paperwork on Exposure for ideal input level.   Search for color voltage output levels for Hugo in this thread.  Or if possible to bypass the preamp in the Exposure (more ideal), try this, then use Hugo as Pre-amp.

 Do I need the Hugo to be burn in?  A - Yes, would help.

How long do I need to burn in?  A - Plenty of opinions in this thread, do search.

 

 

[rq1111]

Thanks for the reply! elviscaprice.

I saw the preamp rca at the back of the amp so is it that rca which bypass the preamp?

I read some place about bypass the volume control by pressing the 2nd button and slide the on/off switch to on.

 

[zachawry]

I have been using my Hugo for a few days, and I love it. There are many good things you can say about the sound, but what sticks out to me is that it does something just magical with human voices. 
 
I left it unplugged and turned on overnight, and now it is completely out of batteries. All other batteried audio devices I have used go through basically no battery power when not playing music. Is the Hugo different? If it isn't plugged in, do you basically have to turn it off not to go through your battery quickly? 
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[elviscaprice]

Thanks for the reply! elviscaprice.

I saw the preamp rca at the back of the amp so is it that rca which bypass the preamp?

I read some place about bypass the volume control by pressing the 2nd button and slide the on/off switch to on.

 
Sorry rq1111, I don't know enough about that integrated amp.  Maybe someone else here will chime in, that does.  Better, just read the manual yourself about bypassing the pre-amp, if possible.  Otherwise you need to set the Hugo to output the optimal voltage to your integrated amp.

 

[elviscaprice]

  I have been using my Hugo for a few days, and I love it. There are many good things you can say about the sound, but what sticks out to me is that it does something just magical with human voices. 
 
I left it unplugged and turned on overnight, and now it is completely out of batteries. All other batteried audio devices I have used go through basically no battery power when not playing music. Is the Hugo different? If it isn't plugged in, do you basically have to turn it off not to go through your battery quickly? 
 
Thanks a lot!

 
I don't know of any battery that doesn't run low without charge, so yeah you need to turn it off if not being charged.  Good news is that it is recommended to keep the Hugo plugged in at all time when possible.

 

[Duncan]

Because it is "always on" (no standby mode) from the best of my limited knowledge of the internal workings, the power drain will be pretty much the same whether playing music or not...

 

[StryGR]

Yes. This is why charging LED inside never goes off...

 

[henkie196]

  I don't know of any battery that doesn't run low without charge, so yeah you need to turn it off if not being charged.  Good news is that it is recommended to keep the Hugo plugged in at all time when possible.

I suppose if they didn't build in any checks if any signal is being received, then it wouldn't switch off by itself, yes. It seems like a rather trivial thing to build in such a check, though, and surely it should be something that such an expensive DAC+amp should have, in my opinion. My stereo amplifier with DAC module is cheaper than the Hugo and can drive some pretty hard to drive speakers, and even it has an auto powerdown option when digital input is used and no signal is received for a certain amount of time.
 
I wouldn't call it good news that it is recommended to keep a portable device plugged in at all times. Why not just get a desktop DAC and amp, then? Why even bother with the battery?

 

[OK-Guy]

the Hugo is essentially a portable device and should be viewed as such in the first instance, hence the need for batteries... there is no other product on the market that has the flexibility of the Hugo to connect with almost any equipment, it really is the preverbal 'Swiss Army knife', hth.