Thought I would input my "noob" review of the Chord Hugo with my pair of HD800 against:
WA7 (DAC is very poor. Sound Quality is not smooth)
WA7+ODAC
WA7+Hugo
JDS Lab C5+ODAC (not even in the same league)
*WARNING: I'm very new to the whole audiophile terminology so I may not be able to convey the correct words and feelings I had when I describe the sound quality for the pairing above
The Chord Hugo is by far, the best preamp device out of all of the ones listed above. With the HD800, it has better sound quality in all department and it has tamed/controled the treble/brightness flaws the HD800 has. The Hugo has transformed the HD800 to be more musical; I found myself loving this kind of signature for a variety of genres across the board. The bass is a lot more present and tighter as well and the music founds a lot more "fun" and engaging to me.
Here is a list of songs that I listen to for comparison:
Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony - Videogame Music
Faye Wong - Eyes on Me - Videogame Music
"Hachimitsu Doki" (ハチミツ時間(どき lit. Honey Time?), sung by Ai Kayano - Anime Music
Yoko Kanno - Kiseki no Umi - Anime Music
Utada Hikaru - Sakura Nagashi - Anime Music
Bloc Party - Skeleton - Rock
Staind - It's Been Awhile (acoustic) - Rock
C'est de L'amour Mix by Klearskies from mixsound (R&B/upbeat)
Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing - EDM
So this review will be:
Chord Hugo vs. WA7+ODAC
Chord Hugo vs WA7+Hugo
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Chord Hugo Vs. WA7+ODAC
The WA7+ODAC pairing was very analytical. The pair didn't really have much life to it and wasn't very musical compared to the Hugo. Separation, bass, transparency, mids, upper-mids, treble, soundstage, etc... were all superior with the Chord Hugo. The Hugo made the music more alive and fun to listen. The only thing I really liked about the WA7+ODAC pairing was the vocals. The vocals were very crisp and "angelic." However, the treble issues with that pairing was very painful to hear sometimes when the vocals would emphasize the "s" and "hiss" sounds. I found that the Hugo was able to tame and control these sounds while maintaining a very engaging and listening experience.
A quick rundown for the music above:
Videogames - Chord Hugo had better separation and instruments were fun to listen to individually
Anime - Musical was engaging whereas with the WA7+ODAC pairing, the instruments sounded lifeless other than the vocals, although sometimes, parts of anime songs can be harsh in the treble area.
Rock - Bass, cymbals, drums were lacking with the WA7+ODAC. Chord Hugo made these sound very present and tight.
R&B - I actually liked the WA7+ODAC pairing on this one, especially the vocals. The vocals wasn't harsh due to the style of the genre. The upbeat was a lot of fun to listen to because of how the sound manages to get me inolved with the beat. The Chord Hugo does this well but I couldn't really placed my finger where and why exactly I enjoyed the WA7+ODAC better for this.
EDM - Chord Hugo wins this hands down. The electric sound and bass were strong. I definitely heard a lot more "OOMPH" with the Hugo than the WA7+ODAC pairing
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Chord Hugo Vs. WA7+Hugo
This pairing was very close in sound quality. Both pairing sounded almost identical, in fact, if I did a blind test with this pairing, I don't think I would be able to get a 100% correctly which pairing was which. BUT, if I had to guess and really concentrate on my listening, I felt the WA7+Hugo was the better pairing. What I liked about the WA7+Hugo the most is that the sound was a bit more controlled than the Hugo. With the Hugo, I felt the sound was a bit more forced and pushed in sound and that the WA7+Hugo had better extension in the highs.
Separation was slightly better as well. Songs that had a lot of instruments interacting with each other sounded better with the WA7+Hugo than the Hugo. With the Hugo, I felt that all the instruments were standing out with each other whereas with the WA7+Hugo pairing, the instruments had better synergy and would make one pair of instruments stand out more at one point into the song.
A quick rundown for the music:
Videogames - Beautiful sound and impactful for both pairing.
Anime - Vocals extended better with the WA7+Hugo when a lot of things were going on
Rock - mid/low/bass sounded a bit too energetic with the Hugo. The WA7+Hugo pairing felt like it had more control
R&B - Both sounded about the same
EDM - Chord Hugo sounded better. Had more "OOMPH" than the WA7+Hugo
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Conclusion:
The Chord Hugo is definitely something worth owning. Even though I would choose the WA7+Hugo pairing SLIGHTLY over the Hugo, the fact that the Hugo can do so many things for its size. I love how its easily transportable from one room to another room; or when I want to take it with me to my friend's place or to work. The main thing I really like about the WA7+Hugo pairing is how easily it is to control the sound and volume with it. I personally don't like the volume control of the Hugo; it feels very stiff and it's sometimes hard to get the correct volume level I want with it.
However, there are a couple of essentials I will be getting in the next couple months:
WA7tp PSU
Toxic Cables (silver widow, Copper Venom, Black widow)
and moon audio USB cable
I feel these extra accessories will truly complete my audio gear and expect great changes to both the WA7 and Chord Hugo
Edit: I apologize for any bad grammar in this post, I didn't do any revision and wrote this "noob" review on how I was feeling at the time.