[headfirocks]

After more listening, that Amazon Toslink cable I linked to before does not sound as good as the stock Toslink cable.  I'm going to try a SysConcept Toslink cable next.

 

[Frank I]

see the hugo in DC this weekend at the CanMania- Noble booth will have a few and there will be mine in the meet on Saturday.  

 

[headfirocks]

I'm trying to find the best set of headphones for use with the Hugo without an amp.  I have the AKG K812 and LCD-X and they're both sounding good and still burning in.  Are there any others I should consider?  People seem to agree that the HD800 needs an amp.

 

[kkcc]

  Yes, as has been reported here multiple times, the volume bypass is a misnomer.  It is simply a preset, set to 3V, so Rob could a/b with the Qute series when testing.  Me, I have to turn it down slightly more to get to 2V, the max voltage for my Concert Fidelity preamp. 

 
 
This.  I also am using solid purple instead of the preset Qute volume when feeding Hugo to my WA22 or NFB28.

 

[SleepyOne]

I thought the "pre-set" is set at 2V?

 

[V3ng3anc3]

Hello all,
 
I just got my Chord Hugo a couple of weeks ago. On the topic of the Hugo being fatiguing, I did not find that to be the case. I paired my Grado 325is with the Hugo and actually found it to be very listenable. Normally I can only handle the brightness for an hour or two before it's too much. With the Hugo, I was able to happily listen for much longer with no fatigue. IMO, I thought the Grado had very good synergy with the Hugo.

  does anyone hear listen to chord using the audeze lcd2 rev2 whats your impression, is that the best you can get from an amp/dac to drive the audeze lcd2 rev2

 
I thought the Hugo with my lcd2 rev2 sounded great, significantly better than my previous dacs (sorry I don't feel confident enough to give detailed impressions). But IMO, I liked the Hugo better with the HD800 which is definitely going to be my next purchase. The Hugo is able to drive both the HD800 and lcd2 with no complaints from me, although when I auditioned the hugo>hdva600>balanced HD800 it did sound noticeably better. It was even able to drive the HE-6 with sufficient volume, which I briefly tried at the SF Head-fi meet. It sounded good, but I have never heard the HE-6 driven by a dedicated amp and that was my first time listening to that headphone. The volume for the HE-6 was set to blue whereas I normally listen at red/green.

 

[ted_b]

  I thought the "pre-set" is set at 2V?

So did I, and then I asked Rob more than once (why? cuz all documentation says both the Qute is 2V and the Hugo preset is 2V).  But he kept coming back with 3V on both, and we should assume he's right. 

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Not sure who agrees with me. But the Hugo does the LCD and hd800 fine to me.
If I change the amps thee us a change but it's small and can be attributed to the amps sound
Not the Hugo.
Al

 

[frankrondaniel]

I'm in the camp of the Hugo sounding somewhat bright to me with my HD800's.  I definitely get "fatigued" after a while.  In comparison, the HD800's with my Exasound E28 sound smoother and more forgiving in the highs without losing resolution.

 

[deadie]

Having owned / listened to the Hugo and HD800 for a few months now, I believe that they're not an ideal synergistic 1:1 match.  The HD800 absolutely needs more umph and warmth to drive it to its potential.  
 
And so, while an amp might slightly color Hugo's SQ, I've come to accept and enjoy the benefits of a powerful amp such as the Aurelic Taurus or the headphone output of my McIntosh MC2205 specifically for the HD800.  
 
The LCD-X is much more enjoyable straight out of the Hugo, and while it does scale up when used with an amp, it's not as *needed* as with the HD800.  
 
UERM + Hugo?  Awesome.  The Centrance M8 boosts the UERM's bass, sound is a bit more forward and shouty.  The UERM's musicality and synergy with the Hugo is ideal.

 

[third_eye]

  Having owned / listened to the Hugo and HD800 for a few months now, I believe that they're not an ideal synergistic 1:1 match.  The HD800 absolutely needs more umph and warmth to drive it to its potential.  
 
And so, while an amp might slightly color Hugo's SQ, I've come to accept and enjoy the benefits of a powerful amp such as the Aurelic Taurus or the headphone output of my McIntosh MC2205 specifically for the HD800.  
 
The LCD-X is much more enjoyable straight out of the Hugo, and while it does scale up when used with an amp, it's not as *needed* as with the HD800.  
 
UERM + Hugo?  Awesome.  The Centrance M8 boosts the UERM's bass, sound is a bit more forward and shouty.  The UERM's musicality and synergy with the Hugo is ideal.

 
I agree with this. The Hugo + UERM has some very special synergy going on. While the HD800 sounds very good directly out of the Hugo, I prefer it driven by the solid state m903 or by the Stratus.

 

[holeout]

  I never turn off digital gear, ever.  If you have to, then give them 48 hours for the clocks to settle in. Seriously.
 

In total agreement here. I very seldom turn off my home digital gear unless I leave for more then 3 days or testing different gear. With the Hugo on the go is a different story.

 

[headfirocks]

Here's an interesting one.  I'm getting 24/192 with the standard included Toslink cable with no dropouts or static at all.  I'm using an iFi iLink between the Hugo and computer.  My included Toslink cable is Toslink on both ends.

 

[Sound Eq]

so which headphone  gives a nice bass with hugo 

 

[third_eye]

  so which headphone  gives a nice bass with hugo 

LCD's, TH900, HE560, among others