[Zoop]

Hi all,
 
Im about the pull the trigger on the hugo. I have a oppo 105, what's the best way to get the most out of a blu-ray track? coax to hugo? i guess there is no way of connecting the usb from oppo to hugo (i mean physically i can, but the oppo usb is not designed for audio output, right?)
 
i read on some devices have better coax than optical output/input, vice versa. has any one tested the differences between optical and coax on hugo?
 
Thanks!

 

[kawaivpc1]

What do you guys use with Chord Hugo??
Does it work with HTC M8 cellphone?

 

[estreeter]

  Hi all,
 
Im about the pull the trigger on the hugo. I have a oppo 105, what's the best way to get the most out of a blu-ray track? coax to hugo? i guess there is no way of connecting the usb from oppo to hugo (i mean physically i can, but the oppo usb is not designed for audio output, right?)
 
i read on some devices have better coax than optical output/input, vice versa. has any one tested the differences between optical and coax on hugo?
 
Thanks!

 
I own the 105D - your only choices for outputting audio from the Oppo to the Hugo are optical and coaxial - it's not a computer in the sense that your laptop is. I dont think I've ever hooked the Hugo up to my Oppo but I have hooked the Hugo up to my Marantz SA-14S1 via coax and optical - of the two, i prefer the coax connection for the reasons outlined in the two or three posts above. I consider the DACs in the Oppo to be more than capable of rendering any BD audio I know of - the Hugo may not be your best choice if that's your primary use case. FWIW, even the Bluetooth connection from an iPAD blows minds when you can pass the iPAD to someone who have never experienced well implemented Bluetooth before - the look on their faces when they realise that what they're hearing is completely wireless is a Kodak moment  

 

[seeteeyou]

Loving this free software for Windows with fantastic SQ
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/657920/mqn-minimalist-wasapi-wav-c-memory-player-integrated-with-foobar2000/30#post_9832280
 
Another owner of Hugo also posted @ Tír Na HiFi and the ID should be cvrle59
 
http://www.head-fi.org/u/366893/cvrle59

 

[rayleemw]

More time with the Hugo and some comparison with what I heard and what I had - especially addressing the bright sounding of the vocal or the upper range.  
 
I believe AL was the one who first stated the bright vocal sounding of the hugo, and I believe he has some DACs costing a lot more than the Hugo - one of which is the Lampi big 7 and I believe he has made a point it is a better desktop DAC.  I had a chance to listen to that, as well as made comparison with other DACs, the Oppo 105, and NAD M51.  Also a few others friends bring over to test previously.
 
To put it simply, the Hugo's vocal is not bright, the word I would use is that it is more forward compared to the tube DAC Lampi B7.  It sounds like the singer is closer to you, but not sharper in tone.  Comparing the Hugo with other DACs (Oppo 105, NAD M51, and a burr brown), the vocal is comparable in terms of position.  
 
Is the Lampi B7 better in that regard?  I believe so - the vocal is staged a little more relaxed and gave a more musical sense and less fatiguing (note: LESS fatiguing not suggesting Hugo is fatiguing to listen to.)  The magic is the voices are just as clear as the Hugo - the Lamp has a rare talent to have the vocals relaxed yet crystal clear. 
 
However the Lampi is not an all out winner to me - I listen to it with all kinds of music, and one characteristic really stood out on the Lampi:  the base and dynamic impact is quite recessed, compared to all other DACs.  I would call it an n shape (or inverted U) but without the high frequency taking a hit.  Just the bottom part.  For some genie with such a musical vocal presentation and details the Lampi is magical and hard to forget.  However with some other music you won't be tapping your foot like you do with the Hugo.  There are other things the Lampi is a little better, such as the sound of piano, I haven't heard anything so good.  I'll leave that to another thread.
 
Now the good part of the Hugo - it really brings out details like no other DACs.  A pair of good headphones would be immediately apparent.  Instruments are distinctive, yet it is not analytical.  It is this layers of music that make this DAC standout and distinctive.  I'm listening to all my old favorites like new.
 
I'm lucky where I live I can bring the Hugo to demo virtually all the best headphones of most brands side by side.  The Hugo has adequate power to drive most but with some a headphone amp seems to add much more life to it.  With easy to drive headphones like the TH900 the Hugo is just awesome by itself, truly a great match together that is hard to put down.  Once you put down you can't forget the sound and wants to go back to it.  As for external amp I'll have more comments once I investigate further, my plan is to compare the Bakoon, HVD800 with HE6 and HD800 in the future.
 
Enjoy!

 

[efftee]

  To put it simply, the Hugo's vocal is not bright, the word I would use is that it is more forward compared to the tube DAC Lampi B7.  It sounds like the singer is closer to you, but not sharper in tone.

 
I happen to also think the Hugo, great as it is, is a little bright, especially with vocals.

 

[rayleemw]

I guess when I compared to all the other DACs I have, they all sound similarly forward. or bright as u may call it.

 

[estreeter]

I agree that the Hugo is more forward than bright - if you want bright, buy a CA CDP and we'll compare notes
 
One of the most consistent observations made on the Amazon customer reviews for the 2014 Springsteen remasters is that 'this is one case where brighter is a good thing' and I absolutely agree - we need to stop automatically associating the term with shrill or edgy sound : if that's the way it was recorded, bright gear will definitely bring that out. I find a  lot of 80s synth-pop falls into this category and some of the one-hit wonders from that era were similarly painful. Take The Knack's My Sharona - preferably as far from my eardrums as possible  

 

[rkt31]

Hi all,

Im about the pull the trigger on the hugo. I have a oppo 105, what's the best way to get the most out of a blu-ray track? coax to hugo? i guess there is no way of connecting the usb from oppo to hugo (i mean physically i can, but the oppo usb is not designed for audio output, right?)

i read on some devices have better coax than optical output/input, vice versa. has any one tested the differences between optical and coax on hugo?

Thanks!

hi, I use Hugo with pioneer bdp 160. though its lot cheaper than oppo . for watching movies in 2 channel I use coaxial out to Hugo. bds have in built limitation of 48khz in stereo downmixing. even a DTS hd ma track will be only 48khz in stereo downmix mode. but Hugo is so good you don't really miss multi channel sound. I watched captain america -winter soldier bd through Hugo. attack on nick fury's SUV scene is probably the best action sequence you will ever experience, Hugo is so adept at presenting the dynamics, precise imaging and without any brightness at all. also with movies I have not experienced any delay in audio.

 

[rkt31]

What do you guys use with Chord Hugo??
Does it work with HTC M8 cellphone?

hi, I have used Hugo with pioneer bdp 160 through coaxial out. pioneer bdp plays flac, wav and ape up to 24bit 192khz and outputs through coaxial. I have also used windows tab with foobar and redmi s1 android phone with usb audio player pro. there are very subtle differences between each source. bdp through coaxial sounds slightly constricted as compared to tab and android. the best sounding source to my ear is android with USB audio player pro. android phone with uapp sounds a bit wider and with more insight. with ur HTC first try trial version of uapp. if it recognizes ur DAC and plays the songs buy the full version. uapp costs $10 on Google play. uapp even plays DSD files through dop protocol. for DSD files no change in setting is required in uapp. it by default send data in dop , though showing both DAC and file as 176400 hz. sample rate light in Hugo is white indicating DSD.

 

[kawaivpc1]

hi, I have used Hugo with pioneer bdp 160 through coaxial out. pioneer bdp plays flac, wav and ape up to 24bit 192khz and outputs through coaxial. I have also used windows tab with foobar and redmi s1 android phone with usb audio player pro. there are very subtle differences between each source. bdp through coaxial sounds slightly constricted as compared to tab and android. the best sounding source to my ear is android with USB audio player pro. android phone with uapp sounds a bit wider and with more insight. with ur HTC first try trial version of uapp. if it recognizes ur DAC and plays the songs buy the full version. uapp costs $10 on Google play. uapp even plays DSD files through dop protocol. for DSD files no change in setting is required in uapp. it by default send data in dop , though showing both DAC and file as 176400 hz. sample rate light in Hugo is white indicating DSD.

Thanks. I want to know if you can use USB connection for this.
Can anyone confirm if Chord Hugo works fine with HTC M8 Android cellphone.
HTC M9 is coming soon. I want to use Chord Hugo with M9.

 

[Duncan]

Thanks. I want to know if you can use USB connection for this.
Can anyone confirm if Chord Hugo works fine with HTC M8 Android cellphone.
HTC M9 is coming soon. I want to use Chord Hugo with M9.

Principally the Hugo (or any self powered* DAC that accepts USB input) will work with any Android device, but you may need an app (UAPP being most commonly used) to act as a middleman... Some occasional devices allow native use...

*There are 'some' DACs that are USB powered that work with cellphones but depends on the phone itself (how much power it allows the DAC to draw)...

ALL will work with the Hugo via Bluetooth, but - this is definitely a compromised solution.

 

[rkt31]

usb of bdp can't be used directly into hugo. use a usb stick in bdp and set the coaxial out of bdp as pcm. a bdp is a very decent transport for hugo as i also use my pioneer bdp for playing flac rips of cd and even high resolution flac upto 24 bit 192 khz.

 

[Sarjeb]

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but will the heir 8.A's 90 degree angle plug fit into the Hugo? Thanks in advance.

 

[katulu]

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but will the heir 8.A's 90 degree angle plug fit into the Hugo? Thanks in advance.

 
 
I have the Magnus cable and yes, the Neutrik angled plug will fit fine. Word to the wise though: I have found that if using the Bluetooth connection from my phone to Hugo, interference is very audible on the 3.5" slots, the sound is fine if using HD USB connection from phone to Hugo. So I wouldn't use the Bluetooth if using the 8.As.