[dallan]

It's already done Sam, coming Wednesday or Thursday. it's all good.

 

[Sam Edwards]

Enjoy @dallan!

 

[alcyst]

Thanks Mate,
I'm aware of this function - I think Rob mentioned it basically sets the output level to 3v - which matches the Chord cute(?) - he used it in tests when developing the Hugo.

I'm not sure it's such a good idea to output 3v into a poweramp - the volume would be huge and to make it listenable I'll need to set JRMC to perhaps 10 (out of 100) and that would be a serious hit dynamic range - wise...

It's probably somewhere between 0.5v-2v - any feedback or ideas are welcome!

Good point. Now that you mention it a lot of DACs put out a lot more than 2V. A PSAudio outputs 2.8v which is a bit hot for some amps, I run it at 75%.

 

[katulu]

 
 
Last photo from Chord at CES - Hugo & Heir 8.0's

 
Awesome! I'm having my 8.0s reshelled into customs, so I can't WAIT until I can hear this pairing.

 

[katulu]

   
I definitely appreciate your input! As I had said before, I agreed with your assessment of the HD800. And as a matter of fact, I did just come back from an experiment - went to Best Buy to try the HD800 out of a full size receiver, compared to Hugo.
 
The chain was:
 
GS5-> Neutron MP->HDMI converter+HDMI cable->Receiver->HD800
 
vs
 
GS5-> Neutron MP->usb OTG cable->Hugo->HD800
 
(no EQ on either)
 
And whether it was the power, or the coloration, the HD800 sounded DEFINITELY fuller and more powerful in bass with the full-size receiver (I'll edit this with what model later, I think it was a $1K Pioneer Elite) vs the Hugo. Note that my HD800 also have Norne Draug cable which increases bass a little vs stock cable, as well.
 
So the rest of my experiment should be to inform myself as to what full receiver I consider neutral, or comparable to the Hugo (using easier to drive headphones), and then test see if I get consistent results of improved sound out of my HD800. Then I can attribute it to power and not coloration.

 
 
Ok, so I went back to perform an experiment to confirm if the added bass I heard on my HD800 from a Denon receiver vs a Hugo, was in fact, due to coloration or "power."
 
I tried my HD598 (50 Ohm), SZ2000 (16 Ohm), XBA-H3 (40 Ohm) , HD800 (300 Ohm) with both amps.
 
In all cases, there was added bass from the receiver as compared to the Hugo, which speaks of coloration... EXCEPT the XBA-H3. With the XBA-H3, there was *definitely* more bass through the Hugo. ????  I did not expect that, I thought the coloration relative to the Hugo would apply to all the headphones. So something is going on here which is beyond my ability to explain. Wish I'd brought my TF10s as well.

 

[alcyst]

Just to report, I got the "white light of DSD" with modest effort using my MS Surface Pro 3. Used JRiver as a client for music on my NAS and was able to play 2x DSD with no drama.  I used USB.

 

[JaZZ]

  Ok, so I went back to perform an experiment to confirm if the added bass I heard on my HD800 from a Denon receiver vs a Hugo, was in fact, due to coloration or "power."
 
I tried my HD598 (50 Ohm), SZ2000 (16 Ohm), XBA-H3 (40 Ohm) , HD800 (300 Ohm) with both amps.
 
In all cases, there was added bass from the receiver as compared to the Hugo, which speaks of coloration... EXCEPT the XBA-H3. With the XBA-H3, there was *definitely* more bass through the Hugo. ????  I did not expect that, I thought the coloration relative to the Hugo would apply to all the headphones. So something is going on here which is beyond my ability to explain. Wish I'd brought my TF10s as well.

 
That's most likely an effect of high output impedance (of the receiver's headphone output). Most dynamic headphones have an impedance peak in the bass, therefore a serial resistance will cause a hump in fequency response there.
 

 
The Sony XBA-H3, in contrast, has peaks in the treble – that's why it will sound thinner with a serial resistance.

 

[Whazzzup]

Is there anyone had experience using Sony Media Go with the Hugo as I am encountering a strange problem which is perplexing and can not determine if it is the software or the Hugo.
Thought i had it pinned down to the Media Go software but not so sure now....

System is a Win 8.1 laptop with I5 processor and 4gb memory if this helps. 

[SIZE=12.8000001907349px]Started to get intermittent sound break up which can hear music still playing in background but get this loud digital distortion or like a electric amplified noise pass through and then actual bad break up of the music.  The strange thing is it does not happen at all when using with WMP with WAV files used.  I am using Flac files with Media Go and after WMP was playing back ok pointed towards the Media Go software.  But the big contradiction is I've noticed it happen when I touch the USB cable at the Hugo end it sets it off even worse into a fit of sound break ups.[/SIZE]
 

I have tried a lot of process of elimination in terms of trying different USB cables, re-checking Media Go settings, Uninstalling Media GO then Re-install and same for the Hugo Win driver.
Tried different USB ports - same result.  All Flac music are cd rips which all play back fine through laptop speakers and my Walkman they are transferred to.  Again my Walkman works fine through the Hugo usb port with no issues. Also for clarification it is the HD USB port on Hugo it is going through.  

Another strange thing I have noticed i thought had also changed is when Hugo is via USB I still have control of the volume on the laptops master volume and through the Media Go volume bar also which I thought should be disabled if it was bypassing the laptops sound card as I am pretty sure I could not change the volume before from laptop when Hugo's plugged in. This also is the case with WMP in use which does not happen to.  Another thing I cannot select in Media Go settings is in a drop down box the option to use Hugo as an Asio device which is blanked out as if it does not register the Hugo is one so just states it as windows sound as default. 

Cannot remember how the USB sockets are when new but they both Hugo usb sockets seem to have some play no matter what usb cable is attached, again for clarification have always never been heavy handed or brutish with plugging & unplugging of the USB on the Hugo as it always was a concern for me the way they looked anyway so have always tried to apply caution with them.   

So, perplexed as it happens with one program and not the other but clearly with the Media Go  touching the usb cable near the Hugo end set's it off even worse although it will do it on its own accord at totally random intervals and length of duration when it is happening.  

Is it something simple I'm missing here or has anyone experienced the above themselves which can be resolved easy enough (hoping so!) 

Never used to have this problem so makes it even more strange.  Thought i'd ask on here first just in case it was a simple fix or solution from someone who might of come by this already before embarrassing myself asking the chaps at Chord. 

Please do contact chord, they have some issues involving both usb micro ports, especially with the connectors they supply. I resently acquired a hugo and when you touched the usb from side to side action, cut out and interference. Now I can't speak to the type of files, but I contacted the distributor and got a swap out replacement. I did find with both models that certain usb cables fit more snugly and the problem solved. My new chord seems a bit better with the usb micro connectors supplied but still some wiggle. It's a shame that such a quality product has some tolerence issues with the ports and supplies cables that are not proper for it. It's really a marketing mistake to say to the consumer, keep buying cables till one fits, especially short 6 inch cables that are hard to find. Course if we had different players one could use opticle inputs and bypass the problem.
In short I don't have a problem now, but you need new cables that provide a snug fit and this should solve the problem. I think chord needs to address this in a portable device that needs to handle some strain on its conections even with delicate considerations. It's a wonderful sound otherwise and very happy with it, but chord needs to know.

 

[rkt31]

Thanks Sam,

I'm not sure I agree with your assessment, please see this part form Jriver forums:

If you're reproducing 16-bit music on a 24-bit (or 32-bit) DAC, the "performance" of the volume control is entirely irrelevant unless it compromises the 96dB envelope of the original recording.  Put another way, even if you lose 40dB of dynamic range using the digital volume control on a 24-bit DAC, you still have 104dB of dynamic range, which is more than the source material.  Because there is no dynamic range to "lose," the performance of the volume control is a red herring.  With 24-bit music you may be discarding some very quiet bits, but whether bits that are effectively beyond the dynamic range of human hearing (outside of a lab) are important or not is something each of us will have to decide for ourselves.

(source here)

- Basically because Jriver is doing it's 'thing' at 64bit - and the Hugo is 32Bit - even if you use 20% of the volume most of the bits are there... I think, I wonder what Rob has to say about this.

For me it's unpractical to disable volume as I sit far from the Hugo and like the fine control of the Jremote app. I did compare the two options (full volume in Jriver, tiny volume on the Hugo and Low volume in Jriver (40) and higher (around 1V) out put from the Hugo) and the later, I think sounds better.

PS
I'm using Toslink to connect the PC to the Hugo - ASIO drivers and most of my content is red book though some higher res stuff too.

as far as I know Hugo has 64 bit volume control. IMHO feeding unaltered digital output from foobar via Hugo asio is cleaner than jrmc. I have compared both.

 

[ubs28]

After a few seconds when I turn on the Chord Hugo, I hear a click. Is this normal?

 

[FortisFlyer75]

  After a few seconds when I turn on the Chord Hugo, I hear a click. Is this normal?

If it is a loud audible click from inside the Hugo you can hear after about 3 seconds and not through the headphones then yes I have always had that click sound when turning on, must be something like a relay switching as part of the start up procedure?  ...normal I think.

 

[jedx02]

Sorry to vary from the dominant topic but, does anyone know why there is such a huge price difference for the Chord Hugo between the US and Europe?  The US price is $2495 through its authorized distributor.  The UK price is £1,400 which at current exchange rates equals $2,117.22 .  The Dutch price is € 1.679,00 which at current exchange rates equals $1,979.36. I understand that there may be a little add on for exported products but these prices seem all over the place.  

 

[uzi2]

  Sorry to vary from the dominant topic but, does anyone know why there is such a huge price difference for the Chord Hugo between the US and Europe?  The US price is $2495 through its authorized distributor.  The UK price is £1,400 which at current exchange rates equals $2,117.22 .  The Dutch price is € 1.679,00 which at current exchange rates equals $1,979.36. I understand that there may be a little add on for exported products but these prices seem all over the place.  

Have you factored in the different tax rates?
Is there an import duty for US?

 

[ubs28]

  If it is a loud audible click from inside the Hugo you can hear after about 3 seconds and not through the headphones then yes I have always had that click sound when turning on, must be something like a relay switching as part of the start up procedure?  ...normal I think.

Yes, it's from inside after approximately 3 seconds. I suppose it's normal if other people also have it. 

 

[FortisFlyer75]

Please do contact chord, they have some issues involving both usb micro ports, especially with the connectors they supply. I resently acquired a hugo and when you touched the usb from side to side action, cut out and interference. Now I can't speak to the type of files, but I contacted the distributor and got a swap out replacement. I did find with both models that certain usb cables fit more snugly and the problem solved. My new chord seems a bit better with the usb micro connectors supplied but still some wiggle. It's a shame that such a quality product has some tolerence issues with the ports and supplies cables that are not proper for it. It's really a marketing mistake to say to the consumer, keep buying cables till one fits, especially short 6 inch cables that are hard to find. Course if we had different players one could use opticle inputs and bypass the problem.
In short I don't have a problem now, but you need new cables that provide a snug fit and this should solve the problem. I think chord needs to address this in a portable device that needs to handle some strain on its conections even with delicate considerations. It's a wonderful sound otherwise and very happy with it, but chord needs to know.

I think I will, would rather phone them but will not get time this week so will drop an email to them.  I have tried a few USB cables as I am not short of the standard data cables lying around and it is a bit worrying the amount of wiggle room they have and can only imagine over time it can't do the Hugo's female connection any good.  I'm just glad I have not brought a nice custom USB cable for this yet as I could not afford to use that methodology of change the cable until one fits tighter!  Not as if I use it in a portable sense as it is sitting there in desktop mode for listening with the laptop. 
 
What has stumped me though it is not happening with WMP (with wav files) despite the play in the usb connection but yet with the Media Go even though it will do it by it self with out touching or moving anything but yet touching that end of the usb connection and moving what play it has in the cable will exacerbate all the cutting out and interference.  
I just cannot work out why it does it with one media player but not another. Might have to reload my old DBPower amp I used to use for a third decider to see if it happens with that or not.
 
I did try a new Sony OTG phone usb cable yesterday and was not better fit than any others i have.  
 
Thanks for letting me know, guess I will have to have a natter with Chord regarding this. 
 
I do get the feeling this is something that if there are any lessons to be learnt the Hugo 2 will see the benefits from this after the initial smaller plug connections were to small on release and maybe if this usb is a known blip in design.  
 
Apart from this currently been a bit of a worry it still sounds amazing to listen to with many hours of non fatiguing enjoyment.