[Here2rock]

  thus far the LCD-4 is the only HP i have encountered that makes me consider using my Moon 430 amp with my Dave and with my TT before it....I go back and forth on it,my desire is to go straight from the source as much as possible but there are passages of music that really do test the Dave straight into the LCD-4's.....

 
 
How do you rate Chord Hugo against Moon 430? Moon 430 costs nearly twice as much Chord Hugo albeit in more desktop and traditional form factor?
 
I understand Moon 430 is a more powerful AMP but just purely from sound quality point of view?

 

[jlbrach]

Very hard to compare them because I own the Moon amp not the amp/dac.....I love the Moon amp with my LCD-4 and Dave....the Hugo is wonderful and works great with most cans but there are a few where it needs an external amp IMHO

 

[sp3llv3xit]

 

 
Three months ago...  

Today, I swap out the PCM-D100 for a slimmer Cowon Plenue M2.

 

 

[Whazzzup]

wow thats quite the stack bro

 

[Here2rock]

  Very hard to compare them because I own the Moon amp not the amp/dac.....I love the Moon amp with my LCD-4 and Dave....the Hugo is wonderful and works great with most cans but there are a few where it needs an external amp IMHO

 
Dave is an expensive dude, not many can afford. What are other better cost effective alternatives in your opinion?
 
Can Chord Hugo drive Focal Utopia to it's full potential?

 

[Whazzzup]

 

  Very hard to compare them because I own the Moon amp not the amp/dac.....I love the Moon amp with my LCD-4 and Dave....the Hugo is wonderful and works great with most cans but there are a few where it needs an external amp IMHO

 
Dave is an expensive dude, not many can afford. What are other better cost effective alternatives in your opinion?
 
Can Chord Hugo drive Focal Utopia to it's full potential?

TT is an upgrade to hugo and can drive most cans, plus it has xlr balanced out to feed amps like gsx mk2. In my mind end game right there

 

[Here2rock]

 
TT is an upgrade to hugo and can drive most cans, plus it has xlr balanced out to feed amps like gsx mk2. In my mind end game right there

 
Hugo TT costs a lot more than GSX MK2 (I would expect it to better than GSX MK2), why would you want to feed it through another amp?

 

[Whazzzup]

 


TT is an upgrade to hugo and can drive most cans, plus it has xlr balanced out to feed amps like gsx mk2. In my mind end game right there

Hugo TT costs a lot more than GSX MK2 (I would expect it to better than GSX MK2), why would you want to feed it through another amp?

Why feed Hugo, why feed TT, why feed Dave? These are questions that permeate these independant threads. I ran TT direct to hd800S for about a year and it was good. If you research dual mono electric power to dual mono amp you will find certain benefits of increased voltage scale that gives a lift to the entire frequency range that can benefit certain headphones. Hd800S and lcd4 are examples. Other headphones may not need this and .5 watt is sufficient. TT has better dynamics sound stage than Hugo ( no knock to the portable) that can be balanced out to superlative transparent amps that can offer a fuller dynamic. In this case still be less than a third of the cost of Dave. If budget is of no concern I'd go with Dave.
The point being TT is a heck of a starting point and one can judge from there if one needs to take it up a notch. If you read the GSX thread folks are considering total dacs to feed it, I decided I love the chord TT transparency and GSX mk2 provides a fantastic wire and gain amp to take that conversion to another level.

 

[Here2rock]

If budget is of no concern I'd go with Dave.
The point being TT is a heck of a starting point and one can judge from there if one needs to take it up a notch. If you read the GSX thread folks are considering total dacs to feed it, I decided I love the chord TT transparency and GSX mk2 provides a fantastic wire and gain amp to take that conversion to another level.

 
Budget is a concern, Thank you for the benefits, I guess you are trying to squeeze every bit of performance from your components by spending some serious cash.

 

[chesebert]

Hugo TT costs a lot more than GSX MK2 (I would expect it to better than GSX MK2), why would you want to feed it through another amp?

I'm pairing Hugo with M3 and it's an improvement. Why would anyone want to use Hugo as an amp in a desktop setting? On the go, absolutely. Same problem with TT; they both run on battery power.

 

[jlbrach]

   
Dave is an expensive dude, not many can afford. What are other better cost effective alternatives in your opinion?
 
Can Chord Hugo drive Focal Utopia to it's full potential?

Hugo can drive the Utopia quite nicely because the Utopia is extremely easy to drive as it is very efficient...that said,If one spends 4K on a HP IMHO it deserves a higher end source...the TT is a far better option.I love the Hugo and use it when I travel but again IMHO the Utopia deserves more

 

[Here2rock]

I'm pairing Hugo with M3 and it's an improvement. Why would anyone want to use Hugo as an amp in a desktop setting? On the go, absolutely. Same problem with TT; they both run on battery power.

 
If I read the posts correctly then the TT can drive most HPs and the amp section is not just an after thought, are you knocking down the capabilities of the TT as Amp?
 
Is the amp on TT better than the cheaper portable sibling (Chord Hugo)?

 

[Here2rock]

  Hugo can drive the Utopia quite nicely because the Utopia is extremely easy to drive as it is very efficient...that said,If one spends 4K on a HP IMHO it deserves a higher end source...the TT is a far better option.I love the Hugo and use it when I travel but again IMHO the Utopia deserves more

 
I am seriously thinking about the TT, aesthetically it is a more pleasing product without those disco light effects on the Hugo. I don't think that I will want to go to go the extreme audiophile limits of plugging into an external AMP to explore those extra frequency range perhaps not audible to most human ears. 

 

[Whazzzup]

I'm pairing Hugo with M3 and it's an improvement. Why would anyone want to use Hugo as an amp in a desktop setting? On the go, absolutely. Same problem with TT; they both run on battery power.

If I read the posts correctly then the TT can drive most HPs and the amp section is not an after thought, are you knocking down the capabilities of the TT as Amp?

Is the amp on TT better than the cheaper portable sibling (Chord Hugo)?

I disagree or don't understand the inference to TT and it's super capacitors, or even Hugo battery. It's power source is way more powerful than Hugo and the point is that it is quiet versus traditional power supply.
Second concerning power ratings are very similar between Hugo and TT the output due to a realm of circuit enhancements, galvanic USB, flip flop, etc.. the sound stage is wider, deeper, slightly darker, louder with better mid detail. The TT is better capable to power most cans, although the Hugo is no slouch either. The TT offers balanced out xlr for a reason. Also RCA out. The distinctive competence of specialty amp makers can provide scale voltage output that can take that excellent TT dac conversion and amplify this analogue data with more authority.
Now there is the debate of this added distortion is not beneficial but it can depend on the amp and the cans you use as to the benefits of this.
So using them as a se direct to headphone is not bad or wrong at all. They are quite capable, the question is is .5 watt se output what you want for the cans you have.

 

[Whazzzup]

 
Hugo can drive the Utopia quite nicely because the Utopia is extremely easy to drive as it is very efficient...that said,If one spends 4K on a HP IMHO it deserves a higher end source...the TT is a far better option.I love the Hugo and use it when I travel but again IMHO the Utopia deserves more

I am seriously thinking about the TT, aesthetically it is a more pleasing product without those disco light effects on the Hugo. I don't think that I will want to go to go the extreme audiophile limits of plugging into an external AMP to explore those extra frequency range perhaps not audible to most human ears. 

Baby steps, the TT does have some disco tho.