[PhiQuanTu]

This really sucks if is true. Can anybody confirm or if Hugo representative can verify if Taobao is an authorized dealer?

 

[PhiQuanTu]

Here it is. Price is in RMB.

https://world.taobao.com/search/search.htm?_ksTS=1482161138161_41&spm=a21bp.7806943.20151106.1&_input_charset=utf-8&navigator=all&json=on&q=chord%20hugo&callback=__jsonp_cb&cna=k6bYD3421QgCAQ6iw4SoyNvx&abtest=_AB-LR517-LR854-LR895-PR517-PR854-PR895

The fourth picture from left doesn't look right. The light indicator window is square instead of circular?

 

[miketlse]

 
The fourth picture from left doesn't look right. The light indicator window is square instead of circular?

 
Some of the machining on one of the Hugo TTs looks a bit rough as well https://world.taobao.com/item/526030940800.htm?spm=a312a.7700714.0.0.6LZWgC#detail

 

[sensui123]

  This really sucks if is true. Can anybody confirm or if Hugo representative can verify if Taobao is an authorized dealer?

 
Taobao is like ebay/amazon marketplace in China......various people/businesses use the site to advertise different products.....There is no way Taobao would be qualified as an authorized dealer.....you'd have to ask if the individual selling the product is an AD....wouldn't think there are that many Chord ADs in China so this should be a short list.

 

[PhiQuanTu]

I think people in here are smart enough NOT to buy from suspicious source like this. But the bigger problem is when few bad guys buying from China and resell these in Buy/Sell forum or Audiogon as "mint" or "used" Chord Hugo. That would be very hard to tell whether he/she get an real one or counterfeit piece of junk.

 

[chesebert]

  I think people in here are smart enough NOT to buy from suspicious source like this. But the bigger problem is when few bad guys buying from China and resell these in Buy/Sell forum or Audiogon as "mint" or "used" Chord Hugo. That would be very hard to tell whether he/she get an real one or counterfeit piece of junk.

Agreed. Pawning off a "Taobao" Hugo for profit will be problematic. Payal/cc protection is about all you can hope for. This will be especially bad for noobs who have no clue on how an high-end DAC should sound. They simply have no/minimal point of reference. I think Headfi should require all Hugo sellers to provide a copy of receipt from an authorized Chord dealer and Chord's signed guarantee paper. You can certainly fake both, but when you try to register your second-hand Chord you will know if something is wrong. 

 

[elviscaprice]

I highly doubt there is any fake Chords being produced.  It would be far to difficult to copy.  I would buy one of those listings without hesitation.  Just use a CC to protect oneself.  Check with Chord with the serial number when performing warranty registration.

 

[Shure4Sure]

    I'm suspicious of my Chord Hugo I got around the net for $1500 new.  I have few questions to you Hugo owners in here, when you enter the "Line Level Output", do you see the volume know light in white for blue? The instruction manual says light blue, but I see it starts up in white....and the volume color would change again if I roll the knob. Also, after turning it off and back on, the volume color is back to default (green) instead of white....does this mean every times we restart the device, the "Line Level Output" setting is gone?
    Also, is the "Crossfeed" feature easily noticeable? Because I toggle through different "Crossfeed" settings while listening to music and I do not hear any difference at all.
 
 
Please let me know your thoughts.
 
 
Thanks

 

[chesebert]

Where did you get yours at? I am not aware of any US seller selling for that low of a price.

 

[chesebert]

  I highly doubt there is any fake Chords being produced.  It would be far to difficult to copy.  I would buy one of those listings without hesitation.  Just use a CC to protect oneself.  Check with Chord with the serial number when performing warranty registration.

Really, even the one with square sampling frequency window?
 
They will look the same and may or may not sound the same - counterfeit can be very impressive. With a bit work you can likely reverse engineer an FPGA based on its bit stream output using known test case sets. You can probably get really close

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

 
Really, even the one with square sampling frequency window?
 
They will look the same and may or may not sound the same - counterfeit can be very impressive. With a bit work you can likely reverse engineer an FPGA based on its bit stream output using known test case sets. You can probably get really close

Which one are you referring to?

 

[chesebert]

 
 
No attention to detail whatsoever ...LOL

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

 

 
 
No attention to detail whatsoever ...LOL

Seems to be the prototype that Chord brought to Japan. I searched the image with Google and found this (use Translate):
http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/628752.html
 
 
 
 
I digged up the net and this is what I found. The AptX website seems legit, and the pic (which features the Hugo with square freq windows) must have stemmed from one of Chord's early press releases.
https://www.aptx.com/products/chord-hugo-mobile-dacheadphone-amp
 
You can use the pic there to search Google. I found these (seemingly) legit sources:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/new-portable-chord-digital-analogue-converter-forthcoming-18356/
http://www.ultrahighendreview.com/chord-electronics-announces-hugo-dac-and-headphone-amplifier/
https://www.moon-audio.com/silver-dragon-cable-chord-hugo-dac.html
The moon audio site has a lot of abnormal Hugo pics, but I don't think that shop sell fakes.
 
What I do know:
- Manufacturers may sell products to their distributors at 60% the retail price. However they may also have policies forbidding the retailers to sell products at discount to end users.
- A lot of companies will have special discounts for Japan. China may be subject to similar policies. After all the competition there is really strong.
What I speculate:
- Chord does have discounts for China.
- Chinese retailers doesn't follow Chord's price protection policies (if such policies exists).
 
There's no concrete answer from my speculations, but in the end only Chord can verify if fakes do exist.

 

[chesebert]

  Seems to be the prototype that Chord brought to Japan. I searched the image with Google and found this (use Translate):
http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/628752.html

Yeah, using random pictures procured from the web gives me no confidence in the seller. Someone (probably Chord) should buy one and compare.
 
The price most are selling at is around $1250.

 

[PhiQuanTu]

I know....looks scary to make a purchase from them.