[bintol]

Hi everybody,
I'm very happy using an optical cable with my Chord Hugo. However, I keep losing those little protective caps that sit on the end of optical cables! Does anybody happen to know where you can buy replacements? Struggling to find them on eBay. Any links appreciated.
Many thanks.

Found them: http://www.ebay.com/itm/292098507770

These have the handy 'tails' so they don't get lost so easily!

 

[fiascogarcia]

Found them: http://www.ebay.com/itm/292098507770

These have the handy 'tails' so they don't get lost so easily!

Here's a different variety.
https://www.amazon.com/fiber-optic-...id=1499518004&sr=8-5&keywords=cable+dust+caps

 

[bintol]

Here's a different variety.
https://www.amazon.com/fiber-optic-...id=1499518004&sr=8-5&keywords=cable+dust+caps

Thank you!

 

[makne]

Hi guys!
I've got a great deal on the Hugo (700$) that I'm considering taking. It would be used mainly as a desktop dac/amp combo, as portability isn't important to me.
My question is: is the Hugo a good deal even when portability is not an issue? Can it compete sound-wise to a sub-1000$ desktop dac/amp, like Jotunheim+modi multibit? My reasoning says yes, but I'd just like a final confirmation.
Thanks!

 

[Whazzzup]

Good deal can't comment on direct comparison tho.

 

[JaZZ]

Hi guys!
I've got a great deal on the Hugo (700$) that I'm considering taking. It would be used mainly as a desktop dac/amp combo, as portability isn't important to me.
My question is: is the Hugo a good deal even when portability is not an issue? Can it compete sound-wise to a sub-1000$ desktop dac/amp, like Jotunheim+modi multibit? My reasoning says yes, but I'd just like a final confirmation.
Thanks!

Before the DAVE came out the Hugo was my desktop DAC of choice and as such easily surpassed the Bel Canto DAC2 and the McCormack UDP-1. Since I have no experience with the current-production contenders, I can't say for sure how it would fare against them, but like you I'm confident that it has no real contenders in the ~2000 $ category – at least according to my personal sonic ideal –, also considering the technical data and the sophisticated DAC design. Of course the new Hugo₂ is even better, but you won't find it for 700 $.

Just make sure that the battery of the offered used unit still has decent capacity!

 

[ruthieandjohn]

While I absolutely love my Chord Hugo, I found that my Schiit Bifrost Uber Multibit with USB, combined with my Schiit Lyr 2 amp, actually provided a shade better sound. I simply find that my time does not often permit sitting in one place to do nothing but listen, so I use the Hugo while being mobile more often.

 

[x RELIC x]

While I absolutely love my Chord Hugo, I found that my Schiit Bifrost Uber Multibit with USB, combined with my Schiit Lyr 2 amp, actually provided a shade better sound. I simply find that my time does not often permit sitting in one place to do nothing but listen, so I use the Hugo while being mobile more often.

Better in what way? Curious minds want to know.

 

[makne]

Spent a couple of hours today demoing the Hugo, Oppo HA-1 and Jot+Bifrost. I'm going to get the Hugo.
These are my impressions after the demo session, keep in mind it was only a couple of hours and with around 10 minutes between each unit, with no opportunity to switch back and forth. So not a real A/B/C comparison, take this with a good amount of salt:

I started with the Hugo. First off, the air and spaciousness was what impressed me the most. I've never heard the Elear sound so airy and 3D-like. The treble on the Hugo is smooth and musical, never harsh or offensive in any way Still, it manages to be airy and sparkly.
Same story with the mids, smooth and musical yet still detailed, with great imaging. Not as full-bodied as the HA-1 or my current mimby+marantz pm5005-system, but still I never felt like the Hugo was lacking in that regard. Mark Knopfler's voice on Communique was clearer than ever, more 3D-like and better seperated from the rest of the mix. Great seperation between instruments.
The bass quantity was the only weak point of the Hugo IMO. Still fast, extended and detailed, but lacked some of the body, wheight and punch that I know the Elear is capable of. Noise floor in the Hugo-room was higher than the room where I tried the HA-1 so that may have had an effect, but the Jot-room was the noisiest but still bass-strong.

Next up was the Oppo HA-1. Right off the bat, I could tell the Oppo is far more powerful, delivering bass slam with far more authority than the Hugo. Overall the Oppo is more full-sounding than the Hugo, but the treble seemed less refined to me, more harsh and lacking the sense of effortlessness the Hugo possessed. Soundstage on the Oppo is slightly less airy and a little shallower than the Hugo I think, with imaging also being one step behind in terms of precision and stability.

Coming back to the more budget-oriented Jot+bifrost, the difference was not as big as I thought it would be. The stack was more similar to the HA-1 than the Hugo in presentation, showing off the Elear's strong bass. In the upper registers, I found the Schiit to be more unrefined and harsh, less detailed than the others. Soundstage width was not much changed, but I was missing some depth. Imaging was less precise, instrument seperation not as clear as on the other two. The different layers in music were closer to one another and less airy, but still discernable.

To sum up, I feel like the Hugo was the most clear and refined dac/amp, but also the weakest in terms of power. It was my preferred combo with the Elears, but I fear it would struggle to push harder-to-drive headphones. Still, at 700$, I don't think I can find better sound for the money.
The Jot delivered impressively well given it's price tag, far more powerful than the Hugo. I think that most of the weak-points I listed was down to the DAC (a regular Bifrost), and that the Jot would fare even better with an upgraded source. I even have a suspicion that the Jot may be better than the"amp"-stage in the Hugo, sadly I never got a chance to pair the Hugo with an external amp.
The Oppo HA-1 was almost like a middle-ground between the two others for me, which fits nice with it's price tag. Still, I was never really impressed with the Oppo offering, and I have a suspicion that the Jot paired with a really good dac can even beat the HA-1. This is just a theory though.

Again, this was just a small demo session, we all hear differently, YMMV and all that... Happy listening!.

 

[Whazzzup]

Nice job

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Better in what way? Curious minds want to know.

I went back to listen to answer your question "Better in what way?" I find... I MISREMEMBERED (Fake News!) I found the Hugo to be better than the Schiit Bifrost Uber USB2 Multibit / Lyr2 playing from a FiiO X5ii via coax ("Your Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone," by Band of Heathens on album One Foot In The Ether, 44.1Ks/sec rip from CD, first 12 sec or so, up to vocal entry), into HiFiMAN HE1000 (v.1) headphones.

With the Hugo, the soundstage was more spacious, extending vertically as well as in depth and horizontally, and the impact of cymbals was a bit sharper with the Hugo.

Thanks for asking and causing me to go back and relisten! Not sure what headphones I was using when I tried comparing them before, but might not have been the HE1000 which might have changed results.

 

[makne]

So is usb-noise a normal problem when connecting Hugo to a desktop computer? Feel like I've seen many reports on that.

What's the best way to avoid this, get a Schiit Wyrd? Or get a PCIe-soundcard with an optical output? Is there any audible difference between usb and optical?
That's pretty much the options I have, I live in Norway so not all gear is that easy to get here.

 

[miketlse]

So is usb-noise a normal problem when connecting Hugo to a desktop computer? Feel like I've seen many reports on that.

What's the best way to avoid this, get a Schiit Wyrd? Or get a PCIe-soundcard with an optical output? Is there any audible difference between usb and optical?
That's pretty much the options I have, I live in Norway so not all gear is that easy to get here.

I can only speak from using a Mojo or Hugo 2.
If you are using USB from a computer, then the noise tends to be either RFI picked up by the cable acting as an aerial, or electrical noise coming from the computer power supply, or the internal workings of the computer (this includes occasional breaks in the music signal stream, when some of the computer services are given priority over the music stream).

• RFI can be cured by adding a cheap Ferrite choke to the cable
• Changing the computer system priorities can eliminate most of the breaks in signal
• Running laptops off battery removes issues with mains signal noise

The above are things to explore that are cheap, or only cost your time.

Unfortunately the internal workings of some desktop PCs are inherently noisy, and there is little that you can do about it, except try another motherboard, or add an optical output.
I managed to get my computer almost noise free for USB, but Chord dacs do have a very low noise floor, and I could still detect occasional noise - so I tended to use optical most of the time.

Eventually i changed to using a Shanling M1 as my music transport, and this is quieter than the PC or phone. The noise is so rare (ie every few days), that I can never be sure whether it is the Shanling, or a poor rip from a CD. I normally give the Shanling the benefit of the doubt.

 

[makne]

I can only speak from using a Mojo or Hugo 2.
If you are using USB from a computer, then the noise tends to be either RFI picked up by the cable acting as an aerial, or electrical noise coming from the computer power supply, or the internal workings of the computer (this includes occasional breaks in the music signal stream, when some of the computer services are given priority over the music stream).

• RFI can be cured by adding a cheap Ferrite choke to the cable
• Changing the computer system priorities can eliminate most of the breaks in signal
• Running laptops off battery removes issues with mains signal noise

The above are things to explore that are cheap, or only cost your time.

Unfortunately the internal workings of some desktop PCs are inherently noisy, and there is little that you can do about it, except try another motherboard, or add an optical output.
I managed to get my computer almost noise free for USB, but Chord dacs do have a very low noise floor, and I could still detect occasional noise - so I tended to use optical most of the time.

Eventually i changed to using a Shanling M1 as my music transport, and this is quieter than the PC or phone. The noise is so rare (ie every few days), that I can never be sure whether it is the Shanling, or a poor rip from a CD. I normally give the Shanling the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks. Never had an issue with other usb-dacs (most recently Modi Multibit), so mostly wondering if Hugo is more prone to this than other dacs. Will try it out when I receive my unit.
I'm leaning more and more towards optical, if there's no downside to it. This way the rca's will be on the back, so it won't look completely stupid when I run rca's from the front, around the unit and to the back of my desk.

 

[miketlse]

Thanks. Never had an issue with other usb-dacs (most recently Modi Multibit), so mostly wondering if Hugo is more prone to this than other dacs. Will try it out when I receive my unit.
I'm leaning more and more towards optical, if there's no downside to it. This way the rca's will be on the back, so it won't look completely stupid when I run rca's from the front, around the unit and to the back of my desk.

Usb with the Mojo did sound marginally brighter than optical. Rob Watts the designer explains in some of his posts, that the brightness is caused by how the brain reacts to the small signal electrical noise - some people do prefer this slight brightness, because it makes the music sound like a live performance.
In contrast optical was free from electrical noise, so was a purer signal, but the result was that the music tended to sound like a perfect recording, rather than a live performance.
That is the only downside, but there is no right/wrong answer, because some people do prefer the slightly brighter USB.

Rob Watts has implemented enhanced filtering in the new Hugo 2, and says that his ears can no longer reliably distinguish between USB or optical.