I was part of the Hugo2 tour actually, so I did get a long time with it. That said, I wasn't talking about the Hugo2, I simply was speaking in general terms and only addressed the Utopia as you mentioned it specifically and it sounded like you owned it. My apology for the mistake. And despite having the Mojo here during my time with the Hugo2, I still have no sense of how one decides if component A is x times better sounding than component B. I just don't think that type of determination is possible. Now subjectively, sure, anybody can say and feel rightly that a piece of gear is way better sounding than something else. There is nothing wrong with holding such an opinion, I do it as well. I was just saying that it would be quantifiably impossible to show that for every x amount of dollars spent, these areas of sound reproduction increased in discrete, easy to measure ways that would allow us to say why headphone x is worth 10 times more than headphone B. I don't think there is anything controversial about that.
I also suspect that a perfectly neutral headphone would be perceived by some as boring so there really is no audio utopia (pun intended) as the experience with audio bliss that we strive for is different for each of us.
Well when I first got the Hugo 2, I knew and heard it was better. The extra (shall we say) 3D effect was standout. However I was not used to it, and it took a while to acclimatise to. It took a while to hear the sounds as whole. Initially it seemed like I was hearing the Mojo but extra sound stuck on the side of the Mojo sound. Meaning for a particular sound in the sound field. This is using amplifier and speakers. After about two weeks I saw that the sounds were whole, but it took longer to totally get it. I think it took me about a month before I was putting Hugo to play, and was knowing what to expect. (That doesn't mean the Hugo 2 does not astonish me every day.) I remember it taking about that long with the Mojo too. I remember it being all uphill from about ten day to two weeks.
I knew instantly though that the Hugo 2 was perfect. It was neutral with a natural warmth to the sound. I knew I would soon hear all the extra sounds as a whole and it was just a matter of time. It wasn't just the 3D effect that was more noticeable. There were details everywhere. Sounds I had not heard before. Sounds that were there before, but sounded off, now sounded spine tingling. ... You have to bear in mind also that I am not using Hugo 2 on top end kit. There is much more to hear than I am hearing. I only use budget Rega Brio (2017 version), and Dynaudio Emit M10.
On my headphones, the Hugo 2 is virtually wasted. I only have the Grado 225e. They just sound of the plastic they are made of, when paired with Hugo 2. I should however give myself longer to try them, and acclimatise, as explained above.
I have to completely disagree that flat is not exciting. I won't buy equipment that is not balanced. I find it too hard to pair other equipment with if I buy off balanced. Secondly you don't get to hear what the musicians and engineering were meant to be doing. The Hugo 2 is neutral, and for that it's perfect.
According to Jude's graph, it's the opposite actually. That's actually where the greater treble energy is around. Personally, I like the mids to the upper mids, lower treble, but how much energy in the treble can be felt due to this rise. What's interesting with the Mojo is that it's slightly subdue'd in this region with sibilant recordings. I like the Mojo with my powered LSR305, and it performs quite well as a dedicated DAC. Something I notice is that bass response isn't as significant as other DACs I've tried. Hugo 2 is a bit warmer sounding I've noticed, and also more mids outputted as well. Mojo tend to put more clarity based on what I've been hearing.
Question I have is, how is the volume done on the Mojo? What is the difference between volume control on the operating system compared to directly from the Mojo itself?
Ok thank you. I was being vague when I quoted 7KHz, because I could not remember the exact frequency. I will likely remember now though, as I have been wrong and made a fool of myself. However the point is that I think it's shame that all headphones do this. You can't get better than flat. Nothing better than balanced sound.
It astonishes me that people find the Mojo has better clarity than Hugo 2. The Hugo 2 is somewhere else completely compared to the Mojo. No insult to the Mojo either because it's absolutely brilliant.
