[mscott58]

   
I'd bet money that Dr. Cavalli knows as well. It's a safe bet.

Maybe only his subconscious knows? 

 

[vhsownsbeta]

As someone who has no DAC waiting for the arrival of the LC. I really hope this gets announced soon with price.

I think you will be waiting a while. Cavalli portable is up next...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/774559/finally-new-cavalli-audio-portable-unveiled-at-the-sf-headfi-meet/30#post_11861141

 

[Stillhart]

And keep in mind that when the LC was announced, it was weeks before pre-orders opened and then months before the first ones ship.  The theoretical DAC hasn't even been announced yet.

 

[TON13]

  And keep in mind that when the LC was announced, it was weeks before pre-orders opened and then months before the first ones ship.  The theoretical DAC hasn't even been announced yet. ​

And this is why I'm not getting all excited at this.  Would I probably buy one?  Yeah, but I feel it's a long way off.  I have other toys for now and still waiting on my LC. 

 

[s7uart]

@Stillhart I'm interested to know if you have any experience with the Chord Hugo? I believe this is a DS DAC? If you do how would you say it stacked up against a good R2R DAC?

If anyone else have experience with the above I'd be interested to hear your opinions / thoughts.


Thanks in advance.

 

[J4MES]

And keep in mind that when the LC was announced, it was weeks before pre-orders opened and then months before the first ones ship.  The theoretical DAC hasn't even been announced yet.

I understand. What's the best stop gap solution? Laptop/iPhone as source?

 

[s7uart]

I understand. What's the best stop gap solution? Laptop/iPhone as source?

Hi James, I know you are based in the UK, I picked myself up an Audiolab Q-DAC recently as my stop gap DAC / Amp until I get the LC and a better DAC. You can pick one of these up for £199.99 new at there moment, this is half price. It has some great digital filters to tame it's 32bit Sabre 9016. My favourite filter is Optimal Transient XD, you can read a great review about it here: http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/index.php/cd-dvd-blu-ray/62-cd-reviews/642-audiolab-q-dac-filters-.html

 

[Stillhart]

@Stillhart I'm interested to know if you have any experience with the Chord Hugo? I believe this is a DS DAC? If you do how would you say it stacked up against a good R2R DAC?

If anyone else have experience with the above I'd be interested to hear your opinions / thoughts.


Thanks in advance.

 
Last time I heard the Hugo was at Canjam paired with the LC, actually.  It sounded fantastic.  I really like the DAC in the Hugo; for a DS DAC, it sounds great.  But it's supremely overpriced IMHO.  Something like the 2Qute will give you the same DAC for much cheaper.  Something like the GMB or DAC-19 will give you R2R goodness for even cheaper than that.  Or if you really want to spend $2300 on a DAC, just get a Yggy and know that you'll probably never need to buy another DAC again.
 

I understand. What's the best stop gap solution? Laptop/iPhone as source?

 
I don't think anyone on Head-fi will recommend a laptop/phone as a source if you can afford to buy something better.  At least grab a GO450 or AQ Dragonfly or something...

 

[s7uart]

Last time I heard the Hugo was at Canjam paired with the LC, actually.  It sounded fantastic.  I really like the DAC in the Hugo; for a DS DAC, it sounds great.  But it's supremely overpriced IMHO.  Something like the 2Qute will give you the same DAC for much cheaper.  Something like the GMB or DAC-19 will give you R2R goodness for even cheaper than that.  Or if you really want to spend $2300 on a DAC, just get a Yggy and know that you'll probably never need to buy another DAC again.


I don't think anyone on Head-fi will recommend a laptop/phone as a source if you can afford to buy something better.  At least grab a GO450 or AQ Dragonfly or something...

Thanks Stillhart, that was quick

I'm UK based and after looking at landed costs for the new GMB it worked out around £1050 which = $1616 using today's conversion rate.
The Chord Hugo sells for £1400 here ($2155) or £1000 ($1540) for the 2 Qute.

You can probably see why I'm asking the question, adding UK VAT and import fees drastically bump up the price of the Schiit and Audio GD dacs, this is why the Yggy would be a no go for me, I think James priced one up once and it was very expensive to import.

Thanks again, I'll be trying out the Chord DACs on Sunday at London CanJam, can't wait

* Edit * The below is intended for James.

I had a GO450 before my Audiolab Q-DAC as my interim DAC, for a little USB DAC/amp I thought it was fantastic, amazing sound for such a small device, my only gripe was that it was ultra power hunger being a Class A amp and it ate through my Android phone battery for fun, it required 0.7A power from the USB from memory my Sony Tablet refused to power it as it wanted too much current. Other Advantages of the Q-DAC was a SE line level out and 1 x Optical and 1 x Digital Coax input, plus I'm my opinion it sounded better, especially when experimenting with the built in filters. Hope that helps

 

[Stillhart]

Thanks Stillhart, that was quick

I'm UK based and after looking at landed costs for the new GMB it worked out around £1050 which = $1616 using today's conversion rate.
The Chord Hugo sells for £1400 here ($2155) or £1000 ($1540) for the 2 Qute.

You can probably see why I'm asking the question, adding UK VAT and import fees drastically bump up the price of the Schiit and Audio GD dacs, this is why the Yggy would be a no go for me, I think James priced one up once and it was very expensive to import.

Thanks again, I'll be trying out the Chord DACs on Sunday at London CanJam, can't wait

 
I know @DigitalFreak got a 2Qute and I am pretty sure he likes it.  Haven't heard much from Arly lately tho.  
 
Yeah being over there brings the prices down a bit but I'm still not convinced.  A DAC-19 should still be cheaper than the 2Qute and so worth considering.  I recommend you try the GMB or Yggy at Canjam to get a taste of R2R to see if you like it compared to the other options.  If you do, the DAC-19 would work well for you.

 

[aamefford]

Uh, realized my post was completely random.....

 

[Stillhart]

  Uh, realized my post was completely random.....

 
That's never stopped you before!  Or me really...  

 

[s7uart]

I know @DigitalFreak
 got a 2Qute and I am pretty sure he likes it.  Haven't heard much from Arly lately tho.  

Yeah being over there brings the prices down a bit but I'm still not convinced.  A DAC-19 should still be cheaper than the 2Qute and so worth considering.  I recommend you try the GMB or Yggy at Canjam to get a taste of R2R to see if you like it compared to the other options.  If you do, the DAC-19 would work well for you.

Thanks, I appreciate your opinion / advice. If there is a Yggy or GMB there I'll make sure I try one/both out.
I must admit you and a few others have got me interested in R2R and it will be great to try one out as the sound signature you guys report / talk about sounds like the type of sound / tone I would like.
I know I keep going on about it but the Optimal Transient XD filter on my Q-DAC sounds like it does something similar as it removes digital ringing. As a filter it doesn't measure well but it sounds so much smoother and nowhere near as clynical / edgy as the filter that does measure well which is meant to be more like CD sound. It's so easy to listen too, it's the closest thing I've heard to the analogue warmth and character of vinyl but using digital. This is why the R2Rs interest me.

 

[aamefford]

  Uh, realized my post was completely random.....

 
 

   
That's never stopped you before!  Or me really...  

Hmmmmmm....  Good point.  Perhaps more completely random than usual?

 

[J4MES]

Thanks Stillhart, that was quick

I'm UK based and after looking at landed costs for the new GMB it worked out around £1050 which = $1616 using today's conversion rate.
The Chord Hugo sells for £1400 here ($2155) or £1000 ($1540) for the 2 Qute.

Thanks for the information. The U.K. Supplier for Schiit now has the Yggy on his site for £2000. He hasn't up dated it for the Gmb yet but I'm guessing it will be like you said in the £1100 mark. Seeing as the Usb 2 version is £720 and the upgrade board is $500 which converts to £325.