Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[paul2qute]

Rob is the only person here who has heard the TT2.
If you have such nerves and doubts about the TT2, you should wait and demo one in the autumn, and then you can make your decisions based on real evidence.

Too late, hope it doesn't sound like a stereo playing in a big empty stainless steel tank.I know John Franks and Rob watts are not a charity case they use their expertise to make money but they give so much back to us, I've had two chord products before and my third is coming in autumn and I feel relaxed knowing my trust in them two will pay off

 

[maxh22]

For Rob,

Apologies first of all to everyone for repeating this question.

My primary headphone is the oppo pm1 at 32 ohms with sensitivity 102 dB in 1 mW. Its a very easy to drive pair of headphones as the specs show.

My question is that the TT2 (even though it is not all about power as previously explained and the advantages of the new noise shaper/98k taps are evident) would the TT2 be overkill for my oppo headphones? With talk of the TT2 being able to drive "crazy headphones" would my oppo's not really benefit as a whole from the TT2? This is a very important factor for me. Many thanks MK.

I’m not Rob but the Oppo’s are so easy to drive that I don’t think you will receive any additional benefit with the TT 2 versus something like Dave.

I’m in a similar boat as you actually, I’m looking at the TT 2 and Dave. If I wanted to get easy to drive speakers I would get the TT 2 but Dave has better performance overall and since you can get a used Dave for not much more than a new or discounted TT 2 it makes things much more complicated lol

 

[GreenBow]

For Rob,

Apologies first of all to everyone for repeating this question.

My primary headphone is the oppo pm1 at 32 ohms with sensitivity 102 dB in 1 mW. Its a very easy to drive pair of headphones as the specs show.

My question is that the TT2 (even though it is not all about power as previously explained and the advantages of the new noise shaper/98k taps are evident) would the TT2 be overkill for my oppo headphones? With talk of the TT2 being able to drive "crazy headphones" would my oppo's not really benefit as a whole from the TT2? This is a very important factor for me. Many thanks MK.

I am not saying you're wrong but, your question doesn't even make sense to me.

Just because the TT 2 is specced to power higher load headphones. How does it make lower load headphones pairing obsolete? ............ Unless the volume gets too loud on the TT2 too fast for lower load headphones. That would have been an oversight if so. ... If it even works that way. I got lost with all of that.

 

[paul2qute]

I am not saying you're wrong but, your question doesn't even make sense to me.

Just because the TT 2 is specced to power higher load headphones. How does it make lower load headphones pairing obsolete? ............ Unless the volume gets too loud on the TT2 too fast for lower load headphones. That would have been an oversight if so. ... If it even works that way. I got lost with all of that.

What I've read the oppo doesn't scale very well with better kit, great out of a phone but doesn't improve much with expensive gear,in my opinion if you love the oppo pm1 saves you a fortune.Me personally I want a headphone to be fairly easy to drive but scale with the more expensive gear I feed it, I'm a hi-fi manufacturers dream and a partners worse nightmare

 

[tonyl59]

What I've read the oppo doesn't scale very well with better kit, great out of a phone but doesn't improve much with expensive gear,in my opinion if you love the oppo pm1 saves you a fortune.Me personally I want a headphone to be fairly easy to drive but scale with the more expensive gear I feed it, I'm a hi-fi manufacturers dream

I have to say, that’s not my experience, Paul. Using silver cable (Moon Silver Dragon or Artisan Silver Dream) I’ve seen clear improvements with the PM-1 from Mojo to Hugo to Hugo 2. I’m hoping that TT 2 will move things up another notch. Having more power is never a bad thing; it just gives more flexibility for later use with more power-hungry headphones if needed.

 

[Jawed]

For using the full balanced 18W/8 then these should do:
https://www.flashbacksales.co.uk/ac...4mm-in-line-sockets-cable-set-372.html#SID=81

Is the XLR socket itself going to be a problem for the large currents encountered driving speakers? With such a small surface area and being relatively loose, aren't there going to be problems with dirt and burnt contact areas?

 

[paul2qute]

I have to say, that’s not my experience, Paul. Using silver cable (Moon Silver Dragon or Artisan Silver Dream) I’ve seen clear improvements with the PM-1 from Mojo to Hugo to Hugo 2. I’m hoping that TT 2 will move things up another notch. Having more power is never a bad thing; it just gives more flexibility for later use with more power-hungry headphones if needed.

Please don't shoot the reader mate, I was gonna buy the oppo pm2 which they don't make anymore and I've got the oppo 205 I bloody love the company, but when I read the oppo and the b&w p9 don't scale well it put me off, the weird thing is years ago we would love a speaker or in this case a headphone to be driven easily but we now know an easy load stops you from buying better gear

 

[musickid]

Hi Paul. A lot of people are using oppo pm1 with dave with excellent results. That's a fact. When oppo designed a £1100 pound headphone they knew virtually none of the owners would be using it with mobile devices. Who in their right mind would spend that much on a headphone and not use it with high end gear. I'm just waiting for Rob to put this all into better perspective for me with regards the oppo pm1 and the TT2. The sony you are thinking of buying is also very easy to drive possibly easier than the oppo pm1 at (64 Ω at 1 kHz, 100 dB/mW). The majority of ownwers use it with high end gear even though the sony can be driven from a phone easily.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Hi Paul. A lot of people are using oppo pm1 with dave with excellent results. That's a fact. When oppo designed a £1100 pound headphone they knew virtually none of the owners would be using it with mobile devices. Who in their right mind would spend that much on a headphone and not use it with high end gear. I'm just waiting for Rob to put this all into better perspective for me with regards the TT2. The sony you are thinking of buying is also incredibly easy to drive possibly easier than the oppo pm1 at (64 Ω at 1 kHz, 100 dB/mW). The majority of ownwers use it higher end gear even though the sony can be driven from a phone easily.

If I'm understanding your question correctly your worried that the extra power/headroom could impact the sound negatively? I can't see that being an issue.

 

[musickid]

No not at all. I'm using the oppo pm1 with mojo right now and it drives them with great authority as people have noticed before. I understand the TT2 gives me increased resolution and a more natural sound due to the noise shaper/98k taps as compared to mojo. What i can't put into context is how the extra available power of the TT2 is utilised here. The mojo barely makes the blue ball and the oppo pm1 still has loads of headroom and it is completely effortless in its presentation with mojo powering it. This can apply to any easy to drive headphone of which many manufacturers like audeze are now making to rival their own flagships so accept my apologies for the constant referral to the pm1 as its my primary headphone now. If i buy a more difficult to drive headphone later for the TT2 of course none of this will matter. I feel as though the TT2 will shine with difficult to drive headphones and as i can't add another headphone right now due to finances if i'm going to buy a TT2 i am worried that my 4k investment in TT2 might be wasted with the pm1. The referral to the ability to drive "crazy headphones" with the TT2 i.e. hard to drive headphones adds to my uncertainty here if that makes sense.

On a positive note i have heard the pm1 through dave and appreciate the extra resolution and great depth and soundstage and Rob has also mentioned the low gain setting on TT2. The pm1 was designed to also run balanced so can take more power but with TT2 it will be single ended of course.

 

[Triode User]

Is the XLR socket itself going to be a problem for the large currents encountered driving speakers? With such a small surface area and being relatively loose, aren't there going to be problems with dirt and burnt contact areas?

Remember we are still only talking about 18w which is not large and any thoughts of burned contact areas might be somewhat optimistic (or pessimistic depending on your point of view) for the power concerned. A car headlamp for comparison with its small contact points is 55w of continuous power for hours at a time. Hi fi speakers will not be drawing 18w of continuous power even during the most arduous conditions. Also, my experience of even run of the mill neutrik XLR is that they are not loose.

 

[x RELIC x]

No not at all. I'm using the oppo pm1 with mojo right now and it drives them with great authority as people have noticed before. I understand the TT2 gives me increased resolution and a more natural sound due to the noise shaper/98k taps as compared to mojo. What i can't put into context is how the extra available power of the TT2 is utilised here. The mojo barely makes the blue ball and the oppo pm1 still has loads of headroom and it is completely effortless in its presentation with mojo powering it. This can apply to any easy to drive headphone of which many manufacturers like audeze are now making to rival their own flagships so accept my apologies for the constant referral to the pm1 as its my primary headphone now. If i buy a more difficult to drive headphone later for the TT2 of course none of this will matter. I feel as though the TT2 will shine with difficult to drive headphones and as i can't add another headphone right now due to finances if i'm going to buy a TT2 i am worried that my 4k investment in TT2 might be wasted with the pm1. The referral to the ability to drive "crazy headphones" with the TT2 i.e. hard to drive headphones adds to my uncertainty here if that makes sense.

On a positive note i have heard the pm1 through dave and appreciate the extra resolution and great depth and soundstage and Rob has also mentioned the low gain setting on TT2. Also the pm1 was designed to also run balanced so can take more power but with TT2 it will be single ended of course.

Would you be bothered by purchasing a sports car and not taking it to the race track to utilize it’s full speed capabilities on a straight away? Believe me, a sports car can still be extremely enjoyable when not red-lining the RPM to just go fast. Handling, acceleration, ergonomics, etc..

The available max power simply won’t be utilized by the PM-1, but it will be nice to have if you do purchase ridiculously hard to drive headphones in the future, or efficient near field speakers. I wouldn’t be so hung up on the max power potential but rather I would focus on the aspects that would be used... CLEAN instant power, advanced noise shapers, more TAPs, etc.. Not to be rude but you’d do well to get over the max power aspect.

For what it’s worth, I own the DAVE and a 9W amp that’s well regarded. I’m considering selling them both for a TT2, and a future M scaler.

 

[musickid]

Thanks Relic that put a big dent in my concerns. Maybe the problem is deeper. When i listen to mojo/pm1/roon the music sounds so beautiful. For some pieces as an example some of Renaud Garcia Fons work on the double bass// the instrument sounds so lifelike and real so i ask myself what or why could i possible want more. I mean how much better can it get. If i go for TT2 it will be my first real (not mobile hifi) hifi purchase in many years and the lack of appreciation and understanding here on my part reflects this. Only by trying will i understand what i'm missing. Out of interest how does the TT2 provide CLEAN power.

 

[GreenBow]

My questions about the TT 2.

Does it cut power to the rest of the outputs, if you engage a headphone port, like the DAVE?
Does it remember headphone listening level, for next time you plug headphones in? (Like the DAVE.)

 

[musickid]

Getting too philosophical back on track