At the risk of making Paul throw up, I have to say that I too find the HMS effect very subtle. For me, there is absolutely nothing “in your face” about it. I can tell you that I find this really disappointing and frustrating! The TT2 sounds great with my LCD-4s but in all honesty I could easily live without HMS. I don’t know, could it be that there’s something wrong with mine, or is it just my getting-on-a-bit ears that are past their prime? I’m not sure how to find out....
No its not you, i found out myself that the headphones make 85% or more of the sound in a typical 3 way set up (DAC/AMP/Headphone) not including source file quality. the diferences are better noticed over time, thats the only way i could hear improvements with Mojo and Hugo2. when compared quickly with AB its very hard to tell and ends up in frustration.
I found that Mojo is warm, i swear it has a mid bass bloom, slower, thicker sounding and "rolled off" upper treble but smooth and musical sounding.
Hugo2 is leaner, faster, brighter and more detailed but doesnt really have its own tonality like Mojo so i would just call it a transparent source thats detailed and precise.
These differences to me though are not night and day they are very slight differences (anything up to about 10%) picked up on when used over time and then suddenly trying something different. I did tests using Focal Clear, IE800S, HD650, K712. Headphones absolutely make massive difference in sound in comparison.
I dont want to knock Robs work its obvious from all the, events, measurements and dedication talking to people on the forum that he works hard on making world class DACs but i have to be honest with myself when i say i find the differences are quite small.