Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[rkt31]

Balance connection for headphones is an eyewash and has no advantage at all except one want higher output. Since tt2 has already very high output through se headphone out, there is absolutely no point of using XLR out of tt2 for headphones. I would even say if someone has XLR cable for headphones, they should make it 3 pole stereo plug to use the regular se out of tt2.

 

[ToTo Man]

Balance connection for headphones is an eyewash and has no advantage at all except one want higher output. Since tt2 has already very high output through se headphone out, there is absolutely no point of using XLR out of tt2 for headphones. I would even say if someone has XLR cable for headphones, they should make it 3 pole stereo plug to use the regular se out of tt2.

Some amplifier designs are optimised for single-ended, others are optimised for balanced. For amps optimised for balanced, there is often a clear audible advantage to using the balanced headphone output (and I'm not just talking about raw power, but other aspects such as instrument separation, low level detail retrieval, spaciousness, soundstage, etc). If HTT2's circuitry is indeed optimised for single-ended then I can sleep easy knowing I am hearing its full potential through my headphones.

 

[k3kz]

Joined the party yesterday and now finally have a TT2 as well! Only a few hours of listening into my ownership, I think I can confidently say its quite a big step up from my Moon NEO 230HAD (as well it should be, considering the price difference). Really happy with it.
One weird thing i noticed though:
Even with everything else unplugged but the stock SMPS, running my finger along the surface of the device, it feels like there is current running through it (slightly buzzing, tingling), even when in standby. It goes away when i unplug the PSU. This also manifests itself as a humming noise (I guess kind of a ground loop) when using my Audeze LCD-i4 IEMs and touching their metal casing.
Additionally, i believe the TT2 is really getting QUITE warm (upper 40s, maybe 50c?).

This has me worried and the buzzing/humming is a bit annoying (as the metal parts of the i4 often are in contact with my outer ear). So:
Is this normal? Does anyone else experience anything like this? Could it be a fault with the PSU? I have tried plugging the PSU into an Audioquest Niagara 1000 and a wall outlet, i have reversed the plug and the cable going into the PSU block, no changes.
Have already contacted Chord support, but i thought I might as well ask here
Thanks guys.

 

[musickid]

The moon 230 has a great amp but unacceptable dac and compared to hugo 1 sounds 2D. The only way to save it is to attach a mojo as dac.

 

[k3kz]

The moon 230 has a great amp but unacceptable dac and compared to hugo 1 sounds 2D. The only way to save it is to attach a mojo as dac.

Will agree that the Hugo TT2 is better, but I really wouldn't say that the 230 is THAT bad

 

[musickid]

Once you listen to TT2 more i'm sure you will agree.

 

[jarnopp]

Sorry if this has already been asked, but is it technically possible to connect headphones that have 4XLR balanced connector to the stereo 3XLR outputs on the HTT2 with an appropriate adaptor cable, or is 4XLR to dual-3XLR conversion not possible?

Yes, it is. Moon Audio in the US made one for me. I use it to drive inefficient headphones, like HE-6, but as others have said, for most headphones the SE output is fine so all you’d likely need is a XLR to SE adapter and use the front panel plugs.

 

[Amberlamps]

Shameless plug for the one I just listed on sale (see signature).

Did you not like it ?

 

[Amberlamps]

Joined the party yesterday and now finally have a TT2 as well! Only a few hours of listening into my ownership, I think I can confidently say its quite a big step up from my Moon NEO 230HAD (as well it should be, considering the price difference). Really happy with it.
One weird thing i noticed though:
Even with everything else unplugged but the stock SMPS, running my finger along the surface of the device, it feels like there is current running through it (slightly buzzing, tingling), even when in standby. It goes away when i unplug the PSU. This also manifests itself as a humming noise (I guess kind of a ground loop) when using my Audeze LCD-i4 IEMs and touching their metal casing.
Additionally, i believe the TT2 is really getting QUITE warm (upper 40s, maybe 50c?).

This has me worried and the buzzing/humming is a bit annoying (as the metal parts of the i4 often are in contact with my outer ear). So:
Is this normal? Does anyone else experience anything like this? Could it be a fault with the PSU? I have tried plugging the PSU into an Audioquest Niagara 1000 and a wall outlet, i have reversed the plug and the cable going into the PSU block, no changes.
Have already contacted Chord support, but i thought I might as well ask here
Thanks guys.

I get that feeling also when running my finger over the top of TT2, I think it's just the paint, as if you don't move your finger, the weird sensation stops.

I just think the particles in the paint are smaller than the gaps between our fingerprints. But it is a weird horrible feeling. If it is power related, it's probably some of the components inside vibrating and transferring it to the case.

It is weird though and my tt2 has been like that since day 1 and it's now 7 months old. The TT2 should only be in the low 30oC temp wise, if you use the xlr ports to drive speakers, it will be warmer, but if you only use headphones, you will be hard pressed to see tt2 at 40oC.

I've done numerous temp tests and my TT2 on top of HMS only ever got to 34oC, but usually it was 32oC.

 

[x RELIC x]

Joined the party yesterday and now finally have a TT2 as well! Only a few hours of listening into my ownership, I think I can confidently say its quite a big step up from my Moon NEO 230HAD (as well it should be, considering the price difference). Really happy with it.
One weird thing i noticed though:
Even with everything else unplugged but the stock SMPS, running my finger along the surface of the device, it feels like there is current running through it (slightly buzzing, tingling), even when in standby. It goes away when i unplug the PSU. This also manifests itself as a humming noise (I guess kind of a ground loop) when using my Audeze LCD-i4 IEMs and touching their metal casing.
Additionally, i believe the TT2 is really getting QUITE warm (upper 40s, maybe 50c?).

This has me worried and the buzzing/humming is a bit annoying (as the metal parts of the i4 often are in contact with my outer ear). So:
Is this normal? Does anyone else experience anything like this? Could it be a fault with the PSU? I have tried plugging the PSU into an Audioquest Niagara 1000 and a wall outlet, i have reversed the plug and the cable going into the PSU block, no changes.
Have already contacted Chord support, but i thought I might as well ask here
Thanks guys.

Similar post recently from the M scaler thread that may be of interest to you.

Is the slight buzz/tingling feeling normal on the mscaler surface? Is it the same with TT2? @Rob Watts

Many thanks MK.

Yes it is, it's due to leakage from the PSU - it's entirely safe and is not a problem. But you can remove it by grounding either one of the BNC inputs ground, or the single BNC output ground. TT2 is the same too.

 

[k3kz]

I get that feeling also when running my finger over the top of TT2, I think it's just the paint, as if you don't move your finger, the weird sensation stops.

I just think the particles in the paint are smaller than the gaps between our fingerprints. But it is a weird horrible feeling. If it is power related, it's probably some of the components inside vibrating and transferring it to the case.

It is weird though and my tt2 has been like that since day 1 and it's now 7 months old. The TT2 should only be in the low 30oC temp wise, if you use the xlr ports to drive speakers, it will be warmer, but if you only use headphones, you will be hard pressed to see tt2 at 40oC.

I've done numerous temp tests and my TT2 on top of HMS only ever got to 34oC, but usually it was 32oC.

Try unplugging yours and see if its still the same, for me that removed the weird feeling.
Re: temperatures, haven't measured, just feels quite warm to the touch even when it's 30 degrees in my room, like now. Would be logical for it to run warmer now though.

Similar post recently from the M scaler thread that may be of interest to you.

Thanks, I had just seen that. Good to know it's harmless, sucks that it is very audible with the i4 sometimes... The i4 are my saving grace in these temperatures, it's impossible to wear full size headphones right now

 

[flummoxed]

Upton Audio make a Ground Shunted PSU which is 36W at 7.5V.

Is 7.5V sufficient to run the M-Scaler and TT2?

https://www.vortexbox.co.uk/Uptone_75V,_ground-shunt_36W_PSU,_in-stock/p317978_17832335.aspx

 

[miketlse]

Upton Audio make a Ground Shunted PSU which is 36W at 7.5V.

Is 7.5V sufficient to run the M-Scaler and TT2?

https://www.vortexbox.co.uk/Uptone_75V,_ground-shunt_36W_PSU,_in-stock/p317978_17832335.aspx

Have a search for posts by Rob Watts. I think above 12V will blow a protection diode, but I am not sure what the lowest voltage is - but 7.5V feels low so best to check the rob watts posts.

 

[ra990]

Did you not like it ?

I absolutely loved it, but I have less of a need for it now that I've parted with my Abyss headphones. I wanted to use it in my speaker setup, but I'd be way over budget.

 

[SP1000_WOW]

Balance connection for headphones is an eyewash and has no advantage at all except one want higher output. Since tt2 has already very high output through se headphone out, there is absolutely no point of using XLR out of tt2 for headphones. I would even say if someone has XLR cable for headphones, they should make it 3 pole stereo plug to use the regular se out of tt2.

Was the music using XLR more warmer versus using the regular SE out of tt2? I read this from a recent review. I tried filter4 using SE and it was not warm enough for me on Utopia. I did not have an adapter available to test the XLR outs....