[creeper62]

Hugo TT2 is an amazing machine. Its resolution and tonality are just amazing. Not going to lie, it is the look that drove me into buying it

 

[Muataz]

Loved the review, but I think the amplifier is the week link for Topping D90.

 

[pippen99]

Good review!

From one autoimmune sufferer ( Rheumatoid Arthritis here ) to another, take it one day at a time.

+2 This hobby has become my sanctuary as I deal with my disorder(Myasthenia Gravis)

 

[GreenBow]

Just a note for folks who like reading hifi mags. There is a flash sale of 99p per back issue of magazines on Pocketmags; UK based I think.

However I came across a jazz artist from the record reviews in one of the back issues I bought. Yuko Mabuchi. If you click the following link on Youtube you will get a YouTube mix of her tracks. (I could not find any of her albums on YouTube.) I think this is music for those who like jazz, or want to. I personally find jazz a hard knock, and only like very selected artists; like maybe three so far. Not that I have spent a lot of effort so far exploring jazz, for perspective.

Anyway, this link on YouTube for this: Top Tracks – Yuko Mabuchi

 

[musickid]

my suggestion

 

[varadero xl1000v]

God demet, due to covid - 19, I will receive the Hugo TT2 next Tuesday ..

 

[teknorob23]

Chord Hugo TT 2
DAC and Headphone Amplifier
=============================================================================================================

Review written by Jeremy B. (@jb77)
A Special Thank You!
To Mr. Todd Green owner of Todd The Vinyl Junkie
https://www.ttvjaudio.com/default.asp​

Preface

A little about me, I am not a professional reviewer, as I do this for the ‘fun’ of audio. I have been interested in audio for as long as I can remember, originally my interest started in home theater /surround audio. In time that interest grew into 2-channel audio and now personal audio/headphones. On a different note, unfortunately I have a debilitating autoimmune disease, that prevents me from working(or doing pretty much anything else) So audio for me is an important diversion/escape from my conditions. I can definitely ‘feel’ for any other members here who suffer from a debilitating condition. As they are life altering.

I have a wonderful loving wife, who ‘tolerates’ my audio passion, she doesn’t ‘get it’ but is supportive of it. I have tried ‘in vein’ numerous times to help her understand it and the ‘fun’ of audio, though it is not her forte.

Introduction

*Below is from Chord Electronics website.
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugott2/

“Developed from the multi-award-winning transportable Hugo 2, the Hugo TT 2 is bigger, better and more advanced in every way. TT 2 sets a new benchmark for table top DACs, eclipsed only by our flagship DAVE.”

“Hugo TT 2 has been radically redesigned from the ground up, not only with beautiful new casework by Chief Designer, John Franks, but with 5x the processing power of the original Hugo TT and double that of the multi-award-winning Hugo 2. Hugo TT 2 distils over 20 years of digital development by Rob Watts and takes advantage of the very latest technology.

As expected, it delivers radically improved technical specifications and measurements across the board and exhibits drastic sonic benefits over its predecessor with 768kHz PCM and DSD 512 playback. Hugo TT 2 sets a new benchmark in table top audio, only being eclipsed by DAVE.

Delving deeper, in comparison to the 256-tap filters that traditional chip DACs may run at, Hugo TT 2’s beating heart is a powerful Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA, custom-coded by Chord Electronics’ Rob Watts, with 86x 208MHz cores running in parallel to create an advanced 16FS WTA 1 filter with 98,304-taps. Double that of its multi-award winning transportable brother, Hugo 2 (49,152). Hugo TT 2 also benefits from an upgrade from a 4-element design to a 10-element design, which works in harmony with the radically upgraded FPGA and code to deliver unrivalled audio.

A brand new high-power discreet output stage coupled with second-order noise-shaping integrated between the DAC output and filter is also employed to massively reduce distortion. Further improvements have also been made to the power delivery. Hugo TT 2 eschews the Li-Po battery power supply of the original and ushers in six super capacitors capable of delivering huge, linear dynamic currents when the music demands it with peak output of 5A, 9.3V RMS.

Hugo TT 2 also brings home the much loved four-stage user-selectable filter controls introduced with Hugo 2 and retains the three-stage user-selectable digital crossfeed function for headphone users who want to improve the perception of depth, similar to that of speaker
Hugo TT 2 can be upgraded at any time with the addition of M Scaler, our 1M-tap digital upscaling device.”

As I start this review off, I wanted to give A special Thank You to Todd Green, The Hugo TT 2 is on a kind loan from Todd As part of his loaner review program.
This introduction is based on my initial exposure and time I had with the Chord Hugo TT 2. So let’s begin the review.

As with all audio gear this is my personal subjective opinion. Everyone has their own preferences, which in turn makes everyone’s review subjective to their tastes and opinions.​

Features & Functionality

In addition to the obvious volume marble and porthole window, the Hugo TT 2 comes in your choice of all black or silver and black. Unlike most other cord products the Hugo TT 2 has an LCD read out, located on the left-hand side. This LCD window is visible not only from straight on, but also from above. On the front panel, the unit has three buttons labeled menu, set, and power. The front panel also includes three headphone outputs, two of which are the standard 6.5mm (¼”) and the other is 3.5mm (1/8”).

The back panel of the Hugo TT 2 digital inputs include the standard USB input, two optical inputs and two BNC digital inputs. The dual BNC inputs are meant for adding Chord’s M Scaler. The outputs of the TT 2 contain the standard single ended outputs, three pin balance outputs and DX BNC outputs.

The Hugo TT 2 is noticeably absent of analog inputs, this unit is meant to be operated as an all in one Dac Amp combo a Dac only, outputting to a separate amp and preamp out to speakers. However with the lack of analog inputs you cannot connect your own Dac and use the internal Amp.

During the power on process of the Hugo TT 2, you will notice a few different things. First off it takes about 15 seconds or so to full power on and be in a ready to use state. Second you will notice on the LCD display it shows charge, this is for the process of charging the six super capacitors the TT 2 has, also the porthole window will start to show a multitude of different colors, This is part of the lighting effects the Chord Hugo TT 2 has.

Also of note, another interesting feature is the volume marble will change colors, depending on the volume setting.

HUGO TT 2 – SPECIFICATIONS:

*Specifications are from Chord Electronics website: https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugott2/

• Materials: Precision machined aluminium casing with steel ball bearing buttons, gloss black acrylic signal window, glass viewing portal, and dot matrix display. Available in a choice of two colours – silver, and satin Blackburn
• Tap length filter: 98,304-tap 16FS WTA 1 – 10 element design
• Connectivity (input): 1x USB Type-B, 2x Coax BNC, 2x Optical & Bluetooth
• Connectivity (output): Stereo XLR, Stereo RCA, 2x 6.5mm Headphone jack & 1x 3.5mm Headphone jack
• Connectivity (digital output): 2x DX BNC (expansion outputs)
• weight: 2.53kg

• PCM support: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 358.8kHz, 384kHz, 705.6 and 768kHz – 16 to 32bit
• DSD support: DoP DSD 64 to DSD 512 – native via Windows
• Volume control: Digital
• Line-level mode: Activated within the menu
• Driver support: Driverless with Mac OS X and Linux, driver required for Windows OS
• Dynamic range: 127dB ‘A’ weighted
• Noise: 4 uV ‘A’ weighted (high gain), 1.7 uV ‘A’ weighted (low gain) with no measurable noise floor modulation
• Distortion: 0.00008% @ 2.5 V 300Ω; 0.00016% @ 6 W 8Ω
• Output power (unbalanced): (@1% THD) 288 mW RMS 300Ω; 7.3 W RMS 8Ω
• Output power (balanced): (@1% THD) 1.15 W RMS 300Ω; 18W RMS 8Ω
• Output impedance: 0.042Ω
• Stereo separation: 9 V RMS 300Ω -138dB
• Dimensions: 5.2cm (H) 23.5cm (W) 23.8cm (D)

First Impressions

I was able to spend a little time with the Hugo TT 2 and well I explain it like this:

Normally differences between Dacs are small, though those small amounts compared to my D90 and Bifrost 2, made all the difference for me. So (as an example) a 10% difference between the TT 2 and my D90/Bifrost 2, though that 10% equals quite a bit of an Improvement for me.

Regarding the unit as a whole, the amp section of the TT 2 in combination with the Dac, really is amazing. It’s more on the ‘neutral’ side, though for me specifically it adds a certain amount of ‘life’ or ‘reality’ to the music, plus the absolutely insane amount of detail. The great sense of space, air, positioning of instruments/imaging, separation, stage, dynamics, and on some tracks (especially live recordings) the ability to hear the room or space the music was being played in(as it transports you ‘there’).

This is what I took away from The TT 2 and why it has impressed me so much. The TT 2 was ‘game changing’ for me. As I never thought that small little percentage of difference, would equate to such a ‘significant’ improvement for myself. Plus I have found that I ‘Really’ like the ‘house sound’ of Chord products! I thought I had my endgame amps and dacs, I was wrong, the TT 2 takes it to the next level and for myself it is ‘exactly’ what I have been ‘looking’ for. I have no idea how, but eventually I really want the Hugo TT 2 in my system. For me it truly is THAT Good!

Sound

Smooth and detailed are the words that come to mind when describing the sound of the Hugo TT 2. Amazing detail yet it is smooth in it’s presentation, without adding any harshness or sibilance to the music. The custom FPGA chip designed by @Rob Watts in the Hugo TT 2, is more resolving and smooth. In comparison to the AKM 4499 chip in my Topping D 90. This amongst itself is impressive as AKM chips in general, have a wonderful “velvety” sound signature to them. In my opinion this is bested by the custom FPGA chip in the Hugo TT 2.

When using the Hugo TT 2 in it’s intended all in one form. It offers a very engaging yet pleasant sound. This did not change with all of the headphones I tried, including the Focal Elex, and Elegia. The HifiMan Ananda’s all the way to my Sennheiser HD600’s. The presentation the TT2 offers remains engaging and pleasant throughout. As I mentioned in my ‘first impressions’ the Chord Hugo TT 2 has a great sense of space, air, positioning of instruments/imaging, separation, stage, dynamics, and on some tracks (especially live recordings) the ability to hear the room or space the music was being played in(as it transports you ‘there’). This ability of the TT 2 to convey the sense of space, along with the imaging capabilities, is unlike any other I have currently heard! It’s almost as if I am able to hear around the notes, as it gives you a 3D(being there) presentation.

The Dac portion of the Hugo TT 2 paired extremely well with my SPL Phonitor XE amp. Also paired very well with my Hagerman Audio Labs “Tuba” tube amplifier. Though the Dac portion of the Hugo TT 2 pairs very well with many of my amps. I still prefer to use the Hugo TT 2 in its intended, all in one form factor. Which in my opinion yields the best possible sound. As another forum regular mentions, adding an external amplifier to the chain will only increase noise, however this was not ‘audible’ with the SPL Phonitor XE amplifier.

The Dac portion alone does a phenomenal job of extracting and relaying incredible amounts of detail. Timbre is not quite as natural as other Dacs, As the smoothness of the FPGA chip, slightly takes away from a completely natural sound. Though this does not take away from the pure engagement and enjoyment of this particular Dac.

The amp portion is very competent in its performance, It is highly resolving, excels in terms of its raw detail and micro-dynamic resolution. I felt nothing was gained in pairing the TT 2 with my Phonitor XE amp. Using the Hugo TT 2 in it’s intended all in one form, will yield amazing performance for all headphones with the possible exception of all but the most demanding headphones such as the notoriously hard to drive HifiMan Susvara’s.

Though the Hugo TT 2 does offer numerous filter and crossfeed settings. I kept both of these in their default settings, incisive neutral for the filter and crossfeed set to off for the purposes of this review. I have not tried any other filter settings nor any of the cross feed on settings. Due to this I cannot speak to how the use of the different filters or crossfeed settings affect the sound.

Summary

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the Hugo TT 2, as I thought to myself how much better could a $5500+ Dac actually be? As I mentioned in my initial impressions, when you reach a certain level, the differences in Dacs is not huge, you are talking about small percentages and signatures. However the Chord Hugo TT 2 has given me the best listening experience I have ever had and I do mean experience, as this is more than just listening to the music. Chord Electronics makes some absolutely phenomenal equipment. I highly recommend you check them out, especially if given the opportunity to audition some of the products in your own system.

https://www.ttvjaudio.com/Chord-Hugo-TT-2-DAC-and-Headphone-Amplifier-p/cho0000078.htm

- Jeremy B. (@jb77)

great review, thank you

I also found the differences to be there but marginal at first when I auditioned next to my hugo2. The presentation is so smooth and effortless that the improvements which are undoubtedly there, don’t whack you in the ears. After a couple of hours, all is revealed, quite literally in fact. The Tt2 has one of the most beguiling presentations I’ve heard in any hi-fi. Separation, resolution, imaging and weight are all fhere but unlike a lot of DACs I’ve listened to the presentation is entirely natural and cohesive. It allows you to listen to music whole or delve in to any instrument and here everything that’s recorded, all the while staying addictively musical. The hugo2 is no slouch and hard to beat compared to any other dac I’ve heard until you double the price with Tt2, but compared to the latter its details can sound hard edged and digital. The layering is also improved as are the dynamics which is probably testament to the incredible amp stage in combination with the dac of the tt2. I say this because I also spent some dangerous time with the DAVE, which is hands down the most resolving Dac I’ve heard but for me it’s less of a complete package than the tt2. The presentation sounds a bit thin by comparison lacking grunt and some of the effortless dynamism of the tt2.

sorry this wasn’t meant to turn into rambling list of impressions, so long story short, my time with the Tt2 stretched to about 5 months then the effects of brexit hit my clients and ad production business, resulted in an urgent need to rationalise my rig, Tt2, feliks audio euforia ae and stellias were all out the door. I managed to keep a bit of budget back and found a good deal on another H2 and senn hd820s. Which brings me circuitously to my point. Having a bit time between the Tt2 going and hugo2 returning the deficiencies of the latter by comparison to the former are much less pronounced and I’m very happy with the H2. So my question is have you heard the H2 and if not I’d love to read your impressions, if you could get hold of one, having had some time apart from the Tt2.

thanks again for the review

 

[jambaj0e]

Well folks, looks like I'm joining your club! Bought the TT2 Black brand new for a steal of a deal, and also trading in my Qutest in the process. Mine should come on Tuesday as well!

I'll be pairing it with my Cayin HA-300 tube amp with Psvane ACME 300b tubes and 1952 Sylvania 6SN7GT 3-hole Bad Boy tubes into my LCD-3F headphones

 

[GreenBow]

I did a few TT2 vs Hugo 2 posts.

I found the TT2 was immediately more impressive, but it took quite a long time to adjust to. One of the first things I noticed was lyrics that started with letter 'T' came in much quicker. Making me almost physically move in surprised response. (Faster transients might be the term for that.) … I did wonder if slower transients with Hugo 2 could have been sped up with a quicker or upgraded amplifier. I was using Rega Brio (2017) at the time. Like if I have replaced the Brio with a Naim XS3 for example. Would transients be as fast with Hugo 2 and Naim XS3, as the TT2 and the Rega Brio. (Am still undecided about amplifier upgrade, if at all with lockdown.) Anyway no worries, and additionally I am driving speakers directly with the TT2 now.

Another thing I noticed was the clarity. Even when there was much more information from the music, making it tricky to hear as one. I could hear vocals sung with quite considerably more ambience, definition, and expression. I remember one of the first albums I listened to was All the Best by Tina Turner. I could hear how she was singing those vocals, much more.

While I said at the start of this post, I found the TT2 immediately more impressive. I found it took a long while to be able to hear all the improvement as one. Or to hear it all as complete music. That was mostly only with music I knew well though; music where I new every beat with Hugo 2. Music which was new to me after I bought the TT2, was just incredible on its own. It didn't need time for me to adjust from how it sounded via TT2.

One last aspect I found with TT2, was sometimes I would hear parts of music which would sound weird. Maybe it was just sometimes the extra details that the TT2 was tacking on. I remember commenting on that, and initially I was going to use the word alien. However I dialled it back to weird. It was cool when musickid use the word alien though, when he went from Hugo 2 (+M-Scaler) to TT2 (+M-Scaler).

 

[musickid]

is there anything inherently wrong with using a sub 200 pound headphone with the mTT2? I'm thinking beyer dt880 600 ohm. it just ticks so many boxes.

 

[varadero xl1000v]

Βρήκα ότι χρειάστηκε πολύς χρόνος για να ακούσω όλη τη βελτίωση ως μία. Ή για να τα ακούσετε όλα ως πλήρη μουσική

... How much time did the HUGO TT2 need in order to perform in the right way?

 

[miketlse]

is there anything inherently wrong with using a sub 200 pound headphone with the mTT2? I'm thinking beyer dt880 600 ohm. it just ticks so many boxes.

I started with the beyer DT770 for Mojo and Hugo 2, and it satisfied the need for a closed back headphone, so that I could listen to tv or music without disturbing my cat. However they did feel slightly claustrophobic.
The DT880 may avoid this issue because they are semi open, and at this price are a steal.

 

[adydula]

Hello,

I have this unit on my way to me and hope to receive it early next week. Thanks to Todd and Jeremy!

I will post my experience with it. I am presently using a Schiit Bifrost 2 with "many" amps....

Alex

 

[jarnopp]

... How much time did the HUGO TT2 need in order to perform in the right way?

30 seconds for the TT2, but longer for your brain to burn int to the sound.

 

[musickid]

@Rob Watts

I came across a small speaker which suits my set up. I'm new to this so given the following specs could TT2 drive it directly? (amphion one12 is the speaker)

I understand TT2 is approx. 8W single ended and 18W balanced. The problem is the back of the speaker only shows single ended connections and it states a minimum of 20W is needed in the specs. Many thanks for the clarification.

• Operating principle: 2-way, passive radiator
• Tweeter: 1" titanium
• Mid / woofer: 4,5" aluminium
• Crossover point: 1600 Hz
• Impedance: 8 ohm
• Sensitivity: 84 dB @ 2.83V/1m
• Frequency response: 78 - 20 000 Hz +/-3dB
• Power recommendation: 20 - 100 W
• Measurements (HxWxD): 259 x 132 x 220mm
• Weight: 6 kg / 13.2 lbs