Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[alekc]

I use the Psavne acme.

@Sampajanna could you tell me a bit more about those tubes please? Why have you selected those? I'm in quest for tube amp for another dac I have but at some point I would obviously like to pair at least temporary with TT2.

 

[alekc]

I never thought I’d miss the days this forum was discussing the possible sonic advantages of physically separating your TT2 and Mscaler with BNC to optical range extender interconnects and/or using specially constructed RF dampening $1000+ coaxial cables. BUT I do miss those days as those cable topics were way more interesting than this endless ASR versus Chord debate.

@ardbeg1975 me too Those were the days BTW: I'm still running M Scaler on stock BNC cables stacked under TT2 feeding it using USB input from Lumin... call me irresponsible

 

[ardbeg1975]

@ardbeg1975 me too Those were the days BTW: I'm still running M Scaler on stock BNC cables stacked under TT2 feeding it using USB input from Lumin... call me irresponsible

Same. I’m not completely resistant to the notion of cable quality impacting the analog domain but I get a bit more skeptical in the digital signal domain but I’m open to a smarter person educating me on this topic particularly in relation to the TT2 to HMS context. Now, some may say “trust your ears” as the sonic difference between the interconnects is so self evident. Maybe. To me, the sonic difference between the TT2 versus say a BF2 was very evident and even more evident with the HMS in play. In contrast, the few times I’ve swapped headphone cables to premium equivalents the difference was very, very subtle to the point I questioned the difference. I still kept the cable as I like it and cables have a sonic and tactile component to their overall enjoyment factor. So, does the interconnect swap potential difference fall into the “wow that’s easy to notice” or “maybe” (really, very subtle category) and your tube amp focused chain is likely to obscure the difference anyway? Given the price tag, I need a bit more convincing.

 

[OCC7N]

I don´t really care for another "grown" mans opinion, especially when there is no actual experience involved in the "judgement".

...that said my HeadFi chain has been on awaiting for too long now, and my excitement is high!...missing audio-gd he9le, ifi dc blocker and ifi powerstation.

TT2 is just so beautiful, and I just somehow know it was made for music listening(long hours) it has the perfect measurements for that Im convinced(my ears).

In the end of the day we have to look inside and rely on our own opinions/decisions....just don´t feed the negative trend, then this forum will be ok.

My initial impressions of TT2 is that it is perfect for music, especially live music. Movies and games I actually prefere the Diablo because of the more narrow soundstage/signature, more upfront.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Been using a tube preamplifier in between TT2 and a solid state when I feel like I want some tube magic.

I’ve only just recently tried op-amp rolling which has been a fun experience and akin to tube rolling imo. Still with the TT2 as my DAC though. I really like it with SRC-DX and Hqplayer.

Agreed. I use the TT2/MScaler to the Riviera AIC-10, which has a tube pre and solid state amp stage. It’s a magical pairing for the Susvaras and anything I’ve thrown at it so far.

 

[Amberlamps]

I find some of the questions interesting, but have to say this is the first time I hear about channel imbalance on a TT2 and I have been following the thread since its birth.

I noticed a few months ago that the left channel on my TT2 suddenly went all lower volume on me for some reason. Your post is the first time I’ve heard / read about this problem. I was going to send it back to be checked over but wasn’t in a hurry and I’ve put it off for various reasons, read as me being a lazy bastid and postage for something that weighs half a ton and needs postage insurance of £4000, so I‘m looking at a hefty price tag to send it back. But it’s good to see that I’m not just imagining it.

 

[OCC7N]

I noticed a few months ago that the left channel on my TT2 suddenly went all lower volume on me for some reason. Your post is the first time I’ve heard / read about this problem. I was going to send it back to be checked over but wasn’t in a hurry and I’ve put it off for various reasons, read as me being a lazy bastid and postage for something that weighs half a ton and needs postage insurance of £4000, so I‘m looking at a hefty price tag to send it back. But it’s good to see that I’m not just imagining it.

How long did you have it before this happened? This is sad!!

Any idea how this might have happened?

 

[CaptainFantastic]

In case it helps, there have been a few (3 or 4 including me) people reporting channel imbalance issues. But it has been a fairly limited issue in terms of reporting on this thread.

I see that a simple keyword "imbalance" on this thread returns the relevant posts. Mine was very particular and I described it at length. There was at least one other user who described (in brief) the same issue, although in my case unplugging and re-plugging didn't necessarily fix the issue. Here is the other report. I wonder if he could revert to us with how it was resolved or if it just went away.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hug...fficial-thread.879425/page-1065#post-16866104

Edit: I see the post right under it reports exactly the same thing.

@No KNOTsense and @OneEyedHito , sorry to type your handles here, may we ask what was the resolution for you on the imbalance issue? Did it just go away by itself or did it require a board change?

The thing that affected me the most was that (as I related earlier) Chord kept saying this is an impossibility in the design and it took months before a board change was accepted, which appears to have resolved the issue. I did a lot of testing with multiple stock PSUs, multiple headphones, at friends' houses to eliminate the possibility that it was something in my particular setup.

 

[OCC7N]

What is the official explaination for this???

It does not seem they did anything to stop this, if it keeps on happening this year.

 

[betula]

In case it helps, there have been a few (3 or 4 including me) people reporting channel imbalance issues. But it has been a fairly limited issue in terms of reporting on this thread.

I see that a simple keyword "imbalance" on this thread returns the relevant posts. Mine was very particular and I described it at length. There was at least one other user who described (in brief) the same issue, although in my case unplugging and re-plugging didn't necessarily fix the issue. Here is the other report. I wonder if he could revert to us with how it was resolved or if it just went away.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hug...fficial-thread.879425/page-1065#post-16866104

Edit: I see the post right under it reports exactly the same thing.

That is a handful of cases from tens of thousands TT2s sold. I am just saying it because here people often forget that almost every product (especially cutting edge technology) will have some issues based on the law of numbers and some users easily jump on/overexaggerate relatively minor issues. (Of course if you are the unlucky 1 out of 10.000 than it is not a minor issue.) In this matter I think Chord products are more reliable than the average in the industry. And Chord repair service is also very helpful.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

I don't have a TT-2, but my Qutest doesn't exhibit any channel imbalance, I had a DAC years ago from another brand that had this issue.

 

[OCC7N]

I read your previous posts on the subject. Unlike your case, my TT2 is about 20 months old and only developed this issue within the last few weeks. It is as though the headphone jack is sometimes not properly engaged when a headphone is plugged in. Plugging it in slowly seems to work more consistently than doing so quickly. I'm glad you mentioned high and low impedance headphones behaving differently: it explains why my HD800S has much less of an issue than my Meze Elite. I have several additional PSUs in storage I will try out after work to see if they make any difference.

Did anybody having the issue try this

 

[Amberlamps]

How long did you have it before this happened? This is sad!!

Any idea how this might have happened?

8 months maybe ? when I got it, it was ok but the left channel all of a sudden went a bit wonky, it sounds like the left hand side is slightly out of sync with the right one, either volume wise or sync wise. It’s been sitting on my desk unused for the last 4 months.

I would like to know exactly what has happened in this case, even if it’s not broken, I would like to have it checked over for piece of mind sake.

 

[OCC7N]

8 months maybe ? when I got it, it was ok but the left channel all of a sudden went a bit wonky, it sounds like the left hand side is slightly out of sync with the right one, either volume wise or sync wise. It’s been sitting on my desk unused for the last 4 months.

I would like to know exactly what has happened in this case, even if it’s not broken, I would like to have it checked over for piece of mind sake.

Please turn it on and try the slow method, with the jack. Try both sockets. This is pretty sad for something that cost this much. Ofcourse some units can be faulty, but not all TT2 users are member of this forum, so if this has been a known issue without Chord fixing it, its concerning because it still happens this year.

 

[betula]

What are they going to accuse me of next?

Looking at this almost every evening when I put my Meze Elites on, makes me proud that I was able to purchase a TT2 second-hand with a bit of a stretch to my wallet. Because it sounds so good to me (lifelike, balanced, satisfying, spacious with excellent imaging). Yes, the Dave is even better, at least in transparency with a sharper image and more details, but that is clearly out of reach to me even second-hand. At least for now.

As a designer you should be and I know you are even prouder. I do not envy you though when you have to judge what conversations you should enter to educate/save reputation and what conversations you should simply ignore. Good luck with that!