Here is my honest straight forward impression of the comparison, DAC's, JKenny vs. Hugo. First, recently I was shopping around for a new DAC/AMP combination or separates. A friend had the JKenny and after listening to it thru his system I was very close to pulling the trigger on buying one. That is until I heard the Chord Hugo, which frankly, blew me away. It's detailed precision with CD quality sound was superb. Plus it was capable of all possible word lengths and frequencies that I would be feeding it at different times. If I was to break down the pros and cons of each unit, it would go like this. I'm sure there are others here more capable of a colorful response to comparable sounds.
JKenny Ciunas
Pros
1. Price wise, reasonable for a DAC with great quality sound.
2. Had USB 2.0 capability.
3. If you only needed a DAC and not a headphone amp or any other features, good DAC.
Negatives
1. Doesn't have a headphone amp.
2. Limited to PCM 192/24 to 44.1/16 for sound feed.
3. Build quality is somewhat flimsy, might not be good for travel from one stationary location to another.
4. Has only USB input.
Hugo Chord
Pros
1. Has several digital inputs, USB, optical, coaxial, Bluetooth.
2. Build quality is very good, built like a tank. Will handle travel well.
3. Handles CD quality feed extremely well along with compressed sound such as MP3, probably the best I've ever heard.
4. Can handle all PCM data from 384/32 to MP3's, also can handle DSD.
5. Headphone amp outputs are direct from the Hugo and are very good, even capable of driving bookshelf speakers without an additional amp. Is portable with an eight hour life.
Negatives
1. It's not cheap as a DAC only, but add in the other features and it's very reasonable.
2. Some of it's inputs/outputs are difficult to match up to cables.
All being said, the Chord Hugo matches up to my needs very well and I'm glad I came across it before pulling the trigger on the Ciunas. Of course everyone doesn't have the same needs as I and ears. So a listen is highly recommended before making your own decision.