[lovethatsound]

It's very good. I own one. It's way above a Hugo and most other dacs .
Al

ok Al please review this dac and tell me why it's way above the hugo, thanks

 

[lovethatsound]

Hi Al again,the reason why ive asked you about the dac is because on the naim forum someone has been testing the hugo and ps audio dac and they say the hugo sounds better.now this guy listens 2 vinyl on a £20,000 deck.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Good morning

Here us how I hear it. First off we all have somewhat different likes and I think we hear different as well.

The tail of a few dacs I have owned .
The mytek ok with DSD but horrible with PCM now there was a time I liked it but when you hear something and like it . The music evolves and changes our wanted perception . So now I hate the mytek all around.
Now let's move to the Hugo and direct stream . The Hugo is a little brighter in presentation and this gives the impression of better clarity . Now the notes a are a little thin as well and for me I feel the pitch is off. Now the direct stream is pitched correctly has a better note realism and lower noise floor . But the DS seems a little further back in presentation .
But if you listen to the DS for a while you hear much more of the music as the details and overall clarity is much better .
With the Hugo being a little brighter we first think it's better and gives us more air around the music . But thus is false as when you use your own amp it looses some of this air and what us left is the real sound of the DAC . All devices we own are voiced and this means they listen to it on some kind of ref system or systems . The Hugo was voiced to sound its way to enhance its clarity but it doing so it sacrifices details . So if we remove just a little of the brightness the Hugo seems dull . Where the DS is not and becomes the obvious greater detailed and balanced DAC. Now since I have better dacs then both of them it is easy for me to hear this change . An example is the lampizator B7 or my MSB stack . They show me how much more can be had in both PCM and DSD above the others. The preamp I use is in my msb stack .and also in my DEQX active crossover if used . Now something that you want to read the Hugo is most likely better than most dacs above its price range and weather they are desk top or rack . It's the overall type of sound it produces that pleases our brains . We know what natural sounds like as we hear it all around us all the time. It's music that is completely fake and our brains know this and the more it is real the less our brains work to know it . This is listening fatigue . It's why DSD just sounds better on any DAC . I am not bashing the Hugo it's just there is better and we al, should understand it. In the next month or two many other new dacs like the Hugo and direct stream will be coming out and this raise the bar of real musical reproduction . The DS is above the pack for now and its firmware upgrading should keep,it there for some time . If you had the DS and Hugo side by side and went back and forth you would know in a moment . Hope this helps and please ask questions if I can help,I will .
Al

 

[blitzxgene]

Nice post AL.

 

[lovethatsound]

Thanks Al for your reply,it's very good of you 2 reply so fast.i understand what your saying 2 a point,and I was thinking about getting a ds audio dac, but for the moment I'm gonna stick with the hugo and see what chord bring out later this year.the way I see it is the hugo is £1400, the ds audio is £5200 over here in the uk, and there really don't seem that much difference in sound according 2 some people.thanks for your opinion.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

I see your point and the Hugo gets you close and even I am not sure if it's worth that much more for you given the price difrence. Enjoy the Hugo. I do daily on the go.
Al

 

[SearchOfSub]

Thanks for that AL!

 

[ALRAINBOW]

I know I stink at writing but I do take the time to try and help. And I do nit write about stuff I do not own or have for a while. In the end we buy what we want and should enjoy it as I have. But i do try to help some not buy something that I did and sold. Some have issues with me I honestly do not know why .
Al

 

[blitzxgene]

Looks like the post is gone as it was not constructive or relevant to the thread. On a note relevant to the thread, I will be ordering a direct stream kit within the next few days! Super pumped!

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Good enjoy it. It is well worth the money. Post about it. Do you belong to ps audio web site forums. If not you should join
Al

 

[blitzxgene]

Good enjoy it. It is well worth the money. Post about it. Do you belong to ps audio web site forums. If not you should join
Al

I signed up some time ago and browse the forums pretty often. Have yet to post but probably won't be able to resist after the kit gets in. 

 

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Good the so audio bunch are pretty cool and smart . There is plenty to learn there . Al

 

[Crashem]

Thanks Al for your reply,it's very good of you 2 reply so fast.i understand what your saying 2 a point,and I was thinking about getting a ds audio dac, but for the moment I'm gonna stick with the hugo and see what chord bring out later this year.the way I see it is the hugo is £1400, the ds audio is £5200 over here in the uk, and there really don't seem that much difference in sound according 2 some people.thanks for your opinion.

I would recommend getting used PWD and doing trade in or kit upgrade. Pricing will still be higher but much closer. A used PWD + upgrade kit would be $3200-3500 USD.

 

[Crashem]

Good enjoy it. It is well worth the money. Post about it. Do you belong to ps audio web site forums. If not you should join
Al

Al,

Did you have lamp L5 too? Mans were you able to compare to directstream. My directstream hopefully coming this week and I can compare myself.

 

[SearchOfSub]

You mean used PWD MK1 to DS kit?