[cskippy]

I've heard CHord products are overrated. But that's just what I've read. I know that with all the taps there is a slight audio delay, which doesn't matter for listening to music but could potently bother you if you're watching video or recording audio. Mimby and Jot are a great complement to each other. I use Jot with my HE-6 and sold my Liquid Carbon. Jot is pretty damn close to my 250W power amp as well. Plus you can save some money.

 

[supervisor]

I've heard CHord products are overrated. But that's just what I've read. I know that with all the taps there is a slight audio delay, which doesn't matter for listening to music but could potently bother you if you're watching video or recording audio. Mimby and Jot are a great complement to each other. I use Jot with my HE-6 and sold my Liquid Carbon. Jot is pretty damn close to my 250W power amp as well. Plus you can save some money.

absolutely love Chord's products, but 100% agree with you--Mimby + Jot is an potent and powerful combination. it's what I use at work. very strong.

 

[maxh22]

Does anyone here have experience with the original Chord Hugo?
I am able to get the Hugo for 700$ if I act quickly, or I could buy a new Jot for 400$ and use with my Mimby. I would prefer to hold on to my money for a little longer, but I can buy now if I have to. So my question is: Is the Hugo a big upgrade from the Jot+Mimby, so much that it's worth the extra 200$ and have to buy now? The portability isn't a big deal to me, so I'm thinking purely from a sound quality perspective.

For $700 it's a great buy, I paid about $1,000 when I had mine several months ago, if you don't like it you could get your money back easy.

 

[makne]

For $700 it's a great buy, I paid about $1,000 when I had mine several months ago, if you don't like it you could get your money back easy.

Thing is, in Norway the audiophile used market isn't very big, so might not be as easy to resell as it seems. Therefore it's much more of a hassle to buy the Hugo to possibly sell it, and to sell my mimby. But if it's a big SQ upgrade over the Jot+mimby, I will pull the trigger on the Hugo.

 

[makne]

absolutely love Chord's products, but 100% agree with you--Mimby + Jot is an potent and powerful combination. it's what I use at work. very strong.

Would you care to post (or PM me) some impressions on Hugo vs Jot+mimby then, if you have? Would be greatly appreciated.

 

[supervisor]

Would you care to post (or PM me) some impressions on Hugo vs Jot+mimby then, if you have? Would be greatly appreciated.

only have Mojo until my Hugo 2 arrives Monday, will get back to you...

 

[makne]

The funny thing is that in the Hugo thread, it seems like a lot of people are using the Hugo as a dac for a Liquid Carbon, and thereby implying that the LC is superior to the Hugo's headphone output. Comparisons I've read there are a leaning a little towards the LC too, with slightly superior quality and more power, and a little less clarity in some reports.

Meanwhile in the Jot thread here, it seems like the majority of comparisons are either "they're different but same quality" or leaning towards the Jot. Which would imply that Jot>LC>Hugo. BUT then again, others compare the Jot to the Mojo, which is sure to be inferior to the Hugo...
And amazingly enough, a "jotunheim" or "Jot" search in the Hugo thread comes back with ZERO results... This research thing ain't easy.

 

[supervisor]

i can safely say i prefer Mimby paired with Jot than Mojo paired with Jot.

it's less warm, and the music *cracks* (no one else uses this term but this is the adjective i hear) with more dynamics and what i hear as *wider soundstage*

i'm not used to posting impressions so just trying to describe best I can.

 

[makne]

i can safely say i prefer Mimby paired with Jot than Mojo paired with Jot.

it's less warm, and the music *cracks* (no one else uses this term but this is the adjective i hear) with more dynamics and what i hear as *wider soundstage*

i'm not used to posting impressions so just trying to describe best I can.

Well anything is better than nothing, and I understand what you're saying.

 

[Topspin70]

Sounds like it's the basic difference between warm/smooth gear and neutral/dynamic gear. The former being what I had preferred for a long time, and the latter being what I have come to appreciate in recent months.

 

[DavidA]

Does anyone here have experience with the original Chord Hugo?
I am able to get the Hugo for 700$ if I act quickly, or I could buy a new Jot for 400$ and use with my Mimby. I would prefer to hold on to my money for a little longer, but I can buy now if I have to. So my question is: Is the Hugo a big upgrade from the Jot+Mimby, so much that it's worth the extra 200$ and have to buy now? The portability isn't a big deal to me, so I'm thinking purely from a sound quality perspective.

From my experience with a friends Hugo, $700 is a great deal and one that I would take over the Mimby/Jot combo even if the Hugo was $1400 that my friend got his for. The Hugo was one of the few amps that paired well with a HD800, T1 and HE560. FWIW I compared my friends Hugo with my Bimby, BH Crack (upgraded caps and tubes) & Lyr2 (Telefunken CCa & Siemens CCa tubes)

 

[earnmyturns]

Sounds like it's the basic difference between warm/smooth gear and neutral/dynamic gear. The former being what I had preferred for a long time, and the latter being what I have come to appreciate in recent months.

I listen to a lot of live music (jazz and classical), and "neutral/dynamic" comes a lot closer to that experience than "warm/smooth." That's why I sold my Liquid Carbon.

 

[Topspin70]

I listen to a lot of live music (jazz and classical), and "neutral/dynamic" comes a lot closer to that experience than "warm/smooth." That's why I sold my Liquid Carbon.

Absolutely. Warmth is ultimately a coloration, and while it's fine to tune gear that way for listening pleasure, it clearly isn't letting us hear the real thing.

I have to say that for a long time I had confused neutral/dynamic with thin/harsh/analytical, probably due to my past experience with Cyrus and Naim products. That's obviously not the case as I have come to realise. Neutral after all means that middle spot between dark and bright, not an extreme. (Duh me!)

 

[joeexp]

From my experience with a friends Hugo, $700 is a great deal and one that I would take over the Mimby/Jot combo even if the Hugo was $1400 that my friend got his for. The Hugo was one of the few amps that paired well with a HD800, T1 and HE560. FWIW I compared my friends Hugo with my Bimby, BH Crack (upgraded caps and tubes) & Lyr2 (Telefunken CCa & Siemens CCa tubes)

The Hugo never paired well with the HD800s. In fact the Hugo isn't able to drive any full-size heaphones properly. That has been established a long time ago.

 

[DavidA]

The Hugo never paired well with the HD800s. In fact the Hugo isn't able to drive any full-size heaphones properly. That has been established a long time ago.

I guess l and most of my friends like the HD800, HE560 and T1 "not properly" driven