Hugo2 is foremost an excellent DAC. It holds it's own. Improvements at this level are usually incremental.
It drives most IEM's (e.g. Trailli, MEST3) well. However, it too benefits from synergy with an amp for harder to drive IEM's.
Did you try the DCS Lina stack with the clock? It makes a perceptible improvement in soundstage and clarity. Though my memory of it is now rather distant. Value for money decidedly underwhelmed.
I had the fortune of listening to the Storm again using the Hugo2 and it does benefit from a portable amp stage. Had a fun time auditioning interconnects (yes, I can perceive a difference almost instantly) and how things would sound if you put a silly, headphone sized, money no object cable onto an IEM. Only thing I forgot till too late was to roll the tips to my preferred ones.
Hugo2 vs SP3000 a matter of preference although the latter is as Roon endpoint and streamer. The H2 is not.
Better than both for driving IEM's and no need for an amp stage is the Chord TT2. But no 4.4mm is irritating - as you'd have to buy a quality interconnect.
crappy interconnects and cables matter. I auditioned a few IC's recently without knowing anything about them having never heard or seen them before and it was night and day effects on tuning. Not entering into a cable debate. I can hear the difference and it was pretty much instant.
#edit# not sure I am allowed to post the photos or details of what I was listening to but they are TOTL cables that synergise with Storm.
I love that you guys are discussing transportable setups now, haha. I've been over here sublime with my Hugo2 + CDM for so long I've forgotten how long it's been, and I can bring it to the coffee shop with me. I just don't use it when I'm going to and from my car for example(honestly people shouldn't be walking around in such a state in public anyway, America isn't Japan), just when I'm sitting down working on something for hours on end. Been done with source gear for awhile. You can't get a CDM anymore but aren't Hugo2's like 1-1.5k now? Steal, pairing it with something like a Mass Kobo/Brise amp/ALO Continental would probably be great and you could probably score that whole setup cheaper than an N30LE, so if you're sitting an listening instead of walking around go for it. Also Hugo2, CDM, these devices aren't sending signals, bluetooth, celluar etc. EMI/RF is a thing.
I love that I can change tubes in the CDM as well, change the sound, another way to tweak without EQ. I saw what the CDM was capable of when I added Centurion though, when I remove centurion there's a veil over the sound constraining not only resolution but shrinking images. Probably had more to do with the garbage Jewel stock cable neutering the sound than CDM.
Tubes aren't going anywhere, we need more portable tube amps badly or a CDM 2.0. Remove the DAC section, put better/bigger tubes or upgrade it somehow, LFG. I will always love tubes. I'm considering having my centurion re-terminated to 3.5 so I don't have to use an adapter with CDM and Hugo2, I concur I can very clearly hear the differences with adapters and interconnects.
It's interesting that so many place such an importance on naturalness/timbre /warm sound when that's precisely what tubes do, I suspect it's because they're listening from entirely modern digital sources, from my experience many"sap the life" out of the sound with a few exceptions(DMPZ1 sounded great), maybe also that's why people like N30LE so much because it has an amalgamation of tubes-not quite real tubes but close. With a good tube amp you can take a highly technically capable IEM that may be a slightly unnatural sounding and fix that problem, case in point A18t. Did wonders for it. It also means I don't have to pass on those IEMs because I can tune them so much through the options the transportable setup allows, The 2023 Annihilator was too dry off Hugo2 by itself to my ears but with the CDM it came to life with greater dynamics but Jewel sounds great from either because it's already go that smooth analog flavor.