Chord Hugo DAC

Dpod4

Dpod4

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Apr 5, 2013
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Received my Chord Hugo (thanks Joe for the advice!!).

Downloaded a dsd album from acoustic sounds and used onkyo app to import to iPhone and then plugged into HD USB input of Hugo. Pushed play and off to the races with my Audeze headphones. Easy easy. No glitches no issues. Playing pronto dsd straight away and it sounds marvelous. Very spacious and detailed and layered but no electronic haze glaze or sharpness. And man the bass is incredible. Sounds like really good analogue. This is my new "Walkman"

She's a lightweight beauty:
3u2yte2y.jpg


Screen shot from onkyo app playing dsd to Hugo from iPhone:
:
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Congratulations Darrin! I'll be adding one soon. So glad you love it!
 
Thanks, Joe. Amazing how simple it is to use and the dac and headphone quality is world class. The dac easily beats my perfect wave dac mkii. Even non-dsd sounds awesome. I chose dsd via dop versus PCM and it sounds great.
 
Wonderful. Especially when I travel. Set of Audeze or Beyer t1, moon audio cord, iPhone and Seagate wireless drive.
 
Darrin...the reviews I have read of the Hgo have been universally positive and many suggest this little guy can play as the main DAC in big boy systems and not embarrass itself at all. Your comment about it besting your Perfect Wave DAC Mk II seems to suggest a similar sentiment. Have you tried the Hugo in your main rig or only for headphone listening? If yes in the big boy system, how has it done in that context? thx
 
cmalak said:
Darrin...the reviews I have read of the Hgo have been universally positive and many suggest this little guy can play as the main DAC in big boy systems and not embarrass itself at all. Your comment about it besting your Perfect Wave DAC Mk II seems to suggest a similar sentiment. Have you tried the Hugo in your main rig or only for headphone listening? If yes in the big boy system, how has it done in that context? thx
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It certainly has not been universal.
DSD playback on the Hugo is not good. The iFi iDSD Micro at $500 is much better with DSD.

PCM is good for the money, but I wager that the updated QBD coming out at the end of the year will be way better, given its more elaborate power supply.
 
wisnon said:
It certainly has not been universal.
DSD playback on the Hugo is not good. The iFi iDSD Micro at $500 is much better with DSD.

PCM is good for the money, but I wager that the updated QBD coming out at the end of the year will be way better, given its more elaborate power supply.
Click to expand...

Wow not my experience. You must have heard a broken unit. Dsd on mine is best digital I have heard. And I have yet to come across someone who owned or reviewed one who says dsd on Hugo is not good. U r the first.
 
wisnon said:
It certainly has not been universal.
DSD playback on the Hugo is not good. The iFi iDSD Micro at $500 is much better with DSD.

PCM is good for the money, but I wager that the updated QBD coming out at the end of the year will be way better, given its more elaborate power supply.
Click to expand...

Can you point me to a negative review. I have not seen one. Just curious. Thx
 
cmalak said:
Can you point me to a negative review. I have not seen one. Just curious. Thx
Click to expand...


I am referring to actual user feedback. We know the deal on pro reviews.

Many people at CA have said they dont care for Hugo.

I dont say its bad, I say its not all its cracked up to be.

I had a marathon session in NYC with a top shelf MSB stack, a Lampi Big7, a PSA DStream and a Hugo, all via quality headphone, ie Stax EStatics, Senn HD800 and HifiMan HE-6, powered by Senn SS amp and 2 Wooo tube amps.

Nothing broken at all and we listened to all genres and went back and forth repeatedly. It was clear, DS and Hugo were terrible with DSD and to my surprise the MSB was awfully good in DSD. The Big7 was simple stunning. The B& and MSB were several cuts above the other 2, but then again they cost n=more, ie $35K for the MSB stack and $10K for the Lampi, vs $6K for the DS and $2.5K for the Hugo.

I expected the Hugo to have done a lot better given the bespoke digital section, but it clearly came in last. Both the Hugo and the DS are PCM centric Dacs with their sweetspots in PCM. Given the price, the Hugo performed adequately.

YMMV
 
Pls point me to anywhere online where users say it doesn't do dsd well.
 
Btw I think it is fine for someone to post their impressions but posting that others don't like something without referencing where those comments and specifics can be found strikes me as unfair to the manufacturer of the products.
 
Start here: MSB Analog DAC/Luxman DA-6 kind of sonic signature for under 3000? - Page 2 This is only one of seval references at CA.

I actually own a Chord EX and have extensive communication with Rob Watts who I like very much. I have no reason to be unfair...

Similar things have been said at the massice Head-fi threads on the Hugo.

Have you heard DSD done right? I think that may be part of the problem and I have postulated that the anti DSD people have been listening to poor dSD implementations. From memory, the iDSD Micro does DSD better than the Chord and Direct Stream.
 
wisnon said:
Start here: MSB Analog DAC/Luxman DA-6 kind of sonic signature for under 3000? - Page 2 This is only one of seval references at CA.

I actually own a Chord EX and have extensive communication with Rob Watts who I like very much. I have no reason to be unfair...

Similar things have been said at the massice Head-fi threads on the Hugo.

Have you heard DSD done right? I think that may be part of the problem and I have postulated that the anti DSD people have been listening to poor dSD implementations. From memory, the iDSD Micro does DSD better than the Chord and Direct Stream.
Click to expand...

I read all of page 2 - Other than people comparing the hugo to the msb analogue dac (pretty good company) I read nothing that says people don't like the sound. Again, show me someone who has a decent system (for example I have a pair of Magico S5s letting me hear a Goldfinger statement on a spiral groove so I believe my ears are attuned to good reproduction) who is actually stating the Hugo isn't good - every post i have read including your link is favorable.
 
And I agree with you that dsd done right is amazing. Listening to it thru my Hugo is closer to vinyl experience than any other digital format I have heard.
 
Dpod4 said:
I read all of page 2 - Other than people comparing the hugo to the msb analogue dac (pretty good company) I read nothing that says people don't like the sound. Again, show me someone who has a decent system (for example I have a pair of Magico S5s letting me hear a Goldfinger statement on a spiral groove so I believe my ears are attuned to good reproduction) who is actually stating the Hugo isn't good - every post i have read including your link is favorable.
Click to expand...

Sigh,

Read the whole thread. If I didnt read extensively, I would not have seen all the comments.

I also PMed you excepts...here is just one of them:

I have not had much time to play around with HQPlayer upconverts. So far I only did the minimum necessary to prove to myself that DSD512 actually works.

I prefer anything to the musty and swampy sound of the Hugo, including my cell phone. Personal preference is personal...


Purrin on Head-fi dismissed it. Elberoth says its not lush. Crashem acknowledges that its not the ultimate, etc, etc...

Frankly, based on your comments, you are yet to hear DSD done right. I am not one for fine differences, but this wone was clear as day and using primo headphones and amps where nothing can hide.
 
Dpod4 said:
And I agree with you that dsd done right is amazing. Listening to it thru my Hugo is closer to vinyl experience than any other digital format I have heard.
Click to expand...
Hugo does NOT play DSD natively!!! You are listening to upconverted PCM. I gave you Rob Watts explanation, he upsamples all to multibit PCM at 90khz, ie 2048fs!

Wait till you hear REAL DSD done well.

I have compared my Chord Qute in DSD as well and it loses even to the Mytek in DSD...and the iFi Micro as well (from memory).
 
Winston is correct I hear the same as he states. I honestly do not understand how anyone likes the Hugo with DSD. Also I have that album it's nice but there is much better in DSD.
I have one for you to try. Download opus3 DSD. No 3. This is really good DSD. Then find someone else who has a DAC that plays DSD. Compare them. It's about choice and I am not looking to argue my choice. But this is beyond a choice it's more like the way it is. But again if you enjoy it as is. Then that is what really matters in the end.
Al
 
wisnon said:
Hugo does NOT play DSD natively!!! You are listening to upconverted PCM. I gave you Rob Watts explanation, he upsamples all to multibit PCM at 90khz, ie 2048fs!

Wait till you hear REAL DSD done well.

I have compared my Chord Qute in DSD as well and it loses even to the Mytek in DSD...and the iFi Micro as well (from memory).
Click to expand...

Well I guess people are indeed different. I used Blue Coast download of Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Orchestra recording of a Mahler symphony. I still have my Mytek DSD Dac and my Chord and I find the Chord to be more pleasing with DSD than the Mytek, heck the old Teac UD501 to me sounded better than my Mytek. I really don't care about bits, this rate or that rate, what upsamples this or that all I care about is the sound I hear using my gear in my room. so I guess each their own.

Would love to hear a Lampi and I hope soon to hear Mike's Lumin in his super duper system :D So little time, so much to do.
 
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