I have been contemplating adding a DAC to my NDX/XPS2 to see (or should that be hear) what it can bring to the party. And so thought it about time i made inroads into Having a few home demos. After looking around at products that are within my budget i came across the Chord Hugo DAC.
Although it is meant to be a portable headphone unit, it can be used as a full line level fixed DAC.
The dealer lent me a TQ black digital coax lead, which have twist grip plugs. This was required as the present batch of Hugo's have a case design fault that wont allow any decent cable to fit, soon to be rectified. Thankfully the TQ just manages to hang on to the coax port.
Once all connected and gone through the minimal setup procedure of the Hugo, what does the red LED mean again, i left it to warm up for half an hour.
Poured a beer and sat down for an evenings listening.
What was that, where did that come from, that's what that instrument is. OMG, as my little'n would say, Where is it getting all this detail from.
After spending last night and today with it, all i can say is that it has totally transformed my system from top to bottom. I never considered my NDX to be veiled or shut in, not even sure that's the correct terms. All i can say is its opened up the sound stage and space around instruments. Everything I've put through it has had my toes, feet and legs tapping away to the music.
Even putting the toe tapping, the resolution the clarity to one side, what its greatest achievement for me has been in making albums that I've had trouble listening too enjoyable now.
One added bonus is that it has made the XPS redundant. I cannot hear any difference with it in or out of the system.
While i thought a DAC may make a change in the degree of the jump from ND5 to NDX, i was not prepared for this. Anyone looking at adding a PSU to there NDX may want to check this unit out first.
For me this has to be the bargain of the year.
Posted on: 26 May 2014 by cvrle
Originally Posted by cat345:
Originally Posted by cvrle:
Originally Posted by cat345:
I have tried converting PCM files of different resolutions to DSD with Jriver and while the sound is different to my ears I prefer the original files. What you do is adding an unnecessary conversion.
Are you talking about playing them on Hugo or some other DAC? If it's some other DAC, that would be out of equation. If you're talking about Hugo, that difference could be something that someone else likes more, not for everyone.
Yes, I played those files on my Hugo but I understand that you may prefer to convert all files to DSD. I use a Windows 8.1 laptop connected to Hugo with usb. I prefer the provided Chord Wasapi drivers with this arrangement but it may be different with a Mac or Linux based system.
I converted only hirez files, but I kept original PCM's. I don't have too many albums beside red book, anyway. I will go back and review the whole thing again, especially different drivers. I do use Win 8.1 too, and I liked Kernel, but I probably didn't give enough chance to Wasapi and Asio.
Posted on: 27 May 2014 by Foxman50
Likesmusic
Thanks for the google search link, makes things a lot clearer. However got to say reading through it it seems that the WASAPI driver sounds, on paper that is, like the preferred option even though it states that ASIO should be the first in line.
Maybe im reading it wrong. Anyway will have a listen later and see how how things sound
Graeme
Posted on: 27 May 2014 by likesmusic
Originally Posted by Foxman50:
Likesmusic
Thanks for the google search link, makes things a lot clearer. However got to say reading through it it seems that the WASAPI driver sounds, on paper that is, like the preferred option even though it states that ASIO should be the first in line.
Maybe im reading it wrong. Anyway will have a listen later and see how how things sound
Graeme
All you can do is try it out I guess - the possible advantage of ASIO driver, at least if you have the Thesycon one, is that you get some extra control over buffer sizes which could conceivably help with higher resolution playback under some circumstances.
Another thing you might want to google is "archimago DSD PCM comparison" - the guy has done some measurements of PCM and PCM converted to DSD and has some ideas as to why they might sound different and why someone might prefer the DSD version.
Posted on: 27 May 2014 by Rockingdoc
While the Hugo looks rather good in its portable mode (and gets quite a lot of attention on the coffee-shop table), it frankly looks naf on th hi-fi rack because the power cable sticks out the front. Also, I'm becoming increasingly anxious about the fragility of the thing as all the sockets are just connected directly to the pcb, with no mechanical support from the case. This makes me particularly concerned when unplugging firm fitting rca and coax plugs. So, I feel a decision must be made whether the Hugo stays in the full-size home system, or is used soley as a portable device, as I don't believe it will stand up to regular cable swapping.
Annoyingly, much the greatest improvement in sound is in my domestic system, so I may put up with its peculiar looks, and return to using the altogether better built Sony PHA-2 for portable duties. The Sony also has the considerable advantage of not needing the Apple Lightning photo adaptor to play high-res files from an iPhone/iPod.
Posted on: 27 May 2014 by Frank Abela
Very unlikely. The Hugo was designed specifically for the task of mobile use. I think it's more likely that they'd revisit the QBD76 - bring the benefits of lessons learned with Hugo into a larger space allowing for a better power supply and balanced connections. That said, John Franks designs stuff he likes/wants, rather than makes sense, most of the time. 
The Hugo is remarkably good at what it does, particularly in battery mode.
Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.
Posted on: 27 May 2014 by Simon-in-Suffolk
I agree it's small, fiddly and hardly aesthetic with its leads - unless you have nice leads , but it sounds fab. I will be putting it on the shelf below the top shelf on my Fraim. Luckily there are little rubbery feet that grip on glass quite well.
still can't get over the fact there is no sonic difference between battery only, and battery under trickle charge from a SMPS. Also Chord seem to downplay the optimised for portable use with their collateral now, it certainly makes an awesome static DAC. Small is certainly beautiful
Simon
Posted on: 27 May 2014 by Jan-Erik Nordoen
Originally Posted by Simon-in-Suffolk:
still can't get over the fact there is no sonic difference between battery only, and battery under trickle charge from a SMPS.
It's best to leave the charger plugged in all the time.
On two occasions where I was testing it in battery mode (and forgot to switch it off), it ran down to the point of playing dead. The first time required an hour with the charger plugged in before the unit stirred to life. The second time, the charger light simply blinked at me ominously, but through a combination of unplugging and replugging, with the unit switched on and switched off - along with the appropraite incantations - it came back to life.
.