NDX and Chord Hugo

What Hi-Fi was delivered this morning. There is group DAC test, including the Hugo and the Naim DAC V1. They prefer the Hugo (in fact , they love it), but the V1 still gets five stars and is praised for having better clarity and transparency and sounding "beautifully balanced".

Keith

I would suggest to you to do your own judgment to make sure it's true what they say. I used to owe V1, but Hugo now. I can certainly distinguish SQ of these two. I already mentioned here, the only two things I am missing from V1 are, volume knob, and remote control.

Ah; the printed bastion of unbiased equipment testing and reviewing.

It must be true - just like wot it says in the Daily Mail.

Convert to toilet paper without delay and find a good dealer.

John.

I have had my V1 for a good year now, and still cannot fault it. Five Stars and a Rosette, [Penguin Clssical Music Guide style!] here, so perhaps the Chord Hugo has a different presentation. Quite possible I imagine, and quite possible to prefer either in any specific system and setting.

The ears must be the decider in a proper home dem.

I don't have any reason to change, and no Chord dealer within easy distance, so no change here!

ATB from George

Yes, there's better and there's different. I feel that our NDS has settled us at a high plateau on which we reside very happily in this house. But an open mind should be kept. I suppose that satisfaction motivates exploration to an extent. 

Hi George,

I still appreciate your comments about V1, it helped me a lot to make a decision not just to buy V1, actually reading them I gained a lot of confidence to go into adventure called computer playback through a DAC. That was for the first time in my case. I truly enjoyed it for about 10 months.

So I do understand your position 100%. We won't jump right away on every wagon running around, but I just wanted to share my experience owing both DAC's. Reviews are reviews, but listening with your own ears is the only way of finding out if something is for you or not, plus your budget too.

For me, Hugo is definitely a step up in SQ, compared to V1, I could not say, It's just different or kind of sideways. I would lie myself, if I do, sorry.

To the question on hires, as I commented earlier, in my experience the Hugo resolves superbly well, both at 24/96 and 24/192 out of the NDX. The Meet Me in London album Naim released in 24/192 sounds incredibly natural and immediate, with no HF accentuation or edge that I have heard elsewhere. I still use my chokes on my SPDIF.

My new Hugo is just burning in, I must admit it sounds better brand new than I was expecting.

Simon

George, absolutely if happy why change.. For me I was curious and had a Chord dealer within 10 miles of me, and one thing led to another... But I definitely would not buy anything as important as a DAC blind based on others' views.

Simon

The funny thing is that I can quite see how the Hugo might be better suited for other people, some of them anyway, even without my having heard it.

I remember that often I have been surprised by reviews of things that I did have experience and gently shook my head at what was said. This applies as much to music reviews [records and concerts] as reviews of replay components, for example. But also to motor reviews!

What I can definitely say is that it is entirely possible for someone to enjoy the quality that a MAC Mini [simple iTunes only] with a USB connection to the DAC V1 even after years of enjoying a CDS 2 for example - and speaking from this exact experience.

When the HDX came out - years ago now - I was shaking my head reading about it, because I had heard it playing some favourite music in my favourite recording of that music. I did not think that I'd have enjoyed that early iteration of the HDX as much as I do the V1. 

And it does all come down to a real home demo. My ears are definitely tuned differently to some of my good friends on the Forum, though quite similarly to some others!

Harry, unlike you, I do find that contentment with a replay system can lead to a remarkable lack of curiosity about what else might have come since. I guess that my next change will be promoted by some form of breakdown of the current set. I hope that is many years into the future, really!

I do know the ESLs will never be changed, but only rebuilt when their time comes. As the electronics go, things are definitively evolving fast, and so when the time comes, I will have to get interested again in the then current options.

Please don't take too much notice of me. I am just one voice, though I do restrict myself to comments based on actual experience. That much you can be sure of.

ATB from George

Dear Simon,

If it had been today and I was looking out for a DAC to replace my then ARCAM rDAC, then I might well have ended up with a Hugo and retained my Nait 5i [italic] driving the old ESLs.

The decision would have been based on open minded home dems. As it was I was hoping for something like the V1 from Naim. I preferred the V1 with the NAP 100 over the V1 with the Nait, so though I lost the possibility of an addition set of analogue inputs, I went for this, even though it was a more expensive way forward with less flexibility. 

When I first bought my own replay equipment in the early summer of 1983, I decided on the set after extensive demonstrations in my favourite local record shop, which also sold replay [mainly Dynatron and Sony in those days!] and was a major local TV rental shop. It is odd to think that I intuitively understood the need for extensive demonstrations at a time when there was not thought to be a huge difference between replay components! The shop manager was surprised and rather pleased to attend to my wish to experiment with different combinations. Interestingly I chose a lower powered and more expensive set of components than was their stock recommendation. I suppose I made them more money by being fussy!

I was sufficiently delighted with that set to keep the amplifier and speakers for seventeen years!

Perhaps, I am just easily pleased!

ATB from George

Welcome to Hi resoslution audio and the things to consider about Hi res. It is stll a very interesting read: http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

No George. I share this view as I expect do a fair few us. Perhaps my use of english was misleading.  I'm happy in the knowledge that there always  is or will be something which might be better available or not far away. I'm just not inclined to be all that bothered about it. I also agree that one should trust one's own ears. That's a given and we shouldn't need to repeat it every time we post. More fool anyone who trusts someone else's ears and taste. 

Sorry everyone, lots of words from you all, but it's better than anything I've owned up to and including ndac/555PS

It just is.

And much less expensive to boot.

G

interesting. How does it compare to a good turntable?

My last one was a Linn Axis about 25 years ago....the memory fades.

G

This actually i find concerning. While im sure without doubt Naim will bring out a superior DAC how superior will it be and at what cost. If as some find that Hugo can match and maybe better an NDS/555 combination, can Naim achieve it cost effectively.

Hugo is such a huge leap forward at such a great price, it has really thrown the gauntlet down.

As others have said, interesting times ahead and surely we will be the ones to benefit as these companies try to gain the upper hand In the DAC wars.

Graeme

Hi crvie,

i would suggest you read other peoples' posts more carefully before you comment. I posted what I read in a magazine. I made no judgement of the review or the merits of the Hugo.

Keith

The other area Hugo exels is musical drive. Totally absorbing in a head nodding, foot tapping propulsive way. You can't not listen to it.

G

Hi Keith,

I have certainly read your post and I have to say that you are right, you haven't comment it. But, what is the purpose of posting it if there is no message in it. You don't need to always comment things to send a message.

I would not weight any kind of review more than this huge thread. These people love Naim and they know Naim, but suddenly, there is stranger which messes things up. There are so many arguments here, so the results from that review are irrelevant to me at least. You don't need to go any farther in this long thread than these two posts between yours and mine, the message is clear. 

I really didn't want to hurt your feelings, so my sincere apology for that one.

George

P.S. My id is actually cvrle, sorry.

Dear Cvrle,

Certainly my feelings are not hurt! I can even see that side by side, and if I were in the market for a new DAC, that the Hugo might be preferable to the DAC V1. I certainly have not heard the Hugo.

I bought a new DAC last year - being the V1. I sincerely hope that it is a good ten years before I have to buy its replacement!

ATB from George

George, what if the Hugo was the dac equivalent of what the ESL 57 was to loudspeakers? 

Don't know what a good turntable is to you but I once had a Sota Sapphire / Alphason HR-100s / Decca Super Gold / Counterpoint SA-5000 preamp. and the Hugo beats that. 

Dear Cat,

What I do think is interesting is that probably no domestic grade source component in 1957 was good enough for the ESL. Probably the best domestic source in those days was a high quality radio tuner. 

The main use for the ESL was thought to be for studio monitoring of broadcasts and recordings. That it became a domestic speaker made in quite large numbers over decades as well was no doubt a great surprise!

The ESL responds superbly to the ever increasing quality of modern source components, and no doubt would play to the strengths of the Hugo!

As I suggested earlier, if I were buying a DAC today, it would be on the audition list for sure!

As it is I expect that the Hugo will have been replaced as a model several times before I buy a replacement for the V1. I don't like changing anything till the old one is worn out!

ATB from George

Dear George,

I do believe the ESL 57 is the best loudspeaker ever produced. Because you are yourself a musician, you know exactly the subtlety and refinement of tones of an acoustic instrument.

In 1957 ( I was 3 years old ) a radio tuner fed with a live music broadcast was probably the best source available and I could not imagine things have changed in 2014. I have always rely on FM to ascertain believable musical performance. Digital music have solved many problems inherent to analogue but the pitfalls weight more in balance in the end. The Hugo is the first digital music reproducer I have heard that does not leave me with an aftertaste.

The relevance of the What Hi-Fi review is that it contains the opinion of a professional reviewer comparing the Hugo to a Naim DAC. It may be that writing for a magazine renders any opinions inferior to cvrle's, but I found it interesting that they clearly loved it, but appeared to stop short of claiming it is an NDS beater. 

I totally agree that the fact that Naimees here are making this claim suggests that this is a remarkable product and these views should be taken very seriously. I would want to hear a Hugo if I was looking to buy a DAC today. Also, I know how it feels to report something here that defies normal hi fi logic, having been a AQ ethernet early adopter.

Feelings not hurt, by the way :-)