NDX and Chord Hugo

Was he the fifth Beatle?

No that was Herbie 

4th day with Hugo here. I do not have an NDX and have never heard it. I have heard  the NDS (sorry can't remember the PS) at a demo. I  currently have a Qute and the Nait 2 from way back.

The Hugo impresses greatly with resolution and imaging. Instruments sound real and it is easy to follow them in a mix. A highly resolved and polished presentation, both melodically and rhythmically and seemingly free of any harshness or 'hardness'.

But IMHO it sounds 'polite' for lack of a better word. I do not get the usual goose bumps nor the adrenalin flow that I am addicted to. I hope this will change with more break in, but I am now anxious to hear the next gen Naim DAC, hopefully soon!

Yep I'd say the NDAC/555PS has more of a charged up/adrenaline led type presentation. If that is what you ate looking for I really do recommend the NDAC/555PS over the Hugo.

Simon

Hi Brilliant,

I was interested in your post, because my initial reaction when I plugged the Hugo into my system was much the same as yours. I have 2 systems (using Linn Klimax Renew and Naim ND5XS), and the Hugo was intended to be used in conjunction with the ND5XS in my second system.

Given the reviews on this site and elsewhere, I was expecting that (especially after the comparisons with the likes of the NDS/XP555 and nDAC/XP555), the improvement to my ND5XS  would be spectacular. However, it wasn't initially so!  Like you, I found the sound to be super-smooth, very polite, but certainly not the revelation I had been hoping for.

However, I hadn't really spent much time setting it up, so thought I would check a few things, read the basic manual thoroughly and try again before posting back to the forum.

I discovered:

1. My coaxial phono lead didn't fit properly. The gentlest nudge of the hugo would dislodge it

2. I hadn't set the 'volume bypass' control properly

3. In connecting up the unit, I had inadvertently set one of the 'crossfeed' modes on

I found a phono adapter that resolved the earlier problem, carefully set the volume bypass and made sure the crossfeed default was set to 'off' and tried again 

This time, the musical presentation of the Hugo was entirely different, and to my ears immediately significantly better than that of the internal DAC in the ND5XS. I'm still at an early stage, and it's too awkward to try a quick comparison in my Linn Klimax Renew based system (The Klimax Renew does not have digital inputs or outputs), but from memory, the Hugo does sound pretty similar (possibly even better) than the Klimax Renew when I had it hooked up to my second system. The over politeness has certainly gone - still no evidence of harshness, but now absolutely no lack of dynamics and impact.    

I would suggest that you double check that everything has been set up correctly in your system.

I'm now beginning to think that the Hugo does live up to its hype. I will in time get around to trying it in more revealing Magneplanar 3.6R/Primare 928 system, but probably not for some time.

However, although I am now delighted with the Hugo from a musical and sound quality perspective, I do have to point out a number of  pretty serious operational issues with the device.

1. It doesn't look great sitting in my Hi-Fi rack, despite the pretty lights (which I actually like, and which work very well in respect of indicating source digital frequency when you get to know them.  

2. The settings all switch back to their defaults when the unit is powered down, meaning that whenever you power back up you have to through the extremely fiddly process of setting volume bypass and source selection. The controls to operate these are far too difficult to use (especially the volume bypass).

3. This morning I discovered that the power cable must have worked loose yesterday, and that I had obviously been using the DAC on battery power only yesterday. The battery was flat when I tried to use my system this morning. I had to charge it up for about 30 minutes before I could re-configure the settings - pretty annoying!  Again, the power supply connection should be more robust. 

As a matter of interest, does everyone else leave the unit permanently switched on in order to avoid having to re-configure it every day? 

Anyway, in summary from me for the time being, its a definite thumbs up for the Hugo from a sound quality perspective. I'll continue to listen for a week or so and then try reverting back to the ND5XS on its own to hopefully confirm my opinion.   

Hmack

I have it on continuously, also in order to have it run 24/7 to speed up burn in.

I must say I don't have too much an issue with setting volume-bypass but that could be due to size of my fingers. I can easily manage to press the one button and slide the other.

on my device the power plug lodges firmly, I would not say too much, but I have to push it in firmly to have it set properly. So you could check if you push it actually in all the way or whether your device has a somewhat looser connection.

It is a very, very nice sounding DAC.

cheers

Aleg

Hi Hmack

i may have mentioned previously that i leave mine powered 24/7 so no need to keep resetting the configuration. Although i have to say even if there was a power cut it isnt that much of an issue to reset it, however i think its an oversight to not have the Hugo remember its last setting.

If memory serves i believe i read that this was something that Mr Watts tried to incorporate but didnt have programming room. No idea how that works at all, but as i said, so far ive not had to reset it once.

Like all kit it may be worth trying different interconnect cables to get the sound you want. But at the end of the day it may just not be to Brilliants taste. Thats why its hard to say one product is better than another. Its all down to the individual and how they like there music reproduced.

Graeme

Hi Aleg

Blow me just had a look at my power plug and thought yes a little of the connector is showing so tried a bit firmer push and it clicked in almost up to the shroud. Many thanks for that.

Graeme

After yesterdays joys of Bluetooth iTunes and spotify I have briefly been listening as normal through the ND5XS and the HUGO is a revelation, just stunning . I am not normally so impulsive when buying HiFi but it was a no brainer from the first listen and so discrete. I am going to get a small isolation shelf at some point so it can sit on top of the streamer as I don't want any more shelves. I can only dream of how it will sound once its run in and with a top notch interconnect.

If memory serves there has been some very similar feedback on the competition too. Benchmark DAC etc.

What you are perhaps noticing is the analogue section. One view is that most digital ends of modern DACs are fine. However, if you like the Naim sound, then I suggest a Naim analogue section is what is missing.

Obviously you cannot take the digital side of a DAC like Benchmark or Hugo and convert the signal directly into the analogue section of the Naim DAC say. If you could, I suspect the analogue section would make more difference than the choice of digital end.

Simon thanks for clarification. You told though, for more energetic presentation NDAC should be the choice. Regarding V1, do you think it also provide more energetic presentation than Hugo (if you had a chance to listen to one of course)?

Hi, I have not heard the DAC V1 on my home system, so I feel I can't comment accurately. However certainly the NDAC/555PS has a more intense presentation than the Hugo. Perhaps i am getting older which is why I gravitated to the Hugo, 

i really truly think that only you can decide what works for you on home demo, as I guess your amplification, speakers and room also have a part to play.

listening to Mel Tormé on the Hugo right now and it's great for a warm summer's evening with the living room window wide open

Simon

at 6moons they reviewed the new PS Audio DAC, it's got an award ....nice reading....seems that

Hugo and PS have something in common...

Ralf

Be interesting to see how it compares to Hugo. Looks a lovely piece of kit, but its gonna be outside my budget.

Two months later...

The Hugo continues to satisfy when feeding either the Supernait2, the Ion Obelisk 2, the NVA AP50 or headphones. In the olive system, however, the Hugo is not providing a consistent level of performance, lacking body on many recordings. As a result, I find it difficult to set a satisfactory listening level in that system (82 pre). The Naim DAC does not show this dual character when moved between systems. Any thoughts as to what might cause this system dependance?

Thanks

Jan

Jan

Does adjusting the volume on Hugo make any difference?

But serves you right for having too much kit

Graeme

No, volume adjustment on the Hugo doesn't fix the issue.

You're right, I have difficulty letting things go, but it is useful to have several points of comparison.

Cheers,

Jan

I'm hoping to have a home demo of the PS Audio DirectStream DAC around the end of the month. I am also trying to arrange a home demo of the Hugo before then.

Keep us posted Steve, be interesting to hear your thoughts

Graeme

Right, so the NDS/555 DR is out, and has been replaced with erm, Hugo.

Just so happens that my HDX decided to die on me last week, and I have it back at Naim where the folks in white coats are no doubt looking into it, seriously. So I was left with my trusty old Sonos ZP90, which I connected into the Hugo, and spent yesterday evening listening to my Spotify playlists. 

All I can say is that I have never heard Spotify sound this good. I am now patiently waiting for my HDX to come back, and for the Hugo to warm up. 

Less is certainly more in this case. 

A couple of things on the Hugo. 

The manual isn't very clear, and hence I just want to make sure I am doing this right.

 I keep the crossfeed button pressed while I power on the Hugo. This activates the line out mode and volume bypass, which is a bit annoying as it took me some time to figure out this is not actually true. So the volume control on the Hugo still works, when I experimented by increasing the volume on the Hugo, something my speakers did not like at all. I then press the crossfeed button three times for it to go back to off. The volume switch on the Hugo is set at a light blue. 

So far so good?? 

I find this set up to increase the volume by a considerable margin. So whilst the NDS/555 notmal listening volume is at 8:30, the Hugo is more like 7:45. Is this normal? 

Hi Shanks

I'm not sure it matters what setting you have the volume on the Hugo set at, as long as your not driving the input on your amp to hard, which is what i suspect you did.

If you want more control on the amp just turn Hugo down slightly, I've read you don't lose SQ by doing this.

Holding the crossfeed button while turning on will just sets the same volume output each time, so as to be consistent.  But if this is too loud reduce its volume till your happy.

Graeme

Just to add light blue is the volume correct colour.

Shanks, I set the Hugo to lineout mode, and set the level to match the same level as my NAT03 into my 282, which means a turquoise colour.

I put a choke on the SPDIF, which helps to mechanically balance the tiny Hugo, and I use Hiline as the interconnect. I find this provides a great source for my Naim amplification, although whilst burning in over the last week and half of continuous play  I noticed a few ups and down performance wise, but seems to be settling now (touch wood) and the tone is warmer now  in the mids, which is what I heard in my burnt in demo unit.

i also put my Hugo on a glass Fraim which makes it look quite smart and perhaps subtly improves the sound... A slightly warmer, clearer sound compared to not on Fraim, but that could also be a function of the burn in I heard... and I love the simplicity, albeit at a cost of being slightly fiddly.

Simon