NDX and Chord Hugo
Posted by: Foxman50 on 18 April 2014
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.
Char Wallah wrote
"...... maybe it works best with acoustic guitars and more natural music. Which ain't my trip".
Well, Well! So subtlety, finesse and wit aren't to your taste!
I never would have guessed.
By the way, I notice that you don't include a description of your hi-fi kit in your profile. This the sort of thing?
Char Wallah wrote
"...... maybe it works best with acoustic guitars and more natural music. Which ain't my trip".
Well, Well! So subtlety, finesse and wit aren't to your taste!
I never would have guessed.
By the way, I notice that you don't include a description of your hi-fi kit in your profile. This the sort of thing?
and George has a stutter:
And again Char does not answer my point!
Perhaps he cannot!
ATB from George
...and keeps stuttering
In your own words George: "are repeated lies, the truth?"
Why does it always become a matter of personal insults?
Oh and btw I haven't yet put up my current HiFi kit, simply because I couldn't be bothered is I guess the honest answer. So please don't read anything in to that and maybe it will be spark me into doing it. I throw (or sell) very little of my kit so I have a Motley Crew of old (Quad) and new (Naim) and DIY projects (Borbelli & AudioNote) and so I guess my reluctance to put pen to silicon is understandable - it would take a while!
Graeme,
I would start by buying a Naim amp 
and selling off the Sudgen 
Graeme,
I would start by buying a Naim amp and selling off the Sudgen
Had a 202/200 over a long weekend, unfortunately it wasn't for me. I'm told that adding the two additional PSU's improves it considerably, but it was the way it produced music i didn't like.
My class A Sugden does something very special, for me at least.
But this is what makes this hobby so interesting, that we all have different ears. Nothing is wrong or right, it's all about what we prefer and how we want our music to sound.
Graeme
Graeme,
I would start by buying a Naim amp and selling off the Sudgen
Had a 202/200 over a long weekend, unfortunately it wasn't for me. I'm told that adding the two additional PSU's improves it considerably, but it was the way it produced music i didn't like.
My class A Sugden does something very special, for me at least.
But this is what makes this hobby so interesting, that we all have different ears. Nothing is wrong or right, it's all about what we prefer and how we want our music to sound.
Graeme
The magic of Class A power amps, quite unusual in a tranny amp but common in valve (tube) amps. Tell me Graeme are you using very efficient speakers? They tend not to work well with Class B or AB power amps because these amps tend to have distortion that worsens at lower levels. There is also the fact that Class A valve amps (and I think trannies too like the Sugden) exhibit mainly even-order harmonic distortion, rather than the odd-order of Class B or AB.
Low signal level equipment, like preamps and DAC analog stages will always (maybe I shouldn't say always) be Class A. In this type of kit it is easy to get rid of the DC offset of a Class A stage, unlike a power amp feeding into a low impedance load.
Big Bill
I use Proac D18's which are not hard to drive i believe. I've owned a few valve amps in my time, and as i've stated before on this thread it probably says a lot about how i like my music. I tend to listen a relatively modest levels. I'm always open minded but have to say there is something about the sound of these amps that appeals to me. Just a shame these beasts tend to be expensive.
To be honest i don't really understand the technicalities of your post to comment directly.
Graeme
err...sorry about that, I easily get carried away. Over the years one of my hobbies has been building valve equipment and tinkering with valves in general. I find them really interesting, the fact that these devices descended from research into Light Bulbs but they can still produce great music.
Don't know how sensitive the Proac D18s are but I suspect they are probably are quite sensitive from what you say. Not only that you can't drive very inefficient speakers from the average Class A amp.
I recently went over to the dark side and purchased a UnitiLite plus KEF R700 speakers and I have to say I just love this system. Up to this point I had never been that convinced by digital, but this little box has changed my mind. But I still love listening to analog through a valve amp into a pair of efficient Transmission Lines. A different sound yes indeed. Maybe not the dynamics of my new system but equally beguiling in its own way.
Its all a compromise isn't it. I do wonder if a money no object would deliver a completely no compromise sound. Or would you just spend your whole life auditioning trying to find that holy grail system.
Ah be nice to have the option though 
Still Hugo has taken me a larger step than i would have thought.
Graeme