Where has the NDX into Hugo thread gone?

Hmack I agree 100% with your views.  I could hear no difference and no one can explain to me why they should make any difference at all to the sound.

"There is no 'correct' answer ..." ... if you find a difference in cables then (for you) that is just as valid an opinion as finding no difference in cables.

If you're happy then just sit back and enjoy the fact that you didn't need to spend £1,600 on a cable to get you closer to sonic nirvana...

Phil

Digital cables seem to be very polarising indeed. I was using a good digital cable (TQ Blue) but this was RCA to RCA using a BNC adapter on the ND5, I felt that this adapter wasn't aiding my system so I decided to buy a BNC terminated cable. After a bit of research on the web / this forum and speaking to my dealer I tried Chord's Anthem and Signature Tuned Array , these were both RCA-RCA to give a fair evaluation . I plugged the Signature in first and as I've stated before my system got a big lift , the Anthem was also better than my TQ but it didn't get much testing time after hearing the Signature. 

One of my best friends who runs a Loudspeaker repair workshop in west london laughed when I asked him to check out some digital cables, his amusement turned to slight shock when I changed to the Signature . I think his words were "so much clearer".

Anyway , I certainly don't part with £400 lightly and I'm very happy i did as my system is now complete . 

I can't imagine what the Sarum is like ?????

It works for me . 

Peter. 

Phil Harris posted:

"There is no 'correct' answer ..." ... if you find a difference in cables then (for you) that is just as valid an opinion as finding no difference in cables.

If you're happy then just sit back and enjoy the fact that you didn't need to spend £1,600 on a cable to get you closer to sonic nirvana...

Yes - I can buy into this - mostly. It does apply to "Hi-Fi" equipment as a whole, and I can recall being looked at very strangely by my brother when I suggested that analogue interconnects can make an appreciable difference to sound quality.

From an intellectual perspective (not that I would claim to be particularly intellectual), I just find it difficult to accept that this equally applies to 'digital' interconnects or ethernet cables.

3 months ago I was firmly in your court, then I remember Simon and Graeme H who are 2 of most respected members on here,  both declaring their positive findings with Naim's DC1 compared to more basic cables . At that point I decided to let my system settle but as time went on my intrigue increased and the rest as they say is history. 

Peter .

For me there is a difference with some cables. With respect to the Hugo in my system I have found a positive difference with the analogue signal cable and currently use a Hiline but I have yet to find a USB cable that makes any significant sonic difference over the very basic micro USB cable, originally used to charge a Kindle. However I'm still openminded that there may be a cable that makes a difference. When I auditioned a Chord STA Hiline equivalent on the Superline and the Din-XLR signal cables to the 500 I had three friends from the forum over for the bake off. We were unanimous in our assessment that the Din-XLR worked very well and was worth paying for but that the STA Hiline equivalent was not as good as the Naim Lavender IC. It is very important to assess any cable in your home system as some effects may be negligible or negative.

Of course there is in technical terms.  If the difference you hear is a psychological effect then that is wrong technically.

I remember many years back a friend of mine purchased a Marantz CD65SE CD player, which was an upgrade on his 14bit Philips top-loader and was noticeably better.  It cost about £300.  Anyway a few weeks later he got me round there again and informed me he had paid £400 for an interconnect from the CD player to his amp.  "It is more of a difference between my new CD player and my old one" he said.  But I could not here any difference between the Marantz supplied one and the £400 one.  Perhaps I have cloth ears or maybe the King has some new clothing.

I was comparing a £50ish QED loaned cable with a BNC-Phono adapter at the source end mind. The improvement brought about by a correctly terminated naim DC1 was quite tangible to me.

I think the DC1 a good value 'fit and forget' cable - given the outlay on the main components.

G

Have given Hugo some BluTac ball feet today to lift it, and the cables, 50mm or so off the shelf. It makes it more inert whilst making it visually 'float'.

Nice.

G

A very brief further thought on the Hugo (still early doors):

When I upgraded my amps from 202/HC/200 to 282/HCDR/250.2 I had a slight sense/fear of having lost some of the overall balance that I'd had before.

The Hugo has cured that (and more).

Neatly captured in eight words.

Given all the positive reviews I thought I'd give the Hugo a try. In particular I was interested to hear if indeed the Hugo is as some claim superior to Naim's top sources, in my case the CD555 with twin 555PS.

I'be been auditioning a dealer demo version over the last few days. Source is an HDX with a coax connection and a Naim Hi-line RCA to DIn connect to the 552. Rest of the system is active DBLs.

First impressions of the Hugo are very positive, good level of detail and engaging sound to get the feet tapping. However compared to the CD555 there is a clear mid-range emphasis and constricted dynamic range. There is also a comparative lack of depth and soundstage.

Simple arrangements sound fine on the Hugo but with complex instrumentation and arrangements it begins to fall apart and presents a "wall of sound" rather than the clearer differentiation offered by the CD555.

Finally the CD 555 sounded more natural whereas the Hugo could exhibit a slight digital edge on occasion.

For the price the Hugo is excellent value and ideal for those who like a more upfront exciting sound. 

But ultimately it lacks the depth and refinement of the CD555 and for me in my system it was no contest which I preferred.

Interesting read - I'd certainly be relieved to conclude that if I had your source Jonn.

G

Although i have never heard the CD555 , i sold my Hugo last week (extremely quickly ). I have no regrets ,for the money , its an absolute bargain and is one of the best sounding Dacs i have had in my system. 

My CDS3 will remain my chosen source and to my ears it still is quite a good bit ahead of the Hugo in terms of performance and SQ

Interesting. Over the weekend an old friend came to visit, so I plied him with Pimm's, strapped him into a chair, bunged a bag over his head and played him a couple of things on the 555 (sadly only one PS) and NDX/Hugo. The CD player has a Sarum TA interconnect, the Hugo a Signature TA (the most I could afford) that's new and far from run in.

To cut a long story short, he preferred the Hugo on some things, and the 555 on others. Interestingly, the stuff he preferred was simpler music. He thought there wasn't much in it either way though. 

And that's a view I currently share, though I differ from him in that I prefer the 555 every time...though admittedly I could see what I was playing.

It does have to be said that I expect the Signature TA to improve over the next few weeks, and in any case it is an inferior I/C to the one the 555 has, but it just adds fuel to my opinion that the Hugo is exceptional value for money. For me, at least.

I was quite prepared for the Hugo to be as good as I know one person who has made the switch. It would of course have realised c£10,000 in the cost to change so certainly worth a listen.

In isolation the Hugo does sound very good. However, ultimately it lacks the refinement of the CD555 and its uncanny realism, to use a cliche, it's like the performers are in the room .Something the Hugo is just not able to capture in my system.

Interesting how subjective we are, I found similarities between the CD555 and Hugo on Redbook, but it was the refinement and expressiveness, and the ability to seperate out complex music that really attracted me to the Hugo over the other Naim digital sources..for me with the Hugo, depending on the recording, it's as if the voices are real and in front of me in my room.  I always preferred  the CD555 and NDAC/555PS over the NDS/555PS for example. I was really surprised at the performance of the Hugo, and didnt quite believe it so I deferred judgement and for a while, as this was in the early days before the bandwagon on the Hugo got momentum. 

However as others have said, one can optimise the output level of the Hugo to optimally match the NAC input and it is worth getting this right, and I think the SPDIF coax input on the Hugo is outstanding when fed by a Naim ND. I use a Hiline interconnect that for my ears makes the source natural and 'disappear'. 

Its good to have a choice, and my enjoyment has certainly moved on from my CDX2 and CDS3/XPS2 days.. Despite them being extremely capable players.. The world has moved on for some of us and I applaud it.. It can only be good news for the music lover and maximising the benefit of my Naim amplification.

Simon

Simon,

I have the same amps and interconnects as you - what output level of Hugo matches the 282?

[NB - this may be slightly more complicated in that I confess to being colour-blind...!]

Nick

I set the level to  turquoise.... Hopefully that makes sense with your colour blindness

Hi Simon-in Suffolk,  GraemeH  and nickpeacock

I’ve been following this thread with interest and have recently tried a Hugo at home and was very impressed with what it does.  I’ve not bought one but I may in the near future.  I currently have a hi-line between my NDX and Supernait 2 and would be concerned that it would be made redundant.  Have you had your hi-line and DC1 cables re-terminated to fit the Hugo RCA connections? i.e. Hi line needs to be Din to RCA and DC1 needs to be BNC to RCA or are you using adaptors?

I use the correct terminations pixies. No adaptors.

G

Thanks GraemeH. Not sure if you use naim connectors but if so did you have them re-terminated? is this something a dealer would do?

I use Chord Anthem 2 RCA-Din and a Naim DC1 RCA-BNC. Both purchased new.

Not sure if reterminating is cost effective pixies.

G

Many thanks G