Where has the NDX into Hugo thread gone?

That's good to hear - I certainly loved it in the demo room and was a bit upset when I got my new one home. In the demo, both red book and high res played through it both made me smile on all my test tracks - despite the different presentation compared to the Naim streamer/cd direct. 

But at home the sound just doesn't seem right. I'm in the visual creative field rather than sound, so not great at articulating audio stuff, but everything seems pretty 'messy' now. I can hear all the extra detail and separation, but it's almost like the music isn't cohesive anymore. Things seem to have been separated out too much, and all the parts if the track I'm used to listening to seem 'pushed back and more distant'. 

I listen more to electronic music but also have a pretty diverse collection and the sound was pretty similar across the board. I know it's electronic but Jon Hopkins is someone I've heard 'live' a few  times, as well as on CD on lots of systems, and the result is always quite familiar. Through the hugo it's an awkward listen. No smiley face!

i read a few interesting articles about the brain having to adjust to new sounds (including a little mention from Robb Watts himself) but I wasn't expecting this. 

I wonder to to what extent the interconnect would play a part? I only had a cheapish RCA to din, so could that be Part of it? Or perhaps the XS series I demoed with is significantly better than the X series I have, and maybe my amps aren't up to the job with the Hugo. 

Will keep listening throughout this this week and see how things go. 

On the upside (cd ripping aside) I'm loving having my music accessible on my network, and being able to change album (or more importantly FIND albums) remotely from the ipad. And enjoying trying my first few HD tracks. 

Qobuz is also fantastic. 

Hi Pixies , I definitely wouldn't recommend adapters . The best thing i've done since buying the Hugo is getting a dedicated BNC to RCA lead and binning the DIN adapter on the interconnect. 

Peter. 

Steve. 

I would say your interconnect could be holding you back , the Hugo is an amazing bit of kit so it will really respond well to improvements in cabling and show up cheaper ones. Aside from that the Hugo  like anything else does need time to fully come on song as well as your brain retuning itself. 

Peter.

I was able to home demo the Hugo and, like most on here, was completely converted. 

When I got my new one home though, I too was somewhat disappointed.

I decided it must be the interconnect, as my dealer provided a Chord Chorus analogue with the demo unit and I only had a very basic 30 year old cable. I took the plunge and bought a Chord Chorus and, though this did make a huge difference, it was still not the sound I had heard on the demo. 

Roll forward about a month and well over 100 hours on both the Hugo and the CC and the sound completely transformed - and it did so virtually overnight. The Hugo is a terrific upgrade and one the most significant I have made.

Steve, I hope the same thing happens for you.

Hugh

+1 !  Patience is a virtue 

Thanks for the reassurances guys!

Can anyone here recommend a good place to try interconnects that would suit the Hugo? 

Since going Naim I stopped thinking about interconnects and just used the ones that came with the system….

I can vouch for the naim DC1 BNC-RCA digital & Chord Anthem2 RCA-DIN but I'm sure the HiLine would work as well as the Chord.

The important thing is the right terminations - no adaptors.

G

I recommend the Naim Hiline directly wired phono to DIN. Works a dream with the rest of my Naim setup.. I have tried other interconnects, but I come back to the Hiline for its naturalness and dynamics with the Hugo. Outstanding.

Agree with Graeme above, avoid adapters like the plague.

Simon

Chord Anthem2 RCA-DIN

Naim Hiline directly wired phono to DIN.

Thanks for the recommendations… I'm using async USB from macbook pro, so just need the analogue.

These two are quite expensive (Hiline especially!), would they be overkill on my 'x' range system?I was hoping for something more in the 100-200 mark in an ideal world.

Do any dealers let you try before buy? Or I know it's a long shot but would any forum members have spare ones they would consider loaning temporarily?  I'd gladly paypal gift or bank transfer a deposit to the value of cable until its safe return - I'm just not sure I'm ready to part with another chunk of money 'on spec' without hearing!

I have a spare set of phono I could use on the 122x - would there be much in it if I could maybe get a second hand RCA-RCA?  Also, is it 5-pin DIN or 4-pin DIN for Naim (NAC 122x).  

Sorry, these are pretty basic questions I know!

My Anthem2 was circa £200 S/H.

G

I am using an AR Sound Lunar - RCA to DIN which fits nicely, sounds great to these ears, and is less expensive and fiddly than the Hi-Line.

AR Sound offers a 30 day home trial for the potential cost of postage both ways. They are in Israel so may still cost a bit, but nice to have the option. 

+1. Well worth a try. The Hi-Line is an excellent cable - i've had it in both DIN and RCA flavours but the Lunar gives you a bit more (IMHO)  

I'm also using Chord Chorus Reference RCA to Din and very happy with it. Hi Line seems very pricey, never heard or compared it.

On another note, I've tried different Hugo volume settings and on my SN2 I now prefer the lowest Azure setting. Just sounds right.

"and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green..." [Ted Lowe]

Sorry, one for everyone out there who (like me) is colour-blind - couldn't resist...

So, interesting development, after 80 hours of solid playing day and night - checking in each day seeing little improvement and me getting more frustrated - I plumped to take the Hugo back to the shop to check it out.

Fully hoping it was faulty, but expecting to be told it's not the Hugo but my system, interconnects, burn-in, my ears, etc etc, the dealer and I compared on headphones against the shop unit.  

We both agreed that considering the shop unit had about the same hours, mine seemed very thin across the board, and partially in fullness of bass and mids. Neither of us were quite expecting that outcome. 

Out came a new one, which cold from the store room was instantly better and practically the same as the demo unit, and put a smile back on my face. 

Back home with it got a chance to play in situ yesterday and it's fantastic! Wow! Just like I heard in the demo, albeit slightly different due to the expected room/system Difference. 

So, very happy now.   I'm sooooo glad I'd demo'd it first, otherwise I really would have been wondering what all the fuss is about. Also thanks to Simon in Suffolk - knowing that some Hugo's might not be up to scratch made me stop doubting my ears. 

Hats off to the dealer too - amazing service - had I bought online or used this might have been a very tricky one to resolve, and considering the company sells interconnects as well would have been perfectly placed to send me down that path instead....

Now I can enjoy settling in with it, digitising some more music, optimising my headless Mac mini, and exploring beyond Audirvana. 

But mostly just enjoying the sound. 

Thanks all

I'm glad for you...and for the fact that my ears are not faulty.

It will improve further over the next 36h or so in my experience (permanently mains connected).

Enjoy

G

That's cause for concern if quality control cannot ensure consistent sound across units. I'll have to compare mine to a store unit...

Jan, in my expierience this no different from Naim.. You get and I have had, just as with Chord Electronics, the odd bad apple.

The good thing is, the performances are so exemplary, that if they sound off, it's usually clear there is an issue.

Simon

Jean-Erik, i wouldn't like to sharpen your paranoia but i'm pretty sure that mine sound better than yours... 

Mine was sounding so good today (seriously) I think it must be the best one that Chord have ever made.

G

It can't be Graeme, because I'm pretty sure mine is - everyday is shocks me how good it makes my modest little system sound.  I've listened to so much more music, and such varied music since I got it that that in itself was worth the money.  Awesome value for money in my view

That's entirely possible, given what I've read above, but I'm not worried.

Now, back to guitar practice.

It's like some of those adverts you see on the TV for ladies make-up products.  Some bird uses a new shampoo and not only does it make her hair all shiny and lovely but it sorts out her make-up, gives her a new pair of shoes, make her legs less hairy etc.  Hugo is obviously a Head and Shoulders product.

I could not believe myself after auditioning the Hugo twice in my system, here I am still stick to my old nDac/xps combo. There is something special about the naim Dac in a naim system, the drive and boogie factor is head & shoulder above the Hugo albeit the delicate vocal is belonged to the Hugo. I even invited my wife for a couple of blind tests, on both count she chooses the nDac/XPS sound. Ok, the Hugo is not a new unit which I loaned from a friend but the cables used is kind of cheap. The Coax is only worth AUS24.00 whereas the interconnect is a DIY phono to Din. On the other hand, my nDac is using best cable for the job, ie DC1 & Hiline. Maybe the cables would not do the Hugo some justice but how large the effect can cables bring to the table, after all it is digital cable.....the Hugo returned to my friend. 

Yup, it's definitely a completely different sound to Naim  - certainly to me coming from a CD5X for the last 5 years - I get a completely new perspective on the music. It will definitely take some getting used to on tracks I know really well as they've totally changed and it's a bit of a shocker when I first listen.  

But I don't find the boogie factor gone at all - just different. I'm finding all the extra detail and smoothness and fullness across the board just amazing, and the spatial imaging is magical - like I'm sitting within a 3D environment of sound rather than it coming from 2 speakers in front of me.

I wonder if long term I'll miss the more upfront Naim sound.  Once I settle the Hugo in I'll go back to the CD and compare again and see which is preferred coming from the other direction.  

The beauty of this system is I can have both sounds if I want to.  And I can play any format, and use any streaming service or player. All of which comes with setup and config hassle admittedly, but at least nothing's 'locked out'.

Maybe as this new DAC technology evolves, it will be possible to actually choose your sound parameters through software/firmware of the DAC - i.e. a slider from neutral to Naim?!  Or completely customise it?  I've no idea how much of the DAC is the chip/code and how much is the rest of the fixed components.

At the end of the day my goal was to move to a cost-effective streaming solution, and I wanted it to be 'better' than my CD5X or at least bring something new.   The NDX was out of my price range.  An ND5XS (which I also demoed) would have given me essentially the same sound but in streaming form, but for more money than the Hugo and Mac mini.

So, so far very happy with this route.

Ultimately it might be Naim's gain as I'm already thinking an upgrade to the amps and speakers might now be worthwhile at some point…...