Where has the NDX into Hugo thread gone?
Posted by: Simon-in-Suffolk on 19 June 2014
Any ideas?
There were some heated debates, but no more so than other recent exchanges on the forum, and those threads are still there...
i can only think of negative defensive reasons which I don't associate with Naim at all.. I hope it wasn't to do with that..perhaps the thread can go back into padded cell? It was a fairly useful resource for those wanting to use their Naim equipment with a Hugo source..
They actually pay people to bully these days?
Same here. I prefer the Naim minimalist styling myself (Muso aside), but the Hugo's actually a pretty nice looking item and feels pretty solid. I didn't think I'd like the lights and window as they seemed a bit gimmicky, but now it's home I really do! They're also pretty clear to 'read' from the sofa.
For use in a home system I'd prefer if all the cables came out of the same side as it's a bit messy as it is (I use USB and leave it plugged into mains), and the ergonomics of a few things like the power switch clearly didn't get much thought, but it looks quite pretty with the room lights dimmed. It makes the mac mini look big, which is saying something.
I know sound quality should be the overriding factor, but as the stuff's in my living room and I like design,hifi aesthetics are important to me - and for that reason I wont be considering any amps of the same brand.
You also said "But if I was wanting to design a buffer stage - perhaps with no current amplification". Words fail me, they really do. A buffer stage with no current amplification??? Yeah right.
Sorry Bill I think you might be confusing current amplification with current buffering. A unity gain current buffer or current follower buffer would have a current gain of 1 (βi=1), and I would use it to buffer a low impedance into a high impedance - possibly could be quite useful for driving NAC inputs for example.. but not drive a low impedance such as headphones. Current followers are usually Common Base.
Perhaps speak later..
No I wasn't!
Thank you Bill for your enlightening response.
Thank you Bill for your enlightening response.
Yes I thought so to! You would use the type of circuit you mention quite often in instrumentation and although it has a current amplification of factor 1 it still provides current gain. Let me explain. You would use it in a situation where you want to connect to a circuit where if you just connect directly to the circuit you would load it down, which you do not want. So you put in between them a current follower. Which does affectively provide a gain compared to the situation if it was not there.
To sum up the, if source could not provide sufficient current to stop it being loaded to an extent to interfere with its operation - ie you could say that just connecting the output circuit results in negative current gain - current amp factor < 1. You insert your current follower and the overall current amp. factor is now 1.
The reason it so often used in instrumentation is that with different options available in the final various other circuits would be tagged on (often quite willy/nilly) and we would not want to degrade the detector side of the instrument. Electronic musical instruments are another area where these would be used or any other types of devices with lots of controls and bolt-on options.
But it is irrelevant, whether or not you are providing a current amp factor > 1 or = 1, there is a single aim and that is to provide sufficient current to avoid too much loading of the output stage. To do that you have to have a source of current coming from the PSU.
I maintain that to say "but also has the disadvantage that there is really no buffering" for an output stage is well...crazy.
And it still doesn't explain your confusing of Class A operation and various circuit topologies. But hey, who cares.
Nick, it's been wonderful, although just turned a bit chilly and damp very recently...
"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart"
Victor Hugo.
Jan originally posted:
"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart"
- Victor Hugo.
Now Jan, that's going just a little too far!
I too have a Hugo, but I have never bothered to name it. And I have certainly never had a conversation with mine, even though I am rather fond of it. 
But you say that the Hugo output stage is not able to drive a NAIM power amp, therefore:
(i) The Hugo output stage cannot drive most power amps and is thus a rubbish output stage, or
(ii) There is something out of the ordinary about the input impedance of NAIM power amps.
What is the answer?
<snip>
He himself has stated that you don't need to connect a pre-amp between Hugo and Power Amp, that it can adequately drive a power amp. So how has he got it so wrong?
I read in another place that the issue with using a Hugo straight into a naim power amp may be that naim power amps like/need a restricted bandwidth input, which a NAC will provide but other preamps or DAC/pres such as the Hugo don't. Evidently there are no such issues with Chords own power amps, which is why Rob Watt recommends going direct. I doubt he has got anything wrong at all, at least when it comes to driving his own power amp!
But you say that the Hugo output stage is not able to drive a NAIM power amp, therefore:
(i) The Hugo output stage cannot drive most power amps and is thus a rubbish output stage, or
(ii) There is something out of the ordinary about the input impedance of NAIM power amps.
What is the answer?
<snip>
He himself has stated that you don't need to connect a pre-amp between Hugo and Power Amp, that it can adequately drive a power amp. So how has he got it so wrong?
I read in another place that the issue with using a Hugo straight into a naim power amp may be that naim power amps like/need a restricted bandwidth input, which a NAC will provide but other preamps or DAC/pres such as the Hugo don't. Evidently there are no such issues with Chords own power amps, which is why Rob Watt recommends going direct. I doubt he has got anything wrong at all, at least when it comes to driving his own power amp!
Like/need a restricted bandwidth - would like to see the details of that.
I can only assume that it is a the top-end but it just seems strange that a NAIM power amp would have trouble with signals up to 20kHz.
At the bottom end we know in the past that some record decks produced rumble at a very low frequency but again does it seem sensible to think that a NAIM amp would have problems?
Makes me think of my old Garrard SP25 mkII back in my student days, boy-o-boy did that ever rumble.
Indeed Graeme, but i think the Hugo sounds amazing into a mid or top level NAC with a Highline.. You still get the Naim sound with, wonderful naturalness and insight, yet with convienience of automation/remote control. Just don't leave your headphones in at the same time for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
Simon