Introducing a DAC

Are you buying it for any other use than to "replace" the dac in the CD5XS?  Assuming no . . . I can imagine that the music will sound a little DIFFERENT.  Better? Worse? You won't know 'til you hear.  You can always Ebay the dac if you don't like it.

Where are the Hugo brigade?

More clarity - yes.

More musical than a Naim digital source?  - that is for you to decide.

If you don't like it, plenty of people will buy it from you. But I think you will like it.

By the way the CD player is providing Signal earthing to your Naim amp, so please keep the CD player connected through analog inputs when the Chord DAC is attached.

Also the Chord will sound better through RCA to DIN.

Why not nDAC - it would visually match the rest of your system. You can pick some pre-loved ones for very decent money nowadays....

my system was the same as yours, except I have Proac Studio 125 speakers. nDac was a great upgrade and brought a lot of extra transparency. i also think the XS2 prefers having the flatcap to itself.

 Worth a try if 2nd hand kit if available

I have used both the Hugo and 2Qute and, in my experience and in exactly the same system, the 2Qute is audibly inferior to the Hugo.

G

GraemeH posted:

I have used both the Hugo and 2Qute and, in my experience and in exactly the same system, the 2Qute is audibly inferior to the Hugo.

G

That was also Steve J's experience.

 I tried the NDac alongside the Chord Q2 and felt the Chord was better.   This was in a system exactly like mine.   When  time is available I will demo the Hugo alongside the Q2.         Thanks everyone for your interest.

• The Hugo is better again

staffy posted:

 I tried the NDac alongside the Chord Q2 and felt the Chord was better.   This was in a system exactly like mine.   When  time is available I will demo the Hugo alongside the Q2.         Thanks everyone for your interest.

I did the same & agree,  I listened at a dealers with NDX (same as me) into 282/250 (not the same)   .....  My next move is to compare Hugo with 2Qute & possibly others,  but this will not be until late summer,  so very interested in whatever you find.      My problem with Hugo & other DAC's is I don't want a  lot of the gizmo's that come with it,  so ITR its wasted money & I will be balancing SQ vs the cost of features I will not use. 

My Hugo Sits 99% of the time in my main system where it does a Stella job. It's nice to have  the headphone amp  for the odd occasion I need to listen through my headphones and it drives my ultrasone edition 12 headphones with ease. Although it's only occasional but it's nice to be able to take my sounds with me if I so choose. I'd imaging a second hand Hugo would be comparible if not cheaper than a new 2qute too.

Mike - I am afraid you don't get many gizmos with the Hugo - its pretty basic which is of course why some don't get on with it..and others like it..

However as I get older I would love a DAC that sounded like my CDX2 mk1 DAC - the more I listen to it the more I appreciate it - especially  on my 252/250/ATC setup which has been my first setup which has really allowed my CDX2 to shine ... my NDX doesn't cut it - the NDS doesn't have that CDX2 sound- and my Hugo - which has some similarities to the NDS - doesn't give me that CDX2 sound either that I have started to really enjoy (again).

I have found I am listening to more CDs again - and they are not half a palaver compared to streaming....

Simon

As a matter of interest, does the DAC need to be powered on all the time, as my system is.

nDAC - yes

The best people to ask ......Chord.  lol