Chord DACs

No quarter posted:

Mayor West

Chris explained what the ferrites do,a friend I work with,who i sold my Hugo 1 to ordered a bunch online,I think it was amazon or e-Bay he got them from.There is about a dozen of them in the box he had.i got the idea from the head-fi thread,I think that was on the blu2 thread,where this guy Romaz does real in-depth testing of various transports,cables,ferrites etc. With his Dave/blu2 set up.Rob Watts even admitted he uses them,and likes the result.

Cheers NQ

there is a solution to this....

The Chord Mojo offers much of the performance (in my view) of the HUgo (in some ways better, in my view) with the following

- No problem with switch on and off (easier than Hugo)

- portable

- can be charged by any phone charger (USB)

- it remembers the last volume unlike Hugo.

But as Richard says, the NDAC is very engaging and a good DAC, it is what I would be using if I didn't use a Chord DAC.

NQ, sorry to pick your brain again but what size diameter would I need for a standard Hugo USB cable? 

Personally I have no problem with the Hugo functionality. As long as it's left plugged in/switched on and I'm using one source it works like a dream every time. The only issue I've ever had was when it needed the batteries replacing.

Nina posted:

I am finding the Hugo infuriating      

I just hate all the little buttons and all the bright lights, which I cannot switch off, and the tiny on/off switch

However much I love the sound of the Hugo I really don't like the 'fiddly' bits and for the cost I don't think it is a quality item

As I am now so sold on Naim products I just couldn't help myself and got a Naim Dac   

I can imagine the comments I am going to get here on the forum but if I don't like the Dac compared to the Hugo I can easily sell it with little or no loss

I don't think you'll be disappointed, Nina.  In my view the Naim DAC represents excellent VFM and its performance with the latest firmware update is superb, even bare.  The nDAC was the first piece of Naim kit I bought and I still have it today. Its responds very well to upgrades e.g. better PSUs, Powerlines and Hi-line or SL interconnect.  Mine is pretty much maxed-out now and delivers a superb source for the rest of the system.

Mayor West posted:

NQ, sorry to pick your brain again but what size diameter would I need for a standard Hugo USB cable? 

I live in Canada,I am not sure if you guys are using Metric over there or not,but I left the box at work that might have exact sizes on it.But if I had to guess,I would say 3mm or about .125 of an inch inside diameter,about .75 of an inch long each,and the outside diameter is about .375 of an inch.The USB cable fits snugly inside the ferrite,once it is clamped,you can not slide it down the cable.I do not know if any of these things matter though,I am no expert on them.My buddy who ordered them is also into HAM Radios,and he uses them a lot on his cables for that.

joe9407 posted:

M37 posted:

Anyone that can recommend a good transport?

there are lots of interesting choices out there, some quite inexpensive relative to Naim gear. i have a Sonore microRendu that seems to get the job done. i use it with a Hugo 2 and well-made, but otherwise bog-standard, cables.

the computer audio crowd also seems to break out the "plastic pants" for the SOtM sMS-200 (no, the shift key on my laptop is not broken), 

I'm curious is any of the Chord DAC users do any kind of upsampling on PCs?

Given that the Chord Blu 2 upsamples to (iirc) 705.6ks/s (samples per second); has anyone tried similar upsampling using (for example) HQ Player and then feeding the DAC via USB (which supports such high sample rates) perhaps utilising the Sonore of SOtM or an alternative SBC as an intermediate NAA interface.

Just thinking out loud really... a geeky alternative to the Chord Blu 2.

Eloise posted:

joe9407 posted:

M37 posted:

Anyone that can recommend a good transport?

there are lots of interesting choices out there, some quite inexpensive relative to Naim gear. i have a Sonore microRendu that seems to get the job done. i use it with a Hugo 2 and well-made, but otherwise bog-standard, cables.

the computer audio crowd also seems to break out the "plastic pants" for the SOtM sMS-200 (no, the shift key on my laptop is not broken), 

I'm curious is any of the Chord DAC users do any kind of upsampling on PCs?

Given that the Chord Blu 2 upsamples to (iirc) 705.6ks/s (samples per second); has anyone tried similar upsampling using (for example) HQ Player and then feeding the DAC via USB (which supports such high sample rates) perhaps utilising the Sonore of SOtM or an alternative SBC as an intermediate NAA interface.

Just thinking out loud really... a geeky alternative to the Chord Blu 2.

I use Audirvana as my renderer, and it does offer the option to upsample, to do which the Mac Mini it runs on has ample processing power. I haven't tried it yet, but funnily enough it is next on my list of comparisons to make (some other, unrelated comparisons posted on a different thread re triamping), with an intent to do that some time soon.

Acquiring a Hugo has been a revelation.  But as good as it is, it is my old cd5x that on (many) occasion(s) gives me the presentation I'm looking for.  I have come to realize that relying exlusively on any single source is foolish; where one source stumbles I find the other rises to the occasion.  And this can be related not just to the quality of the source but my mood as well.

Nice post and good point

I had a Hugo, It is without doubt one of worst mechanical designs I have ever seen. Atrocious ergonomics. Cables out of both ends, unintelligible coloured lights, an absurd lens to squint through, virtually unusable at home and even less so on the go. Sounded very good though, so I bought a TT. Third worst mechanical design I have ever seen.  Sounded very good though, so I bought a DAVE. Second worst mechanical design I have ever seen, massive waste of material, pointlessly over engineered, unlabelled inputs and controls, holes in the top just asking for a child to poke something in, no evidence of CE approval, ridiculously expensive stand makes it even worse. Sounds very good though. You can’t have everything.

I don't know what drives Chord's ergonomics and visuals, but for me what counts above all is sound, so as long as usable the ergonomics aren't critical, and for visuals they are not so big as to have to be positioned 'in your face' (actually I quite like their quirky varied appearances - yes they draw attention to thenselves if put on display, but then so do racks of black boxes with indicator lights...) 

The same goes for speakers - some of the better sounding speakers are visual monstrosities, and yet there is no option but to have them in line of sight. But I would choose on sound not looks - good looks, or inoffensive looks, are a bonus.

i like the lights! i've set the Hugo 2's filter to "warm" mode, just so that all the lights are different colors. 'tis the season.

likesmusic posted:

I had a Hugo, It is without doubt one of worst mechanical designs I have ever seen. Atrocious ergonomics. Cables out of both ends, unintelligible coloured lights, an absurd lens to squint through, virtually unusable at home and even less so on the go. Sounded very good though, so I bought a TT. Third worst mechanical design I have ever seen.  Sounded very good though, so I bought a DAVE. Second worst mechanical design I have ever seen, massive waste of material, pointlessly over engineered, unlabelled inputs and controls, holes in the top just asking for a child to poke something in, no evidence of CE approval, ridiculously expensive stand makes it even worse. Sounds very good though. You can’t have everything.

the holes on top make me nervous too, should anyone drop a drink on it.

but putting inside a Naim style sealed case wouldn't work either, as it needs to dissipate all that heat.

And Rob Watts travels all around the world with it?

For me the reason I bought Dave apart from the excellent sound quality it that it is somewhat portable.

I can use it for Music and Watching movies in another room (although I tend to use Mojo for that)

You can't really pick up an NDS with the very heavy brass chassis and move it around.

Would love Naim to come out with a Mojo/Hugo style Naim DAC. 

Mayor West posted:

NQ, sorry to pick your brain again but what size diameter would I need for a standard Hugo USB cable? 

I have my vernier handy today Mayor West,the inside diameter of these ferrite clamps is 3mm,they are an inch long and the outside diameter is .5 inches,or half an inch.

No quarter posted:

Mayor West posted:

NQ, sorry to pick your brain again but what size diameter would I need for a standard Hugo USB cable? 

I have my vernier handy today Mayor West,the inside diameter of these ferrite clamps is 3mm,they are an inch long and the outside diameter is .5 inches,or half an inch.

Wonderful. Much appreciated. And do you use them on a standard Hugo cable? 

Mayor West posted:

No quarter posted:

Mayor West posted:

NQ, sorry to pick your brain again but what size diameter would I need for a standard Hugo USB cable? 

I have my vernier handy today Mayor West,the inside diameter of these ferrite clamps is 3mm,they are an inch long and the outside diameter is .5 inches,or half an inch.

Wonderful. Much appreciated. And do you use them on a standard Hugo cable? 

Yes it is a standard cable,I am only demoing the Hugo 2 for now,I managed to get it working in my main system today,so I am not using any ferrites on these cables...just on the USB cable for headphones.Right now I am listening to Jazz at the pawnshop,which is a 88.2 KHZ file located on my Core,the SPDIF cable out of the Core goes into the little adapter my dealer gave me,to reduce it to 3.5 mm coaxial in on the Hugo 2.From there I am using a couple of rca cables from the Hugo to the analog input 3 on my N272.It really sounds very good,the nice thing about the Core is that it has The SPDIF out,and the UPNP out,so it is very easy for me to switch between the two,to see which I prefer...with a couple of taps on the iPad and remote.I will not get into which I prefer right now,I have only had it playing an hour or so,but all I will say is,there is an obvious difference to the presentation,but which one I prefer(so far) is still up in the air.

interesting one, Chord vs Naim presentation in the digital sources.

Naim : more obvious Pace and Rhythm, sounds like first row sitting in front of the Band.

Chord : more fluid, more sweeter high's doesn't sound as front row as Naim.

I will be getting the Naim Dac in a few days and then I will be able to give my impression of it versus the Hugo and whichever I prefer I will keep even if that means I have to put up the Hugo's eccentric nature, however if I find it a bit swings and rounderbouts I will defnitely keep the Naim

well fluidity in digital sources, is a very rare and elusive quality......  and one that I cherish very much indeed.

Can I ask people which input on the amp they place their Dac output...  I just use the CD input but I read somewhere Naim recommend one of the Aux inputs

They are all the same. 

analogmusic posted:

well fluidity in digital sources, is a very rare and elusive quality......  and one that I cherish very much indeed.

you can also add some tubes in the chain, to have more fluidity. A dac with tubes, tube amps...

You know what i add....

Much as the Hugo frustrates me I still love the sound so the Naim Dac is going to have to be very good indeed for me to change

Nina posted:

Much as the Hugo frustrates me I still love the sound so the Naim Dac is going to have to be very good indeed for me to change

Be prepared for dynamics and boogie.  The nDAC isn't shy.