Chord DACs

I agree - i also wrote a review of Hugo vs NDS vs NDAC that is searchable - my comparison was based on the rendition of favourite pieces of music rather than focusing on 'technical' traits.

Interesting times for DACs indeed . I can't help thinking the that Chord have messed up a little by changing the Coaxial input on Hugo2 , it certainly put me off and no doubt many others too . Maybe Chord are focusing on Usb but I always preferred coaxial on the original . 

fatcat posted:

analogmusic posted:

well he wasn't going to undermine his flagship Dave..... 8500 GBP

Now he does say the Hugo 2 works very well with Blu2 and no issues, but there's always that itch to upgrade to Dave if you got the Hugo 2.... 

Don’t forget, the hugos a portable headphone amp, space is obviously restricted.

I very much doubt, improving the coax dig input would take it above the level of dave.

 

 

Whilst the fitting is indeed bigger than a jack socket, H1 managed to fit the better rca ('phono') style socket, which are available in 75Ω versions - though admirredly I don't know if Hugo's one was a genuine 75Ω one.

An RCA plug/connector combination physically can't have a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms unless both are matched and especially designed - Nextgen are the only manufacturer I am aware of that claim to offer a matched 75 ohm plug/socket combo... and the Hugo RCA socket looks a regular RCA socket with will be around 45 ohms or so... and even if the Hugo did use a Nextgen socket - it would only effectively work at the appropriate impedance if it was used with a matching Nextgen plug

There are others that claim 75Ω - however I was unaware that the brand must be matched.

However whilst a standard rca might be 45Ω (or maybe 50), a 3.5mm jack is likely to be considerably lower resulting in even greater SWR.

The brand doesn't need to necessarily match - but the specific designs do - RCA plug/socket combo is not natively 75 ohms.

as far as 3.5mm CI - i was playing around with a few models and I suspect its about 40 to 50 ohms, so perhaps not that different from native RCA after all..

Richard Dane posted:

French Rooster posted:

pete T15 posted:

+1 for Flashback cables , I bought an RCA to single XLR a couple of weeks ago and its great  . Very well made , sounds good and fast service . The 3.5mm connection put me off the Hugo2 for now . I'm using a Benchmark DAC3 HGC at the moment to save on box count whilst away and its very good . It beat the Hugo straight into 250 , I was drawn to it for its size and well respected adjustable gain Preamp which may explain the performance gain over my Hugo direct . 

interesting post: the benchmark dac3 may sound better than the hugo.  Chord dacs are rarely compared to other dacs( just naim dacV or ndac).  I would be curious to know if some other members could have compared chord hugo with similar priced dacs from weiss, benchmark,moon, antelope, my2tech, rega.....

Lots was written about the Hugo on here when it first appeared.  Plenty of comparisons made against other DACs, in particular by a reviewer member here.  If you're still interested then it's worth doing a search and taking a day or two to read through.

thanks Richard,  i will investigate this “god of dacs”....

There is room on the Hugo 2 for a full size RCA input,it really takes up the same amount of space on the unit as far as I can tell.What concerns me now though after reading Simons comments,is the 75 ohm rating is not consistent (possibly) when using two different type of connectors.I have always preferred the Coaxial connection on the Hugo 1 I had,but now I have to think twice if the H2 is even for me with this mini jack,hopefully I get a cable this week to figure this out.

At the end of the day if it sounds great ( and most that I have read say better than H1, though I recall there is at least one person who prefers H1), then the inferior electrical SPDIF input is not really important  -just maybe it would sound even better with a 75Ω connection. As previously mentioned, a comparison of inputs would be interesting - though of course whoch sound best will also depend on the source - and it would also be interesting to review the comments by people who have said they prefer H2, and not, to see if there is any correlation between inputs used.

While I love my Hugo I still have an itch to try the CDX2

Has anyone compared the two, I'm aware it might also depend on the transport used with the Hugo

Yes, I run both side by side.. chalk and cheese.. the CDX2 is great fun with certain discs/genres, . but my goto is my Hugo.... and yes to get the best out of the Hugo (as with just about every other DAC out there) you need a top class transport...

I am going to try using the optical input later today,off of my Teac CD/DSD player,but my main source is the Core,where the majority of my music is stored,so I need to use SPDIF cable.I can also try using my iPad as a source,or my laptop,but those are not my intended use long term.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Yes, I run both side by side.. chalk and cheese.. the CDX2 is great fun with certain discs/genres, . but my goto is my Hugo.... and yes to get the best out of the Hugo (as with just about every other DAC out there) you need a top class transport...

Anyone that can recommend a good transport?

I can recommend Vertere USB cables  works a treat with my Chord Mojo and Chord Dave.

I use laptops as transports, seems to work ok so far... when the laptop is run off the battery.

The NDX. 

analogmusic posted:

I can recommend Vertere USB cables  works a treat with my Chord Mojo and Chord Dave.

I use laptops as transports, seems to work ok so far... when the laptop is run off the battery.

The Core as a transport looks much better on my Fraim than a laptop sitting somewhere near the rack.

agreed agreed.

Actually NDX is the ideal transport as it can stream tidal.

French Rooster posted:

pete T15 posted:

+1 for Flashback cables , I bought an RCA to single XLR a couple of weeks ago and its great  . Very well made , sounds good and fast service . The 3.5mm connection put me off the Hugo2 for now . I'm using a Benchmark DAC3 HGC at the moment to save on box count whilst away and its very good . It beat the Hugo straight into 250 , I was drawn to it for its size and well respected adjustable gain Preamp which may explain the performance gain over my Hugo direct . 

interesting post: the benchmark dac3 may sound better than the hugo.  Chord dacs are rarely compared to other dacs( just naim dacV or ndac).  I would be curious to know if some other members could have compared chord hugo with similar priced dacs from weiss, benchmark,moon, antelope, my2tech, rega.....

MOON 280D is a wonderful sounding dac. It has a way of finding and conveying fine levels of microdetails that I have not yet heard with any other dac, including Hugo/ 2Qute.

I have however only used it together with my other MOON gear and the overall presentation, as some might know, differs a lot from Naim. (in my humble opinion.)

so how is different from Naim? Curious.

and which cables you using.

analogmusic posted:

I can recommend Vertere USB cables  works a treat with my Chord Mojo and Chord Dave.

I use laptops as transports, seems to work ok so far... when the laptop is run off the battery.

Analog, how would you describe the USB signature? (No local Vertere dealers.)

analogmusic posted:

so how is different from Naim? Curious.

and which cables you using.

Well English is not my language, but funny you ask. When listening to my SN2 the musicians “stand in line”, it’s more like a wall painted with a beautiful sound and SN2 has a uncanny way of exposing and holding on to individual instruments and rhythms, at the same time allowing you to hear the music as a whole. And as far as I know it’s ability for rhythm and pace is unrivaled. My best hifi purchase for sure.

MOON has a more three dimensional way of presenting music. It’s also a little more laidback if you like, and the base goes deeper. Of course, my findigs only, so no rambling.

I use the same source and TQ cables.

When comparing sources, be aware with sources that Hugo and Mojo (and I assume H2) do not have galanic isolation on their usb inputs, and using a source that's electrically noisy adversely affects sound quality unless a good isolator is used in between. This particularly applies to computers, which are renowned for rf contamination, though the amount may vary from model to model depending on design.

A friend of mine and I just ordered a bunch of ferrite chokes yesterday...to see if they make a difference around cables,even Rob Watts uses them.

One thing puzzles me (nothing to do with DACs, but mentioned here): why do people call digital musi renderers "transports"? That makes sense for mechanical devices, turntables, CD drives and tape decks, but really rather outdated in my view. I don't mean this as any form of criticism, just my puzzlement!

No quarter posted:

A friend of mine and I just ordered a bunch of ferrite chokes yesterday...to see if they make a difference around cables,even Rob Watts uses them.

I find that they do. I read somewhere, a non cable believer that dissected a high end mains cable only to find everyday components and some ferrite powder.