Chord DACs

Innocent Bystander posted:

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 That makes sense for mechanical devices, turntables, CD drives and tape decks, but really rather outdated in my view.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!

Transport is definitely the correct term with regards to my system. The SBT transports digital data from a NAS to a DAC.

Renderer only implies it provides data to the DAC. (Only half the story)

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...

Hi Simon

Do you use the CDX2 as a transport for the Hugo?

Is is possible to describe the CDX2 vs the Hugo..  and do you think it's worth me trying out the CDX2 ?

For those that love Chord DACs and Rob Watts he will be at the Signals hifi bash Audio East show next Friday and Saturday, where you can have a chat, listen etc, 

Best get those plastic pants ordered lest the excitement gets too much. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Best get those plastic pants ordered lest the excitement gets too much. 

I sadnesses me that you would cover up them nice Diesel jeans I’ve heard about?

I myself only wear Acne Jeans when I listen to Naim. Only the best denim is good enough for such a occasion.

Gazza posted:

For those that love Chord DACs and Rob Watts he will be at the Signals hifi bash Audio East show next Friday and Saturday, where you can have a chat, listen etc, 

I love what Chord DACs do, so I suppose I love them, and consequectially I have respect for the person who designed them. But love for him? Hmm, even platonic love takes more than liking what so eobe does, and I've never met, spoken with or exchanged correspondence with the guy. That's not to say I wouldn't like to discuss some ohis developments with him, but I doubt there'd be opportunity at a show.

Just as well I live a million milez away!

Denim? I haven'r worn it since I was about 13 or 14. Strangely everyone at school complained about having to wear uschool uniform - then went home and donned blue jeans!!

M37 posted:

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?

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), the Auralic Aries, and various Melco products. cheaper alternatives that are well-regarded include the Squeezebox Touch (if you can get one) and various flavors of Raspberry Pi. 

Nina posted:

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...

Hi Simon

Do you use the CDX2 as a transport for the Hugo?

Is is possible to describe the CDX2 vs the Hugo..  and do you think it's worth me trying out the CDX2 ?

No... the beauty of the CDX2 is it’s implantation of the TI DAC and Pacific Microsonics DSP... I use a CDX2 mk1 which has no SPDIF output because at the time Naim considered it would affect SQ.

The main transport for my Hugo is my NDX.

joe9407 posted:

M37 posted:

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?

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), the Auralic Aries, and various Melco products. cheaper alternatives that are well-regarded include the Squeezebox Touch (if you can get one) and various flavors of Raspberry Pi. 

The Sonore microRendu is good, works well with the Chord Hugo, and I use this combination on one of my systems. The new Sonore ultraRendu is apparently a bit better, but a bit more expensive.

The combination sounds very good, but there are a few caveats. It is quite a bit trickier to configure and get up and running than a specialist streamer/transport such as the Auralic Aries or the Naim ND5XS or NDX. It also has the disadvantage that you will need to use a third party control app (such as Lumin) which may not be quite as intuitive to use as the Naim app (which I found to be better than many on this forum would have you believe). Finally, if this is something that interests you, access to Internet Radio is very much more difficult to achieve via the microRendu than it would be with something like a Naim or Aires streamer/transport.  

M37 posted:

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.

Today I got those ferrite clamps,I ended up putting 8 of them around a bog standard USB cable between my iPad and Hugo 2,I am amazed at the micro detail I am getting using my headphones,but I have not taken them out yet to compare.Further testing still to come,as I am picking up an adapter tomorrow,so I can run the H2 in the Naim stack,but these little things are definitely not hurting the signal.

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

If it makes you feel better,I had a Hugo 1 for a couple of years,and after I got my 272/250dr,I found there was no place in my system for it...the DAC in the 272 is just as good to my ears,but I kept it strictly for headphone use at work.Now the Hugo 2 is much better,I have only used headphones with it so far,I might get around to trying it in the Naim stack tomorrow.Even if there is no improvement with the Naim gear,I might just keep it for headphones,I sold my Hugo 1 to a friend about 4 months ago.Naim works well with other Naim products,so I think you made a wise choice.

Thanks for your comment NQ 

I wonder if there is any similarity between the Dac in your 272 and the Naim Dac

I have not heard the Naim DAC myself,but I would not be surprised if there is similarities,someone here with more knowledge than me might know the answer to that.I doubt you will be disappointed,I have never heard a Naim piece of gear that I did not like.

Thanks NQ  

I know the Dac will also be very nicely made and operate faultlessly and my perceived value for money will be much higher than I have with the Hugo and it didn't cost that much more than the Hugo

The Naim DAC will surely not disappoint in the context of a Naim system. When I was in a position to upgrade my DAC last year, there were only two choices - Naim DAC and a Chord DAC. Ultimately I chose the latter as I was made to understand that the Naim DAC requires the XPS to shine. Essentially the DAC will multiply into a two-box. 

I agree the Hugo/Hugo2 units look like a toy which is partly the reason I did not consider it. The Chord QBD76, Hugo TT and DAVE look more like business with an array of connections, some not found in the Hugo/Hugo2. 

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

If you like the Chord sound, you could try a Hugo TT or a 2Qute, which are intended for HiFi rather than portable use, rather than the portable Hugo. Not that there’s anything wrong with the NDAC, except perhaps for the price of the PSU upgrades!

No quarter posted:

M37 posted:

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.

Today I got those ferrite clamps,I ended up putting 8 of them around a bog standard USB cable between my iPad and Hugo 2,I am amazed at the micro detail I am getting using my headphones,but I have not taken them out yet to compare.Further testing still to come,as I am picking up an adapter tomorrow,so I can run the H2 in the Naim stack,but these little things are definitely not hurting the signal.

Where do you buy the ferrite clamps from and what do they actually do? 

Ferrites can filter out high frequency electrical noise. They are cheap and readily available from online sources such as RS, Farnell, Maplins etc. 

oh well.

ho hum.

I Like my Chord DACs with all the lights and unique looks

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.

Nina, I understand your frustration here.  While I really enjoy the performance of my own Hugo, using it is a completely different matter.  The power switch I find infuriating and almost impossible to operate with my size hands and fingers, particularly in anything other than very bright light. 

I also have a Naim DAC. Compared to the Hugo it's a case of swings and roundabouts; the Chord is highly resolving and sounds very clean, clear, and spacious, yet without any undue harshness.  The Naim DAC has more warmth, drive and weight (particularly once you upgrade the PSU!) .  Both are highly engaging, but with different strengths.  The Naim DAC is far more practical from a system point of view - leave it powered up permanently, lots of connections, remote switching etc..  But then the Hugo is portable, whereas the Naim DAC isn't. 

Enjoy your Naim DAC.  It's still a superb bit of kit, and quite a bargain for the performance on offer, even without any extra power supplies.

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

Sorry to hear if your frustrations.

i have to say I don't recognise the problem - I left mine on permanently, so didn't normally have to touch its buttons. Whenever I did turn off, on turning back on I just had to press one of the buttons the requisite number of times (3?) to reselect the input I was using, not being the default one. (When I discharged the battery periodically that was without turning Hugo off, just its power supply.)

I didn't use a preamp, so used Hugo's [manual] volume control, a rather odd edge-on wheel rather than a knob, but didn't take long to get used to - and I think Hugo remembers the setting when powered down, which iirc means if the variable output is used there'd be no need to reset that on turn-on.

As for its lights, mine sat flat on a shelf with lights pointing up, and with another shelf above it, to the side of the room, and was only evident as the glow when the room lights were turned off. But of course that depends on where/how positioned.

I hope you find the nDAC satisfying, if different sounding. If you do want to give Hugo another chance, maybe my comments above could help fit to you. Otherwise as others have said there are less quirky Chord models, but increasingly expensive. (Dave has a screen display, which can be set to self-extinguish shortly after each change if setting, to show no lights at all.)

(reposred to correct typos)