Chord Hugo Reassurance

The Chord Hugo brought great pleasure to my musical life. The Hugo TT though is overwhelmingly good.

The Hugo, despite it becoming something of a running theme on here, is nothing short of fantastic.  It has given me a system and sound that I could not have afforded for many years without it.  Like every other component it needs to be set up properly with good cables, run in and a little playing with the output levels but what it gives is real insight and musical pleasure, I'm sure you will love it.

As the others have said the Hugo is rather outstanding as a DAC.. It seems to work very well with Naim amplifiers and digital transports including the NDX.. It works quite differently from the Naim DACs and only you can decide which sort of presentation you prefer..

To get the best from it, don't skimp on digital interconnect and audio line out. I use a Gotham Cable SPDIF - RCA to BNC and a  Hiline - RCA to DIN respectively. Also try setting the Hugo output level to 'turquoise' to set the optimum level for the Naim NAC.

Simon

Thank you Simon. 

To reiterate what Simon has said the set up of the Hugo is important, particularly with regard to the adjustment of the volume level. The SQ of the Hugo varies tremendously with this variable. Turquoise works for us but there is a fine level of adjustment required to achieve what sounds best in your system. My two penneth would be to set the volume at turquoise when you install, leave the unit a couple of weeks to settle and then fine tune the volume to your own ears.

Good luck

Steve

The Hugo is excellent. In a similar setup to yours, it changed the music from good 3D to truly holographic. For setup, do what Simon says and search some of his previous posts for some valuable tweaks.

Thank you all for the set-up advice. I was more focussed on the interconnects and didn't really consider the importance of set up. I should have it later next week, very excited. Anyone else who wants to chime in feel free

Yes it is that good. I second all the suggestions here, but have nothing substantive to add. Enjoy!

Hi Woods, the cabling I use with the Hugo is Chord Signature - digital and phono to Din. It works extremely well, though the cable is rather stiff. Likewise my colour setting is turquiose, and it's running from an NDX to SN2> Dynaudio Contour 1.4 LEs. I imagine it will sound rather sweet with your set-up. I also found a small but worthwhile gain when using the Hugo from its battery during serious listening. The presentation is different from what you'll be used to, so give it a few days to settle in. I found there was slight loss of PRAT and bass drive compared to the NDX with Hi-line, but this was more than offset by the wider soundstage, greater detail, and a smoother, more engaging presence that keeps me listening for hours. Enjoy

Thanks for the tips

The Hugo is awesome and awe-inspiring. I cannot listen to music without it anymore, so I even take with me in the car on my commute to work.

But make sure you buy a RCA to DIN cable to make the most of it, it doesn't need to be an expensive one to begin with.  I got mine from an eBay Vendor, and it compared easily with a mega expensive cable from a rather famous company that cost more than 20 times more the price.

I have tried Hugo on quite a few amps, from my Yamaha HT amp, 202/200, 282/200 and even my friends 552/500 and it was very easy to hear what the Hugo does. Basically it has the unique (I have never heard another other digital source capable of this) way of resolving high frequencies as well a top spec analog rig, and separate each instrument extremely well. It never loses composure no matter how complex the music.

And if all that wasn't impressive enough, it is very engaging, musical and fast ! When you listen to the Hugo, the music draws you in, and you pay little attention to your system.

In my view, it is easily the best hi-fi purchase I have ever made.

One word of advice, the Hugo like all audio electronics does need to run in for quite a long time before it will sound the way I have described it.

The Hugo also did not lose Naim any of my business since I was able to upgrade to a 282, since I did not have to spend any more money on expensive  Naim (NDS/XPSDR) sources.

analogmusic posted:

And if all that wasn't impressive enough, it is very engaging, musical and fast ! When you listen to the Hugo, the music draws you in, and you pay little attention to your system.

I think analogmusic hits the nail on the head here.

In my opinion, it's a truly magical piece of equipment for the price. 

Awesome. Thanks again all. Very excited. It will arrive on Wednesday (Ill be waiting at the door). I will give my impressions as I listen throughout the stages of warm-up.

Thanks again all for your insights and opinions. Much appreciated

Scot