Hugo 1 battery problems
Posted by: AussieSteve on 05 March 2017
I have been reading here and elsewhere how people are returning their Hugo's after battery failure. It appears this is a major problem with them. I am only guessing that the problem may have been fixed in the Hugo2. Does anyone have any info on this? I am very glad I didn't rush out and get one when the hype about them was at it's peak here on the forum. Returning anything here in Australia is a nightmare, not to mention the enormous wait because of shipping.
I would just buy a 2qute if battery were a concern....
I think the Hugo/2qute/Mojo/TT excel on 2 fronts - sound quality and timing precision - (starting and ending of the notes)
We all tend to focus on the hi-fi qualities of the Hugo, but I found the timing qualities of Hugo to be the secret sauce, it just brings music to life and gets out of the way.
yeti42 posted:The 2qute is supposed to be the straight DAC version with no battery but it's reckoned to not be as good by many who've compared it to the hugo, is this just because of the fixed output level compared to a hugo set to turquoise on the attenuator? Does a hugo set to fixed output still beat a 2qute?
2qute on attenuator plugs anyone?
A friend of mine did a home demo with the 2qute,but he uses exposure gear...he hated it,said it was way to bright,almost unlistenable.I let him borrow my Hugo for a few days,and he loved it,said it was night and day difference.So I don't think getting a 2qute is the solution to the battery dying.
maybe some noise from the switch mode power supply is affecting the exposure gear, but unlikely. 2 qute does have a 3v output on the RCA analog outputs though, maybe the exposure is more used to have 2.0 v CD standard output?
in any case one can always buy a 12v linear power supply for the 2 qute, but this will void the warranty.
AussieSteve posted:If a battery replacement cost $250 Australian, it makes me wonder if that additional cost every X number of years warrants buying one. I have no doubt they are fabulous, however come time to shop I'll make sure I test a few out including Naim's updated? DAC. I would really like a new Naim DAC like the V-1 in size, with a HiCap sized upgrade as a power source so as to fit in one rack shelf.
Whether that is a deal breaker is down to you to decide, weighing up sound vs cost (long term) and hassle. It has been suggested that the short life reported by many people only affected earlier units (or possibly a batch?), implying that the replacement batteries, and those in later units, will last longer. This tends to be supported by Chord's willingness to replace them foc outside the warranty period, however if I was in the position of desiring Hugo but put off by this I would contact Chord directly to get a definitive statement as to whether it was indeed a temporary problem that has now been fixed.
yeti42 posted:The 2qute is supposed to be the straight DAC version with no battery but it's reckoned to not be as good by many who've compared it to the hugo, is this just because of the fixed output level compared to a hugo set to turquoise on the attenuator? Does a hugo set to fixed output still beat a 2qute?
Hugo in fixed output brings similar undersirable traits that are present with the 2Qute in my experience.
No quarter posted:yeti42 posted:The 2qute is supposed to be the straight DAC version with no battery but it's reckoned to not be as good by many who've compared it to the hugo, is this just because of the fixed output level compared to a hugo set to turquoise on the attenuator? Does a hugo set to fixed output still beat a 2qute?
2qute on attenuator plugs anyone?
A friend of mine did a home demo with the 2qute,but he uses exposure gear...he hated it,said it was way to bright,almost unlistenable.I let him borrow my Hugo for a few days,and he loved it,said it was night and day difference.So I don't think getting a 2qute is the solution to the battery dying.
I haven't heard 2Qute myself, but in the posts I've read over the past couple of years there seems to have been a strong majority view that Hugo sounds better than 2Qute, except where the source is noisy and an isolator not used, 2Qute benefitting from its galvanic isolation. I understand 2Qute has a different output stage, not the same as Hugo on fixed output, which is one factor that could explain the difference, Though I hadn't appreciated that the 2Qute doesn't have batteries which might well also be a factor affecting SQ.
TT ups the game, but at a significant increase in cost.
Innocent Bystander posted:AussieSteve posted:If a battery replacement cost $250 Australian, it makes me wonder if that additional cost every X number of years warrants buying one. I have no doubt they are fabulous, however come time to shop I'll make sure I test a few out including Naim's updated? DAC. I would really like a new Naim DAC like the V-1 in size, with a HiCap sized upgrade as a power source so as to fit in one rack shelf.
Whether that is a deal breaker is down to you to decide, weighing up sound vs cost (long term) and hassle. It has been suggested that the short life reported by many people only affected earlier units (or possibly a batch?), implying that the replacement batteries, and those in later units, will last longer. This tends to be supported by Chord's willingness to replace them foc outside the warranty period, however if I was in the position of desiring Hugo but put off by this I would contact Chord directly to get a definitive statement as to whether it was indeed a temporary problem that has now been fixed.
That's a fair point, I had a feeling it may be an initial Hugo problem which is probably fixed. It's great they fixed the faulty one's, that shows great service. The Hugo2 is retailing down here for $3700, so the price has jumped a bit, I believe that's in part to the exchange rate. It'll be great to get some reviews and opinions to see how it compares. The number of people who love the original here and elsewhere highlights how seriously good it is.