Hugo Upgrade???

eazyryder posted:

Had my chord hugo for a couple of years now and love its sound signature. My hugo is used solely as a dac in my main system and always left powered on when in use via the provided adapter.

I have always worried about battery lifespan and at the time of buying the hugo I was unaware of the 2qute. I am now considering possibly selling and switching to the new chord qutest.

I have heard elsewhere that the qutest isnt as musical sounding as the older hugo and has a more clinical sound.

Has anyone compared the 1st gen hugo with the new qutest? 

Also would it worth looking to a cheaper chord 2qute for a similar sound signature to my 1st gen hugo?

 

 

 

 

I had a Hugo for 2 years but changed for the Qutest lately. I would say the sound is slightly different, a little more resolved in the low registers and as musically satisfying as the Hugo. 

If you live in the UK you will easily find two identical replacement batteries when the originals will fail (and they will) at a fraction of the cost of replacing your Hugo for a Qutest. Not worth the hassle me think.

cat345 posted

If you live in the UK you will easily find two identical replacement batteries when the originals will fail (and they will) at a fraction of the cost of replacing your Hugo for a Qutest. Not worth the hassle me think.

Exactly what I was thinking. Now thinking maybe a pre loved 2qute may be the more sensible option for little outlay, just for the non battery/ easier control and cabling options in a fixed system.

BTW why did you switch to the qutest? 

As you know the Hugo has a volume and can be adjusted to work well with Naim amps, not sure the 2qute has this function and maybe over powering for the NAC input.

HiFiman posted:

As you know the Hugo has a volume and can be adjusted to work well with Naim amps, not sure the 2qute has this function and maybe over powering for the NAC input.

Oh actually no I didn't know that. So the 2qute would be incompatible with the nait xs2?.

I usually just Press and hold the Crossfeed switch whilst turning on my hugo to activate line level volume output, this works fine with the nait xs2

Now I am confused

eazyryder posted:

cat345 posted

If you live in the UK you will easily find two identical replacement batteries when the originals will fail (and they will) at a fraction of the cost of replacing your Hugo for a Qutest. Not worth the hassle me think.

Exactly what I was thinking. Now thinking maybe a pre loved 2qute may be the more sensible option for little outlay, just for the non battery/ easier control and cabling options in a fixed system.

BTW why did you switch to the qutest? 

In my experience the 2qute does not sound as good as the original Hugo.

G

I have had to look at alternatives after my own Hugo recently bit the dust.

I did consider going for a Qutest, but eventually chose the Mytek Brooklyn+ DAC. This was partly because of its ability to fully decode MQA files, and the possibility of checking out the Tidal MQA Masters that this offered. There are also a number of other good DACs out there at around the same price as a Hugo2 or TT2 such as the (unfortunately named) Schiit Yggdrasil or the recent offerings from Auralic. You may or may not like them as much or more than the Qutest. However, it is really difficult to get access to each of these to allow meaningful comparisons to be made.  

For what it's worth, (and it's just my opinion without the ability to make direct back to back comparisons unless I get my Hugo repaired), my opinion is that the Hugo and Brooklyn+ definitely sound 'different'. I would be happy with either of them in my second system, but so far I would say that I do slightly prefer the all round sound of the Brooklyn+ in my system. However, they are both very good value for money at their price points, as are the Yggdrasil and the Auralic DACs. In the end, I did not arrange a demo of the Qutest, but my suspicion from reading reviews is that the Hugo2 and Qutest may be voiced a little bit more like the Brooklyn+ than was the Hugo. This is a guess, so I may be completely wrong here. 

I don't suppose you will check out the Mytek Brooklyn+ since there aren't many suppliers of the DAC and it's quite difficult to demo the unit in any meaningful way against some of the competition. Most suppliers will however offer a guaranteed 30 day return - this may actually be a legal requirement now - I don't know, but my supplier made it clear that I could return it within 30 days if I didn't like it in my system. I will certainly not be taking advantage of this offer. I plan to hang onto mine for the foreseeable future. One thing to bear in mind if you happen to check it out - it really requires the purchase of a good linear power supply (around £250 for a good one) in order to hear it at  its best - and as a throwaway comment, Tidal's MQA Masters are very interesting. Quite a few of them, and in particular a lot of the classical MQA Masters offerings do sound very good indeed. 

I am hoping that the problem with my Hugo is simply the common battery issue. If so, I will get it repaired and compare it back to back with the Mytek. 

GraemeH posted:

In my experience the 2qute does not sound as good as the original Hugo.

G

It what ways? Doesn't the 2qute use the same fpga technology as the 1st gen hugo?

eazyryder posted:

HiFiman posted:

As you know the Hugo has a volume and can be adjusted to work well with Naim amps, not sure the 2qute has this function and maybe over powering for the NAC input.

Oh actually no I didn't know that. So the 2qute would be incompatible with the nait xs2?.

I usually just Press and hold the Crossfeed switch whilst turning on my hugo to activate line level volume output, this works fine with the nait xs2

Now I am confused

Industry standard input is 2v, I read somewhere that some  chord DACs are around 3v output including the 2qute. Ok the Hugo can be turned down to match 2v.

I may be wrong though and I'm sure another member of this parish will clarify.

The 2Qute does indeed have a 3V output. For me, the 2V output of my NDX makes the volume control of my preamp extremely awkward to use, and there is no way I would consider anything higher. The variable output of the Hugo is a good solution for me, as I can adjust it to give the volume pot a more usable range. The Qutest has a choice of 1, 2 or 3V output, so I imagine 1V would be good for a Naim amp. 

eazyryder posted:

cat345 posted

If you live in the UK you will easily find two identical replacement batteries when the originals will fail (and they will) at a fraction of the cost of replacing your Hugo for a Qutest. Not worth the hassle me think.

Exactly what I was thinking. Now thinking maybe a pre loved 2qute may be the more sensible option for little outlay, just for the non battery/ easier control and cabling options in a fixed system.

BTW why did you switch to the qutest? 

It was the second time the batteries failed and the cost to replace them is very steep here in Canada so my dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse 

I tried a 2Qute and frankly it is not at the same level as the Hugo or Qutest.

cat345 posted:

It was the second time the batteries failed and the cost to replace them is very steep here in Canada so my dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse 

I tried a 2Qute and frankly it is not at the same level as the Hugo or Qutest.

After all the comments so far, I am leaning more towards keeping my good ole hugo. I have had my hugo since april 2016 and it still has its original batteries with no issues at all. How old was your hugo?

Would you say there is a big difference between the 1st gen hugo and the qutest?

eazyryder posted:

cat345 posted:

It was the second time the batteries failed and the cost to replace them is very steep here in Canada so my dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse 

I tried a 2Qute and frankly it is not at the same level as the Hugo or Qutest.

After all the comments so far, I am leaning more towards keeping my good ole hugo. I have had my hugo since april 2016 and it still has its original batteries with no issues at all. How old was your hugo?

Would you say there is a big difference between the 1st gen hugo and the qutest?

I got my Hugo right after they modified the casing to allow for larger connectors, so about three years old. I don't think you will find a big difference between the two. I just miss the headphone output...

I'm loving my Qutest and it will be with me for a very long time to come. I haven't listened to the Brooklyn+ but John Darko recently reviewed Qutest including a comparison to the Mytek (check his site or youtube). It may just come down to personal preference.

Qutest doesn't sound clinical or 'digital' in my system, it just seems to engage me with the music and has given me a feeling that any upgrade to my current system would take a large chunk of money. It's a clear step up from my previous DACs (NAD M51 and Schiit Gumby), in my system/room.

Qutest has the right amount of flexibility for my use case (selectable output voltage, warmer filter which is nice-to-have for exceptionally poor recordings, and options for possible seasoning of the sound with alternate power supplies and cables in/out).

But whether there's enough difference in sound and features over your Hugo1, only listening would tell you. Certainly not everyone prefers Qutest to Hugo1, although most seem to acknowledge that it has a slight edge in SQ over Hugo2. I would agree with that as Hugo2 did not make me want to buy it at the price, whereas I think Qutest represents VERY good sound per $ among modern DACs.

eazyryder posted:

GraemeH posted:

In my experience the 2qute does not sound as good as the original Hugo.

G

It what ways? Doesn't the 2qute use the same fpga technology as the 1st gen hugo?

Yes but I think operating from the mains rather than battery did for the sq. Comparitively Edgy & thin with less good dynamics in my experience.

eazyryder posted:

Had my chord hugo for a couple of years now and love its sound signature. My hugo is used solely as a dac in my main system and always left powered on when in use via the provided adapter.

I have always worried about battery lifespan and at the time of buying the hugo I was unaware of the 2qute. I am now considering possibly selling and switching to the new chord qutest.

I have heard elsewhere that the qutest isnt as musical sounding as the older hugo and has a more clinical sound.

Has anyone compared the 1st gen hugo with the new qutest? 

Also would it worth looking to a cheaper chord 2qute for a similar sound signature to my 1st gen hugo?

 

I have demoed nearly all the recent Chord offerings, and for me nothing beats the Hugo classic/TT.. when feeding a preamp and using SPDIF , yes Dave is different but if I am honest overall to my ears doesn’t beat the Hugo in terms of groove, PRAT, enjoyment and that Mandelbrot effect to my ears... the Hugo mk2 with all its filter settings is in my opinion notably inferior and I have tried a few samples just to make sure I wasn’t  demoing a dud.

With regard to the battery on the Hugo.. yes possibly it’s weak link along with a relatively poor USB interface... nothing is perfect. I now let my battery discharge completely or to ‘red’ about once a month... and I am advised from Chord by my dealer that will extend its life, Chord have twice repaired my Hugo in this area, both times free of charge... but since I have undertaken my regular monthly discharge, no issue at all.. and I only use galvanically isolated SPDIF.

However I do need to say sample variation on the Hugo mk1 exists as well and have since discovered my Hugo sample for whatever reason performs better than another Hugo sample I borrowed... where all other things were equal.

The sound and performance just like with Naim not just about technology being used, but it’s implementation and layout.. crcucial for noise, decoupling and  ground plane modulation...I know the PSUs within the Hugo mk1 had considerable focus put on them.. and I think Mr Watts got it just right... especially when driving higher impedance loads like preamps.

Finally the variable output of the Hugo is perfect with Naim... there is a definite sweet spot setting (around turquoise) where the coupling between the Hugo and my 552 peaks and I get good volume adjustment range.

That's been similar to my experience having tried Hugo 2 (too forward in my system/room) and Dave (a little processed/unnatural). Of course my opinion is entirely subjective and these DACS may sound different in your system and room. I'm still with original Hugo TT that I found a little smoother and warmer than original Hugo. For me, there's something just right about the original Hugo TT in the way it renders music. I've learned newer or more expensive doesn't always mean better and terms like 'higher resolution' and 'more details' do not always mean more enjoyable to listen to.

Hugo TTs are two a penny on auction sites at the moment, an absolute steal.

John Darko posted a review of the Qutest yesterday. In terms of SQ he was very complimentary, and preferred it to the Hugo 2.

I would suggest auditioning a Hugo TT2, assuming your budget runs to it. It has no batterries just super capacitors, runs as a headphone amp, standalone DAC or power amp and after a fairly lengthy test against my old TT, it was better in just about every respect. It runs perfectly happily into my 552/500 system with no volume control(DAC mode) and in headphone amp mode(with volume control). However it is different, so audition it.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

eazyryder posted:

Had my chord hugo for a couple of years now and love its sound signature. My hugo is used solely as a dac in my main system and always left powered on when in use via the provided adapter.

I have always worried about battery lifespan and at the time of buying the hugo I was unaware of the 2qute. I am now considering possibly selling and switching to the new chord qutest.

I have heard elsewhere that the qutest isnt as musical sounding as the older hugo and has a more clinical sound.

Has anyone compared the 1st gen hugo with the new qutest? 

Also would it worth looking to a cheaper chord 2qute for a similar sound signature to my 1st gen hugo?

 

I have demoed nearly all the recent Chord offerings, and for me nothing beats the Hugo classic/TT.. when feeding a preamp and using SPDIF , yes Dave is different but if I am honest overall to my ears doesn’t beat the Hugo in terms of groove, PRAT, enjoyment and that Mandelbrot effect to my ears... the Hugo mk2 with all its filter settings is in my opinion notably inferior and I have tried a few samples just to make sure I wasn’t  demoing a dud.

With regard to the battery on the Hugo.. yes possibly it’s weak link along with a relatively poor USB interface... nothing is perfect. I now let my battery discharge completely or to ‘red’ about once a month... and I am advised from Chord by my dealer that will extend its life, Chord have twice repaired my Hugo in this area, both times free of charge... but since I have undertaken my regular monthly discharge, no issue at all.. and I only use galvanically isolated SPDIF.

However I do need to say sample variation on the Hugo mk1 exists as well and have since discovered my Hugo sample for whatever reason performs better than another Hugo sample I borrowed... where all other things were equal.

The sound and performance just like with Naim not just about technology being used, but it’s implementation and layout.. crcucial for noise, decoupling and  ground plane modulation...I know the PSUs within the Hugo mk1 had considerable focus put on them.. and I think Mr Watts got it just right... especially when driving higher impedance loads like preamps.

Finally the variable output of the Hugo is perfect with Naim... there is a definite sweet spot setting (around turquoise) where the coupling between the Hugo and my 552 peaks and I get good volume adjustment range.

Will a Hugo continue to work on mains power when the battery dies? I’m guessing not, or you could just keep on using it. 

I don’t really see a reason to get upset about the battery dying, they are just consumable items and we all know they have a limited lifespan. 

The Hugo variable output has been a big bonus for me. Running NDX directly into 282 gave me a tiny usable range of the volume pot, probably not helped by the low demand of my little Kudos X2s. So the Hugo has become a very effective attenuator, with no signal degradation ????

eazyryder posted:

GraemeH posted:

In my experience the 2qute does not sound as good as the original Hugo.

G

It what ways? Doesn't the 2qute use the same fpga technology as the 1st gen hugo?

Others have mentioned output level matching, however aside from whether the level can be matched to the pream’s sensitivity there are two significant differences between the two DACs, both of which may be the cause of audible differenced. The first, which actually is a positive for 2Qute, in that it has galvanic isolation on the electrical inputs, which Hugo doesn’t: the difference that may make will depend on your source, some sources requiring a separate isolator to be used before Hugo to prevent a marked deterioration in sound quality as Hugo is very susceptible to ground plane RF modulation. The second is that in enabling the variable output in Hugo, which is sufficient to drive headphones or a power amp directly, the two have different analog output circuitry.

I haven’t heard the 2Qute or the Qutest (nor Hugo2 or TT2), but comparing Hugo (with a Gustard U12 isolator between my source and It), TT 1 (which has galvanic isolation) was an improvement though small not ‘night and day’, but brought other advantages (no batteries, remote control, balanced outputs), however Dave is in another league completely - it was a real wow factor, literally: when that started, my musician son sitting next to me breathed a just audible ‘wow’ only a few bars into the first piece, echoing my own feeling. Same character as Hugo, but better, with stunning clarity and a three dimensional feel. However is is very considerably more expensive, so may be beyond consideration. A TT (TT1 secondhand may be similar price to a new Qutest), and in your position is something I’d consider as an alternative solution.

ChrisSU posted:

 

Will a Hugo continue to work on mains power when the battery dies? I’m guessing not, or you could just keep on using it. 

I don’t really see a reason to get upset about the battery dying, they are just consumable items and we all know they have a limited lifespan. 

The Hugo variable output has been a big bonus for me. Running NDX directly into 282 gave me a tiny usable range of the volume pot, probably not helped by the low demand of my little Kudos X2s. So the Hugo has become a very effective attenuator, with no signal degradation ????

No - the Hugo will not work on mains power when the battery dies.

If your Hugo develops a problem, and if the problem lies with the battery then a battery replacement is relatively cheap at around £140. I haven't yet heard the Qutest, and as mentioned in a post above, John Darko is extremely enthusiastic about it. However, I would have a few reservations given his review (especially with regard to the mid-range), the type of music to which he listens (mostly electronic) and the fact that quite a few people on this forum prefer the original Hugo to the Hugo2. Another reviewer whose personal tastes in music is more aligned with my own preferred the Mytek Brooklyn+ over both the Hugo and Hugo2 (although he hasn't yet reviewed the Qutest) when it is coupled with a good linear power supply, and I myself prefer the Mytek Brooklyn+ with the latest Sbooster linear power supply to my original Hugo in my system. Incidentally, the Brooklyn+ also has a very versatile variable output which I too find to be invaluable with my amplifiers. 

I should add that I use the Brookly+ directly from my microRendu over USB, whereas I had a Gustard U12 USB to Spdif convertor between the microRendu and Hugo. 

Now all of this is fairly meaningless, and just goes to show that reviews of audio equipment are subjective and based on each individual person's preference. If you do decide to switch from the Hugo to the Qutest or another DAC, then you should listen to it yourself, preferably in your home system, before making the jump. If I were you, I would probably just stick with your Hugo for the time being and not worry too much about potential problems until or if you actually encounter a problem. Then by all means, audition a Qutest or TT2 depending upon your budget or have a look at something like the Brooklyn+ if MQA on Tidal is of potential interest - although you would probably have to move away from the NDX as a renderer to stream MQA files to your DAC.          

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

With regard to the battery on the Hugo.. yes possibly it’s weak link along with a relatively poor USB interface... nothing is perfect. I now let my battery discharge completely or to ‘red’ about once a month... and I am advised from Chord by my dealer that will extend its life, Chord have twice repaired my Hugo in this area, both times free of charge... but since I have undertaken my regular monthly discharge, no issue at all.. and I only use galvanically isolated SPDIF.

Finally the variable output of the Hugo is perfect with Naim... there is a definite sweet spot setting (around turquoise) where the coupling between the Hugo and my 552 peaks and I get good volume adjustment range.

Will definitely follow your advice on discharging the batteries once a month, they have only been fully discharged once since new. 

Any idea what would be the ideal colour setting on the variable output that I should be using for the hugo into the nait xs2?

Halloween Man posted:

Hugo TTs are two a penny on auction sites at the moment, an absolute steal.

They may be good value... But there still around £1800 ...

I’ve done the 2qute Hugo shoot out and Hugo was the comfortable winner. 

The battery situation is unfortunate. Mine have died twice but Chord have generously repaired it twice without charge. Only problem is the inconvenience of having it missing from the system for a couple of weeks!

Japtimscarlet posted:

Halloween Man posted:

Hugo TTs are two a penny on auction sites at the moment, an absolute steal.

They may be good value... But there still around £1800 ...

Yes, you're right, it's still a lot of money, I was speaking relatively. The new too titty  is nearly £4k

The original TT is still a top drawer DAC/preamp that is hard to better, I've not heard anything I prefer.