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Chord Hugo

ItemAudio said:
A mid-market DAC that's genuinely truthful in the lower registers often initially feels 'lightweight'. It became such an often-repeated comment that Benchmark put it early in the manual of the first DAC1. There was a heading: “Where has my bass gone?”

It always happens when you swap to a battery supply, too. It's the sound of better - but it can take a few listens to realise that what's missing is artificial 'tubbiness'.

Exactly the same happens when you improve the USB or SPDIF source.

It's also similar (on a micro-scale) to auditioning speakers re: bass performance - low-rent ones try to kid you they're doing it; middling ones do it honestly within their limitations; high-end models do it for real.

It does make you wonder why some maintain all DACs sound the same . . .
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I agree Mark, when the texture of the bass becomes more noticeable & more realistic sounding then I would say that more of the recording is being portrayed.

I would also add that the top end can also become more smooth & silky without losing detail.

These areas are very tricky to tease out - what is loss of dynamics/detail & what is more accurate to the actual recording? A recent example caught me out on this when listening to my DAC I thought it had more detail & snap than some other DACs being auditioned only to find that what I was hearing was RF noise being injected through a connected PS. My preference was for this added detail until I found out it was distortion.

As regards the Hugo - I haven't heard it but have heard the reports & I would say some of it's sonic performance definitely comes from it's unique interpolation filter, some from the low voltage (read reduced ground bounce) FPGA doing the heavy lifting, some from it's analogue stage & some from it's battery power. The contribution ratio of each I couldn't be sure.
 
jkeny said:
I agree Mark, when the texture of the bass becomes more noticeable & more realistic sounding then I would say that more of the recording is being portrayed.
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I've had the Hugo for review for 5 weeks now, and I keep getting bowled over by the quality of the bass - as you say more noticeable and more realistic. Electronic music is incredibly well-served by the Hugo, as is any other type of music really!
 
Quality first - if you have to make a choice. Bass 'quantity' hides a multitude of ills - usually at the expense of detail, texture and resolution.

Chord DACs are always hefty-sounding, but the Hugo is definitely a more nuanced crittur than any of their previous £1000 offerings.
 
Could the Hugo drive any amplifier? It is well known that a good preamplifier is usually better for sq. but this dac has a maximum output of 3 volts and the digital volume control does not degrade sound. I'd like to try with a Naim power amp as the amp/preamp sections of my integrated can't be separated.
 
I'm sitting listening to it driving a valve power amp at this very moment. Sounds pretty good but will run it through a pre tomorrow to compare.
 
The DAC outputs 3v on SE outputs, that's more than the CD player standard, its drive any power amp.
 
if you're tossing portable DACs about which support 24/192 PCM and 64 & 128 DSD then take a good look at FOSTEX's new HP-A4 priced at £265.

Extremely portable and powered over USB. Seamlessly connected to my MacMini
 
The little Fostex is a bit of an under-the-radar star. If you can power it cleanly via USB, it's shockingly good for the price. Definitely worth a free trial if you're in that ballpark.

Obviously not as good as the Hugo, but at £260, more than a grand cheaper . . .
 
jamjar784 said:
What HiFi's just given the Hugo a winning 5* review in a 4 way group test blowing away the Fostex.
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a) There's no doubt it's better than the Fostex HPA4: but what business did a £240 DAC have in a group test against a £1400 DAC? What were the other two - the Behringer UCA202 and the the Light Harmonic DaVinci Dual USB?

b) What Hifi.
 
ItemAudio said:
a) There's no doubt it's better than the Fostex HPA4: but what business did a £240 DAC have in a group test against a £1400 DAC? What were the other two - the Behringer UCA202 and the the Light Harmonic DaVinci Dual USB?
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Four DACs from 'Cambridge Audio, Chord, Fostex and Naim' is what it says on their website.
 
And I'll lay good odds that you won't be able to tell them apart under controlled conditions....
 
merlin said:
And I'll lay good odds that you won't be able to tell them apart under controlled conditions....
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Weird isn't it? The gross effects anyone hears from their system will undoubtedly be room/speaker/listening position related. Yet on we go with the tiny differences between competently implemented DACs. :D
 
I reckon I would have a good chance of telling a decent R2R DAC from all these delta-sigma DACs, under controlled listening sessions in my own system.
Delta-sigma DACs are all much of a muchness, with just a bit of tonal difference due to the output stages. and PSs.
 
naim dacs are now outdated with this new chip. had the naim dac a number of years and the hugo is far better in it presentation. the days of added over price power supplies are over...................... bet naim have dismantled the hugo
the hugo sits on the shelf . Battery powered means quiet perfect dc. the hugo is on a time clock that charges for 2 hours during the night . PERFECT .

IAM sure that some one will produce a better psu charger for the hugo. it is the poor part of thr hugo package
 
rich46 said:
naim dacs are now outdated with this new chip. had the naim dac a number of years and the hugo is far better in it presentation. the days of added over price power supplies are over...................... bet naim have dismantled the hugo
the hugo sits on the shelf . Battery powered means quiet perfect dc. the hugo is on a time clock that charges for 2 hours during the night . PERFECT .

IAM sure that some one will produce a better psu charger for the hugo. it is the poor part of thr hugo package
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It is confusing coming from Naim :confused:

You should ask Chord whether it could be improved by a better power supply?

I'm sure they're smart guys, so this would have already been considered; rather than buying something off the shelf in the future due to upgraditis. Not that you could resist :)

Regards,
Peter
 
Funny all those discussions about Hugo. It may be the best sounding dac at this time and is quite affordable but for some that's not enough. What do you want at the end?
 
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