Ok, now it is understandable. It first sounded you buy stuff like Chord regardless of your awareness that it doesn´t measure nor sound better than gear 1/10 - 1/20 of the price, which would verge into insanity. The Dave doesn´t measure badly, just nothing special (https://goldensound.audio/2022/03/14/chord-dave-measurements-with-mscaler/). No audible difference to any competent DAC, especially not to the 90 SE. If I were you, I would try to sell it, there are still a lot of suckers out there. With the money you could get really nice speakers or the Dan Audio Stealth headphone with a lot of spare.
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Chord Hugo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
O, I thought if not modded it will still use the charger to charge the battery and then powers the dac?
Thanks for the very insightful review Amir. I use to be be an admirer of Chord products some years ago. But in the last few years, I don't see much innovation from them but their prices are still way up there. Furthermore, now seen how they actually measure through Amir's excellent work, they've lost even more respect from me. Frankly, at $3K in this market segment, they need to put out a product that's beyond reproach.
I wonder if this is now a device out of time? This was released in 2017. The portable audio and desktop DAC landscape was very different. Amir's list of DACs that could beat this back in 2017 was much smaller. So my thinking is this device is just no longer competitively priced and customers are no longer looking for portable bricks like this. Chord really needs to adjust their pricing and update their product line for the current competitive landscape and what customers are looking for.
JimFarrell29
Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2021
- Messages
- 32
- Likes
- 23
The Qutest is smallish, though bigger than the Hugo, but definitely not a portable DAC owing to its size and the lack of a battery. I suspect you may be thinking of the Mojo.
I have a Qutest ( though am about to sell it ) and It is an excellent DAC. I don't know about the Hugo, but build quality of the Qutest is excellent. I also have the extremely well measuring Topping DX3 Pro and, while I like it a great deal, the Qutest is in another class ( as it should be ).
What? You're kidding. You mean she didn't cook you any borscht? How is that even possible for a Ukrainian girl. Heck, I don't have a drop of Ukrainian blood in me and I make borscht.Sigh* I lived with a Ukrainian and all she could cook was a turkey...lol. Serious!
Objectively speaking, yes definitely, but on the other hand, the sale's numbers do not appear too bad, why change anything, innovate or lower the price if you could still cash in? Tha seems to be the business strategy. Further some talks about the only real reconstructions filters and audible effects at -300dB catering the crowd and here you go.
In another class how? Not portable, or no colored buttons? Or are you really refering to the sound? I only know that the DX3 Pro+ has for about 1/10 of the price an excellent headphone amplifier and even measures most probably better as a DAC. So how is in in another class? If you really believe there is a proportional relationship beweent price and (sound) quality in audio, you really have a long way to go.
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This... the PS Audio DirectStream DAC is obscenely priced for what it is... then again, so is their whole lineup of below avg, but audiophool-targeted items.
Agree. Nothing wrong with voting with your wallet. It’s just nice to keep the luxury brands honest. The Denon X8500H measures well as a premium product. Mola Mola measures well as a premium product. I expect McIntosh amps to measure well as a premium product.
The value is different. If you were buying an apple pie and your friendly neighbor who you like is selling it for $11 and a random stranger selling it for $10. You’re more likely to buy from your neighbor than a stranger. People with a connection to the USA are more likely to value Made in the USA the same way that people with a connection to the UK may value made in the UK.
IMO, there's a way higher chance to have some sort of confirmation bias when owning the products you're trying to have subjective impressions.
As a listener without owning both Qutest and Hugo 2 TT + MScaler, I'm able to do a less biased sighted listening volume matched with my smartphone A/B of these two DACs connected to Headamp Gilmore lite MK2 + LPS about 2 days ago, July 16 2022. With Focal Celestee as the headphone and my AK SP2000 DAP as source (toslink), I detect absolute ZERO difference between the DACs with quick A/B switching of toslink and RCA inputs (all in less than 30 seconds)
She made grilled cheese sandwiches in the oven and they where like bread slice croutons with cheese inside.What? You're kidding. You mean she didn't cook you any borscht? How is that even possible for a Ukrainian girl. Heck, I don't have a drop of Ukrainian blood in me and I make borscht.
Less than 24 hours and mine is post number 254! This is either a Chord fan club page or hate club!
A few observations:
- Portable DACs as a rule do not have galvanic isolation on USB input for two reasons: 1- they don't really need it 2- it costs too much on battery juice.
They don't need it because, even connected to a noisy phone or tablet, but nothing else! The noise has nowhere to go, so it won't pollute the ground plane. That happens once you connect them to another grounded device, like an amp, the noise current might flow through different grounds, polluting the system.
Is there a portable device with built-in USB isolation out there??
Any noise Amir encountered on USB operation, he is responsible for! the noise came and went from his source and whatever else he connected the device to, so don't blame the device, clean up the lab.
At any rate, anyone who can afford this unit and is worried about USB noise, either use TOSLINK or the diminutive cheap Topping HS-01 isolator! size of a match-box, running on USB power, fully isolating the USB input. Problem solved (only on a noisy source) for £50.
- I find it curious that at times, one channel is noisier than the other! Specially on USB, this tells me there is something wrong with the test gear noise, as under optical connection, both channels are same.
- Optical Does lock on 192kHz with my PC, using an onboard sound card, an Amazon £2 cable and a £10 backplate connected to SPDIF pins (& +5V) on the mainboard, Every time, all the time. Perhaps Amir has an issue with his optical too.
- The different filter's effects will not show up on 44kHz & on a 100dB scale graph! Amir should know better. Use 96kHz and zoom in a bit to 5dB scale graph, then you will see them. The filter's effect can just about be heard on some hi-res materials, otherwise I agree there is not much point to them, as all Chord DACs have a very effective brick wall filter. Unlike other manufacturers that have slow filters of varying kind.
- Hugo2 was launched in Jan 2017. Still rocks with the best of them, 5 years & more later.
- I paid less than £1k for mine in used condition a year ago, today I get over 6 hours play time on USB! Longer on optical and coax.
- Desktop Mode works great on Hugo2. The remote works at any angle, even not in line of sight, an additional phone charger connected to the charge-socket keeps the unit at 80% charge and stops, adds no noise (phone chargers have no Ground).
- Subjectively, it is better than my beloved Topping DX7 pro which incidentally sounds cleaner with Toslink compared to straight USB, on a par with a Topping HS-01 in loop.
A few observations:
- Portable DACs as a rule do not have galvanic isolation on USB input for two reasons: 1- they don't really need it 2- it costs too much on battery juice.
They don't need it because, even connected to a noisy phone or tablet, but nothing else! The noise has nowhere to go, so it won't pollute the ground plane. That happens once you connect them to another grounded device, like an amp, the noise current might flow through different grounds, polluting the system.
Is there a portable device with built-in USB isolation out there??
Any noise Amir encountered on USB operation, he is responsible for! the noise came and went from his source and whatever else he connected the device to, so don't blame the device, clean up the lab.
At any rate, anyone who can afford this unit and is worried about USB noise, either use TOSLINK or the diminutive cheap Topping HS-01 isolator! size of a match-box, running on USB power, fully isolating the USB input. Problem solved (only on a noisy source) for £50.
- I find it curious that at times, one channel is noisier than the other! Specially on USB, this tells me there is something wrong with the test gear noise, as under optical connection, both channels are same.
- Optical Does lock on 192kHz with my PC, using an onboard sound card, an Amazon £2 cable and a £10 backplate connected to SPDIF pins (& +5V) on the mainboard, Every time, all the time. Perhaps Amir has an issue with his optical too.
- The different filter's effects will not show up on 44kHz & on a 100dB scale graph! Amir should know better. Use 96kHz and zoom in a bit to 5dB scale graph, then you will see them. The filter's effect can just about be heard on some hi-res materials, otherwise I agree there is not much point to them, as all Chord DACs have a very effective brick wall filter. Unlike other manufacturers that have slow filters of varying kind.
- Hugo2 was launched in Jan 2017. Still rocks with the best of them, 5 years & more later.
- I paid less than £1k for mine in used condition a year ago, today I get over 6 hours play time on USB! Longer on optical and coax.
- Desktop Mode works great on Hugo2. The remote works at any angle, even not in line of sight, an additional phone charger connected to the charge-socket keeps the unit at 80% charge and stops, adds no noise (phone chargers have no Ground).
- Subjectively, it is better than my beloved Topping DX7 pro which incidentally sounds cleaner with Toslink compared to straight USB, on a par with a Topping HS-01 in loop.
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DonR
Major Contributor
Overall the review was fairly positive. I think it has generated a lot of interest given the outsized cost for a product that measurably isn't much better than other units costing an order of magnitude less. The styling is also a love-or-hate thing. It definitely sits in a niche within a niche.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #255
You mean I should have a setup that none of you have when connecting this DAC to your computer? I don't think so! Per your own note, we are able to detect lack of good USB isolation here. Also note that plenty of desktop DACs lack galvanic USB isolation but show no dependency to USB noise.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #256
96 kHz? Where did that come from? I always run my tests at 44.1 kHz. I have no doubt if I zoom in 1000 times something may be different. But that is not consequential in the slightest. As it is, the graph is zoomed, covering just a few kilohertz on both sides of the transition band.
JSmith
Master Contributor
No one needs to use this product to know it is a massive rip off. If you're alluding to some mystical and immeasurable quality... that doesn't fly here.
That would be fine if it measured SOTA and didn't look like a Fisher Price toy. Luxury actually needs to be luxury... this is like fake leather.
JSmith
That is crazy that all 4 filter options are identical! Certainly makes you wonder what was going through the minds of the designers. It's a crazy product for sure!
OP
- Thread Starter
- #260
Nothing that couldn't be cured with a blind test. In sighted testing, he changes a variable, and randomly hears a difference. So thinks everything is audible no matter how small.
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