CHORD Hugo TT2 Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[617]

The industrial design, styling and impression of quality with Chord products is amazing to me. For $6k they offer this haphazard case with sloppy typography, bizarre controls and a parting line that skims the top of the all the outlets. Look at it. It looks like a crappy plastic case. Meanwhile, for 2.2k, you can get this:

Or, for a little less, this:

Or, for 4K, you can have this:

Or for 5.5K you can have this:

I think I've made my point. Then again I only have 12 bits of ears.

 

[DonR]

I think I've made my point. Then again I only have 12 bits of ears.

Well done! Audiophile, KNOW THYSELF!

 

[Robbo99999]

Just way too darn expensive!

I don't really understand why the XLR out when combined with an appropriate adapter give better performance than the headphone amp, seems like a missed opportunity.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Interior loooks like $299 DAC, only chassis is hi-end like, thick aluminium (?)

Yes, from <https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugott2>

Materials: Precision machined aluminium casing with steel ball bearing buttons, gloss black acrylic signal window, glass viewing portal, and dot matrix display. Available in a choice of two colours – silver, and satin black

It seems that John Franks himself designed the case.

 

[brandall10]

Thanks Amirim - I detect a distinct distaste for Chord from you, hope you don't mind me pointing it out.

To be fair, he gave high marks to the Mojo 2.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Probably the only time they do.

You are probably not a headfi-chord regular.
Yes he has his fan base alright, but is not as widespread as Chord-slashing fan base on ASR.

 

[DonR]

You are probably not a headfi-chord regular.
Yes he has his fan base alright, but is not as widespread as Chord-slashing fan base on ASR.

You are correct. My time on this planet is limited and I don't want to spend it in other peoples' imagination.

 

[pkane]

Well he in person and Chord ad a company get a lot of stick on ASR.
Even though the devices measure very well, they don't bring a new model out every six months to sucker their customers, no do they sell upgrades or cables or anything else.
on ASR, the level of stick for them is unprecedented.
And sometimes, RW gets attacked as a person, beyond engineering disagreements.

RW is not the first nor the last. Don't know who attacked him personally, and that shouldn't be. IMO, the reason he's getting attacked professionally is because of his extreme audibility claims and his rejection of any controlled audibility testing.

 

[PeteL]

RW is not the first nor the last. Don't know who attacked him personally, and that shouldn't be. IMO, the reason he's getting attacked professionally is because of his extreme audibility claims and his rejection of any controlled audibility testing.

Just out of curiosity, do you feel like Amir's listening impressions at the end of reviews are controlled audibility testing?

 

[brandall10]

Just out of curiosity, do you feel like Amir's listening impressions at the end of reviews are controlled audibility testing?

That's not the value Amir provides, but merely a gut-check against expectations based on measurements. In RW's case it's literally how the product is tuned... which is a bit startling given the focus on engineering.

 

[pkane]

Just out of curiosity, do you feel like Amir's listening impressions at the end of reviews are controlled audibility testing?

If he does a proper blind test, yes. Otherwise, no.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

RW is not the first nor the last. Don't know who attacked him personally, and that shouldn't be. IMO, the reason he's getting attacked professionally is because of his extreme audibility claims and his rejection of any controlled audibility testing.

If that was true, then I agree he needs to be disagreed with.
But untrue accusations are not evidence.
God knows how many times he has been ridiculed regarding the "-300dB noise", which he has never claimed he can "Hear !", but merely as a digital spec.
-300dB can not exist in any analogue format, probably till Mr. Spock can design the circuitry to reproduce a nuke bomb going off in total silence. He is well aware of that.
Bottom line, he is not stupid!
Regardless of complexity or necessity, he has single-handedly, designed a new concept for DAC design, that at least measures as good as best there is anywhere else, years before anyone else.
He is a competent, very knowledgeable digital and analogue audio electronic engineer, one of the very few.
For clarity, he designs the circuits only, period.
AFIK, Chord Electronics, designs the looks, manufacturing and sets the sale price for their DACs. These common points of contention, have nothing to do with him.

 

[formdissolve]

If that was true, then I agree he needs to be disagreed with.
But untrue accusations are not evidence.
God knows how many times he has been ridiculed regarding the "-300dB noise", which he has never claimed he can "Hear !", but merely as a digital spec.
-300dB can not exist in any analogue format, probably till Mr. Spock can design the circuitry to reproduce a nuke bomb going off in total silence. He is well aware of that.
Bottom line, he is not stupid!
Regardless of complexity or necessity, he has single-handedly, designed a new concept for DAC design, that at least measures as good as best there is anywhere else, years before anyone else.
He is a competent, very knowledgeable digital and analogue audio electronic engineer, one of the very few.
For clarity, he designs the circuits only, period.
AFIK, Chord Electronics, designs the looks, manufacturing and sets the sale price for their DACs. These common points of contention, have nothing to do with him.

They have a lot to do with him. You think he works for free? Chord has to pay him big sums for all the countless hours of redesigning the wheel (which in itself is kind of a cool project I guess), and at least some of the massive price has to do with that. Note I said "some" - the rest is the fact that in the audiophile industry, you can charge whatever the hell you want while making endless claims of "veils lifted" etc and people with deep pockets will lap it up and ask for more.

 

[pkane]

If that was true, then I agree he needs to be disagreed with.
But untrue accusations are not evidence.
God knows how many times he has been ridiculed regarding the "-300dB noise", which he has never claimed he can "Hear !", but merely as a digital spec.
-300dB can not exist in any analogue format, probably till Mr. Spock can design the circuitry to reproduce a nuke bomb going off in total silence. He is well aware of that.
Bottom line, he is not stupid!

You state this as if it's a true fact, and yet, it's just your claim, unsupported by RW's own words. Here's a direct quote:

The problem with noise floor modulation is the ear/brain is extremely sensitive to it, and certainly can detect levels of noise floor modulation that is below the ability to measure. My own tentative conclusions (or rule of thumb) are that one can hear levels of noise floor modulation down to -200dB - currently we can measure noise floor modulation at -180 dB, and Dave has zero measured noise floor modulation. In terms of SQ, if noise floor modulation is say around -120 dB (typical class D) you get considerable hardness and glare; at -140 dB its grain in the treble; below -160 dB then things sound much smoother with better instrument separation and focus. This continues until about -200dB (and perhaps even lower - reducing RF noise is not something that has an acceptable limit).

 

[Jimbob54]

For clarity, he designs the circuits only, period.

Does he do all the public facing, head-fi fronting, interview circuit BS out of the goodness of his heart, pro bono?

He isn't just a back room boffin.
He speaks for and as Chord regardless of what his contract with them says.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

He is talking about effects of noise floor modulation on sound quality.
Not hearing the actual noise at -120dB or less.
A loose analogy is like, we can not see the lattice structure of a surface, but we can see the change in reflected colour off the surface.
Sometimes we can not perceive something directly but can perceive its effects.

 

[pkane]

He is talking about effects of noise floor modulation on sound quality.
Not hearing the actual noise at -120dB or less.
A loose analogy is like, we can not see the lattice structure of a surface, but we can see the change in reflected colour off the surface.
Sometimes we can perceive something directly but can perceive its effects.

What? You're saying he's not talking about hearing when he says explicitly that: "one can hear levels of noise floor modulation down to -200dB". There's no other meaning to the word "hear" that I'm aware of.

 

[voodooless]

He is talking about effects of noise floor modulation on sound quality.

Yeah, he definitely likes talking. How about some proof that he can actually hear it?

 

[Sokel]

Watts would be a thousand times better if he could keep his mouth shut,like most lab rats.
I said it before as a joke,you don't mix normal people with engineers.

Seriously now,at 5000 (to put middle price between Europe and abroad) the people who buy low cost think is outrageous,the hiend community in the other hand thinks is a toy,they spend far more to cable risers.The rule of thumb there for starter system starts at least at 30K for the stereo speakers,same for amplification,near for sources and the accompanying cables,etc.
5K is a joke to them.

The only truth is it measures well,specially considering the time it was introduced.

 

[voodooless]

The only truth is it measures well,specially considering the time it was introduced.

This one came out around the same time, cost only $70, gets you within 5 SINAD points:

Review and Measurements of E1DA 9038S BAL Portable DAC & Amp

This is a review and detailed measurements of the E1DA 9038S portable balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. It is the brainchild of the member @IVX. He kindly sent me a sample for review. The cost is stated as "TBD($70)." He will have to tell us if the price is finalized or not. The 9038S...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Obviously not as good of a headphone amp, but add another $ 100:

Review and Measurements of New JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amp

This is a review and detailed measurements of JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amplifier. It was kindly sent on loan by JDS Labs in advance of its formal announcement and availability this week. It retails for USD $99. As such, I will be comparing its performance to other $99 amplifiers such as Schiit...

www.audiosciencereview.com

That left you with $ 5625 in your 2018 pocket (it was cheaper in 2018) That more than $ 6.6k in todays money