Chord Hugo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

[xaviescacs]

Thats also the impression I get when I look at those images.

Candy like buttons don't help either... xD

 

[xaviescacs]

Not at all, actual feel is very sturdy, it is made from aluminium, reminds me of the old electronic cases from the 80s.

Yeah, I guess so, I was talking about the looks. I mean, you have to tell it's aluminum, from the pictures it doesn't seem to be so.

 

[anmpr1]

While measurements are good, I don't understand how a $3k product have such poor finish...

I guess you're not Gibson's customer, either?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Yes. Even at that price I'd be hard pressed to find a use for it. Does anyone still use wired headphones for mobile listening? When travelling on public transport all I see is the ubiquitous Apple wireless earbuds or wireless noise-cancelling headphones from mostly Sony and Bose ...

Well, I used to. Then I realised that ambient noise is enough to make SQ a joke anyway. I tried BT ones and found that they're fine for mobile use. Although I am an iPhone user, I don't use Apple earphones: I think they're overpriced and use RHA instead.

 

[AudioSceptic]

But a little more than that, is it still worth, or? Perhaps?BUT 3K is two darn expensive.Would be interesting if those who write in the thread stated a numerical figure on how much money they could imagine giving, what they consider it worth. Amir said $ 600. Or rather, Amir said, "I think we should expect them to sell it for $ 600."

OT, speaking of two darn. Now it is England that is experiencing extreme heat. Record apparently.

Although the song is about sex, or rather it is too hot to have sex but still.

I would consider £500 if the measurements were SOTA and the crappy µSD ports replaced with USB-C. That's close to $600 (the exchange rate has changed a lot recently). I'd struggle to find a portable use for it, though.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Is that it, for HOW MUCH???

Mind you, they usually come via a dealer and retail here at £1995 or so inc. VAT, so a dealer would have his 40 to 50% of that. The 2Go is £995 here...

$3k has gone from £2150 to £2500 over the last year, so the US price isn't far out of line.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

Whether you think this is ugly or beautiful is completely subjective.
It passed the measurement standards for portable devices and it is one of the finest so far measured on this site, we should give it credits where its due.
Now the price.... It's pretty much the big barricade here. I am convinced that most people in this hobby, even hardcore audiophiles don't like this price and some think it's not worth the MSRP.

This makes me wonder... If products made from china companies can easily top the SINAD score and they can sell them for very competitive prices.... What can western-based companies do to remain strong in this competition? They obviously do not have an advantage in prices, labor costs, maintenance fees etc.... I think it's a bit helpless.

 

[Anthony T]

Design and finish looks like a $5 DAC on Alixpress. And combined with the performance, the price is a disgrace. Pure greed.

No, it doesn’t look like a $5 DAC from Amazon. They’re well finished and I like the design, it’s novel. Would I buy one? No, but then I don’t need one.

While measurements are good, I don't understand how a $3k product have such poor finish, not centered RCA plugs and the upper and lower casing parts are not perfectly aligned:

View attachment 218929

Its a used item so it would be unfair to use this as a stick to beat the company with.
Looking at images available online it’s apparent that they leave the factory centred. I wish members took these things into account….

 

[AudioSceptic]

It's a fair question. When I used to travel more for work, I used them a lot. They powered my Stellias/Utopias nicely. As for source, I would use the Chord 2go which attaches right on it and connect to it via Airplay or shared wireless connection. Or, absent the 2go, I would just use Bluetooth from my phone or laptop which connects right to Hugo2. Battery lasted quite a long time. I thought the setup was very convenient actually if you wanted to listen to something like the Utopias at night while travelling.

(Once I was pulled over by airport security that was very skeptical as to what is was, since they had never seen something like it. Here the glowing balls weren't helpful.)

But you are right that it's a niche product: a portable Roon ready audiophile DAC/headphone amp that makes sense only if you have headphones that can benefit from it. You do pay a hefty premium, but I couldn't find a better combination of quality and convenience in that niche.

The filter point was interesting. They are extremely subtle for sure and I can't say 100% that I hear a difference between them (I don't have them on me but I wouldn't put good odds on being able to pass a blind test with them). I believe the high frequency ones are the same that the DAVE uses. Amir, if you have time you might want to try listening and see if you hear a difference in the filters. There is almost no pause when switching them. But if you do hear a difference, then something is happening that is not being picked up at the measurements.

With all due respect, I think taking $4k headphones out of the house is bordering on insanity (and I'd struggle to justify buying them at all).

 

[AudioSceptic]

I expected it to be better, if you really want it to be a Chord one I think Qutest is their sweet spot one. USB sensitivity is disappointing given Rob's expertise. It is not portable by the way, you might as well carry Qutest and power bank I suppose . Thanks for the review @amirm!

But you'll need an HP amp as well.

 

[balletboy]

I don't think anyone here thinks this should sound anything other than good. But that's not the point.

If a similar or better performing Topping unit was placed inside the Hugo case, they would love it just as much. But give them the Topping in its own case and have them listen to the 2 units, they would, I guarantee, prefer the Chord if sighted.

Have you used the Hugo 2 DAC?

(I haven't, only the earlier Hugo, mainly as a source for testing some headphones, I bought a pair and I ended up buying a Mojo because, well, why not?)

 

[AndreaT]

At US $2,950 I expect a DAC topping (no pun) absolutely every ASR chart in existence.

After that we can discuss design language, build quality, usability, heritage, and maybe even sound if we can’t help ourselves.


I wish for an industry where every high end DAC manufacturer raises bars. Also if those bars don’t need further raising. If your device ends up at two places in @amirm’s SINAD chart depending on chosen input you know your $3k whatever-the-use-case-DAC-product doesn’t do that.

For the record, I love expensive stuff. I’m a strong believer in top quality demanding top prices. Not everything has to be a commodity. I’ll never own a Maserati but I’m glad Maserati exists. Chord could be in the same place. To some they may be, but based on this review, not to me. At least not at the moment.

Sorry for the rant.

Maybe Ferrari, not Maserati (w the possible exception of the MC20).

 

[Cote Dazur]

As a portable DAC+headphone amplifier, the Hugo 2 has superb performance. As a Desktop product, its USB noise sensitivity is disappointing but otherwise performance is very good. Mind you, desktop products at far, far lower costs run circles around it. So if that is your application, I highly suggest you look elsewhere.

As a portable product, I can highly recommend the Chord Hugo 2. For desktop, it is a pass for me especially at the astronomically high retail cost.

Let’s forget about the ridiculous price of that device for what it does for a moment. You recommend it at a portable but not as a desk top, based on “performance”, fair enough. How about the way it sounded to you, did you hear any difference what so ever in those 2 scenarios ?

 

[Jomungur]

Let’s forget about the ridiculous price of that device for what it does for a moment. You recommend it at a portable but not as a desk top, based on “performance”, fair enough. How about the way it sounded to you, did you hear any difference what so ever in those 2 scenarios ?

He said he didn't have time to listen, which I can understand since his goal is not to provide subjective assessments; that's just a bonus if he can.

 

[Chester]

Design and finish looks like a $5 DAC on Alixpress. And combined with the performance, the price is a disgrace. Pure greed.

As someone who has owned it, this is absolute rubbish. The build quality is good and far above my Topping products, which is as I expect for the price.

The performance I cannot comment on as I can’t measure like Amir can, but build quality from all the Chord products I’ve seen or owned has always been first rate.

Really, the Chord bashing going on here lately is getting rather out of hand. The measurements are the measurements, but the amount of people regurgitating things or exaggerating other people’s experiences they’ve read is quite astonishing.

 

[Jomungur]

With all due respect, I think taking $4k headphones out of the house is bordering on insanity (and I'd struggle to justify buying th

No, it doesn’t look like a $5 DAC from Amazon. They’re well finished and I like the design, it’s novel. Would I buy one? No, but then I don’t need one.

Its a used item so it would be unfair to use this as a stick to beat the company with.
Looking at images available online it’s apparent that they leave the factory centred. I wish members took these things into account….

Yes..loaned copies will have wear and tear, especially if they are used when travelling.

What to do. If a reviewer gets a review copy from a manufacturer, that introduces bias because the reviewer is incentivized not to displease the manufacturer. If the reviewer gets loaned copy from people who bought the item, there will be some wear and tear and no guarantees it's free of defects. Personally, I think the latter is the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Rednaxela]

MC20

Very nice!

(Though I guess I’m more of a Quattroporte guy myself. Nice and understated. Edit: the car that is!)

 

[maxxevv]

But there is no topping A/D 90 so small that work on battery power.
I agree that the RME ADI 2dac is similar/better for 1/3 of the price, but you can not take it with you (easily).
It is the combination of the sound quality and portability that made me buy one.

Topping does have a NX4 DSD. Comparable (technically equivalent) SINAD on USB input and comparable (technically equivalent) power at 33 Ohm. For a miserly 1/18 of the price.

Review and Measurements of Topping NX4 DSD Dac and Portable Headphone Amplifier

This is a detailed review and measurements of the Topping NX4 DSD portable headphone amplifier and DAC. It is on a kind loan from a forum member and highly anticipated review. Retail price (shipped from China) on Amazon with free shipping is USD $160 as of this writing. The unit has internal...

www.audiosciencereview.com

And if you are still hungry for more power, you could add a NX7 into the chain. Again, for a miserly 1/15 of the price.

 

[DSJR]

Yeah, I guess so, I was talking about the looks. I mean, you have to tell it's aluminum, from the pictures it doesn't seem to be so.

These dinky sweet boxes are actually quite heavy when handled.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Problems with this:

1. Really far too clunky to be considered a portable
2. Far too expensive for a portable--imagine losing this on the TGV
3. Poor finish
4. Underpowered for a desktop
5. No XLR output

Just a horrible value chock full of excrable design choices.