• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Chord Hugo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

Rate this DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 77 25.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 111 37.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 87 29.0%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 25 8.3%

  • Total voters
    300

AudioSceptic

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
2,692
Likes
2,534
Location
Northampton, UK
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.
True, up to a point. I will pay maybe 50% extra for made in UK, or even EU, but x5 or x10, no way!
 

Ken Tajalli

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
1,995
Likes
1,773
Location
London UK
I simply connected the units to the PC via Toslink and compared them in A/B using the HD800S with my test songs.

The Hugo 2 generally delivered better soundstage, imaging, definition, clarity and vocals compared to the competition. The RME was pretty close, but not at the same level - unfortunately. Of course, I made sure that the volume was the same. I brought hours with these comparisons.

I really wanted these units to be better because I wanted something stationary and that cost less. But I unfortunately had to admit to myself that the Hugo 2 was subjectively better.
I find two aspects separating my Hugo2 from any other DACs I have or had, including a Topping DX7 pro.
1- vivid sound staging (don't know how it does it)
2- Play a soft track, it plays it soft, play a hard track, it plays it hard, play a badly recorded track, it plays it badly! Basically, it is unforgiving.
In contrast, the DX7 pro plays all three "Easy on the ear" , no matter what I play, DX7 pro never plays it hard or harsh.
Play a decently recorded track, here Hugo2 jumps in front.
I know, I know, all subjective, no graphs, no blind tests, not trying to state facts or convince anyone of anything, just my limited observations.
 

bennetng

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
1,634
Likes
1,692
Frequency response measurements for DACs does not show what happens post fs/2. For filter analysis, we need to see past that point and hence the use of FFT/noise for signal.
But post fs/2 measurements are already shown in the white noise plots, so this part is known. The unknown parts are being shown in frequency response plots, which indeed showed some differences with an appropriate measurement range and test signal.
 

Ken Tajalli

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
1,995
Likes
1,773
Location
London UK
But post fs/2 measurements are already shown in the white noise plots, so this part is known. The unknown parts are being shown in frequency response plots, which indeed showed some differences with an appropriate measurement range and test signal.
I believe what Amir is saying is that he wants to see the effects of the filters above the audible range for each filter.
But as I said earlier, I don't think he could see any artefacts past fs/2 because of Chord's very effective brickwall filter, so past fs/2 is 100dB down in an instant!
Here is what is after

FT-1.jpg
 
Last edited:

maxxevv

Major Contributor
Joined
Apr 12, 2018
Messages
1,872
Likes
1,964
I simply connected the units to the PC via Toslink and compared them in A/B using the HD800S with my test songs.

The Hugo 2 generally delivered better soundstage, imaging, definition, clarity and vocals compared to the competition. The RME was pretty close, but not at the same level - unfortunately. Of course, I made sure that the volume was the same. I brought hours with these comparisons.

I really wanted these units to be better because I wanted something stationary and that cost less. But I unfortunately had to admit to myself that the Hugo 2 was subjectively better.
The different volume controls will not give you the same voltage output. Not forgetting the inherent drive circuit design differences.
It doesn't take much, but if I put two FiiO K9 Pro ESS units side by side.
And if you listened to them completely blind (not even knowing what you were listening to at all), one being 0.1 ~ 0.2 Db louder then the other.

You will without a doubt say they sound different "evidently".

Hence, to give good comparison, devices must be listened blind and voltages matched. Else its just cognitive bias.

To within 0.1 dB!

Do RE-read the context of the question.
 

bennetng

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
1,634
Likes
1,692
I believe what Amir is saying is that he wants to see the effects of the filters above the audible range for each filter.
But as I said earlier, I don't think he could see any artefacts past fs/2 because of Chord's very effective brickwall filter, so past fs/2 is 100dB down in an instant!
Here is what is after

FT-1.jpg
Given Rob Watt's philosophy, he always wants to suppress any post fs/2 images as soon as possible, so if the product claims there are differences in different filters, then the differences must be within fs/2, or something else like phase response. Therefore better investigate in such parts.
 

bidn

Active Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
195
Likes
821
Location
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Besides Rob Watts' (Chord's engineer) claim that he can hear sound nuances down to -300 dB (someone computed that this corresponds to hearing, while being on planet Earth, the sound of a small stone dropped by someone on the Moon),
here is another incredible thing.

On Head-Fi, someone stated over time in several posts that Rob Watts claims that (re. audio) all his devices do benefit from mechanical isolation, e.g.:

"Rob, does the DAVE benefit from mechanical isolation (Stillpoints, etc)?"

"Yes all products do."
in big posts such as:



Watts has been active on that thread but never disclaimed this.
So I assume that he would stand behind such unscientific viewpoints which amount to me to charlatanism. How could you take him seriously if this is true?

However I did not find the original, incredible statements (re. mechanical isolation) by Watts himself, I would appreciate if someone could find them or similar ones by the Chord company.

Thank you in in advance.
 

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
True, up to a point. I will pay maybe 50% extra for made in UK, or even EU, but x5 or x10, no way!
I won't defend those pricing, I would never go for it, but at the end of the day X5, X10 compared to what? I don't really see the benefit myself of such a large battery powered "portable" DAC amp. but what I do see is that no portable battery powered in these pages seem to be performing better, unless I a missed it. When you are the very best at what you do, you can put any price you want, I am ok with this, If you want the top, and you have the dough for it, that's the prerogative of the fortunate For products to be overpriced. it means thew competition do the same for cheaper and then the market adjust itself and buyers will purchase with a choice, with information. So the question remains, if it's too expensive, I personally think it is but then other manufacturers may take a shot at doing this for cheaper. The only thing I can remember of a portable battery powered DAC AMP having similar power was the C Entrance M8, it performed pooorly, was 750$ and was extremely industrial/Utilitarian looking.
This is clearly better. I know there are maybe stuff from IFI and FIIO and of course not everything is measured here, but bottom line, when you're the champ, you deserve the big bucks, it's true with everything. I am not saying it's the champ, but if not who is, and only then we can say Chord is asking to much. They priced it that way, because they can, who would blame them, if no one went for it, they would price it lower. That's up to the industry to adapt.
 
Last edited:

Ken Tajalli

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
1,995
Likes
1,773
Location
London UK
Besides Rob Watts' (Chord's engineer) claim that he can hear sound nuances down to -300 dB (someone computed that this corresponds to hearing, while being on planet Earth, the sound of a small stone dropped by someone on the Moon),
here is another incredible thing.

On Head-Fi, someone stated over time in several posts that Rob Watts claims that (re. audio) all his devices do benefit from mechanical isolation, e.g.:


in big posts such as:



Watts has been active on that thread but never disclaimed this.
So I assume that he would stand behind such unscientific viewpoints which amount to me to charlatanism. How could you take him seriously if this is true?

However I did not find the original, incredible statements (re. mechanical isolation) by Watts himself, I would appreciate if someone could find them or similar ones by the Chord company.

Thank you in in advance.
You are quoting one member's quotes!
Does my TV benefit from mechanical isolation?
Yes it does, it lasts longer if you don't shake it!
Find a direct quote that RW has said, it improves the sound please.
 

Ken Tajalli

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
1,995
Likes
1,773
Location
London UK
I won't defend those pricing, I would never go for it, but at the end of the day X5, X10 compared to what? I don't really see the benefit myself of such a large battery powered "portable" DAC amp. but what I do see is that no portable battery powered in these pages seem to be performing better, unless I a missed it. When you are the very best at what you do, you can put any price you want, I am ok with this, If you want the top, and you have the dough for it, that's the prerogative of the fortunate For products to be overpriced. it means thew competition do the same for cheaper and then the market adjust itself and buyers will purchase with a choice, with information. So the question remains, if it's too expensive, I personally think it is but then other manufacturers may take a shot at doing this for cheaper. The only thing I can remember of a portable battery powered DAC AMP having similar power was the C Entrance M8, it performed pooorly, was 750$ and was extremely industrial/Utilitarian looking.
This is clearly better. I know there are maybe stuff from IFI and FIIO and of course not everything is measured here, but bottom line, when you're the champ, you deserve the big bucks, it's true with everything. I am not saying it's the champ, but if not who is, and only then we can say Chord is asking to much. They priced it that way, because they can who would blame them, if no one went for it, they would price it lower. That's up to the industry to adapt.
Not to mention that at production, a typical Chord DAC costs 5X to 10X to produce.
I believe I read somewhere that Mojo Classic cost of production was $100+ , while some other portables were in $10 to $20.
 

mumadadd

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2022
Messages
10
Likes
35
No piggy bank panther option for this? Seems like a waste of money based on price / performance ratio, build quality and use case.

Chord overall seem to be just bad value. I briefly owned a Qutest but returned it. Was able to A/B using an Audiolab 8200CD as transport and via its own internal DAC - just couldn't distinguish one from the other. The guy I spoke to to arrange the return seemed astonished at this, and I believe that he believed there would be audible differences. Recalling the reviews I read at the time, it seems somewhat cultish in retrospect.
 

bidn

Active Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
195
Likes
821
Location
Kingdom of the Netherlands


You are quoting one member's quotes!
Does my TV benefit from mechanical isolation?
Yes it does, it lasts longer if you don't shake it!
Find a direct quote that RW has said, it improves the sound please.

Dear Ken,
Before writing too quickly, please:

- Re-read my post,
I precisely explained that I was quoting someone who often used this quote by Watts (on thread where he is active), this is why I asked ASR members for more.
BTW, another (third) occurence here:

- Make a little effort to consider the context:
people in that thread do not mean wildly shaking (!!) their super expensive, beloved Chord device, but permanent, imperceptible, (nanoscopic?, molecular?, atomic??) vibrations on the desk where the Chord Dave is resting in their home, believing that these imperceptible vibrations would affect the electronic processes of their Chord DAC and lower its sound quality (SQ). Some buy very expensive special dampening to obtain (so they believe) the ultimate SQ with their Chord Dave.
 
Last edited:

Jomungur

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Messages
92
Likes
591
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.
Regardless of anyone's feelings about the device, this info is useful to a Chord Hugo 2 owner that has come out of the review. A lot of people use the Chord Hugo 2 with the accompanying streamer (Chord 2go). The Chord 2go locks in via the micro USB port. You can run it without being plugged in, but it becomes confusing as to which battery (2go or Hugo 2) is being drained or being charged because you have two batteries in the power line. So at home it's tempting to just keep the Chord2go plugged into a power source.

I had noticed the audio quality seemed better when connecting via optical to the Hugo 2 through a separate streamer than through the Chord2go. This could be the problem. So good to know.

EDIT: Just scanning the headfi forums on the Hugo2, it appears Watts confirms that the best way to listen to the Hugo2/Chord2 is on battery mode from a noise perspective. Seems like this is the reason. I'm not knocking the design choice, since it's about extending battery life via not having galvanic isolation on the USB. But not easy to figure out.
 
Last edited:

Ken Tajalli

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
1,995
Likes
1,773
Location
London UK
Dear Ken,
Before writing too quickly, please:
- Re-read my post,
I precisely explained that I was quoting someone who often used this quote by Watts (on thread where he is active), this is why I asked ASR members for more.
BTW, another (third) occurence here:
- Make a little effort to consider the context:
people in that thread do not mean wildly shaking (!!) their super expensive, beloved Chord device, but permanent, imperceptible, (nanoscopic?, molecular?, atomic??) vibrations on the desk where the Chord Dave is resting, believing that these imperceptible vibrations would affect the electronic processes of their Chord DAC and lower its sound quality (SQ). Some buy very expensive special dampening to obtain (so they believe) the ultimate SQ with their Chord Dave.
Hi
What was the point of the last link you included? I did not understand.
Frankly, RW has said, mains cables, fancy USB cables and the sort do not make differences.
Even fancy outboard powersupplies, linear power supplies are a waste of money.
The quote of the quote you mentioned in your previous post was out of context, and RW may have said that , Yes, all products do! that is not a confirmation that he approves of outlandish fantasy efforts that can improve sound quality.
He is very vocal to rebuke such things, always saying the device was made as well as we could, you can't improve it by such attempts.
The very word All products is a general term, applies (again) to my TV too.
 

AudioSceptic

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
2,692
Likes
2,534
Location
Northampton, UK
I won't defend those pricing, I would never go for it, but at the end of the day X5, X10 compared to what? I don't really see the benefit myself of such a large battery powered "portable" DAC amp. but what I do see is that no portable battery powered in these pages seem to be performing better, unless I a missed it. When you are the very best at what you do, you can put any price you want, I am ok with this, If you want the top, and you have the dough for it, that's the prerogative of the fortunate For products to be overpriced. it means thew competition do the same for cheaper and then the market adjust itself and buyers will purchase with a choice, with information. So the question remains, if it's too expensive, I personally think it is but then other manufacturers may take a shot at doing this for cheaper. The only thing I can remember of a portable battery powered DAC AMP having similar power was the C Entrance M8, it performed pooorly, was 750$ and was extremely industrial/Utilitarian looking.
This is clearly better. I know there are maybe stuff from IFI and FIIO and of course not everything is measured here, but bottom line, when you're the champ, you deserve the big bucks, it's true with everything. I am not saying it's the champ, but if not who is, and only then we can say Chord is asking to much. They priced it that way, because they can, who would blame them, if no one went for it, they would price it lower. That's up to the industry to adapt.
Compared to products with the same functionality and performance, but I'm talking in general terms, not about the Hugo (2).
 

AudioSceptic

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
2,692
Likes
2,534
Location
Northampton, UK
The different volume controls will not give you the same voltage output. Not forgetting the inherent drive circuit design differences.
It doesn't take much, but if I put two FiiO K9 Pro ESS units side by side.
And if you listened to them completely blind (not even knowing what you were listening to at all), one being 0.1 ~ 0.2 Db louder then the other.

You will without a doubt say they sound different "evidently".

Hence, to give good comparison, devices must be listened blind and voltages matched. Else its just cognitive bias.



Do RE-read the context of the question.
Why? What did I miss?
 

Ken Tajalli

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
1,995
Likes
1,773
Location
London UK
Regardless of anyone's feelings about the device, this info is useful to a Chord Hugo 2 owner that has come out of the review. A lot of people use the Chord Hugo 2 with the accompanying streamer (Chord 2go).
I doubt that, given the cost of 2go.
The Chord 2go locks in via the micro USB port. You can run it without being plugged in, but it becomes confusing as to which battery (2go or Hugo 2) is being drained or being charged because you have two batteries in the power line. So at home it's tempting to just keep the Chord2go plugged into a power source.
2go has its own battery for wifi, BT and decoding, once the signal leaves it and enters Hugo2, then Hugo2 takes over (as though it was yet another DAP) and use its own battery for the rest. So both batteries being drained separately and simultaneously.
They share the charge point, so if you plug in a charger, both units separately draw some current and charge up.
I had noticed the audio quality seemed better when connecting via optical to the Hugo 2 through a separate streamer than through the Chord2go. This could be the problem. So good to know.
I wouldn't know about this bit.
I am one of those who found 2go, 2expensive!
 
Top Bottom