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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

Ken Tajalli

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You have your own interpretations & conclusions, they're not that of the majority here I'm fairly certain, not that the majority is always right.......but I don't see myself as a sheep, and the voting system on here reflects the true value of the product in many a case. For instance, as it came down to it, the measurements show this DAC/amp is measuring well, but it's ridiculously expensive, hence most people have voted it "Not Terrible", which is quite a fair reflection all things considered........(I was extreme and voted "Poor" as I can't get past the over $2000 for this item). I really do think the voting is pretty good in putting the overall product into perspective in terms of the way it sits in the market.
You are talking about "Value for money".
On that issue I understand your apprehension.
But Voting on merits of a device, as good or bad, is another matter, isn't it?
Specially, if you personally had never even used one!.
Amir can vote, he tested it.
What if he had passed any judgement without first testing it.
 

Jimbob54

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You are talking about "Value for money".
On that issue I understand your apprehension.
But Voting on merits of a device, as good or bad, is another matter, isn't it?
Specially, if you personally had never even used one!.
Amir can vote, he tested it.
What if he had passed any judgement without first testing it.
Hey, Ken, the Dave has been reviewed. I voted on it. I havent listened to it.
 

Ken Tajalli

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Hey, Ken, the Dave has been reviewed. I voted on it. I havent listened to it.
When I first said it, I didn't know it was wide-spread!
Good for you Jim .
I am gonna vote on a Porsche , a Tesla, a Rolex ....
All the things that are expensive and I can not afford.
My Toyota is much better value than a Tesla, so Tesla must be crap.
 

JSmith

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a Porsche
Well at least a Porsche would probably have the exhaust aligned properly... unlike the RCA outs on this pretty standard, but expensive DAC;

index.php


... in fact the whole case looks out of alignment.


JSmith
 

Jimbob54

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Robbo99999

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You are talking about "Value for money".
On that issue I understand your apprehension.
But Voting on merits of a device, as good or bad, is another matter, isn't it?
Specially, if you personally had never even used one!.
Amir can vote, he tested it.
What if he had passed any judgement without first testing it.
As I said, the voting often puts the product into a sane scheme of things in terms of where it fits into the market. If you want to buy the Chord Hugo 2 in this review, then by all means do, but don't expect it to be a good buy beyond the fact it won't hurt your "sound", but it will for sure hurt your wallet and make you wonder why it had to be so ugly each time you happen to glance at it. But, if you have a bottomless wallet and you prefer to fritter money needlessly combined with poor aesthetic taste then this could be a good choice for you.
 

Ken Tajalli

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As I said, the voting often puts the product into a sane scheme of things in terms of where it fits into the market. If you want to buy the Chord Hugo 2 in this review, then by all means do, but don't expect it to be a good buy beyond the fact it won't hurt your "sound", but it will for sure hurt your wallet and make you wonder why it had to be so ugly each time you happen to glance at it. But, if you have a bottomless wallet and you prefer to fritter money needlessly combined with poor aesthetic taste then this could be a good choice for you.
You are still at value for money argument.
I do have one already!
Got it on eBay in mint condition for £800+ .
Now that you know I didn't pay full wack for it, does mine sound or measure better?
 

Robbo99999

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You are still at value for money argument.
I do have one already!
Got it on eBay in mint condition for £800+ .
Now that you know I didn't pay full wack for it, does mine sound or measure better?
Oh dear, I think our conversation has ended again. (You can't see the wood for the trees, a very complicated & confused world that you inhabit.)
 
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Sudin

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Well at least a Porsche would probably have the exhaust aligned properly... unlike the RCA outs on this pretty standard, but expensive DAC;

index.php


... in fact the whole case looks out of alignment.


JSmith

Amirm did not take picture right in the middle but slightly to the left right and top of the case that made the case looks out of alignment.
Compare it with the photo from Nagster (post #143) below :

hugo2_01.JPG
 
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Ken Tajalli

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Amirm did not take picture right in the middle but slightly to the left and top of the case that made the case looks out of alignment.
Compare it with the photo from Nagster (post #143) below :

View attachment 220165
You don't get it, do you?
This is a Chord product, model, type, shape, if it is centred or not is irrelevant.
Rob Watts and Chord are in league with Lucifer, thou' shall be condemned! :mad:

For clarity, the red RCA socket's centre to left edge is 43mm, as opposed to 40mm for the other side. So it is wonky by 3mm (Oh my god! ... :oops:)
The whole thing is 3mm shifted to the right.
The large headphone socket to the left is taking more space on the circuit board, they had to accommodate it somehow.
 
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Trell

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You don't get it, do you?
This is a Chord product, model, type, shape, if it is centred or not is irrelevant.
Rob Watts and Chord are in league with Lucifer, thou' shall be condemned! :mad:

For clarity, the red RCA socket's centre to left edge is 43mm, as opposed to 40mm for the other side. So it is wonky by 3mm (Oh my god! ... :oops:)
The whole thing is 3mm shifted to the right.
The large headphone socket to the left is taking more space on the circuit board, they had to accommodate it somehow.

At this very high price point Chord should get this right, but it is an indication of poor build quality or poor QC.
 

Ageve

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The performance is quite similar to the $150 Sound Blaster X G6:
 

Ken Tajalli

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Regarding the clock at 104.25MHz and that being integers of 44.1kHz and 48kHz

So I asked, and here is the answer:
104.25 MHz is not exact, and NO it is not an exact integer of both sampling frequencies.
For 44.1kHz the ratio is 2364.04 and for 48kHz it is 2171.96.
Using the said clock provides for +/- 17 ppm error, which is less than the 50 ppm accuracy of the clock!
Even Accusilicon crystals have accuracy of 20 ppm (for 45 MHz) and more at higher frequencies.
Unless one uses an Oven clock with a +/-10 ppm accuracy, the error is as close as one can get to theoretical ideal.
So in an engineering reality, the chosen clock can act as integers of both sampling frequencies.
 

paulrbarnard

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I think it's totally still fine to vote on an item you don't own - for instance it would be simply ridiculous if only people who owned it could vote, as of course it would be totally uncontrollable to only allow owners to vote, and also that would be extremely narrow minded. It's more than totally ok for people to have an opinion on a product based on it's measurements combined with Amir's listening impressions and combined with the price of the item and how that fits into the landscape of the current market for that product. Public voting is pretty useful in this instance I think.
So the ratings finish up reflecting peoples biases rather than experience. I’ll base my view of a product on Amir’s results and his comments from actually using and listening to the product and completely ignore the poll. The poll has absolutely no quantitative or subjective relevance to the product. It would seem the only relevance of the poll is for analysis of the mindset/demographic/socio-economic status of those voting.
 

Audiofire

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So the ratings finish up reflecting peoples biases rather than experience. I’ll base my view of a product on Amir’s results and his comments from actually using and listening to the product and completely ignore the poll. The poll has absolutely no quantitative or subjective relevance to the product. It would seem the only relevance of the poll is for analysis of the mindset/demographic/socio-economic status of those voting.
I disagree: Measurements and the review show a lot about how good the product is, and that means the votes show important information about the conclusion of the review. You are almost suggesting that the whole discussion of the product in replies has no relevance to the review either.
 
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Jimster480

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The performance is quite similar to the $150 Sound Blaster X G6:
Actually it seems that the performance is worse than that. Which is also pretty sad and another development in the death of this once heralded audio company.
 

DSJR

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It *SOUNDS* fine!!!

Typically, the people well off enough to buy a Chord dac from their audio salon wouldn't give a $150 Topping a second glance no matter how well (or better) it performs. Believe me, they wouldn't... The so-called 'high end' is just as tribal as they accuse 'us here' of being.
 

Jimster480

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It *SOUNDS* fine!!!

Typically, the people well off enough to buy a Chord dac from their audio salon wouldn't give a $150 Topping a second glance no matter how well (or better) it performs. Believe me, they wouldn't... The so-called 'high end' is just as tribal as they accuse 'us here' of being.
It's a shame that this is the case but you are right. There are people who just want a high-end name just to have it. Even if they have nobody to compare with and nobody cares lol
 
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