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CHORD Hugo TT2 Review (DAC & HP Amp)

Rate this DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 82 22.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 126 34.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 123 33.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 34 9.3%

  • Total voters
    365

Purité Audio

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Thank goodness you do… and that you were dressed when you took that photograph!
You are arguably the most influential reviewer extant, actually there is nothing to argue,

Keith
 

restorer-john

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Lack of knowledge is not knowledge. Yes, there are nearly 100 boxes sitting on shelves alone:
View attachment 229415

There are as many stashed in the attic and a bunch of speakers piled up in the garage -- most of which I have bought. You happy now?

There are days that I wonder why I do this..... :(

I made an estimate of the 100 boxes of stuff. It seems I was pretty close. Those white ones with QR-codes are all Topping right?

Disclosure is important. It elevates you above everyone else.

I do know you often buy speakers, because you state that in the reviews.

While we are on an honesty roll, what is the problem with a register of free/sample/not for return stuff? Seriously. A few entries in a live spreadsheet. A few seconds. It goes to absolute credibility. The HiFi review world has been rife with 'permanent review samples' in return for favourable reviews forever. I honestly believe you are somewhat different, but full disclosure goes a long way to appeasing all the doubters out there. :)
 

DavidEdwinAston

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I made an estimate of the 100 boxes of stuff. It seems I was pretty close. Those white ones with QR-codes are all Topping right?

Disclosure is important. It elevates you above everyone else.

I do know you often buy speakers, because you state that in the reviews.

While we are on an honesty roll, what is the problem with a register of free/sample/not for return stuff? Seriously. A few entries in a live spreadsheet. A few seconds. It goes to absolute credibility. The HiFi review world has been rife with 'permanent review samples' in return for favourable reviews forever. I honestly believe you are somewhat different, but full disclosure goes a long way to appeasing all the doubters out there. :)
Hmm, and still you persevere. I for one would be bereft if Amir just stopped doing this. Please, stop nit picking.
 

Robbo99999

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Lack of knowledge is not knowledge. Yes, there are nearly 100 boxes sitting on shelves alone:
View attachment 229415

There are as many stashed in the attic and a bunch of speakers piled up in the garage -- most of which I have bought. You happy now?

There are days that I wonder why I do this..... :(
Lucky Christmas Prize Raffle! :D
 

AdamG

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We are identical to CR in the way we don't advertise, accept sponsorships, etc. Or afraid of telling the truth. To wit, I only recommend 1/3 of the products I test:

View attachment 229234

This independence and transparency in evaluation is what matters here. And what differentiates us from every other reviewer out there. There are people who are supporting their family on sites that are far smaller than us in reach. In that regard, I have left a ton of money on the table to achieve this goal. You can't just ignore that and just worry about product source where it is only a fraction of what is tested. And no issues have been raised properly as far as hand picking, bias, etc.
This post should be the Lead of most reviews. Great info and talks directly to neutrality of our Site and your Work. Just a thought Boss.
 

restorer-john

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Hmm, and still you persevere. I for one would be bereft if Amir just stopped doing this. Please, stop nit picking.

Bereft of exactly what? After a few hundred posts and a few short months here? You are kidding aren't you? :facepalm:

Amir is nothing, if not responsive to criticism and calls to accountability. He's always stood up for himself and justified his position in the face of some serious accusations. That I respect greatly.

The fact I can throw serious questions and requests for transparency at him without fear of being banned or thrown out of ASR shows he is not a paid shill, or someone that can be bought easily. That is a good thing. If it were that way, I'd be long gone. Life is too short.

But transparency has to earned, not bestowed. Keep up the genuine good work and justify your conclusions in the face of robust analyses, criticism and calls to accountability.
 

AdamG

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Do the moderators get their pick in lieu of a salary?
Since you decided to directly mention me here (Since I am 1 of 2 Moderators) . Let me set the record straight. To date, I have paid Amir/ASR $500.00 USD to work here (Two $100 dollar general member donations and one $300 dollar donation to a lost item Fund, that was eventually found. Told Amir to just roll the donation into the general ASR fund). I have received nor requested, a single penny/item/component. Period. As I have stated previously, and many times, we receive zero for this gig. While you are free to question our sanity (Brad and I) questioning our integrity is another matter. Brad and I do this for the Members and the betterment of our Audio Community. Amir, very well could be making quite a bit of cheddar from this site if he ever chose to do so. We honor his integrity by supporting him with our own personal integrity.
 

DavidEdwinAston

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Bereft of exactly what? After a few hundred posts and a few short months here? You are kidding aren't you? :facepalm:

Amir is nothing, if not responsive to criticism and calls to accountability. He's always stood up for himself and justified his position in the face of some serious accusations. That I respect greatly.

The fact I can throw serious questions and requests for transparency at him without fear of being banned or thrown out of ASR shows he is not a paid shill, or someone that can be bought easily. That is a good thing. If it were that way, I'd be long gone. Life is too short.

But transparency has to earned, not bestowed. Keep up the genuine good work and justify your conclusions in the face of robust analyses, criticism and calls to accountability.
I wasn't kidding. However, I fully accept your critique of my relatively short tenure here!:)
 

restorer-john

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Since you decided to directly mention me here (Since I am 1 of 2 Moderators) . Let me set the record straight. To date, I have paid Amir/ASR $500.00 USD to work here (Two $100 dollar general member donations and one $300 dollar donation to a lost item Fund, that was eventually found. Told Amir to just roll the donation into the general ASR fund). I have received nor requested, a single penny/item/component. Period. As I have stated previously, and many times, we receive zero for this gig. While you are free to question our sanity (Brad and I) questioning our integrity is another matter. Brad and I do this for the Members and the betterment of our Audio Community. Amir, very well could be making quite a bit of cheddar from this site if he ever chose to do so. We honor his integrity by supporting him with our own personal integrity.
Did I 'directly mention' you specifically? No. I'll take that as an apology...

I posed a rhetorical question. Esoteric concept perhaps. So, unless you are feeling particularly guilty in some way, please relax and just chill out.

Amir is the one with the massive pile of cheap Asian boxed gear cluttering his garage (see his pics), not me. He is the one championing so called 'engineering excellence' with products from manufactuers that are failing, left, right and centre. It's not my credibility that is being trashed, thank goodness.

I call for accountability and honesty. Not much to ask for a so-called objective site is it?
 

Purité Audio

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Accusing the mods of taking bribes is going too far John, it is you who should apologise.
Keith
 

AdamG

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Did I 'directly mention' you specifically? No. I'll take that as an apology...
You want me, to apologize to you, for you calling out my integrity? Good grief John. I will put my trust in our Members drawing their own conclusions. You didn’t call for accountability. You made unfounded assumptions and accusations that are completely untrue. A simple PM to us would have avoided this line of ridicule.
 

Phorize

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Well how about weighing in instead of telling us how qualified in the area you are and saying very little?

The biggest issue IMO with a site like this proclaiming independence and objectivity is the provision of products supplied as review samples with no expectation of the return of said items. It has been brought up by me (and others) years ago with the suggestion of a live register of 'free/gifted' products so people reading those 'unbiased' reviews can familiarize themselves with any gifts/samples that preceded those reviews.

Anything else is not transparent, and neither does a vague 'it was provided by the company' quote. That does not describe whether the item is on temporary loan, optional return, should be destroyed after review, is essentially a gift, or other possibilities.

What Amir does with the stuff is anyone's guess. He has been opaque in the past and continues to be so. Some brands clearly would like to curry favour one way or another, but I am reasonably confident things are above board. Clarification however is needed.

Our school teachers are unable to accept any gifts valued at over $50 without declaring the gift and surrendering it to the school, lest their gift be perceived as somehow advantaging their child in some way.

Our local councillors (all of them) have ongoing declarations (where the total is >$500) available for anyone to read.
View attachment 229388

There are numerous items reviewed here with considerable market values. What happens to those products? Are they sold to run the web hosting? Do the moderators get their pick in lieu of a salary? Are there 100 Topping boxes stashed in an offsite storage facility, or are they simply donated to the Good Will? Nobody knows.

Transparency is a highly desirable characteristic in HiFi. I'd like to see more transparency in relation to this subject.
I sounded pompous then, my bad and thanks for bringing me back down to earth. My point is that the test results are shown for all to see, and are repeatable. I can see that many would value transparency on what happens with the test products etc, but its a fact that even if @amirm was benefiting personally from this the test results would still be repeatable and still as useful in their own right. I wouldn't be upset if @amirm did what you are suggesting, but I don't think that ASR is on any kind of ethical burning platform either.
 

Robbo99999

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Did I 'directly mention' you specifically? No. I'll take that as an apology...

I posed a rhetorical question. Esoteric concept perhaps. So, unless you are feeling particularly guilty in some way, please relax and just chill out.

Amir is the one with the massive pile of cheap Asian boxed gear cluttering his garage (see his pics), not me. He is the one championing so called 'engineering excellence' with products from manufactuers that are failing, left, right and centre. It's not my credibility that is being trashed, thank goodness.

I call for accountability and honesty. Not much to ask for a so-called objective site is it?
That seems a bit extreme, the bit I bolded in your post! Seems unfounded & over-the-top.
 

Thomas savage

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I made an estimate of the 100 boxes of stuff. It seems I was pretty close. Those white ones with QR-codes are all Topping right?

Disclosure is important. It elevates you above everyone else.

I do know you often buy speakers, because you state that in the reviews.

While we are on an honesty roll, what is the problem with a register of free/sample/not for return stuff? Seriously. A few entries in a live spreadsheet. A few seconds. It goes to absolute credibility. The HiFi review world has been rife with 'permanent review samples' in return for favourable reviews forever. I honestly believe you are somewhat different, but full disclosure goes a long way to appeasing all the doubters out there. :)
Go the extra mile not because you have too but precisely because you don't.

That's the power .
 

voodooless

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I posed a rhetorical question. Esoteric concept perhaps.
Did anyone miss that? I thought it was clear from the get go, but my sarcastic mind is apparently special that way?

John is just advocate of the devil here. He’s merely voicing what other may possibly think about this and what can be done to take these thoughts away.
 

the_brunx

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Did anyone miss that? I thought it was clear from the get go, but my sarcastic mind is apparently special that way?

John is just advocate of the devil here. He’s merely voicing what other may possibly think about this.
are others thoughts so douchy? That it’s seems it’s only intentions is to weary Amir and Team.
 

Doodski

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And the fact that I am terrible at selling things (have hardly ever sold anything in my life in used market).
Selling used stuff is a whole other Pandora's Box of issues and weirdo buyers. Having to sell off hundreds of items would make you a professional seller at websites and they would want payment for web services provided. You're probably safer and better off just stock piling all that stuff. :D
 
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