Better than a Lampi L7??/ Who said so? I never saw that on the thread. AL owns the Hugo and rates it below the Direct Stream which is below the LAMPI L5!
I have heard favourable comparisons of the L7 to Trinity! |
Hugo has great tech, but so-so implementation. Battery limits the dynamics.
When the Desktop Hugo comes out with waaay more taps, then we can start talking. It is reportedly a bit thin sounding now. Heck one hugo owner says he prefers his Qute with a Teddy Pardo PSU. |
DTC, I have a Qute HD soon to be upgraded to an EX, so I own both Chord and Lampi and the Lampi L4 is the better Dac so far, especially with DSD.
Hugo has great promise, but until they do the Qute and QBD version with the huge tap lengths, we are yet to see the best of it.
To say its currently better than a Lampi Big7 is a joke though I mean really! |
Oh and many people are tweaking trying to beef up the thin sound. Its an underground obsession caused by the battery power supply. That will be corrected when the desktop versions come. We can Hynes/Teddy P the Qute form factor and the QDB factor will have iots own beefy power supply (I hope linear and not SMPS). |
Guys,
I know much more about this Dac and its development than you can imagine. I do not speak out of turn. If you do enough reading about to, other than the HF thread, you will understand and yes MORE taps are in the works.
Let me make it clear no way in hell it is better than a Lampi Big7!!!!
Now a tapped up QBD with LPSU who knows?
And let me restate, i think the Hugo is a wonderful and significant development. |
Where did I disagree with the digital advances of Hugo???
If I somehow gave you that impression I apologise.
Also, the snide R&D comment is uncalled for. I merely tried to show you guys that I have my own contacts from long ago and I had long ago read the HF thread. I am NOT new to Chord nor to Hugo developments. i was Chord when Chord was yet cool! LoL
I have a Qute precisely because of the FPGA tech. The only point of small disagreement with the tech is that I dont think its the best DSD approach to decimate to 2048FS PCM!
The analog side of Hugo is the weakpoint and its not a real issue as it's a portable battery powered Dac. In full blown desktop version, those shortcomings will very likely be solved and we will see the full potential. Rob Watts is VERY talented. The Qute/QBD currently have the advantage of better power supply and that is half the battle in Digital audio. It seems people forget that analog is the end goal of digital audio and that even the digital data is physically represented by analog constructs (electricity).
I am a fan of Hugo too, but i think the Head-fi site has it overblown as much as this site has it disrespected and ignored (relatively) |
I have had a Lampi for years and I "shill" as you say for Chord too.
I have many trusted pals with the Hugo and one is getting ready to sell it.
There are many convos with influential people behind the scene.
The Job was a no brainer, but I never commented on the sound, just the pedigree. In addition, people were staved for info on this mythical amp and I was the only "layman" to see the relaunched first production batch. Until I recently moved 2 months ago, i lived 5 mins drive away from Goldmund and have developed some good contacts there. Finally, I solicited design feedback from 2 MEGA ULTRA high-end designers in the industry (one workd on the Job circuitry years ago) and both gave the amp rousing paise, especially for the price!
In any case, there is never any reason to be snide. That is unbecoming and you seem classier than that. |
Hi DTC,
I think you are generally correct, unfortunately.
I think the Qute version will be the sweetspot given the ability to hand select the LPSU used with it. The bespoke digital section (timing champ) combined with say a Hynes or a Teddy P L-PSU should be outstanding for any SE setup and it will be relatively reasonably priced.
QBD version is more aimed at the people with matching Chord esthetics and who need full connectivity, ie Balanced, Chord streaming compatibility, etc. |
Ghasley, we are cool.
My pal who is selling the Hugo is doding so for precisely the reasons I gave and he intends to get the desktop Hugo when it comes out next year! Others are employing every tweak they can to get more heft via the battery powered Hugo. Not everything is posted online. There are emaoils and phone calls detailing this stuff and not just for Hugo.
You dont have to own all those brands to have an idea. How many brands do reviewers (pro and amateur) own? You dont even have to own a particular model ton understand house sound and to gain insight from trusted pals who have similar experiences and tastes.
Finally, only 6 of us have actually posted on this thread and certainly you and I have contributed the most and managed to widen the debate.
I, like you, have no financial stake in the game, so we are free to say what we like with impunity.
I live in Switzerland, close to some of the mega ultras, as you call them, so is it a stretch to understand that I may just actually know some of them well? LoL |
Ghasley,
Yes, the ultra megas sometimes evaluate without listening. they look at the design concepts and parts used and get a fair idea of what it will sound like.
There is more to this than meets the eye.
PM me your tel number and we can discuss oflline.
wis97non at yahoo dot co dot uk
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Suit yourself.
That was not what I wanted to discuss.
BTW, I didnt intoduce Lampi in this thread. I read the HF thread and did not see anyone saying its better than the Lampi L7 and asked about that. So few people have it, I would be surprised by that comment. |
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DTC, your comments are generally spot on and I agree with most of them. It is possible that Chord will make QBD and Qute versions of the Hugo (reference digital section with Spartan 6) and prices will likely be a bit over the current Generation products. this couls mean that we see a Qute Hu-Stay(LoL for a slight premium over the current EX, which would mean a similar price to the Hugo, supplied with the current wallwart. This would mean that one could use an outboard PSU like a Hynes SR3.
This would take us out of battery dependence for those looking for an afforable deskbound solution with a great L-PSU. Of course if you want Balanced config and internal PSU, then it have to be the QB-Stay.
The digital section of the Hugo is certainly pushing the envelope with its bespoke design....and SQ is reportedly very good from the owners I know. However, comparison to Mega buck dac is overblown for now. Let's leave that for the desktop versions that Chord will likely come out with next....at least that is the logical unfolding of events as I see them.
Rob Watts and Chord are certainly moving in the right direction. |
OK, 2 days ago at a Pal's place, I had a marathon listening session with 4 headamps, 4 HPhones and 4 Dacs, ie Lampi B7, Hugo, DirectStream and MSB Platinum stack upgraded with Galaxy 2 clocks. No speakers used, just Woo Audio (2)/Senneiser/hugo internal amp and the SennHD800, Stax, BDynamic DT990T and Hifiman HE-6 HPhones.
Suffice to say that the Hugo cannot compete with the big boys. It was shaded by the DirectStream (both were "poor" with DSD and good with PCM). The Lampi and MSB were levels above those 2 others. The MSB being more detailed but a tad harsher/harder than the more silky Lampi...so close that I could see either one being preferred by some depending on taste. Both were superb with DSD.
The Hugo is a great portable, but will be easily dismissed as a desktop once Chord updated the QBD with the Hugo+ digital section. At least that is my prediction based on the past model evolution. The Hugo's power section is just too limited to compete with the haute gamme Dacs of this world, but then its only a fraction of the price and very versatile. It will be interesting to see how the Qute form factor Hugo will fare once paired with a great LPSU as well.
Bottom line is that its an excellent portable and if you expect more than that, you may come away disappointed. For me, the DSD playback was a major disappointment. Its PCM is way better. |
DTC, You seem to think that I am trying to slight the Hugo, when I am not. You made a false statement that I knew coud NOT be true, as I knew NO ONE had both a Hugo and Big7 at the time to make such a comparison. I had spoken to The LampizatorNA guys and they were still awaiting shipments patiently, apart for the 1 or 2 seed units they got. The same pal I visited was patiently waiting for his and he made an early order.
Prices of all these units are public info, so I am not "hiding" anything. However, here goes...the Lampi cost $10K, the MSB stack new would retail at $35K, the upgraded from PW2 to DStream Dac cost $5K and the Hugo he paid full retail $2,500.
The Hugo is a great portable device that is very versatile and does not cost an arm and a leg (still not "cheap", but certainly carries a high value). It however is limited by the design implementation and it is MANIFEST when you hear them in comparison to the others. Yes the Dstream is better, but I am not sure it is worth the price difference, but it has one critical sonic advantage I did hear with the treble in PCM. I did not care for DSD with either the Hugo or DStream, they definitely have their sweetspot with PCM material.
Finally, all these Dacs are quite fine and one could be happy with any of them, unless one is an ultra-obsessive audiophile. I just want to point out that there IS a difference that you can hear as you go up the price ladder of these 4 beauties. |
DTC, trust me...the easiest determination to make between the top 2 and the bottom 2 here was with DSD material. It was a chasm!
It was a bit shocked, as I did not xpect that obvious a difference and it was clear from the first note.
I was particularly bummed by the DStream, as it operate in DSD upsampling mode, whereas the Hugo converted DSD to 2048fs PCM. thus you basically have 2 FPGA Dacs, one an uberDSD engine and the other an uberPCM engine. Both score way better with PCM. A head scratcher.
The Lampi Big7 (first time hearing it) and the MSB stack both trounced the other 2 in DSD (handily).
All 4 Dacs have interesting tech/implementatiions. |
DTC,
I was away on vacation.
I supplied the prices of the Dacs as they were for the owner (he did an upgrade). Anyone can buy a PW2 cheap and do the upgrade and it will cost a max $5K, l;ikely somewhat cheaper. As I said, the prices can be found by anyone, so there is nothing to conceal and its not my job to detail them.
I was comparing SQ of the actual units this person owns.
You said that persons were comparing the Hugo favourably to Dacs like the Big7 and that could not be true as not enuff US people had the Big7 at the time and certainly no one owned both that and the Hugo at the time.
No biggie anyway and I am not at all upset with you. All is good. |
