Chord Hugo ?

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.

Winson - I am sorry you feel I was too critical, but I do think you should have been more straightforward about the price. People can look up the prices but since you knew them why not supply them. Comparing the Hugo to units that are 4 to 12 times its price is interesting, but why not make the prices clear up front. Interesting, you quote the DirectStream upgrade price rather than the full price. The regular price is more relevant. You pretty much dismiss the idea of using the Hugo as a desktop device, but then compare it to a unit that is probably a year away and at several times the cost. Sorry, it is an excellent desktop device at its price.

By the way, what false statement did I make?

Want to make a Hugo sound really great?

Add this:

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/short-block

Works for the Qute as well. Qute also benefits from a power supply upgrade.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Steve - the Hugo requires the USB +5V signal to turn on the HD circuits. As I understand it, that means your filter should not be used with the Hugo, since the filter stops the +5V signal from getting to the Hugo. Correct me if I am wrong.

I guess the SB will only work with the Qute DAC. My new Power Block will work with the Hugo. It will be out with my Off-Ramp 6 later this year.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

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.

I have had the Hugo for over a year now. The Hugo sound to my ear is neutral. There is no excess warmth, no brightness, detail presentation is unforced, and the ambience does not possess any hint of digital glare. The Hugo is dynamic and the soundstage is what the recording presents, not what the dac device thinks it should be. That means the presentations can be forward, palpable, huge, small, or emanate concert hall depth. I'm very sensitive to the harmonics of the instruments and especially piano sound, and I mean all of it. Hugo gets this absolutely right. By comparison, I cannot even listen to a piano sonata at background levels via the Oppo.

My listening has been strictly as a redbook decoder with either a Sony ES779 or Oppo 105D as a transport. Cd's through the Hugo sound closer to an analog sound than either the Oppo 105D or the VAC 22.1 tube dac. The VAC 22.1 is better than the Oppo. The difference between Sabre dac in the Oppo and the PMD 100 dac in VAC dac are relatively small in overall non audiophile terms. However, the difference between Hugo and the others jumps out even to the non audiophile. For me, it represents a huge increase in musicality.

So, how does Hugo make you feel? How is the music making? First thing, you can't read a magazine and listen. There is always something happening sonically to divert your attention from the written word. You find you want to drum, play air guitar, or conduct. You might find yourself thinking of what to play next, ultimately forgetting what that was, then thinking of two more discs. You find that you want to turn the volume up instead of down. You might also notice the listening session lasted longer, just one more song, oh crap, maybe just one more after that.

Every cd sounds better through Hugo, even ones that you know suck. Hugo simply presents more information that is musically consonant. Some cd's become very listenable, others still suck but not as much as they do through other dacs.

I prefer the sound via battery power. Once the power light is green/amber there is a loss of dynamics and recharging or AC connection is necessary. My estimate is around 5-6 hrs to reach this point although it will play longer at reduced performance levels. Power on into full dac mode is a bit inconvenient requiring two hands, one to push an eensy teensy button while the other moves a semi stiff slide switch to on. I am quite adept at this sequence now and I like the lights to indicate battery level, charging status, and signal mode.

Overall, Hugo is one of the most impressive audio products I have purchased. I would rate it an outstanding value. Not only do you get a dac with Chord's proprietary technology but a free headphone amp that sounds great as well.

Yep, I concur from my year and a half with one. I do find it's better with an external amp (for headphones), but the built in one is pretty good also for portable usage. It really is a great, pleasant, sweet but detailed and impactful DAC that makes it a real bargain in the DAC world.