Chord Electronics Hugo DAC

[cvrle59]

Ok, I am finally back in business with some serious swing in my gear I have done. It took some time, but I am extremely happy that I've done it. I sold Naim Nap100 and Harbeth P3's, but I traded Naim DAC-V1 for this little magic box from Chord. My signature is up to date...
I found out about Hugo from Naim forum, and similarly like Ken described, I didn't pay too much attention in first place, but more I read, more I was bothered by the news. Finally, I decided to drive to Toronto (100 km's) to audition Hugo. I was listening for 3 hours, still not believing that you can get so much out of that small box. I went back again after couple of days for another 2 hours of careful listening...decision was made right there. Hugo is the game changer, all I can say. It leaves V1 in the dust, sorry Naim, but for the same money. I am not surprised any more that it's been compared by some people to Naim NDX/PS or nDAC/PS, which are way more expensive than Hugo (few times).
I let it go to warm up last night and I listen to it little bit by MQn 2.84 (I am way behind you guys, but I will catch up soon). What should I say, I am discovering my collection again, huge upgrade, and it works exceptionally with MQn (16/44, 24/96 and 24/192).
BTW, NAD pre and amp, shockingly good performers, making 30'1 to sing, with very conservative price tag on them compared to some other very expensive brands!
Cheers!
http://chordelectronics.co.uk/files/Hi- ... 202014.pdf

[nige2000]

ill be down to hear that ken
disappointed i couldn't get last night

looking forward to a review on the new zuma too

im building a new pc atm gave it a pre assembly blast earlier
ill say it again there is absolutely no comparison between a dedicated audio pc build and laptops etc, its a world away

all the best with the hugo ken

that DAC looks amazing!

hey nige, z97 boards are coming out.

oh no i dont even want to know about z97 boards
im knee deep in motherboard tweaking right now
sick of looking at them

[Aleg]

Don't see much useful added in 9 series chipset over the 8 series

[jkeny]

This new DAC seems like it lives up to the buzz on the wires
Would have loved to have heard it
Congrats, Ken, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Now just make sure the Ciunas DAC is moved on to a good home :)

[cvrle59]

This new DAC seems like it lives up to the buzz on the wires
Would have loved to have heard it
Congrats, Ken, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Now just make sure the Ciunas DAC is moved on to a good home :)

How about me...? thanks Jkeny!...LOL!

[nige2000]

This new DAC seems like it lives up to the buzz on the wires
Would have loved to have heard it
Congrats, Ken, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Now just make sure the Ciunas DAC is moved on to a good home :)

How about me...? thanks Jkeny!...LOL!

Haha

Everyone knows you have to buy a dac first before you get best wishes on the next one

Did naim say congrats
He he

[jkeny]

This new DAC seems like it lives up to the buzz on the wires
Would have loved to have heard it
Congrats, Ken, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Now just make sure the Ciunas DAC is moved on to a good home :)

How about me...? thanks Jkeny!...LOL!

Ah, yes, congrats also but you should have used the recommended upgrade route by first buying a Ciunas DAC at one quarter of the price (or bought Ken's Ciunas at one seventh of the price of the new Chord) :)

[cvrle59]

This new DAC seems like it lives up to the buzz on the wires
Would have loved to have heard it
Congrats, Ken, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Now just make sure the Ciunas DAC is moved on to a good home :)

How about me...? thanks Jkeny!...LOL!

Ah, yes, congrats also but you should have used the recommended upgrade route by first buying a Ciunas DAC at one quarter of the price (or bought Ken's Ciunas at one seventh of the price of the new Chord) :)

All right...got it...LOL!

[sima66]

Ken, I don't know if you saw this:
http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/ ... kenny_dac/

Or,
Here is another one in case that you or Cvrle59 change your mind: :)))
http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/ ... hord_hugo/

[Ken Moreland]

Thanks for that Adam, there's already interest in the Ciúnas here but I'll bear the link in mind. If someone is interested in buying a Chord Hugo , probably best to buy from a dealer because the early batches had very tight fitting around the RCA outputs and lots of cables wouldn't fit, recent models have this rectified and I believe there is a retro-fix from the company.