Chord Hugo Vs Hugo 2 Comparison

DREW BAIRD | MOON AUDIO STAFF/

Chord Hugo First Generation

Chord Electronics released the Chord Hugo reference-level portable headphone amplifier three years ago at CES 2014. The Chord Hugo was a GAMECHANGER in Dac technology and sound as referenced here in my original blog post.  

Chord continues to focus on creating a more convincing sonic replication for the listener, and the new Chord Hugo 2 is another example of their sound advancements.  The Hugo 2 is now available for pre-order. 

This video explains Chord Electronics FPGA DAC Technology:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hCYUujl1zTM

Chord Hugo 2 Next Generation

At CES 2017, Chord Electronics unveiled Hugo 2 and introduced the latest proprietary Chord Electronics FPGA technology amongst other exciting new features.

Hugo 2 nearly doubles the Tap-length to 49,152 and upgrades to a 10 element pulse array design (previously 26,368 tap-length and 4-element Pulse Array design in the original Hugo).

Hugo 2 Inputs Outputs

Hugo 2 Upgrades

Thanks to recent advances in digital technology, Chord’s Hugo 2 continues their cutting-edge technical and sonic performance while ensuring continuity with the much-loved original.

Aircraft-grade Aluminium Casework

Hugo 2 has a much sharper, lower profile design with four spherical polycarbonate control buttons.

Hugo 2 Top Aluminium Casing

Technical Performance

The Hugo 2 offers better timing accuracy, noise reduction, headphone amp power and dynamic range.

Hugo 2 Connections

Inputs:

  • 1x Optical TOSLink 24-bit/192kHz-capable
  • 1x RCA coaxial input 24-bit/384kHz-capable
  • 1x HD USB input 32-bit/768kHz and DSD512-capable
  • 1x aptX Bluetooth (extended range)Hugo 2 USB Input

Outputs:

  • 1x 3.5mm headphone jack
  • 1x 6.35mm (¼ inch) headphone jack
  • 1x (pair) stereo RCA phono outputHugo 2 Inputs

More User Control with Hugo 2

The Hugo 2 offers four different filtering options, three operation modes with the popular digital crossfeed function, and a remote control.

Filters - Offering user-selectable frequency-shaping 

  • Hugo (Ultimate Reference) (White)
  • Hugo HF+ (High Frequency roll off) (Green)
  • Mojo (‘Smooth’) (Orange)
  • Mojo HF+ (High Frequency roll off) (Red)

Crossfeed - The system duplicates the effects of listening to speakers 

  • Level I - Light
  • Level 2 - Medium
  • Level 3 - Heavy

Hugo versus Hugo 2 Comparison

Chord Hugo versus Hugo 2 Comparison

Have a question about the Chord Hugo 2?  We'd love to answer it live on the blog.  Please comment or send your question below and we'll answer it LIVE on the blog!

Thanks for reading our Chord Hugo versus Hugo 2 blog post.

Drew Baird

When Drew Baird, P.E., put his first audio system together, he found himself dissatisfied with the audio cables available in his price range -- so he decided to make his own. He's an engineer, after all, with the expertise to dabble in this sort of thing. He studied the types of materials that went into the big-name audio cables and figured out how to improve upon what was out there. After making his first batch of custom audio cables, he offered the extras to fellow audiophiles. They were a hit, and Silver Dragon cables were born. At the time, Drew was working full time as an engineer and nurturing his burgeoning cable business on the side. In 2010, Drew quit his day job to run Moon Audio full time, with his wife, Nichole, taking on the marketing and administrative demands of the business. In the decade since, Drew has expanded the Dragon Cable line and developed customizations for just about every headphone on the market. He's passionate about music -- ask him about the Pixies if you've got a few hours -- and every day at Moon Audio is a chance for him to help bring audiophiles and music pros closer to the sounds they love. Drew has an engineering degree from Penn State and maintains rigorous certification through the National Society of Professional Engineers.

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