Chord Hugo 2 mobile DAC and Head- phonesamplifier

Available February / March 2017

The second generation of the revolutionary HUGO pushes the boundaries of what is feasible again and offers even more performance, features and functions than the original.

Since its introduction in 2014, the portable headphone DAC has turned the hi-fi world upside down. Originally developed for mobile use, it offered such a high-quality D / A conversion that it also replaced numerous larger and more expensive devices in domestic systems. The revised housing design and new equipment details such as the included remote control take this into account, so that the HUGO 2 can now be used without restriction in stationary and mobile use.

But the HUGO 2 makes the biggest leap in D / A conversion. The latest FPGA chip works in it, the greater computing power of which enables the filter length to be extended to 49,152 (HUGO: 26,000) and thus even better music reproduction. In addition, the new generation of chips now allows PCM signals up to 768kHz sampling rate and DSD512 to be reproduced.

All the features that made the first Hugo so successful have been adopted from the predecessor. In addition to the outstanding sound quality, these include the wireless connection via aptX Bluetooth or the line-level mode with a fixed output power.

Without question, the HUGO 2 is one of the best portable headphone DACs / amplifiers available today. Because of the improved D / A conversion and the supplied remote control, it is more than ever a challenge to be taken very seriously for practically every stationary D / A converter in a home system.

HUGO 2 - SPECIFICATIONS:

Materials: Clamshell precision machined aluminum casing with polycarbonate buttons, acrylic signal window, and glass viewing portal. Available in a choice of two colors - natural silver, and satin black

Battery: 2x Rechargeable custom Enix Energies 3.7v 9.6Wh Li-ion (lithium-ion (2600mAh) batteries

Play time: In excess of seven (7) hours

Charging: Nominal four (4) hours via Micro USB at 1.8amps (fast charge) - Nominal eight (8) hours at 1amp (slow charge)

Connectivity (input): Micro USB (White): 44.1kHz - 768kHz - 16bit - 32bit

Coax via 3.5mm Jack (Red): 44.1kHz - 768kHz - 16bit - 32bit

Optical (Green): 44.1kHz - 192kHz - 16bit - 24bit

Connectivity (input wireless): Bluetooth (Apt X) (Blue): 44.1kHz - 48kHz - 16bit

Connectivity (output): 1x ¼ 'jack headphone output

1x 3.5mm jack headphone output

1x stereo (L & R) RCA output

PCM support: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 358.8kHz, 384kHz, 717.6kHz, and 768kHz.

DSD support: Native playback supported. DSD64 (Single) to DSD512 (Octa-DSD)

Volume control: Digital, activated in 1dB increments. Last known state saved upon shutdown, with exception of line-level mode

Line-level mode: Activated via dual press of middle 'Source' and 'Crossfeed' buttons. Line level = 3v via all outputs. Reset by power cycle

Power saving mode: Auto shutdown after ten minutes of input inactivity

Driver support: Driverless with Mac OS X and Linux, driver required for Windows OS

User configurable options:

Filters (Digital): Hugo (Ultimate Reference) (White)

Hugo HF + (High Frequency roll off) (Green)

Mojo ('Smooth') (Orange)

Mojo HF + (High Frequency roll off) (Red)

Crossfeed (Digital IIR): Level 1 - Light

Level 2 - medium

Level 3 - Heavy

Control options: Manual

Remote control (included)

Technical specifications:

Chipset: Chord Electronics custom coded Xilinx Artix 7 (XC7A15T) FPGA

Tap length: 49.152

Pulse array: 10 element pulse array design

Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.2dB

Output stage: Class A

Output impedance: 0.025O

THD: <0.0001% 1kHz 3v RMS 300O

THD and noise at 3v RMS: 120dB at 1kHz 300ohms 'A' weighted (reference 5.3v)

Noise 2.6 uV 'A' weighted: No measurable noise floor modulation

Signal to noise ratio: 126dB 'A' Weighted

Channel separation: 135dB at 1kHz 300O

Power output @ 1kHz 1% THD: 94mW 300O

740mW 33O

1050mW 8O

Weight: 450g

Dimensions: 130mm (L) x 100mm (W) x 21mm (H)

Boxed Dimensions: 220mm (L) x 122mm (W) x 85mm (H)