Chord Hugo ?

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).

No one is comparing the Hugo to a Lampi here but lets make a couple of things very clear: it is at an entirely different level from the Qute line, this is a reference caliber dac. I listened to both versions of the Qute and its a really good dac, the Hugo is really great. Secondly, it is far from thin or lacking in dynamics....somebody is either talking out of their bum or have an agenda. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but the only way I could imagine someone thinking the Hugo is thin is they were listening through very inefficient cans. It may or may not compare with other dacs in the opinion of a given user but this dac is extraordinary on its own merits.

Chord themselves consider this an accidental reference dac. They admit they discovered its extraordinary performance after prototyping. While I'm interested in others opinions and system implementations, the excellence of the Hugo is obvious to even the casual listener. Peace.

Winson - I do not expect the Qute format for quite some time. The next product seems to be a QBD type product, but I am not sure it will have more taps. Depends on the chip maker.

As Ghasley says, the number of people who think Hugo is thin is pretty small, at least on the Head thread. There are undoubtedly a small group obsessed with the power supply, but it is a small group. Given their obsession, I am pretty sure they will announce enormous gains by disabling the battery and connecting a linear power supply. Meanwhile, others with enjoy the Hugo as is.

The Hugo is, by most accounts, significantly better than the EX. You might want to skip the EX and go to Hugo. Making a comparison of the EX and a Lampi does not show how the Hugo will compare. By most accounts, Hugo is a significant upgrade from the HD or EX.

I agree that a QBD should be better than Hugo, but it will do so at a much higher price. I think you are not giving the Hugo the credit it deserves, especially at the price.

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.