Chord Hugo ?

Hi DTC understood,,,,however I never read a single thing on the Cord though I have waded threw some of Headfi's large site from time to time.
You are correct ,evaluations of sound ie recorded quality , quality of Hi-res down loads ect ,chat is near non existent if it exists at all on that site even here on Audiogon threads started on the subject little participation happens.....However I get the notion reading threw profiles of members that low res streaming is just fine .

In shore - One of the common comments on the Hugo is that 16/44 sounds extremely good. Rob Watts, the designer, has said that as his algorithms evolve the difference between 16/44 and higher rez gets less and less. With Hugo he thinks 16/44 and 24/96 are often very close. He believes that the need for high rez has been largely driven by less than optimal designs for 16/44. Since most people have a lot more 16/44 than high rez, its 16/44 quality can be a significant advantage for the Hugo.

If you are at all interested in the technical aspects of Hugo, Watts' comments on the long Head thread are very interesting.

DTC, your comments are generally spot on and I agree with most of them. It is possible that Chord will make QBD and Qute versions of the Hugo (reference digital section with Spartan 6) and prices will likely be a bit over the current Generation products. this couls mean that we see a Qute Hu-Stay(LoL for a slight premium over the current EX, which would mean a similar price to the Hugo, supplied with the current wallwart. This would mean that one could use an outboard PSU like a Hynes SR3.

This would take us out of battery dependence for those looking for an afforable deskbound solution with a great L-PSU. Of course if you want Balanced config and internal PSU, then it have to be the QB-Stay.

The digital section of the Hugo is certainly pushing the envelope with its bespoke design....and SQ is reportedly very good from the owners I know. However, comparison to Mega buck dac is overblown for now. Let's leave that for the desktop versions that Chord will likely come out with next....at least that is the logical unfolding of events as I see them.

Rob Watts and Chord are certainly moving in the right direction.

There's an enthusiastic review in the UK magazine Hi Fi Choice last month edition. Hugo received the editors choice award. Former editor David Price (the reviewer) claimed it as a landmark product. The big difference and claim to fame for Hugo is in the timing and musical flow.
With my interest piqued, I ordered a Hugo yesterday and it is scheduled to arrive today. I will report my impressions.

Wisnon - agreed - I would love a Qute version of the Hugo, but from their comments it seems like they are going to do the QBD version first, which means a Qute version may be quite a way off. One would think a Qute version would be pretty easy to do, but they are a small company. If you know any more about their schedule, I would love to hear it.