Chord Hugo ?

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.

Hi DTC,

I think you are generally correct, unfortunately.

I think the Qute version will be the sweetspot given the ability to hand select the LPSU used with it. The bespoke digital section (timing champ) combined with say a Hynes or a Teddy P L-PSU should be outstanding for any SE setup and it will be relatively reasonably priced.

QBD version is more aimed at the people with matching Chord esthetics and who need full connectivity, ie Balanced, Chord streaming compatibility, etc.

Anyone, What is your choice of music down loads and from whom , hi-res, DSD dxd? ect do you prefer.
What is your music reference recordings when you are evaluating over all performance of said product.
Reading descriptions of "natural sounding" like they are describing an all most living presence with vocals and acoustic instruments perked my attention to give digital another look.
Music server ? CD player or ? at what budget ? However the more
I read the quicker I backed off, It's all over the map though for now I settled on a used sacd player which could be sold at anytime without much or any loss.
Many could be perfectly happy with MP3 play back and hear a real natural sounding deep bass that seems to be the big turn on for some at Headfi.
I use head phones about 5 % of the time they do resolve low level detail some recordings better but this is sub way and traffic ,subtle audience noises during live recordings.
So to evaluate a particular component like the Cord which method of digital streaming / ripped music or Cd playback do you prefer to do this.?