Article: Chord Electronics QuteHD Review

[Niall]

I'm interested in any improvement in the sound from USB. It's hard to know whether to upgrade to EX from HD or get an Audiophilleo.

And now the Hugo is added to the mix!!!

[shsoh]

The Hydra-X was ordered before I evaluated the SPDIF differences, which also was a very cursory eval. The Audiobyte Hydra-X+ is considered a very good converter so I'm also excited to simply try it (and the fact that it is one of few DSD128/384k capable ones adds to the excitement).

 

Ted: Wonder if you have received the Hydra-x+ already? I think a lot of decision-making now rests upon your evaluation.

[ted_b]

Well, the Hydra-X+ indeed arrived Saturday, and I've had it in for two days. It is a very nice sounding converter (I'm running it BNC-to-BNC using a Black Cat) but it's not properly broken in yet. Also, I am communicating with Nicolae on a firmware or driver issue (DSD music has its channels swapped). Stay tuned. All will be worked out.

 

Question to you Chord owners: ahs anyone seen or found a Linux driver for the Qute series? I ask for two reasons:

1) I might play around with Daphile (Linux player) and currently I'd need to run the Hydra or Matric to be Linux friendly;

2) I will be evaluating the Auralic Aries, and it looks for a Linux friendly DAC back end (again, I;m fine but only if I use the aforementioned converters in front of the EX).

[shsoh]

Well, the Hydra-X+ indeed arrived Saturday, and I've had it in for two days. It is a very nice sounding converter (I'm running it BNC-to-BNC using a Black Cat) but it's not properly broken in yet. Also, I am communicating with Nicolae on a firmware or driver issue (DSD music has its channels swapped). Stay tuned. All will be worked out.

 

Question to you Chord owners: ahs anyone seen or found a Linux driver for the Qute series? I ask for two reasons:

1) I might play around with Daphile (Linux player) and currently I'd need to run the Hydra or Matric to be Linux friendly;

2) I will be evaluating the Auralic Aries, and it looks for a Linux friendly DAC back end (again, I;m fine but only if I use the aforementioned converters in front of the EX).

 

Regarding question (1), yes, I have run my Linux music server with the QuteHD before. To do that, I sent the DAC back to my supplier to configure the program.

[gypsykirk]

I received my Hugo on Monday there and to be honest, other than to eat, sleep and do all the excruciatingly necessary things in life, I basically haven't stopped listening to the thing. It really sounds great! I can only imagine what it will sound like in front of some serious high end kit, pretty special I should think.. Even more addictive!

I have it connected directly to my power amps, it doesn't seem to be affected by mains noise, from either the server/PC or from the charger, although I have been mostly listening without the charger plugged in and am waiting on a c.a.p.s v3 coming ( I sold my streamer) and should have a better idea then about PC noise as the PC I'm using in the meantime is a noisy old banger (admittedly with jriver 19)

I spent a weekend looking into the chat here and the reviews online etc and with some people of the opinion the Hugo is expensive (for its size which I guess it is), I on the other hand decided I wanted to strike while the iron was hot as I could only foresee a price hike in the future, unfortuNately, I didn't quite get in on time, however still think it's worth the extra outlay for the features it provides.

For me personally, I've read grumbles about the packaging, which to be fair probably isn't exactly the best but not really a concern of mine personally. My RCA fit so no problems there. I'd personally have liked the USB inputs round with the optical, coax and RCA connections and the headphone jacks with the buttons on the other side but never mind. The one thing I would probably change would be the on switch, I'd keep the sliding switch but make it an on/off lock and possibly see about making the sample rate light double as an on off, then it would be easy to operate as a stand alone dac and with the little toggle switch you could avoid inadvertently switching it off on the move. Just thought I'd post a little feedback. I won't get into the perceived sonics and leave that for anyone considering the dac to find out for themselves . It really has brought a smile to my face though and I think it probably will do for some time to come.

Cheers.

[John769]

The one thing I would probably change would be the on switch, I'd keep the sliding switch but make it an on/off lock and possibly see about making the sample rate light double as an on off, then it would be easy to operate as a stand alone dac

 

Thanks for the nice write up and congratulations on your Hugo acquisition.

 

Can you elaborate about the Hugo's suitability as a stand alone dac for everyday home use? For example, is it easy to turn on and off, adjust volume, select input, connect to the source etc, or does it have some quirks that prospective home users should be aware of?

 

Regarding PC/mains noise, it needn't be a concern because one of the usb inputs does not take any 'power over usb'. And it always runs on battery power, regardless of whether it's plugged in or not. It should therefore be permanently connected to the mains at home (trickle-charging the battery), otherwise you will unnecessarily keep recycling the battery and (in the long run) slightly reduce its lifespan.

 

Must say, it's not easy deciding between the Hugo and the EX, especially with most of the user feedback of the former coming from headphone enthusiasts. I suppose a greater ratio of folks on CA will be more interested speaker systems. That the EX's FGPA will probably be updated in the not too distant future, quite soon even, is also a factor to consider.

[jdjaye]

Wow- great review- you really are the uber-CA Geek!

[punter45]

Great review Ted. It was your review that caused me to sell my current DAC and purchase the Qute HD. Nearly all of my music is from redbook CD, so the EX didn't seem to offer me anything better. I am using the HD with a Squeezebox Touch via the BNC connection and it is absolutely stunning (did get a Teddy Pardo linear power supply as well). Keep up the good review work!

[gypsykirk]

Hi John769, thanks and yes, sure, I'd be happy to elaborate further

 

Can you elaborate about the Hugo's suitability as a stand alone dac for everyday home use? For example, is it easy to turn on and off, adjust volume, select input, connect to the source etc, or does it have some quirks that prospective home users should be aware of?

 

It's a little bit of a fiddle to turn on and off. Basically the on/off is right next to the HD USB which will likely be left plugged in if you are using the dac as a stand alone dac in a home system. It may be handy to find something suitable to leave in/on the rack to help with switching it on and off. If using coax or optical it's round the other side anyway and a fingernail should suffice. Adjusting volume is easy, in fact, i am straight into my power amps which requires me to get out my chair to adjust the volume, however this doesn't bother me and is something i was aware of before i bought the Hugo. I guess if you use an integrated or a pre/power this won't be a problem. Changing source etc is simple enough too. Like I say, I'd have liked to have seen that little on/off switch as simply an on/off lock for the dac in portable use and a larger more accessible main on/off switch for everyday use. I will be using this dac in my home system 98% of the time and using the added portable flexibility for visits home, weekends away etc.

 

 

Regarding PC/mains noise, it needn't be a concern because one of the usb inputs does not take any 'power over usb'. And it always runs on battery power, regardless of whether it's plugged in or not. It should therefore be permanently connected to the mains at home (trickle-charging the battery), otherwise you will unnecessarily keep recycling the battery and (in the long run) slightly reduce its lifespan.

 

This was another reason I went for this dac, the fact that it isn't taking power from the PC although i thought trickle charging the battery would maybe be worse for battery life, so thanks for the heads up there, i will now run with the charger plugged in.

 

I received this response from chord prior to purchase too...

 

"Thank you for contacting us about Hugo.

To answer your questions...

 

On start up the Hugo volume control is active and not only controls the

headphone jacks but also the RCA outputs so you can plug it straight into a

power amplifier. Should you wish to plug into an integrated or pre you can

turn the Hugo into a line level DAC, so , nice and versatile!

 

Yes, I would say that the Hugo is better than the Qute EX.

 

Absolutely no noise from the USB input!

 

I hope this has helped you, would you like help with your nearest dealer to

try one?"

 

Must say, it's not easy deciding between the Hugo and the EX, especially with most of the user feedback of the former coming from headphone enthusiasts. I suppose a greater ratio of folks on CA will be more interested speaker systems. That the EX's FGPA will probably be updated in the not too distant future, quite soon even, is also a factor to consider.

 

My only concerns really with this dac were having to replace the batteries in the future and not having a remote volume control. It seems with all dacs, upnp setups, streamers etc, there are pros and cons and trade offs, whether it be, can't use this software, can't use this app, can't get gapless, internet radio etc etc etc or buy this dac with ££££'s of ancillaries or buy this dac then buy this power supply, then buy this even better power supply, have you heard x with y power supply or y power supply with z.... you get the picture. For me personally, i won't go back to streaming audio, it's too much of a pain in the a%@e. I like j river and j remote so i need a dac. I'd prefer a good dac pre straight into power amps and my personal opinion is even good power supplies are affected one way or another by the mains. Part of the reason i went down the streaming route was pc noise and noise in the listening room, with the caps and the hugo i am theoretically eliminating both. I have a selection of HD PCM albums but no DSD, but it's good to know i have the ability to now play them should i so desire in the future. The trade off?? ...

No remote volume control (i'm young, i'll just get up off my chair for the time being, i can always get a pre if need be) and the probability of replacing batteries in the future....what for? endless wonderful music! For me personally, the trade off is having a better quality of listening experience, that was in theory and in practice, it's proving to be true and no doubt someone will come along and say i didn't like the hugo, or i don't like chord or the xyz dac is better or whatever but for the time being i think this little HUgo, as small and mind bendingly different as it is, is definitely worth a listen at least.

 

Cheers.

 

PS, If it opens up even more as described of the qute then I can't wait for that too!

[John769]

Hi Gypsykirk. Thanks again for the feedback!

 

Seems like we are in the minority group of those intending to use it mainly at home.

 

The operation of the unit seems fine accept, as you say, the on/off button.

 

Regarding fixed operation/ variable output, so one could have two speaker systems permanently connected; say a pair of active monitors to the RCA outs and a preamp amp to one of the 3.5mm outputs and toggle between them easily on a daily basis without any nasty surprises, such as defaulting to full volume in variable mode?

 

The captive battery will be an extra cost to replace in the future, unless one can solder or know anyone who can do it for free. But not something to worry about for a few years anyway.

 

As you say, the big advantage of the Hugo over the current Qute offerings is being off grid, plus the added transportability. I wonder if Chord might have any surprises up their sleeves if/when the do update the EX- maybe give it a battery option for off grid home use. Given all the extra space, you'd also think that the EX would have a slightly beefier output stage. Regardless, the Hugo is a very enticing proposition for its clean power and added portability!

[ted_b]

John769,

Why are you concerned about the on/off button? Don't tun off digital sources It takes 48 hours for a digital source to get back to equilibrium (clocks, etc) when powered down, so I never power down my digital stuff (nor my preamp either).

 

Gypsykirk, thanks for the great feedback on the Hugo.

[gypsykirk]

Hi again John769,

 

Regarding fixed operation/ variable output, so one could have two speaker systems permanently connected; say a pair of active monitors to the RCA outs and a preamp amp to one of the 3.5mm outputs and toggle between them easily on a daily basis without any nasty surprises, such as defaulting to full volume in variable mode?

 

I guess you could have 2 systems connected. To get the fixed output activated, you hold the crossfeed button (i think it is) when you power on, otherwise when you switch on the volume is set at about half way (yellow) where it can be adjusted to control all outputs from there. Switching inputs is simple enough and shouldn't provide any problems with connected equipment.

 

 

Gypsykirk, thanks for the great feedback on the Hugo.

No worries ted_b

 

I have always left my digital sources switched on, but must admit i have been powering the hugo down, due to it being battery operated.

I'll maybe send chord another email and see what they say to it. Can i just ask again guys, is it definitely better to leave the power supply in and trickle charging, rather than running the batteries down?

 

Cheers.

[wisnon]

Hi again John769,

 

 

 

I guess you could have 2 systems connected. To get the fixed output activated, you hold the crossfeed button (i think it is) when you power on, otherwise when you switch on the volume is set at about half way (yellow) where it can be adjusted to control all outputs from there. Switching inputs is simple enough and shouldn't provide any problems with connected equipment.

 

 

No worries ted_b

 

I have always left my digital sources switched on, but must admit i have been powering the hugo down, due to it being battery operated.

I'll maybe send chord another email and see what they say to it. Can i just ask again guys, is it definitely better to leave the power supply in and trickle charging, rather than running the batteries down?

 

Cheers.

 

Dont know if the Hugo sufferes from the mirror effect, but before it was best to occasionally drain battereies to "train" them to retain full capacity. otherwise they would gradially have diminished capacity to hold a charge…the 12 hours could end up being just 6 hours after a while, if always left fully charged.

[gypsykirk]

Dont know if the Hugo sufferes from the mirror effect, but before it was best to occasionally drain battereies to "train" them to retain full capacity. otherwise they would gradially have diminished capacity to hold a charge…the 12 hours could end up being just 6 hours after a while, if always left fully charged.

 

Yeah, for some reason I have it in my head that I should let my phone completely run out of charge about once a month which I generally do. I'm sure I read this somewhere on previous iPhone instructions and have just continued to do so. I've emailed chord again, so hopefully will get some clarification from them on it.

[John769]

GypsyK

 

Matt at Chord said:

 

"Hugo always runs on battery power to keep is isolated from the mains. However the batteries have a managed charging circuit so they can be left plugged in and charging permanently.

 

We use Lithium Ion batteries which are much better suited to constant charging and do not have a 'memory' effect like other batteries. Whilst on constant charge in a fixed system you are only trickle charging the battery to keep it topped up so the battery is not being cycled. It is only when the battery has to charge from completely flat each time that this counts as a cycle and even then you will have years of use. I wouldn't say that the battery is user replaceable as you need to solder the connections in place but any technician could do the job."

 

The fact the battery has no memory effect means there is no need to calibrate it, I assume.

 

Cheers,

[wisnon]

Nice! Good news.

[gypsykirk]

GypsyK

 

Matt at Chord said:

 

"Hugo always runs on battery power to keep is isolated from the mains. However the batteries have a managed charging circuit so they can be left plugged in and charging permanently.

 

We use Lithium Ion batteries which are much better suited to constant charging and do not have a 'memory' effect like other batteries. Whilst on constant charge in a fixed system you are only trickle charging the battery to keep it topped up so the battery is not being cycled. It is only when the battery has to charge from completely flat each time that this counts as a cycle and even then you will have years of use. I wouldn't say that the battery is user replaceable as you need to solder the connections in place but any technician could do the job."

 

The fact the battery has no memory effect means there is no need to calibrate it, I assume.

 

Cheers,

 

Excellent, I received something very similar from Colin this morning too.. All good then!

[John769]

Comparo between the Hugo and Lavry DA11 on headfi:

 

The comparison between the Lavry and Hugo was fairly close. There were times the switch would be thrown and I had no idea which DAC we were coming/going to. I found like the Lavry that the Hugo was nicely balanced and didn't do anything that annoyed me. The Hugo on some passages seemed to give me more details that the Lavry. When the Lavry sometimes can sounds a bit flat, the Hugo sounded an bit more lively and had a more delicate touch. In general I had a slight preference to the tonal balance of the Lavry, especially when listening to vocalists... there was a richness and weight which was sometimes missing from the Hugo in the mid-range. Occasionally the Hugo seems spot on while the Lavry's seemed a bit damped down almost like a slight veil. The Hugo seemed to be a bit tighter in the bass.

 

All in all, the Hugo impressed me. While different than the Lavry, I would say it was in the same league with personal preference leading someone to favor one over the other which is impressive given how portable it is, and that it is single ended, while the Lavry to HD800 was a fully balanced path. On the other hand, you certainly pay for the portability. Oh. one other thing in the Chord favor, it's USB implementation seemed the best of any DAC (other than the DragonFly) I have tried. I never had a problem connecting... it just worked

 

Surprising really, what with all the hype, I'd have expected these new Chord FPGA dacs to have the clear edge over the 2009 Lavry.

 

BTW, has anyone here actually listened to and compared the Hugo and Ex?

[sig8]

Great review Richard, and so thorough, it Saves me repeating a lot of the gripes :-) and acres of typing!

to cut a long story short, I've listened to an early Hugo too, that a friend has acquired, pitched against my well - burned in EX and his superb Auralic Vega, the cons that you describe so well , are intensely irritating, but the sound,..............

 

Absolutely, stunning!!! I've heard it through his JK splitter and USB and I agree, that it sounds better through SPDIF, I think it matches the Vega, but matching the MSB, that's even more amazing!

 

So I've obliterated the piggy bank and ordered one ( the Hugo that is) It's meant to be coming next week and the casework issue has meant to be fixed in this batch ( I'll give a heads-up when it arrives, if this is the case! ) Pun not intended!

 

re the Home DAC, I'm still hoping they ( as Chord have hinted) will give an at cost motherboard upgrade to EX and HD, to avoid making them completely redundant!

 

I am considering getting a Hugo. I have an Auralic Vega. In your opinion how Hugo compares to Vega in DSD and PCM. Thanks.

[Niall]

"re the Home DAC, I'm still hoping they ( as Chord have hinted) will give an at cost motherboard upgrade to EX and HD, to avoid making them completely redundant!"

 

 

I'm just wondering where Chord have hinted at this as it would be a sensible upgrade.

 

When I emailed them about upgrades I got this response:

 

'The Qute upgrade from HD to EX is 200.00 GBP plus shipping. You can either return the Qute to your retailer or send directly to us here at the Pumphouse. Turnaround is usually about a week.

The Hugo is a totally different concept and design. It is a portable device designed primarily for music on the move through headphones whereas the Qute is designed purely as a high-end stand-alone Hi-Fi source component.'

 

which suggests otherwise.

 

Thanks to all for the really informative reviews and views

[John769]

I'm just wondering where Chord have hinted at this as it would be a sensible upgrade.

 

Asked recently if the EX might be upgraded to Hugo specs, Matt at Chord said "Yes this would make sense. However we are concentrating on Hugo first before we make any other changes."

[Niall]

Asked recently if the EX might be upgraded to Hugo specs, Matt at Chord said "Yes this would make sense. However we are concentrating on Hugo first before we make any other changes."

 

Many thanks for the swift reply.

It would now seem that upgrading the Qute to Ex standards would be a mistake if a more significant upgrade is in the (not too distant) pipeline.

[John769]

yup, might be an idea to hold off a bit on that. I've decided, finally, not to buy the Hugo and have cancelled my order. Main reason: I was never going to use it much outside.

[aumamp]

Last month, I placed a review of the Chord Hugo on both the Head-Fi forum and the ComputerAudiophile forum for Hugos received in the first North American shipment from Chord. I had concerns about chassis issues but was blown away by the stellar audio quality of the Hugo.

 

I received my 2nd shipment of Hugos a little more than a week ago and finally had the time needed to do a detailed review.

 

Because I only had my personal Hugo (one received in February) for not much more than a day, I couldn't do the testing back then to provide a really detailed review. A client of mine talked me out of my February shipment personal Hugo and I had to wait until the 2nd shipment of Hugo's arrived in the March shipment before completing the review.

 

Now that I've had my Hugo powered on for well over a week, I am able to share some of the observations and solutions that lead toward gaining the absolute best audio quality from the Hugo.

 

Improving DC power inside the Hugo will take its audio quality to an even higher level than what most new Hugo owners have experienced to date. I felt it was important to share this with forum members but my review is way too large to post it here in it's entirety. It's equivalent to 12 typed pages.

 

Instead, I'll provide you with a link below that will point you to my web page where I've included the full review in considerable detail:

 

http://www.aumacoustics.com/my_second_hugo_review.html

 

In summary, I can share with you that the Chord Hugo, powered by a custom USB power supply, run through an Audiophilleo AP2 converter, a 1.5 meter SPIDF cable and then into the SPIDF RCA jack of the Hugo provides the absolute best sound quality that the Hugo is capable of producing. Adding this additional chain of components is well worth the investment and the resulting sound quality is 2nd to none.

 

In addition, the digital volume control in the Hugo is absolutely perfect. It doesn't drop bits like my Auralic Vega did and can be used way down into the lowest volume settings without taking a sound quality hit. I've included some technical info that Robert Watts has shared with me regrading the design of this volume control. It's included within the review.

 

If you have a Hugo, you owe it to yourself to acquire a DC power supply and AP2 converter. In my opinion, these additional components vastly outperform the Hugo's HD USB port, so much so, that there is no comparison. In addition, to making the music sound so exquisitely analog and very musical (very much like listening to vinyl), details and dynamic swings are incredible and balanced throughout the entire audio frequency spectrum. Not only does this make a speaker based system sound better, but it also improves headphone sound quality substantially.

 

Let me know if I can answer any questions that you might have after you've read my review. Thanks again for the opportunity to share valuable information regarding the new Chord.

 

Richard Becker

Aum Acoustics

http://www.aumacoustics.com

[John769]

Nice post Richard.

 

The key here is not improving the signal quality over the HD USB port but rather using SPIDF as an entry into the DAC and a means to pass on improved DC power that can't get through the HD USB port.

 

According to Chord, the Hugo always runs on battery power to keep is isolated from the mains, which would imply that you cannot pass on DC power in the way that you suggest- via USB or SPDIF.

 

There have been reports from yourself and one or two others that, via usb, the Hugo sounds very slightly better when plugged in. Possibly, though, this is due to improved 'grounding' rather than fully passing on power. It would be interesting to compare the stock charger to the a linear in that regards.