Chord Electronics Hugo TT2
Traditional British Politeness…
The Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 is an AIO DAC/Amplifier the resides just below Chord’s top model, the Dave.
Under the hood…
Taken directly from Chord’s website:
As expected, it delivers radically improved technical specifications and measurements across the board and exhibits drastic sonic benefits over its predecessor with 768kHz PCM and DSD 512 playback. Hugo TT 2 sets a new benchmark in table top audio, only being eclipsed by DAVE.
Delving deeper, in comparison to the 256-tap filters that traditional chip DACs may run at, Hugo TT 2’s beating heart is a powerful Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA, custom-coded by Chord Electronics’ Rob Watts, with 86x 208MHz cores running in parallel to create an advanced 16FS WTA 1 filter with 98,304-taps. Double that of its multi-award winning transportable brother, Hugo 2 (49,152). Hugo TT 2 also benefits from an upgrade from a 4-element design to a 10-element design, which works in harmony with the radically upgraded FPGA and code to deliver unrivalled audio.
A brand new high-power discreet output stage coupled with second-order noise-shaping integrated between the DAC output and filter is also employed to massively reduce distortion. Further improvements have also been made to the power delivery. Hugo TT 2 eschews the Li-Po battery power supply of the original and ushers in six super capacitors capable of delivering huge, linear dynamic currents when the music demands it with peak output of 5A, 9.3V RMS.
For further information on technical specifications:
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugott2/
Build like a British Tank, but better…
The Hugo TT2 exemplifies quality through, and through. From the weighted, milled aluminum body, to the solid connectors, the TT2 exudes quality. The styling is tastefully done while still exhibiting Chord’s design language without overdoing so, as they have with other models in the Chord range ( cough, cough…, Dave) .
The listener is treated to the usual Chord light show via the aspherical window atop the unit that gives a view to the internals where the Chord magic happens, displaying sample rate of the incoming signal, and from the large opaque volume ‘ marble ’ that indicates volume level via a spectrum of colors (incidentally, most of my listening was done at Green to Turquoise or typically 30 ).
One thing I’d like to point out here was the complete and utter satisfaction from the simple act of plugging and unplugging headphones from either of the 1/4” headphone jacks (dual 1/4” are supplied along with an additional 3.5mm out front). It had the smoothest, and most delicate feel that also managed to convey assurance that the connector properly seated. A fantastic feat that precluded the listening experience to come.
Yeah, but how does it sound…?
The majority of my listening was done by Tidal (Master) streamed to a Bluesound Node 2i connected to the Hugo TT2 via TOSLINK. I also did a short listening session of the TT2 connected via usb to a 2011 Mac mini of both Tidal, and iTunes, along with with local library content comprised mostly of flac, aac, and some wave files. The TT2 was set at LO G (low gain) as that was more than sufficient to drive the headphones used for the review. Filter option was incisive neutral (filter 1 ), and no other options were selected (crossfeed was left off).
I primarily conducted my listening through the Focal Clear Pro , but I also dedicated a day each to an Audeze LCD-X, and a fully Lawton-modded Fostex TH610 . For giggles I tried out the Koss Porta Pro via the 3.5mm (it was a very Porta Pro experience ).
Timbre-
The ability of the TT2 to reproduce sound in a natural, and mostly organic way is one of its strengths.
One of my go-to songs for voice is All at Once, Jack Johnson . Such a fantastic singer/songwriter who’s music always has the ability to ‘right the world’ for me, and to always elevate my mood. Here Jack’s voice is presented faithful, and accurately. Sweet and soothing as usual, but with an added “smoothness” to the sound.
On “audiophile” favorite Diana Krall’s Sway , we again are shown the ability to reproduce sounds in a very natural sounding way. Her close-to-the-mic style comes across as breathy as usual, and we can still hear the not-so nuanced details such as her somewhat dry mouthed lip-smacking (not a knock, I enjoy this song. Just an observation)
Detail, Transients, and Soundstage-
This is probably the easiest and hardest of categories to assess. On the one hand the TT2 displays tremendous detail, allowing seemingly all of the elements through, but in a contrarian manner it tends to smooth out sounds in what appears to be the upper registers. Similar to how a DNR filter does in removing not only grain, but detail as well. It’s a difficult task that’s nearly impossible to truly separate the two, as often times they’re one in the same.
On the other hand the transients are displayed in a quick, yet extended way. How is this possible with the Chord’s apparent smoothing? The answer is that I don’t know how, but I am hearing the things I describe, and it also yields a dead-silent, black background.
The soundstage is the most impressive aspect of the TT2. It’s beautifully extended, and presents this wonderful air-like quality that truly gives one that in-the-room experience. It easily and precisely pings the targets on the screen. It’s fantastic.
On Paul McCartney’s Jenny Wren we’re treated to excellent staging, transients, and far reaching decay. The echo of the guitar plucks ring in the sweetest, and widest of ways extending far into the ether… the stage is so fantastically wide. Even on the the more intimate presentation of the Clear, it sounds fairly wide.
A fun song such as Intergalactic by Beastie Boys , lends to a fantastic experience. Particularly the first 30 seconds of the song where we hear a synthesized robot-like voice that appears to resonate beyond the auditory horizon. All this while a high pitched “chirp” pans back and forth from left to right. So many sonic elements are found on this track and it always captivates. And dat’ bass…right?!
Highs and Lows-
Sonic Youth’s The Diamond Sea is a sweet little melancholy gem from an iconic alternative-indie rock band. The track opens with a whammy guitar effect that comes across as slightly muted. Guitar amp buzzes along with distorted guitars are also smoothed over and muted. They extend and are portrayed, but in an unnatural way.
The first thing I noticed upon listening to the TT2 was how utterly smooth it is. There’s plenty of detail, but it’s delivered in a non-offensive way. I threw several genres at the TT2 and never ever sounded harsh. Even tracks that I won’t list here because most “audiophiles” would scoff, but I’m talking some pretty gnarly stuff.
Ritual Union by Little Dragon offers some sparkly synth sounds, such as keyboard cymbals, which tended to lack their grit, but extended well in the soundstage. The bass is absolutely present and displayed fairly accurately.
The bass in general is well portrayed no matter what genre. It was polite, and never invaded into upper frequency ranges.
But those XLRs on the rear…?-
So this is where things get interesting. I decided to try out the TT2 in DAC mode by connecting my modest but fun little Rupert Neve Designs RNHP Headphone amplifier via the TT2’s XLR output.
Immediately I noticed the lack of soundstage and depth that the TT2’s amplifier has. It’s no contest. The TT2 is the soundstage king. What I also noticed is how much more engaged I was listening to the TT2’s DAC via the RNHP. It was punchy, extended, and just a pleasure to listen to. I had that joy and constant smiling that I wasn’t experiencing via the TT2 on it’s own.
I respect what it was doing right, but it just wasn’t complete. Then I started a/b-ing the two amps, which was quick and painless with the TT2’s lightning responsiveness to switching modes between amp and dac. It was very fast and never skipped a bit or sputtered in the slightest. A very well executed preamp/dac implementation.
I continued going back and forth between the two amps and what became apparent was a somewhat lack in dynamics from the TT2’s amplifier. The other thing I noticed was a slightly elevated presence in detail when using the RNHP. It lead me to the conclusion that the DAC section of the Chord was slightly smoothing out details in tracks, such as the grain of older recordings, or the buzz of a guitar amplifier. On its own as a DAC this wasn’t so bad as it still managed to present most details, but what I also noticed was that the amplifier in the TT2, although powerful and beautifully wide-staged, was compounding the smoothing effect I was hearing.
The result was a much more engaging listen via the RNHP and I can only imagine how much more enjoyable it could be with a better, more capable amplifier such as SPL’s Phonitor series, or Violectric’s V200 series of amplifiers. Or a competent tube amplifier for that matter.
Conclusion-
My time spent with the Hugo TT2 was an eye-opening, and pleasurable experience. It demonstrated what a TOTL piece of kit such as the TT2 is capable of. Whether it be its fantastic build, its immense soundstage, or its ease of use. It’s a great AIO that for the most part, is deserving of Chord’s reputation.
It was however just a bit un-engaging for my preference. I like a little more dynamic punch that better represents the ‘ feel ’ of a live performance, and not just sound of the notes that are played. I’m left with a great curiosity as to what the benefits are of adding the Chord M Scaler to the TT2 or the simpler Qutest as well.
I think the TT2 would pair well with brighter, Diffuse-Field Headphones such as many of the TOTL headphones that are tuned to it. If this is intentional, or just a byproduct of Rob Watt’s design I do not know. My suspicion is that it’s the former, but that’s just my opinion as this entire review is.
If I were to invest the amount of money that’s required to purchase a TT2, and it was the Chord ‘sound’ I was after, then I wouldn’t be too hesitant, but I would definitely want to hear what the Qutest paired with the M Scaler sounds like first before making a decision because of my preference towards dynamics.
Ultimately, no I probably wouldn’t buy a TT2, but I’m definitely considering a Qutest if that’s any indication of my experience with the Chord AIO.
A friend asked me of my initial impressions of the TT2, and that still holds true at the end of my time with it:
“So it’s pretty damned good. Oddly enough the word that comes to mind is “polite”, which is very British. I think that word is standing out to me because it’s a very pleasant sound, kind of like what smooth is aspiring to be…”
-Christopher Luckenbach
I’d like to thank Todd Green aka Todd The Vinyl Junkie of ttvjaudio.com for allowing me to participate in the Chord Hugo TT2 tour, and a special thanks to Jeremy @jb77 for inviting me onto the tour. I truly appreciated it.