The General Advice/Questions Thread

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I own Focal Clear MGs and Celestees and have a ZMF Aeolus being assembled as we speak.

I also have an ampsandsound Kenzie Ovation on order.

Where I may be falling short is my DAC and solid state headphone amp, which are the perfectly fine Topping D90/A90 pair.

Which makes me wonder if I’d see a big performance boost (in this chain) from the ChordHugo 2 TT DAC/amp. I keep circling around insanely positive reviews and community posts, and wonder if that would elevate the performance of my headphones and tube amp, as well as being an upgrade over my current DAC and solid state amp.

The Toppings are certainly well-reviewed and seem like strong contributors to me, but i can’t say they’re revelatory and I can’t help but feel that the Chord would put me over the top.

Am I on the right track?

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Heyo!

So, to start, you’ve got some sweet gear, and it’s certainly hard to say you’re doing anything “wrong”. That said, if your main question is whether or not you’d notice a difference with a DAC upgrade (e.g. to the Chord TT 2), then the short answer is “yes, absolutely you would.”

I don’t own all the same gear you do, and have not heard a Topping D90, but I own some similar gear to that mentioned. My only “legit” headphone is the Focal Utopia (so, pretty darn close to your Clear MG), and I own all of the Chord DACs except the TT2.

Anyway, let me put things this way. Your headphones are absolutely resolving enough to take advantage of a better output from a DAC. At the end of the day, all an amp can hope to do is, well, amplify the signal out of your DAC without losing too much in the process, and perhaps add a bit of (desirable) coloration, whatever that means for you. However, an amp cannot deliver what isn’t there. You need to start with good raw ingredients (your source files), but your DAC is the cook in your system, and no matter how pretty the plate and presentation (amp) is, what’s on the plate in the first place should be as tasty as possible. I don’t know your sonic preferences in detail, so I won’t sit here and tell you that Chord is the only way to go, but if you’re looking for a meaningful upgrade in your chain, the DAC isn’t a bad place to start. The Hugo TT2 is absolutely killer.

Here’s a review that compares the D90 to the Chord Qutest (one step down from the TT2): Topping D90 Review - Headfonia Reviews

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269

Chord Hugo TT $5495.00, Holo Audio May KTE $4998. I know what I’d do. Sell the Topping duo and maybe a Focal. Get another SS amp, BHA 1 or the lesser known Black Amp, and the Holo May. And if you must, spend a little more and get a LTA HP2, lifts all veils and boundaries and it is a CLOSED headphone with excellent isolation.

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270

Haven’t heard this one myself, but there’s a ton of buzz about it around these here parts! Certainly worth an audition and comparison once you’re in that price area. :slight_smile:

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271

Yes. Good advice offered. If upgrading to the stated DACs, your headphones may then be the weak link in your chain. One approach is to get a DAC at the Spring 3 KTE or Yggy A2 or Qutest level, and then flip your current headphones to ones higher up the Focal and ZMF lines. There are different approaches and philosophies.

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272

This is a filthy hobby, isn’t it? :grin:

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Lol - I was considering saying the same thing, but didn’t want to make this too much upgrading at once :joy:

But agreed w/ @bpcarb

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274

It can be! Sometimes we can over-complicate things :smile:. I tend to think of things in terms of how to get the most out of your dollar. Sometimes it’s not worth the time and effort, everyone is different.

High five!

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275

It sounds as though there are two lines of thought here. On the one hand there’s the question of the optimal sources for your current headphones. On the other is the question of the optimal setup for you.

Do you really want to invest in a DAC that costs as much as all your headphones combined? Is that I reasonable balance in investing in your system? I can’t answer that for you.

What’s your budget?
I assume you don’t need an all-in-one unit, like the Chord TT2, since you’ve got the Ovation on order. Why the Chord TT2, then, and not a standalone DAC?
Do you want to keep all three headphones?

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276

Agreed. If you just need a DAC and want to stay with Chord you can get a Qutest or 2Qute (sp)? on the used market for much less. Those are fantastic dacs that would have similar profile amd sq to a Hugo.

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277

I was thinking TT2 as a means of both strengthening/improving the DAC but also the solid-state headphone amp option. I don’t assume that I’m always going to go tube when listening to my headphones, so thought a strong headphone amp combined with the DAC would be the way to go. Not a good thought?

Re: headphones, I will keep the Clear MGs (love them) and the Celestees (need a closed-back for when I commute/travel).

I do think it’s odd to spend more on the DAC than the headphones taking advantage of it, but I also think I can stand to improve the perfectly-nice Topping D90 with something better.

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The TT2 is a great DAC, with a very good headphone amp attached. I think it would work perfectly for what you are looking at, as a solid state amp in a system that also has a very good tube alternative.

My electronics are also far more expensive than my headphones. I’m not sure why it doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t. There just aren’t that many statement level headphones that interest me, but lots of electronics do.

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279

That makes perfect sense! Sorry, I hadn’t thought of that.

I think there’s something to be said for having a versatile set of sources that could work well for a wide range of headphones. It sounds as though you’ll have a great foundation for lots of headphones, if you decide to explore in different directions!

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Ive seen rigs that cost over 10K where 650s are the main can. Magic can happen at any price point. There’s such an interdependence on all the factors involved that Im not sure if I fully buy in to the the idea that the can comes first re dollars spent. If you like the can you have then upgrade the rest around it, perfectly reasonable.

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281

Agreed. Also, fit and comfort are so hard to know and personal that it’s harder to blind buy a headphone during covid than an amp.

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282

It can definitely get expensive!:scream:

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Any thoughts, from you or the broader community, as to whether the TT2 is worth the (expensive) additional cost when compared to the Hugo 2? I don’t even want to think about the M Scaler, certainly for now and hopefully forever…

Put another way, am I better with the Hugo 2 and a different solid-state headphone amp (in which case, any separate recommendations on the amp), or is the integrated package the way to go?

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I happen to be sitting next to both, and am trying to decide which to keep. (no m-scaler)

If ergonomics are an issue, the TT2 is worth all the pennies. Using the Hugo2 makes me want to smash things. Using the TT2 makes me want to play with the volume marble. It’s a huge difference, which, if you are using it everyday, may be worth at least part of the price.

On sound alone, (here comes the controversy) if I only listen to rock, I would not pay for the upgrade. I strain and strain to hear differences, but on 95% or more of what I tried (am trying) in the indie rock, folk, electronic, hard rock, classic rock and pop genres, I’ll be damned if I hear hear anything reliably.

For well recorded classical, jazz, and the tiny bit of rock that qualifies, there is a difference. It is in my ears, better. Is it worth double or more? I can’t answer that for you. I’m struggling to answer that to myself. The price/performance ratio has hit the steep part of the bathtub curve here.

But yeah, listening to some small combos and quartets I have been digging on lately, it’s real. It is actually, the finest sound I have ever had in my house. Clsing my eyes it sounds like real instruments, not recordings. I don’t have an audiophile dictionary handy, so I won’t be talking about why. I’m still struggling with why. Had my wife A/B the input switch between the two, and I got 9/10 right by listening to the “body” of a note. The decay, sustain, resonance, and detail within.

As always, my advice is worth what you paid for it, and is disclaimered by the following: All opinions and positions are mine, if you do not like them, please feel free to get your own. :smiley:

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285

This is hugely helpful, thanks. My musical interests are pretty wide, with growing interest in jazz (wow, so many of those 1950s/60s recordings are amazing).

Where I’m landing is that I can use an upgrade in both solid-state DAC and amp, so the TT might be the way to go, since certainly the cost of a Hugo2 and a separate amp of similar quality might land me in the same cost neighborhood, and this way I get the TT2 experience.

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286

My recommendation is to buy the TT2, and a DNA tube amp. The DNA amps are so in demand that it will take more than a year to get it. This allows you to say you are a tube aficionado, without actually suffering the pain in the butt that tube amps are.

(Kidding?)

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