Chord Electronics
Chord Hugo TT 2 – DAC, preamplifier, and headphone amplifier
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The Chord Hugo TT 2 is undoubtedly one of the best external DACs in the world. This undoubtedly means "according to all testers, enthusiasts, reviewers, journalists, and HiFi enthusiasts." Chord Electronics is the undisputed world leader in digital music, the finest DAC manufacturer in the world. Building on these roots, the Hugo TT 2 is superior in absolute performance to the already iconic Mojo 2, Qutest, and Hugo 2. Each Chord offering actually responds to a specific need, feature set, and usability concept. Thus, every musical need and budget can be met with a Chord DAC: the ultimate in the world.
Hugo TT 2 was designed from the ground up and offers – neatly hidden in the classic chassis designed by John Franks – remarkable processing power. Specifically, this DAC offers double the resolution of the award-winning Hugo 2.
Excellent performance
As you might expect, the Hugo TT 2 offers impressive specifications and is a reference device for PCM 768kHz and DSD 512 playback. The Hugo TT 2 effectively sets a new benchmark in tabletop audio, eclipsed only by the DAVE.
Brute power and optimization
Digging deeper, compared to the 256-tap filters that traditional chipset DACs can run on, the beating heart of the Hugo TT 2 is a powerful Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA, coded by Rob Watts of Chord Electronics with 86 208MHz cores running in parallel. The result is an impressive resolution capability of 98,304 taps. That’s double that of its already impressive, award-winning portable sibling, the Hugo 2 (49,152 taps).
Discrete output stage
The Hugo TT2 employs a brand new discrete high-power output stage and integrates a second-order noise reduction filter, all of which significantly reduces distortion. Remarkable refinement is also found in the power delivery. The Hugo TT 2 features six super capacitors capable of delivering enormous linear dynamic currents when the music demands it, with a peak output of 5A, 9.3V RMS.
Chord Filters and EQs
The Hugo TT 2 offers the much-loved equalization profiles already seen in the Hugo 2 and retains the three-stage digital crossfeed function that allows for improved depth perception during headphone listening sessions.
Hugo TT 2 delivers incredible performance. The most demanding users can further increase performance by adding M Scaler, the 1M-tap digital upscaling device (one million taps).
Very Chord Interface
That Hugo 2 is manufactured by Chord Electronics is a given. The entire design, and above all the interface with its famous spherical, colored control buttons, is a real highlight. The Power button offers five colors to indicate the charging status, while the Filter button offers four color indications. The Input button shows six different states, and finally the X-PHD button has four different color options. On the top of the DAC is the rotary control—dedicated to volume—which changes color depending on the selected level. Finally, the “porthole” window allows you to observe the inside of the DAC and lights up in eleven different shades to indicate the sampling rate of the incoming digital signal.
Compatibility Apple, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux
Hugo 2 can be used with virtually any device on the market and with any operating system, from Android to iOS, through Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Input Connections
The Hugo TT 2 offers a comprehensive range of connectivity options. It features a USB input, two optical inputs, and two BNC coaxial inputs. For maximum convenience, although this DAC is capable of handling signals of much greater range and complexity, it also features an AptX Bluetooth connection.
Output Connections
In terms of output signals, there are three headphone outputs on the front panel; the unit has no problem driving multiple headphones simultaneously. On the back are balanced RCA and XLR analog connections.
Hugo TT 2 + Hugo M Scaler = Maximum resolution
Chord Hugo M Scaler is a highly advanced upscaler capable of redefining the sound quality of digital audio. It uses Rob Watts's patented, state-of-the-art filtering technology to upscale digital audio from 44.1 kHz to 768 kHz, 16 times the resolution of native CD. The signal refined by the M Scaler will be decoded by the Hugo TT2 DAC.
The Hugo M Scaler brings the benefits of revolutionary FPGA-based WTA (Watts Transient Alignment) filtering technology to digital HiFi chains. The result is a significant improvement in the sound quality of connected audio devices.
How does Chord's desktop audio DAC sound?
The performance of the Hugo TT 2 is always remarkable and increases as the quality of the input signal increases. As mentioned, this DAC also offers an aptX Bluetooth input. From the point of view of the pure BT signal, this implementation is perfect, and the sound produced by Hugo is absolutely valid. Of course, any HiFi or High End level wired connection will be superior, but the sound resulting from this connection is already praiseworthy. Naturally, the BT connection is an “extra”. A DAC of the cost and pedigree of the Hugo TT 2 is used 99% to decode files from USB or coaxial connection. In this case, it can be successfully paired with a PC or Mac. When used with HiFi connections (and files) worthy of the name, the Chord DAC proves to be a war machine, capable of defeating all competition in terms of resolution capacity, coherence, openness, depth, and dynamics. Digital music becomes more material and real than ever with the Hugo TT 2. Even with complex and challenging orchestral pieces, the musical imaging and separation are nothing short of excellent. The Hugo TT 2 delivers a layered and precise soundstage, capable of separating and positioning instruments in an astonishing way. It's precisely with particularly complex musical pieces that Crossfeed offers the greatest advantages, delivering a convincing stereo image even when listening with headphones, similar to that achieved with speakers.
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Color:Black
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The love of good music
Who we are
We chose this business out of passion, and we continue it with passion. Our experience in music reproduction and live music constantly guides us in the choices we make regarding the products we select for you.