Indeed, it depends on the individual’s ears, how resolving the rest of is, and whether the room muddies things. I don’t know about ND5XS2 and the original Hugo, or Hugo 2, or Qutest, but Hugo 1 made a distinctly noticeable difference to ND5XS (to me, in my system and room), and others have said similar. Whether that is preferred by any individual depends, of course, on their taste in how the music sounds, and what other factors affect their choice… The only way to know is to hear.
Well, it also has a very good headphone amp. And it does work well in a full system. However there is the Qutest, the non-portable version, though I don’t know how that and Hugo 2 compare - the old equivalent Qute was said to sound a bit different, maybe not quite as good as, the original Hugo.
How are you getting along? Perhaps share some comparisons whilst referring to pieces of music of the ND5XS2 compared to the Hugo2.
Just remember to properly source ground your NAC if using only your Hugo2.
I am interested, as I found the Hugo2 less able and natural compared to the Hugo that I am used to… so interested to hear how you get on … the original Hugo was perhaps a fluke in its incredible performance, but is irrelevant as is now replaced… so onwards with your Hugo2… so do share…
Simon, could I add a line or two. I mentioned a few weeks back that I had the BNC digital out of my ND 555 feeding a Hugo2. For a while I was going back and forth between the
built in DAC and the Hiugo2 but for the past week I have stayed with the Hugo2. I am enjoying it so much I’m reluctant to return to the internal DAC. Recounting my listening experience is too complex a matter to cover easily, it would take a while, though I might reveal it bit by bit over the coming weeks. I want to add a Hugo M Scaler into the mix but getting hold on one is no easy task, I have been waiting seven weeks now and still there is no sign of my order turning up.
A couple of brief listening things. I have been listening to a good deal of classical chamber music with the Hugo2 in place, Debussy, Brahms, Bartok, violin, piano, cello, flute, harp and Bach solo violin, and I adore what happens through the H2 with this music. At the best of times there is a sort of lustrous glow and fluidity to what I hear. All traces if previously heard digital edginess are gone. I think all this musical beauty is a product of what is going in with the ND 555/Hugo2 in combination. What I have heard through the ND 555 alone is wonderful too but I would need to go back to it without the H2 and report again from there. But I’m loving too much whatever it is the H2 adds to be pulled back to ND 555 just yet. Other music I am listening to is live Bob Dylan, the Lucinda Williams song Louisana Story, The Gloaming 3, and Natalie Merchant self titled album. The H2 sound I describe above can be heard to some extent in this music but in a different way, even different ways. Also, I think my ears and listening mind are only at the beginnings of this journey of discerning how things sound differently with the H2, and this is so even when dedicating several hours a day to opening up the discovery. I’ll keep on keeping on …
I have a long week’s wait until the BNC<->3.5mm cable arrives to connect the ND5 XS2 to the HUGO2.
I bought the ND5 XS2 at Xmas on that auction site for £1,600, and the
HUGO2 for £1,300 via the same route. My aim being to get at /near NDX2 levels without spending £5,000 plus Power-line.
My setup is certainly not for a Naim purist , but it works well for me .
Currently I am only listening to the HUGO2 receiving a stream from the TIDAL app sent from a basic Samsung A5 Android phone over Bluetooth and then into my TMA AV32R. So not yet using the digital out from the ND5 into the H2.
All sources go into a venerable, but lightly used, TAG McLaren (TMA) AV32R pre/processor. For comparison I have routed the analogue outs from the H2 and ND5 (alternately for the comparison) into the Bypass inputs meant for SACD & Bluray, which avoid the ADC-DAC route that the other analogue inputs take inside the AV32R, I.e. using it as a pure pre-amp.
The power amps are TMA 125M monoblocs (recently recapped) and biwired into Linn Majik 109 standmounts. All interconnects are Chord Clearway or Linn Silver. Power is via MCRU Distribution blocks and Isotek Evo cables (no noise suppression used).
So far I have listened to femal vocals (Adele - esp. ‘Hello’ - a real test, London Grammar, The Mummers), rock(Santana, Yes) and blues (John Lee Hooker) on the H2.
The plain H2 just brings out a greater musicality and dynamic range from the TIDAL stream, even with the Bluetooth/phone, than the ALREADY EXCELLENT ND5 XS2.
I am anticipating with interest the ability to link the ND5 to the H2. I listen to the superb Radio Paradise 320khz stream on the ND5 XS2 and I expect a lot from this when the time comes…
Forgive the question, but when people reference the hugo 2 in this thread, is it the hugo 2 or the tt2? Are people getting the same good results with the smaller unit?
Thanks for sharing. Yes I too prefer the original Hugo over the ND555 DAC stage… although I have not compared the Hugo2…
Carry on enjoying … I do feel the Chord Electronics (Rob Watts) reconstruction methods gives me more insight than the Texas Instruments converters Naim use, they are very different approaches, and it appears it’s the same for you. I just smile to think what a Rob Watts reconstruction chain coupled with a Naim transport and analogue output filter might bring… perhaps one day? But would I be able to afford it
The ND555 is good, but I remember listening to a prototype, and it has stayed the same ever since… it does appear to have that distinctive ‘grounded’ PCM1704K character… don’t get me wrong I enjoy the converter… I like it in my CDX2 for example… but for me ultimately the PCM1704K icuts off too quickly on being able to listen into the recording… but tonally and for impact the ND555 is impressive… just not the insight and ‘Mandelbrot effect’ of the Hugo converter. (For me)
i read the review on the hugo tt2/ mscaler combo in Audiophile style site. The reviewer, in general, preferred the chord combo vs the similarly priced ayre qx twenty. But on music with rythm and groove, the reviewer found the ayre dac more enthusiastic and alive.
The chord combo majors on details, separation of instruments, voices, and soundstage.
Some here have tried the hugo on nd555, some preferred the bare nd555 and other the hugo on the naim streamer.
Perhaps it depends on the style of music we listen to?
Possibly or how more likely how we hear music. Get severeal people in a room and listen to a high end system… there will be a diversity of views of what is good and less good in what you are jointly listening to. I have experienced this many times including Naim listening sessions at Salisbury.
For me the Hugo excels at pace and rhythm for example in an even neutral way, but others may appreciate other attributes or none at all of that DAC. My CDX2 excels at pace and rhythm in a coloured way… but I enjoy it’s colourings for certain types of music. For me the ND555 leans more to the even handed approach to pace and rhythm.
So ND555 is a good Transport for a 1000£ dac -qutest being the dac -? Maybe it will be also as good with a far cheaper transport, like innous, melco or even a DAP?
A lot of people are asking Naim to produce a separate streamer without an onboard DAC using the new streaming platform as deployed in ND5 XS2, NDX2, ND555 (albeit with modifications going up the range) so they can select their own choice of DAC - Naim or other brands.
I suggest Naim need to get moving on this concept as the HUGO2 DAC is architected for a potential dedicated add-on Wi-fi and streamer like the Poly is for the Mojo…
Others are asking for this new platform to go into an upgraded 272 integrated streamer/DAC/pre-amp - as a very different box orientation.
This all comes down to personal listening preferences, to room capacity for separate components, and budget.
Good thing is that the Naim range offers options (some being potential, not guaranteed future developments) and retained value for trade-in and selling on.
Exactly. It’s a matter of perception but I personally perceive the Hugo Dac to be what I want to hear in my system. Its is the addictive Mandelbrot effect where one can easily hear the starting and stopping of notes and no dominance effect (the louder instrument does not drown out the less loud one in the recording)
I’ll try … neutral or even handed pace and rhythm is about providing a sense of pace and rhythm without drawing attention unduly or to a specific frequency range if it wasn’t there in the original.
A coloured pace and rhythm can occur by slightly accentuating characteristics of the sound like upper bass for example.
But why… Naim give you the choice… you can use their DACs which use the Texas Instruments range, Analog Devices DSP and Naim’s design of current to voltage converter and analogue low pass filter… or you can use an alternate… just like you could use Naim speakers and now Focal or alternate…
.