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Front view of the silver Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with colored control buttons and engraved branding
  • Front view of the silver Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with colored control buttons and engraved branding
  • Two Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier units in black and silver with blue and red control buttons on white background
  • Internal circuit board of the Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier showing capacitors and connectors on white background
  • Close-up of Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with custom in-ear monitors on white background
  • Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with silver body and illuminated control buttons on a white background
  • Top view of Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with illuminated control buttons and blue display window
  • Close-up view of the Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier showing input and output ports on white chassis
  • Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with illuminated control buttons and multiple audio input and output ports
  • Rear view of Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier showing multiple audio output ports on white background
  • Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier with illuminated buttons and distinctive blue control spheres on black casing
  • Close-up of Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier showing controls and circular illuminated lenses on black surface
  • Top view of Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier showing illuminated buttons and circular blue display window
  • Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier angled view showing control buttons and multiple audio output ports on white background
  • Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier angled close-up showing colorful buttons and multiple output ports on black surface
  • Rear view of Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier showing analog and digital audio outputs on white background
Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier

Chord Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier

$2,595.00

Hugo 2 is a powerful DAC and headphone amp that builds on the ground-breaking original. Designed for both home and mobile use, Hugo 2 transforms headphones and audio systems’ sound quality with its cutting-edge proprietary DAC technology.

1 In stock
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In 2014, we introduced Hugo, a revolutionary portable DAC and headphone amp that became a landmark product in the audio landscape. Advances in digital technology, including the latest FPGAs and WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) filters, have enabled us to introduce a next-generation version, Hugo 2, featuring flexible new features, plus next-generation technical and sonic performance.

Hugo 2 can be used both at home and on-the-go, either with headphones or within a conventional audio system. Its line-level output and full-function remote control adds real flexibility in full-size and desktop systems.

The device offers four digital inputs (optical, coaxial and HD USB) plus extended-range Bluetooth, with high-resolution file playback up to 768kHz and up to DSD512 (Octa DSD), via its HD USB input. Analogue outputs include 2x RCA, plus 3.5mm and 6.35mm headphone outputs.

A four-function switch filter offers a useful degree of user-selectable frequency-shaping, bringing warm and soft or transparent and incisive presentations, giving additional flexibility and user control. For headphone-listening, Hugo 2 retains the popular digital crossfeed function of the original and offers three operation modes. The system duplicates the effect of listening to speakers and is based on advanced binaural audio research.

Hugo 2 features four spherical control buttons, which illuminate with colour-coding information and control power, input, filtering, plus the unit’s crossfeed functions.

Battery playing time is around seven hours and two modes of automatic charging are included using the dedicated Micro USB charging port; an indicator shows charging and battery-charge status.

Chipset:

Chord Electronics custom coded Xilinx Artix 7 (XC7A15T) FPGA

Tap-length:

49,152

Pulse array:

10 element pulse array design

Frequency response:

20Hz – 20kHz +/- 0.2dB

Output stage:

Class A

Output impedance:

0.025Ω

THD:

<0.0001% 1kHz 3v RMS 300Ω

THD and noise at 3v RMS:

120dB at 1kHz 300ohms ‘A’ wighted (reference 5.3v)

Noise 2.6 uV ‘A’ weighted:

No measurable noise floor modulation

Signal to noise ratio:

126dB ‘A’ Weighted

Channel separation:

135dB at 1kHz 300Ω

Power output @ 1kHz 1% THD:

94mW 300Ω

740mW 32Ω

1050mW 8Ω

Weight:

450g

Dimensions:

2.3cm (H) 10cm (W) 13.1cm (D)

A Chord Electronics Hugo 2 DAC / Portable Headphone Amplifier in black rests on a wooden table beside headphones and an open book, its vibrant LED lights glowing as it delivers high-resolution audio.

Overall rating: 5.0 / 5 from 11 reviews.

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Reviews

Great sound and portable!

"I picked up the Hugo 2 as a step towards my endgame setup. It is serving nicely as the intermediary between my MacBook and Felix Audio Envy PE with great detail retrieval. The main reason why I picked this DAC/Amp combo, however, is that I can take it with me when working elsewhere and bring my IEMs for an awesome on-the-go musical treat. It can't quite give me enough for my HD800 but that was not my use case and as such, I am very happy with the Hugo2, the filters it offers and how it works well for multiple scenarios. Also worth noting that the interface does take a little getting used to but it SHOULD NOT sway someone from not jumping into this unit. It is easier than the Mojo2 to manipulate and very quirky in its lights/aesthetics and serves the purpose very well. Bravo Hugo2 and thanks to Justin and Headamp for the help!"

— Kristen C. (5/5)

Hugo 2

"I love the Hugo 2. The build quality and sonics are just great, and It works great with my Meze Elite headphones. Justin at Headamp has been very helpful."

— Lon M. (5/5)

Portable excellence

"This Hugo 2 DAC/Amp works great paired with both my Focal Stellia headphones and 64 Audio U12t IEM. A touch big for on the go, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice and carry it with me because it sounds so great. To me this is as good as desktop performance and you can also bring it with you."

— Paul I. (5/5)

The best at what it does.

"I bought this as an upgrade from a Mcintosh MHA-50 which costs about 1/4 of the price of a Hugo-2. The MHA 50 has the advantage of Apple Certification, so no Camera Adapter is required. But that is where the advantages end. The Hugo-2 sounds clearer and cleaner with better definition of instruments and a much greater sense of front to back depth of soundstage. The colored buttons take some adjustment, but work very well...especially the volume control which is much easier to use than the haptic control of the 50. I was surprised at how light the unit was so no problems with transporting it in the luggage. I bought this as an open box item and the shipping and packaging were first rate! Highly recommended."

— John D. (5/5)

3rd DAC, this one sounds really good.

"Purchased opened box. Great discount and no perceivable damage! Hugo 2 is a known quantity. Like a Rolex, it simply is what it is. It doesn't even matter the micro usb ports, the little quibbles simply melt away as soon as you listen to it. 5/5 would highly recommend, even to my own mother."

— Michael D. (5/5)

Very enjoyable experience

"I received the Chord Hugo 2 last week and it is a fantastic DAC. I paired it with my Stellia and it really brings out what the headphone is capable of doing. This was a huge upgrade for me, I had a great experience listening to my music - being able to listen to all the small details combined with a more open soundstage. After I started memorizing more of the button LED's, the unit was more convenient to use. For those that will use this DAC for a lot of portable use, Chord has made a correction on their website for the charge time: It is actually 6 hours via fast charge with 7 hours of average playback time."

— Aiden (5/5)

Once I got it working

"It took me a while to get it working because I was an idiot, but once I did it made everything so much better."

— Jason (5/5)

Amazing component and service

"This DAC sounds incredible out of the box, so I can't imagine what it will sound like in a month or two! Service and shipping from Headamp was lightning fast."

— Doug K. (5/5)

Amazing unit

"Just got my Chord Hugo 2. It is sleeker in design, portable and exceptionally resolving all the very little details in the music I am listenting to. Musical experience experience is simply enjoyable as it is a lot more refined with a great soundstage. Simply loving the different sets of filters it provides as it caters to various genres of music you may be tuning to. It has no issue driving my Focal Radiance and Stellia and on its way Audeze LCD-3 and Focal Utopia"

— BM (5/5)

Auditory Bliss!

"I previously had the Chord Mojo and loved the impressive sound it had while out on the go. I had been hearing rave reviews about the Hugo 2 and wanting to take advantage of a Desktop/Mobile DAC/AMP player. I currently use my Hugo 2 for my Gaming Desktop PC and portable Home use. I use the Mojo if I leave the house and will be mobile. When I first listened to the Hugo 2 while listening to music through the Tidal Music app, I was extremely pleased. This little sturdy, well built unit, puts out amazing sound on my Audeze LCD-X headphones. It’s easy to use and identify when a feature or filter has been turned on or to a different mode. Chord uses led colors for everything. It’s very intelligent in its use. This little powerhouse competes with many headphone Dac/Amps in the $2,000 range easily. This can power higher impedance headphones as well, so don’t worry about that. You can definitely trust the Chord name and enjoy pure auditory bliss, at the same time!"

— Robert S. (5/5)

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