Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 Review

The following impressions are gathered with the Hugo TT2 as two-channel DAC. Sources for music were the Roon ROCK server via USB, my CD player via Coax (BNC 1) or my Astell&Kern SP2000 via optical input.

The Chord Hugo TT2 does have a striking balance in its signature, but paired with a hint of warmth, which I haven’t found in any other Chord Electronics DAC to date. The Hugo TT2’s biggest strength is probably its grand image, its incredible precision and its way of controlling the complete stage. One thing that I learned quickly to love about the Hugo TT2 is how it presents the entire scene. It is a sound that made me want to listen more and more.

Bass goes deep with remarkable resolution, texture and detailing. The Hugo TT2 doesn’t add anything in particular to the bass. Just like all Chord Electronics products I own and have heard so far it isn’t a bass forward product. Chord Electronics usually goes for immense resolution, rendering and technical finesse. The TT2 is no different here.

The biggest difference to other Chord Electronics DACs is definitely in the supplied warmth of the Hugo TT2. Its stable mates like the Hugo2, Qutest or Mojo all have a super-neutral and clear sound in them. The TT2 also has a clear sound in terms of precision and resolution, but it portrays music with a warmer touch. The Hugo TT2 still renders an incredibly detailed mid-range and gives impressive transparency throughout, but it adds a layer of organic warmth to it.

I mentioned it only three paragraphs above, the biggest strength of the Hugo TT2 is in its technical performance. Early on when I installed the Hugo TT2 in my system, I noticed the grand-scaled sound-stage and especially the body of vocals. Take Björk’s song Atom Dance for example. It starts out with her singing solo. The sound of her voice during the first couple of seconds easily fills the room. Björk’s singing voice is among the absolute best in my opinion. In Atom Dance she transports so much emotion, which all makes it through my LS50 speakers.

Let’s stay on that track for a second. The TT2 provides incredible vocal clarity and resolution throughout the song. It resolves the entire scene with ease and places all instruments perfectly in the room. The stereo separation is just perfect, with a spot on centered sound. The violins in the song sound absolutely natural and correct.

Something the Hugo TT2 also masters is instrumental separation, layering and sound-stage construction. You get a very well spread stage that goes wide and especially deep. The instruments are superbly placed in the room and with my Kef LS50 I can pin-point them with closed eyes without any problems. The experience with speakers in that regard is just so much ahead of headphones, and by installing the TT2 into my 2-channel system, that became painfully obvious to me once again.

Chord Electronics products are very often described as having a brighter sound. And the TT2’s treble region definitely has a bright character. But it’s nowhere near harsh or analytical sounding to me. The mid-range warmth does give great balance also to the treble section. What the Hugo TT2 definitely is, is clear sounding. Many people think of clear sound as being bright, and to a degree that’s the case here too. But for me, clarity is also about how clean everything is. The Hugo TT2’s clarity is among the finest I have heard to date.

Learn more about the Hugo TT2’s headphone driveability on page four!