Hugo from Chord Electronics

Hugo from Chord Electronics

Hugo is a multi-award-winning mobile DAC and headphone amplifier of unrivaled quality. Put simply, it is the world’s most advanced headphone amp/DAC, offering five digital inputs including A2DP aptX Bluetooth, plus advanced 384kHz PCM and DSD 128 playback for today’s high-resolution music files. It uses our bespoke FPGA DAC technology to deliver class-leading sound quality from your music collection, however it is stored.

Whether you have your music on a smartphone, tablet or laptop, or regularly use a CD player, Hugo’s advanced technology will transform the sound of the music you love. It can be used both on-the-go with up to three pairs of headphones, and at home in your audio system, thanks to its line-level output feature.

Called Hugo (because you can take Hugo wherever ‘you-go’), the device offers studio-master-tape sound quality, advanced connectivity and uncompromising file playback capability, all from a palm-sized player. Hugo brings our renowned digital audio expertise to serious headphone listening and a 10-hour battery life brings real flexibility when travelling.

Hugo is ready to take advantage of today’s advanced studio-master-quality (DXD) music files. It can decode sample rates ranging from 44.1kHz to 384kHz (PCM), allowing audiophiles to experience music in true high definition, along with the best possible reproduction of CD-quality music. Hugo benefits from two advanced USB inputs: one driverless input for legacy USB devices and one asynchronous high-definition USB port for operation up to 384kHz. Thanks to two additional digital inputs, coaxial and optical, any connected component with a digital output will also benefit from Hugo’s advanced technology.

It also has A2DP Bluetooth capability and uses a custom-made module with the aptX codec to feed a digital signal directly into the DAC circuitry, so even without cables, high-quality music can still be enjoyed.