Unboxing Chord 2go

I just noticed you are thinking of the 2go as an alternative to USB direct.
I have compared direct USB with wired or WiFi network connectivity and not noticed any difference.

I’m not saying this is always true. The introduction of noise could depend on the quality of the computer or the DAC. I have a Nucleus and quality DACs. But I always wonder about spending a lot of money on patching up bad devices. Your Hugo is already a good DAC. Don’t know about your computer, but if that’s the problem, the 2go costs as much as my Nucleus.

I like the 2go for portability, especially as summer weather is coming.

Thanks.

Portability is on the list of features I am interested in as it would be nice to be able to listen in the garden/bedroom without having to drag my laptop and cables around. Top of the list though are sound quality and reliability (minimal droputs/errors). Hence why I am considering the 2go.

The hugo2 is in my “second system” and the majority of my listening with it is done in my home office using the following 3 roon output methods (roon core is installed seperately) and I feel they are all suboptimal:

A. With my laptop (7th generation i7 windows 16GB RAM, SSD, Nvidia graphics). Problem is the laptop is also my workhorse - It is connected to a bunch of peripherals and I am usually running about a half a dozen other applications on it at the same time in addition to roon.

B. I also tried running roon bridge on an Intel compute stick with USB out to the Hugo2. Controlled via a phone. Result is not great.

C. Google chromecast audio with optical out to the Hugo2. Slightly better than the compute stick. (Great for casting non-music content eg podcasts).

My roon core is installed on a separate machine (3rd gen i5 windows 10 laptop with SSD about to be replaced with a NUC7i3 running ROCK). Music files are on a Synology NAS with everything using gigabit ethernet). I feel I have this part of my setup sorted.

Yes, I think a key issue with running Roon on a machine that does other stuff is exactly that, it does other stuff. So I’ve been very happy with decoupling my music system from my work computing.
I wrote a lengthy discussion of where I see the technology world is going, not just for a Roon or audio but for the world in general.

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Just got a Mojo/Poly. Love the sound, but the wi-fi implementation is so bad I’m reluctant to take a chance on Chord again. Wish the high-end Astell & Kern was compatible with Roon.

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Can you describe your issue? I was thinking of the combo but want to make sure I understand all the pros and cons.

I have no problems with the Wi-fi on mojo poly. I use orbi Wi-fi mesh which may help.

I bought the Mojo/Poly so that I could listen to headphones in places where I lack a wired connection, such as on the roof of my building, but where I still have pretty good wi-fi (via a four-node Linksys mesh system). On the roof, for example, the AppleTV sees around 100 Mbs, and the Airport Express that feeds Roon to some utility speakers via AirPlay works perfectly. The Mojo/Poly, on the other hand, is constantly losing its connection to Roon (which is maddening, especially since the wired connections elsewhere are so good). I’d send it back if I wasn’t afraid of going to the post office.

I can play mine in the garden without problems. I find a lot of things on here get stick for things that are network issues. Are you sure you are comparing ‘apples with oranges’ with your Wi-fi, I’m not a genius but I imagine the resolution through Apple TV is far less than you are expecting mojo poly to produce?

Further to this you can load up an SD card with music.
Don’t get me wrong my mojo poly was nearly consigned to the bin and was a paper weight for six months. Since the last update I have found it never misses a beat through Roon or SD card so in my case credit where it’s due.

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Darko just did a video review of the Hugo 2go combination.

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Hi,

I am going to buy a Hugo 2 DAC and my plan had been to connect to an HP laptop via USB and play back music from Tidal and Qobuz via Roon, listening to the music using headphones.
My question would be how much of a sonic upgrade would I experience if I bought a 2go to partner with the Hugo and missed out the laptop from the equation? I’m not too concerned about the cost of the 2go, but is there a decent enough increase in sound quality to justify the outlay?

Cheers

Kevin

I would recommend the 2go for many reasons, not sure about the specifics of the laptop sound quality question.

I have not done that, I nowadays have no audio devices connected to general purpose PCs. There is a lot of talk about the deleterious effect of such connections. I haven’t noticed much difference. Several possible reasons. Technically, I use a Nucleus which may produce less electrical noise than a PC and I have quality DACs that may be less sensitive. Psychologically, I am not a reviewer, I don’t spend time comparing connection techniques, unless there is an obvious problem I just enjoy the music. But John Darko, in the YouTube review linked above and on his website, argues that the 2go sounds better than a direct connection from an iPad, under common wisdom a laptop would be worse. So yeah, he recommends it for that reason,

I would recommend the 2go for other reasons. It gives you a lot of flexibility. It supports both WiFi and wired Ethernet, so you can walk around the house or the garden or the deck or balcony (battery-powered!) or remove the laptop from the immediate audio environment (noise!). It supports Qobuz and Tidal and SD cards, I intend to bring it on trips.

And it’s neat.

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Thanks Anders, appreciate the reply. It sounds a very tempting piece of kit

To be fair, for the last week or so my Mojo/Poly has been working better - in the sense of fewer dropped connections - than I reported earlier, and I’m glad I didn’t return it. Don’t know what changed; I have this crazy idea that wireless networks and the devices attached to them are adaptive, and work better together, over time. But whatever the reason, the Poly is working pretty well and the Mojo continues to sound great.

Hi @AndersVinberg, from the first post in the thread you said when Roon saw the 2go you enabled it. However did it say “uncertified” like mine does? I clicked on the “uncertified” link for an explanation and it says “This device has not been certified by Roon Labs and may not function properly”

I would have thought given the 2go is Roon Ready it would not flag up as “uncertified”?

There is absolutely no problem with the playback or sound quality, the 2go/Hugo 2 combo sounds absolutely stunning, but just curious about the “uncertified” warning.

Cheers

Kevin

I’ve seen that too, not sure what the various classifications mean.
@support What does uncertified mean for the Chord 2go?

Hi @Kevin_Wynne/@AndersVinberg,

The Chord 2Go has not yet completed our Roon Ready certification process that is why you are seeing Uncertified appearing there. Once it completes the certification program the message should disappear, but I cannot comment on a timeline of when the certification will be complete as it requires collaboration from our two companies.

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I’ve had my Hugo2 + 2go up and running for about a week now, and so far it’s been an ideal Roon endpoint. Solid on wifi (even tho it only does 2.4ghz), easy to configure, appears every time as a Roon zone. All in all, I’m quite pleased. Great to be able to pick up and move to another room of the house without AC adapters or power cables or multiple boxes. I haven’t done a direct sound quality comparison to my previous streamer solution (Allo DigiOne Sig), but it’s almost beside the point, because I love the increased portability so much.

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Thanks for the update noris

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Glad to hear the positive reviews so far. Does Roon have any issues with play back from the SD cards?