Chord Etude listening session is planned!
Thanks Martin, the N-03T is out of my budget but I have been looking at the Lumin U1 mini & Stack (with LPS)
I had an NP5 using it with a Primare NP30 but found it very āclunkyā (probably due to the older NP DAC).
Iāll have to find a friendly dealer for an audition. 
1 Like
The Lumin is around Ā£600 more than the SA LINK/VOLT combo.
I have both Lumin and SA products, and theyāre both wonderful.
Good luck auditioning!
1 Like
I have had a Lumin U1 mini in front of my Chord Qutest for a few years nowā¦ All I can say is Wowā¦ I would not change a thingā¦
2 Likes
My Lumin U1 Mini feeds my Chord Hugo 2TT/M-Scaler - itās absolutely amazing. And my Quest for my office setup sounds gorgeous.
1 Like
Never owned any Chord gear.
Whilst I do not doubt that it is a solid brand with very high quality electronics, I just canāt accept the product design asthetics that are in use.
Their full size reference range looks like it fell out an episode of Lost in Space. Add to this the fact that Iām colour blind and those glowing balls on some of the range just leave me screaming help!
2 Likes
Martin, I have arranged a visit to meet Theo Stack for a coffee & ālook aroundā in a couple of weeks. Gotta sort something with Lumin now.
Thanks for the heads up 
1 Like
No probs Paul 
Whichever you choose, theyāre both great bits of kit.
The only advantage the U1 Mini has over the LINK I can think of, is itās multitude of different digital outputs. But as youāre going into DAVE, all you need is USB. Plus Peter at Lumin @wklie has confirmed in previous posts that if you use the USB output on the U1/Mini the other outputs canāt be used simultaneously, due to timing/jitter errors on the other outputs.
Are you going M Scaler into DAVE? People often forget that the HMS actually forms a decent ābridgeā, with great upscaled outputs into other DACās. Iām currently going SA LINK via USB to HMS, and then TOSLINK (24/192 max) into my Esoteric K-01X with sublime results.
Yes, Mscaler-Dave-Amp. The bridge is on the cards so that I can locate the server in a different room so a Roon Ready device will offer the benefits of full control.
There all sorts of ideas āfloating aroundā so itāll be a week or three yetā¦
1 Like
Hugo2 with 2go streamer. This is a great āportable-around-the-house-headphone-systemā Roon solution. Itās not perfect, but I love it as a Roon user. The process for updating firmware is a mess. And while it can play direct from SD cards, the lack of a decent software player makes that a nonstarter for me. But for my main use case ā listening to Roon over WiFi anywhere in the house ā itās been great.
4 Likes
Hugo2+2Go is my setup too, driving a pair of Meze Empyrean for evening and late night (and early hours of the morning; Roon Radio is addictive!) listening. I love being able to wander around the house, go to the kitchen to get a drink, etc while still listening. I do sometimes get dropouts and track skips if I wander far enough to trigger a handoff between stations on my mesh WiFi but itās rock solid when Iām not going walkabout.
3 Likes
My Chord Ultima Pre 2 has been on order for 5+ months. Iām still on the āwaiting listā with a estimated lead time of another two weeks. We will see!!!
My dealer has advised that Chord have dispatched (only two weeks so far) my Dave so it should arrive any dayā¦.
1 Like
Have listened to an Etude today. Took it home to listen it with my own system and djeeeezā¦ The difference is so big that my wife heard it immediately when she came home 
Iāll take a few more days testing, but based on āfirst impressionsā this baby is here to stay.
1 Like
Using 2GO + Hugo2 as a part of my hifi system. Connect to amplifier via RCA cables. According to the amp manual (Yamaha 2200) the maximum input volume is 2,8V. As far as I know the linear out of Hugo2 is 3V. Is it ok to go with linear mode of Hugo2 or better to make volume level kind of Blue color level? Thanks
1 Like
I had a Hugo1 and then Dave, and preferred the sound when its volume was dialled down a bit below max. That was with a Naim preamp so I canāt promise it will be the same for you, but try it and see what you think.
1 Like
Thanks, Chris!
Hi
There is no true fixed line out mode for Hugo2, not in the typical sense anyway.
It is simply a āpresetā value for the digital volume output.
Volume control is entirely in the digital domain.
To get down to more normal ~ 2Vrms output, start at 3V (preset) and then do 4 volume āclicksā down.
This is same for Chord Mojo.
2 Likes
Very helpful. Thanks!
Decided to buy the Etude. Itās not funny what this amp does with my PMCās.
My dealer was a little bit worried that the combination of a Chord amp and PMC speakers would be ā¦ too exciting, but I think itās an excellent match. Delicate and sweet when required, but when you turn up the volumeā¦
1 Like