[Death_Block]

I'm wondering what the OG Hugo is like compared to the mojo 2. Similar prices now

 

[miketlse]

I'm wondering what the OG Hugo is like compared to the mojo 2. Similar prices now

A few posts have asked this question.
Some owners still prefer the sound of the Hugo compared to the Mojo 2.
However they do mention that if they now had the choice of buying a Hugo (with possibly 9 year old batteries in them), or a Mojo 2 (with the desktop mode for batteries, plus digital equalisation for headphones), they would probably opt for the Mojo 2.

 

[Death_Block]

The majority of use will be office desk, so battery is only needed when I take it home over weekends. Do both bypass batteries when plugged in and used at the desk?
Is the Hugo more or as musical as the mojo 2? That's my main priority.

 

[miketlse]

The majority of use will be office desk, so battery is only needed when I take it home over weekends. Do both bypass batteries when plugged in and used at the desk?
Is the Hugo more or as musical as the mojo 2? That's my main priority.

For context, I was about to order a Hugo but then the Mojo was released, so I bought a Mojo and have never heard a Hugo.
I do have a Hugo 2, but it would not be honest to advise you about the musicality of the Hugo 1.
What I will say is that after listening to the Susan Rogers talk at Canjam NY, it is clear that two owners can have very different feelings about the musicality of the same piece of kit. Based on that, only you can decide for yourself about the relative musicality, by demoing both Hugo 1 and Mojo 2.

Regarding batteries, the Hugo 1 does not bypass the batteries when used as a desktop dac. Indeed whilst the Hugo 1 was still a young project, the forum that became https://audiophilestyle.com/ had quite a few threads about owners replacing batteries, and modding their Hugo 1 to save the battery wear etc.
Consequently the Hugo 1 battery management gained a poor reputation, and because of that Rob added desktop mode (which does bypass the battery) to the Hugo 2 and Mojo 2.

Having said that recent posts like this suggest that the Hugo 1 experience may well have been very influenced by the care that the owner takes with the gear/battery.

 

[Death_Block]

Sounds like the mojo 2 is becoming the better choice at the very similar price point of an OG Hugo.

 

[Yarbles]

Don't forget that Chord are dropping the Alto (dedicated desktop headphone amp/dac - ir also has Bluetooth which makes it good for multimedia, eg watching a film late at night when the missus is sleeping) soon & it'll be around $3000 equivalent in the UK.

I have a Mojo 2 & absolutely love it as my portable & even main source for IEM's, but it won't get the most out of a hard to drive pair oh headphones.

Honestly I think the Alto is going to see the Hugo series drop as the odd kid in the middle... it's a bit big as a portable device & although it's more powerful than a Mojo 2, it won't be a patch on the Alto. So Mojo 2 on the move/Alto at home is absolutely perfect for me... and will be for a lot of others.

The Alto is also absolutely gorgeous...