Le Chord Electronics Hugo TT 2 est à la fois un convertisseur et un ampli casque de haute volé. Il est équipé de cinq entrées numériques et une liaison sans-fil Bluetooth AptX. Il possède également trois sorties casques alimentées simultanément.
Ce modèle se distingue du Chord Hugo TT par sa toute nouvelle alimentation à six super condensateurs et un ampli casque plus puissant et adaptatif. Mais surtout, le Hugo TT2 utilise une nouvelle puce de traitement numérique Artix 7 de chez Xilinx. Il s’agit d’un FPGA ( Field Programmable Gate Array ) c’est à dire un circuit logique programmable. Contrairement à ce que fait la très grande majorité de ses concurrents, Chord Electronics n’utilise pas des puces de conversion toutes faites. La compagnie préfère élaborer ses propres algorithmes de conversion. Ce travail de codage est confié au consultant Rob Watts, spécialiste du numérique chez Chord. Concrètement, le Hugo TT2 développe cinq fois plus de puissance de calcul que l’ancien Hugo TT et accepte les signaux audionumériques jusqu’en PCM 32 bits/768 kHz et DSD512.
Prix suggéré : $7495
“It was obvious straight away that this DAC has the company’s trademark sound – but supercharged. …Lofgren’s rapid finger-picking was super clear, with better timing between fine details from the strings than I have ever heard, giving a sense of intense insight. It was breathtaking — and not just because of the qualities mentioned but because of a sense of great dynamic contrast too. An astonishing level of revelation was obvious from this track alone, as well as ability to lay out the acoustic being picked up by Lofgren’s mic.
Hugo TT2 resolves both CD and hi-res digital with breathtaking clarity, giving a starkly clear and concise sound unmatched elsewhere. It also has fantastic timing… To hear CD and hi-res like you’ve never heard before, and as you will not hear it anywhere else, this is the DAC to audition.” — Hi-Fi World
“So, Chord’s seemly unstoppable digital bandwagon rolls on with yet another class leader. The Hugo TT2 may have slightly flawed ergonomics, but in every other respect it’s a stunner.” — What HiFi
“Chord is really ahead of the curve in terms of performance for dollars spent. You really have to pay a lot more money for competitive products from other manufacturers to compete with digital designs of Rob Watts. …I have to say this product will win a product of the year award from me, way to go Chord Electronics. You’ve knocked it out of the park, again. Bravo!” — Moon Audio.com
