[Soundmig]

One of my Audio buddies wanted to hear the Gumby, so this weekend I took it over to his place and we listened. His system consists of a T+A integrated amp, MacBook Air - steaming Tidal, Chord Hugo 2 DAC, AQ Columbia IC's, Marrow Audio Bi-Wire Speaker Cables and Roksan Darius Speakers. We listened to a few of my favorite tracks and his favorite tracks using the Hugo 2 while the Gumby was plugged in and warming up for about an hour (unit is fully broken in with over 700 hours "on" time and more than 200 hours playing time).

This was a very interesting contrast in two very different sounding DACs. The Gumby was more subdued sounding (darker) with a bit less extension into the upper and lower reaches of frequency and slightly less "apparent" dynamics. The Hugo 2 was brighter, more "open" sounding, a bit more dynamic and threw a bit larger soundstage. My friend (Ryan) felt that the Gumby was "more listenable" and drew you into listening to the music more. He also felt that it struck a more natural balance. I could tell that he was really torn between which sounded better (as was I). But, at the same time, the Hugo 2 was more "open" sounding, threw a larger soundstage and was slightly more dynamic and more "exciting". I've always been a fan of Chord DAC's and the Hugo 2 is an excellent performer. At twice the price it should be better than the Gumby, but all I can say at this point is that it is different.

I asked Ryan how much he has used the Hugo2 ... he replied that he bought it on the 29th of Dec. and only had about 20 hours "on" time on it. So my impressions are heavily tempered with "ya but" sentiments right now. Knowing how much the Gumby changed over the first 400 hours or so, I suggested that he bring it to my place once he has about 400 hours on it. He agreed, and we will do that comparison again once the Hugo 2 has more "run time" on it. I will follow-up once we have done that comparison.