Chord Hugo 2: power output and what it will drive
The Chord Hugo 2 is a portable amplifier at $2595. It delivers 740 mW into 32Ω and 94 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 94 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 564 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here and enough but not generous on 3. Power is published at 8Ω, 32Ω, 300Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures.
From my own rack. I own one, bought used — in fact I have bought and sold a Hugo 2 three times. I use it mostly with IEMs, and for those it is excellent; for full-size headphones a desktop amplifier with more power did better. My current unit has noise in the left channel. Repair would mean a new main board and cost more than I paid for it, so I live with it: you barely hear it on full-size headphones, more on IEMs in fade-outs and pauses. More about my Chord years.
What it actually puts out
Where these numbers come from
The manufacturer publishes 1.1 W into 8Ω, 740 mW into 32Ω, 94 mW into 300Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.
Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).
Source: chordelectronics.co.uk, chordelectronics.co.uk.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Ω | 1.1 W | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 32 Ω | 740 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 150 Ω | 171 mW | Derived | worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them |
| 300 Ω | 94 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 600 Ω | 47 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
Against 40 well-known headphones
Easiest to hardest to drive, with headroom at a 100 dB SPL peak.
| Headphone | Impedance | Sensitivity | Needs | Headroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 114.0 dB/mW | 0.04 mW | +44 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +37 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +36 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +36 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +32 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +32 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +30 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +32 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +32 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +30 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +30 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +29 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +29 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +27 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +27 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
Will it hiss?
At 2.6 µV of output noise, here is where that noise lands in the five most revealing in-ears in the database.
This one hisses. With the most sensitive in-ears in the database its own noise lands around 29 dB SPL, which you will hear between tracks and in quiet passages.
| In-ear | Impedance | Sensitivity | Hiss level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simgot EA500 | 16 Ω | 141.0 dB/V | 29 dB SPL |
| Tanchjim EA FORCE | 17 Ω | 137.7 dB/V | 26 dB SPL |
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 134.5 dB/V | 23 dB SPL |
| Campfire Audio Clara | 13.3 Ω | 134.1 dB/V | 22 dB SPL |
| 64 Audio Fourte | 10 Ω | 134.0 dB/V | 22 dB SPL |
Output impedance and the one-eighth rule
At 0.025Ω output impedance this source satisfies the one-eighth rule with every headphone in the database, down to the 3Ω in-ears. Nothing here will have its frequency response shaped by the source.
The cheapest thing here that does the same job
| Source | Type | Price | Into 300 Ω | Output impedance | Output noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schiit Magni Unity | desktop amplifier | $119 | 415 mW | 0.1 Ω | 1.59 µV |
| Topping L30 II | desktop amplifier | $149 | 560 mW | 0.1 Ω | 0.3 µV |
| SMSL HO100 | desktop amplifier | $160 | 200 mW | <0.1 Ω | 1.3 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 13 do everything the Chord Hugo 2 does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches, stay inside the one-eighth rule wherever it does and stay under the audible-hiss threshold wherever it does. The cheapest of them is the Schiit Magni Unity at $119, against this one’s $2595 — $2476 less, and a desktop amplifier rather than a portable amplifier.
This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.
Other portable amplifiers at a similar price
Shanling H7
$829 · 450 mW into 32Ω · 1.0 Ω out
Compare →FiiO Q7
$750 · 550 mW into 32Ω · 1.2 Ω out
Compare →Chord Mojo 2
$650 · 564 mW into 32Ω · 0.06 Ω out
Compare →iFi xDSD Gryphon
$599 · 320 mW into 32Ω · 1.0 Ω out
Compare →xDuoo XD05 Bal
$499 · 1.0 W into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →FiiO Q15
$440 · 625 mW into 32Ω · 1.0 Ω out
Compare →Compared with its closest rivals: vs Chord Mojo 2.