Hi-Fi+ Awards: Personal Audio electronics

Portable headphone amp/DAC

Chord Electronics Hugo2

The original Chord Hugo revolutionised the notion of what could be done with portable audio. Now the new £1,800 Hugo2 almost doubles the original’s already impressive number of filter taps (to 49,152), beefs up the performance of the headhone amplifier, and improves battery performance, in a fully root-and-branch change to the design.

Hi-Fi+ Publisher Chris Martens said simply, “I really can’t think of any other transportable headphone amp/DAC that can directly compete with Hugo2, or that even comes close.” It really is that good!

See: hifiplus.com/articles/chord-electronics-hugo2-transportable-headphone-ampdac/

Digital Audio Player

Questyle QP2R

Questyle’s QP1R DAP is almost universally liked by personal audio cognoscenti, but the new £1,299 QP2R raises the stakes a lot further. With its Class A current mode amplification, and high performance DAC, it sounds almost like a portable version of the firm’s top ‘Golden Stack’, but improvements the interface, battery life, on-board storage capacity, and balanced output, all make for a DAP that comes “enthusiastically recommended” in its listening test.

See: hifiplus.com/articles/questyle-audio-qp2r-highresolution-portable-digital-audio-player/