As luck would have it I recently got a Singxer SU-2 as part of a package deal with a Berkeley Alpha S2 DAC. I listened to the SU-2 and the Alpha together a lot and the combo is breathtaking. But today I spent some time playing with the SU-2 and the Chord Hugo 2 to see if I could tell what the SU-2 brings to the table on its own. I had to use the Hugo 2 because the Alpha does not have a USB input.
I connected the Hugo 2 directly to my Windows 10 PC via USB. The SU-2 connected to the PC via USB as well and I used a BNC-to-3.5 mm coaxial digital cable to go from SU-2 to Hugo 2. The point was to compare the sonic performance of USB direct-to-DAC vs using the USB bridge. I used the Vioelectric HPA-V281 as an amp (SE inputs, Hugo 2 is only SE), and my HE1000v2 and TH900 with Lawton chambers as the headphones.
Three quick caveats… i) This test is with only one DAC - the Hugo 2, generalizing from 1 piece of test gear is tough; ii) I used very basic/generic cables and they could be hot garbage; iii) I spent 2 hours this afternoon doing this so these are still going to be initial thoughts.
In general the SU-2 was cleaner sounding with blacker sonic background. The SU-2 had subtly more microdetail. The SU-2 also created a better sense of space and imaging that was very subtly more defined and more…stable(?)…that’s the best word I can come up with right now. The SU-2 brought out more texture in the sound. It also controlled the last bit sibilance that can come through on the TH900 through the Hugo 2 at times and gave the bass a touch more slam, and also more body and grunt. Overall the SU-2 created a more natural and believable sound. The delta between then two on each of the sonic attributes mentioned is very small and subtle, but add them up and there is a more natural, organic, and believable presentation through the SU-2.
I hope to come back to and play with this more in a couple weeks. I have a move coming up and will be packing and moving over the next couple weeks. It will be interesting to see what (or if) any of these thoughts change on the other side.