Indicator colors
What each light means on Chord's DACs and add-ons, from Chord's own user manuals.
Unlike the rest of this wiki, this page comes from the manuals, not from Rob Watts. The color names are ours, read from the swatch the manual prints and checked against its sampled color; where the manual names the color itself, its word is shown too. Dots show the named color (hover to see the color as printed); a dashed ring means the manual gives the color in its text only. Treat them as a guide to the LED, not an exact match. Page links open Chord's PDF at that page.
Hugo
Source: Hugo user manual. What Watts has said about the Hugo.
Sample rate (lens)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | turquoise |
| 192 kHz | blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| DSD | silver |
Hugo user manual, page 3.
Input (source light)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Coax | red |
| Optical | green |
| SD USB | yellow |
| HD USB | white |
| Bluetooth Stated on page 2. | blue |
Hugo user manual, page 3.
Charging and battery (charge LED under the lens)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Charging The charge light goes off when fully charged (about 5 hours). | white (manual: “bright white”) |
| Fully charged | blue |
| Discharging The charge LED changes from blue to green and red as the batteries discharge. | greenred |
| No power left The output mutes. | red flashing |
Hugo user manual, page 3. Page 2's battery-life icons show blue, green, yellow and red, and say a white light next to the crossfeed LED shows the device is charging.
Volume (volume control)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Low volume | redyellow |
| Mid volume | greencyan |
| High volume | bluewhite |
| Maximum | white |
Hugo user manual, page 2. Page 2 also says the volume control glows "from dark red for minimum volume, through to white for maximum volume". No level per color is given.
Crossfeed
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Off | unlit (manual: “no light”) |
| Minimum (9dB 700Hz) | red |
| Medium (6dB 700Hz) | green |
| Maximum (4.5dB 700Hz) | blue |
Hugo user manual, page 4.
Line level output mode (volume control)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Line level mode on | light blue |
Hugo user manual, page 4.
Hugo TT
Source: Hugo TT user manual.
Sample rate (lens)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | turquoise |
| 192 kHz | blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| DSD | silver |
Hugo TT user manual, page 3.
Input (source light and display)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Coax (display COAX) | red |
| Optical (OPT) | green |
| SD USB (USBS) | yellow |
| HD USB (USBH) | white |
| Bluetooth (BLTH) Stated on page 2. | blue |
Hugo TT user manual, page 3.
Charging and battery (charge LED under the lens)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Charging Off when fully charged. | white (manual: “bright white”) |
| Fully charged | blue |
| Discharging | greenred |
| No power left The output mutes. | red flashing |
Hugo TT user manual, page 3. Hugo TT is designed to stay connected to its power adapter; the internal batteries cover an accidental disconnection.
Volume (volume control)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Low volume | redyellow |
| Mid volume | greencyan |
| High volume | bluewhite |
| Maximum | white |
Hugo TT user manual, page 2.
Crossfeed
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Off (NONE) | unlit (manual: “no light”) |
| Minimum (MIN, 9dB 700Hz) | red |
| Medium (MED, 6dB 700Hz) | green |
| Maximum (MAX, 4.5dB 700Hz) | blue |
Hugo TT user manual, page 5.
Line level output mode (volume control)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Line level mode on | light blue |
Hugo TT user manual, page 5.
2Qute
Source: 2Qute user manual.
Sample rate
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | turquoise |
| 192 kHz | blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| DSD | silver |
2Qute user manual, page 3.
Input (source light)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Coax | red |
| Optical | green |
| HD USB | white |
2Qute user manual, page 3.
Mojo
Source: Mojo user manual. What Watts has said about the Mojo.
Sample rate (power ball)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176 kHz | light blue |
| 192 kHz | blue |
| 352 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| 768 kHz | lavender |
| DSD | white |
Mojo user manual, page 4. The manual's key labels the rates 44, 48, 88, 96, 176, 192, 352, 384 and 768 (kHz) and DSD.
Battery (LED below the charging USB port)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 0% to 10% | red flashing |
| 10% to 25% | red |
| 25% to 50% | orange |
| 50% to 75% | green |
| 75% to 100% | blue |
Mojo user manual, page 3.
Charging (light under the charging port)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Charging The light switches off when fully charged (about 4 hours). | white |
Mojo user manual, page 3.
Volume (+ and - volume balls)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Standard range From brown to white for maximum volume. | brownwhite |
| Below the standard range The + ball stays brown while the - ball runs from white back down to brown, for finer steps with in-ear monitors. | brown |
| Above the standard range The - ball stays white while the + ball runs from red to white. | white |
Mojo user manual, page 3.
Line level mode (3V)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Line level mode on Both volume balls; set by pressing both volume buttons at switch-on; not remembered. | light blue |
Mojo user manual, page 4.
Hugo 2
Source: Hugo 2 user manual V2.3. What Watts has said about the Hugo 2.
Charging (power button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Charge the device | red flashing |
| Charging (2 amp) | white |
| Charging (1 amp) | blue |
| Charged The swatch is dark; the manual does not say whether the light is off. | dark grey |
| Intelligent Desktop Mode activated | purple |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 6.
Battery (power button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 0-2 % | red flashing |
| 2-25 % | red |
| 25-50 % | yellow |
| 50-75 % | green |
| 75-100 % | blue |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 7. Shown once disconnected from power.
Volume (volume wheel)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Minimum to maximum | redorangeyellowgreenlight bluebluemagentapurplewhite |
| Preset volume mode (3 V) | purple |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 10. The manual shows volume as a continuous color bar from MIN to MAX, with no level for each color. Preset (3 V) volume mode is set with X-PHD at switch-on.
Sample rate (viewing window)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | light blue |
| 192 kHz | dark blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| 705.6 kHz | light purple |
| 768 kHz | lavender |
| DSD | silver |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 10. The key's labels are part of the image.
Filter (FILTER button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Filter 01: Incisive (neutral) | white |
| Filter 02: Incisive (neutral) plus high-frequency roll-off (warm) | green |
| Filter 03: Warmer | orange |
| Filter 04: Warmest (plus high-frequency roll-off) | red |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 11.
Input (INPUT button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| HD USB | white |
| Coax 1 | yellow |
| Coax 2 | red |
| Optical | green |
| Bluetooth | blue |
| Coax Dual data mode | light blue (manual: “cyan”) |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 11. Dual data mode is automatic with a dual-data coax cable from the Hugo M Scaler.
Crossfeed (X-PHD button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 3 dB | red |
| 6 dB | green |
| 9 dB | blue |
| Off | unlit |
Hugo 2 user manual, page 12.
Hugo TT 2
Source: Hugo TT 2 manual V2.1. What Watts has said about the Hugo TT 2.
Hugo TT 2's own input, filter and crossfeed settings show as text on its screen (for example XFD0 to XFD3), and it runs from mains power with supercapacitors and no battery, so the manual has no input, filter, crossfeed or charging colors for it. Its page 19 reprints the Hugo M Scaler's input colors, listed under Hugo M Scaler below.
Volume (volume ball)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Minimum to maximum | redorangeyellowgreenlight bluebluemagentapurplewhite |
| DAC mode The volume ball does not light in DAC mode, as the output is at a fixed level. | unlit |
Hugo TT 2 manual, page 24. A continuous color bar from Min to Max; the exact level in dB shows on the screen.
Sample rate (viewing glass (also shown on the screen))
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | light blue |
| 192 kHz | dark blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| 705.6 kHz | light purple |
| 768 kHz | lavender |
| DSD | silver |
Hugo TT 2 manual, page 24.
DAVE
Source: DAVE manual V1.4. What Watts has said about the DAVE.
DAVE shows its settings and the sample rate as text on its screen (manual page 24) and runs from mains power, so the manual has no color tables.
Qutest
Source: Qutest manual V2.1. What Watts has said about the Qutest.
Filter (FILTER sphere)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Incisive neutral Printed as a silver-grey ball; the manual's text does not name the color. | white |
| Incisive neutral HF roll-off | green |
| Warm | orange |
| Warm HF roll-off | red |
Qutest manual, page 2.
Input (INPUT sphere)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| HD Type-B USB Printed as a silver-grey ball; the manual's text does not name the color. | white |
| COAX 1 | yellow |
| COAX 2 | red |
| Optical | green |
Qutest manual, page 2.
Variable line level output
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 1V RMS | red |
| 3V RMS | blue |
| 2V RMS | green |
Qutest manual, page 2. Set by pressing FILTER and INPUT together during the 16-second start-up.
Sample rate (viewing porthole)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | light blue |
| 192 kHz | dark blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| 705.6 kHz | light purple |
| 768 kHz | lavender |
| DSD | silver |
Qutest manual, page 2.
Mojo 2
Source: Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, Mojo 2 user manual V1.2. What Watts has said about the Mojo 2.
Sample rate (power button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | light blue |
| 192 kHz | dark blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| 705.6 kHz | light purple |
| 768 kHz | lavender |
| DSD | white |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 19.
Battery (charge status LED)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 75 % to 100 % | blue |
| 40 % to 75 % | green |
| 10 % to 40 % | yellow |
| 2 % to 10 % | red |
| 0 to 2 % | red flashing |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 6. A blue charge status LED means maximum battery capacity has been reached. After full depletion the LED flashes red for ten seconds.
Charging current (switched off) (menu button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Needs to re-charge overnight with Mojo 2 switched off | brown |
| Poor, change the charger (4.01 V) | red |
| Slow charging (4.37 V) | green |
| Intermediate charging (4.61 V) | blue |
| Maximum charging (>4.85 V) | white |
| Desktop mode | magenta |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 11. Voltages are the manual's VBUS column. Poly users will not see white while both devices charge.
Menu (menu button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Volume range Page 9: unlit is the low range, white the high range. | unlitwhite |
| Brightness adjustment / Crossfeed mode | blue (manual, page 9: “blue”) |
| Bass 20 Hz | red (manual, page 13: “red”) |
| Bass 125 Hz shelf | yellow (manual, page 13: “yellow”) |
| Treble 3 kHz shelf | green (manual, page 13: “green”) |
| Treble 20 kHz | light blue (manual, page 13: “blue”) |
| Lock control | magenta (manual, page 18: “magenta”) |
| USB-C charging on/off In the 4.4 mm manual only. | orange (manual, page 12: “orange”) |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 10.
EQ (tone) levels (+ and - buttons)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| +9 dB | unlitwhite |
| +8 dB | unlitlavender |
| +7 dB | unlitdark blue |
| +6 dB | unlitlight blue |
| +5 dB | unlitgreen |
| +4 dB | unlityellow |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 13. Pages 13 and 14 together. Unlit means 0 dB (flat) for that band. The menu button shows which band: red lower bass, yellow mid-bass, green lower treble, blue upper treble (page 13).
EQ (tone) levels, continued (+ and - buttons)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| +3 dB | unlitorange |
| +2 dB | unlitred |
| +1 dB | unlitsalmon |
| 0 dB | unlitunlit |
| -1 dB | salmonunlit |
| -2 dB | redunlit |
| -3 dB | orangeunlit |
| -4 dB | yellowunlit |
| -5 dB | greenunlit |
| -6 dB | light blueunlit |
| -7 dB | dark blueunlit |
| -8 dB | lavenderunlit |
| -9 dB | whiteunlit |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 14.
Crossfeed (+ button (menu blue))
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Minimum | red |
| Moderate | green |
| Maximum | blue |
| Off | unlit |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 17. The - button shows brightness at the same time: white normal, unlit low.
Other states
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Intelligent Desktop Mode Menu button and battery light; page 6 calls it a purple power button. | magenta |
| Mute Menu button pulses. | pulsing |
| USB-C charging on + and - buttons, menu orange. | green |
| USB-C charging off + and - buttons. | red |
| Button lock on Menu button; page 18. | magenta |
Mojo 2 (4.4 mm) user manual, page 12.
The manuals give no color for each volume level; in a 2022 podcast Watts said the voltage for each color is in his Mojo 2 presentation.
Hugo M Scaler
Source: Hugo M Scaler manual V1.5. What Watts has said about the Hugo M Scaler.
Input (INPUT button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| USB | white |
| BNC 1 | yellow |
| BNC 2 | red |
| Optical 1 | green |
| Optical 2 | dark blue |
| Automatic | magenta (manual: “purple”) |
| Dual BNC | light blue |
Hugo M Scaler manual, page 19.
Incoming sample rate (DX OP button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | red |
| 48 kHz | orange |
| 88.2 kHz | yellow |
| 96 kHz | green |
| 176.4 kHz | light blue |
| 192 kHz | dark blue |
| 352.8 kHz | magenta |
| 384 kHz | purple |
| 705.6 kHz | light purple |
| 768 kHz | lavender |
| DSD | silver |
Hugo M Scaler manual, page 26.
Output sample rate (upsampling) (OP SR button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| No upsampling (bypass) | red (manual, page 22: “RED (BYPASS)”) |
| Medium | green (manual, page 22: “GREEN”) |
| High | blue (manual, page 22: “BLUE”) |
| Max | white (manual, page 22: “WHITE”) |
Hugo M Scaler manual, page 27. The manual's page 22 table gives the output rate for each color, input rate and output (dual BNC/USB, single BNC, optical).
Video mode (VIDEO button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Off (full tap length) | unlit |
| Video mode on (reduced tap length) | grey |
| Automatic, music playback detected | yellow |
| Automatic, video playback detected | blue (manual: “cyan”) |
Hugo M Scaler manual, page 28. The text says automatic mode is reached by pressing the button "until it displays yellow or blue", and that detected video shows "a cyan colour light".
Quartet M Scaler
Source: Quartet manual V1.2. What Watts has said about the Quartet M Scaler.
The Quartet manual shows settings on the screen and has no color tables.
Blu MkII
Source: Blu MkII user manual V1.1. What Watts has said about the Blu MkII.
Blu MkII sets its output sample rate with switch positions (up, mid, down; manual page 22). The one color statement: page 19 says maximum upsampling "is denoted by the white button colour".
Poly
Source: Poly user manual v3.3.
Battery and charging (P-status LED)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Charging | white |
| 100-75% | blue |
| 75-50% | green |
| 50-25% | orange |
| 25-5% | red |
| 5-0% | red flashing |
Poly user manual, page 1. The M-status LED shows Mojo's battery level with the same colors.
P-status LED
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Hotspot mode | blue flashinggreen flashing |
| Searching for a known Wi-Fi network | blue flashing |
| Micro SD card read | green flashing |
| Battery level, when connected to a known network See Battery and charging. | bluegreenredorange |
| Charging | white |
| No DAC detected | yellow flashing |
| Connected via Bluetooth Page 2. | purple flashing (manual, page 2: “purple”) |
Poly user manual, page 1.
2go and 2yu
Source: 2go user manual V1.6, 2yu user manual V1.1.
2go battery (charge status LED)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Charging | white |
| 100-75% | blue |
| 75-50% | green |
| 50-25% | yellow |
| 25-5% | red |
| 5-0% | red flashing |
2go user manual, page 7.
2go status LED
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Micro SD card read | green flashing |
| Cannot read Micro SD card | red flashing |
| Paired via Bluetooth | purple flashing |
| Refreshing SD card database | red flashing fastgreen flashing fastblue flashing fast |
| Updating firmware | red flashing slowgreen flashing slowblue flashing slow |
| Charging | white |
2go user manual, page 6.
2go network status LED
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Hotspot mode | green flashingblue flashing |
| Searching for a known Wi-Fi network | blue flashing |
| Wi-Fi connected | blue |
| Ethernet connected | green |
| Booting The table's swatch is yellow; page 10 says the LED stays orange while booting. | yellow (manual, page 10: “Orange”) |
2go user manual, page 6.
2yu buttons (OUTPUT and MUTE buttons)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Output: USB Type-A | white |
| Output: optical, RCA and BNC coaxial | yellow |
| Muted | red |
| Unmuted | green |
2yu user manual, page 10. Page 9: a green power LED means 2yu is on, red means it is off.
2yu button dimmer (DIM button)
| Meaning | Color |
|---|---|
| Off | silver |
| Low | red |
| Medium | orange |
| High | yellow |
| Full | white |
2yu user manual, page 11.