Can Hugo, Hugo 2, Mojo, TT2 or DAVE drive loudspeakers directly from the headphone output, and what load is too low?

Practical answer. Watts says Hugo, Hugo 2, DAVE and TT2 can drive efficient loudspeakers, typically 8 ohm designs, directly; volume depends on the product, speaker sensitivity and room Head-Fi, Apr 2014Head-Fi, Jul 2017Head-Fi, Sep 2017Head-Fi, Jan 2023. On TT2 use the single-ended connection, not the balanced XLR Head-Fi, Jan 2021Head-Fi, Apr 2022.

By product

Hugo (2014 to 2019). On 2014-04-28 he wrote "it must be 8 ohms or bigger and efficient as you only have 1W", and not to go "above ultra violet on the volume control" Head-Fi, Apr 2014; in June 2014 he wrote that "driving loudspeakers directly is a tad extreme!" Head-Fi, Jun 2014. In November 2019, comparing Hugo 2's 1050 mW into 8 ohms, he put the original at "about 750mW (if memory serves!)" Head-Fi, Nov 2019. In September 2014 he agreed 6 ohms and 86 dB would be too much, as Hugo's 0.5A limits it to 3V peak into 6 ohms Head-Fi, Sep 2014. In 2015 he said he designed Hugo to drive 8 ohm loudspeakers directly, at 0.5A RMS Head-Fi, Apr 2015.

Mojo (original). At a 2018-05-25 recorded talk he said "we've got people with mojos driving efficient loudspeakers directly" (check the recording) Darko Audio 50. In October 2019, asked about 6 ohms, he guessed 0.75W for Mojo, adding "Mojo isn't rated for 8 ohm operation though, and am a bit skeptical that my estimates for Mojo are correct" Head-Fi, Oct 2019. In July 2020 he wrote "A Mojo will drive 8 ohm loudspeakers" Head-Fi, Jul 2020.

Hugo 2 (2017 to 2023). He gave 1.05W into 8 ohms at 1% THD, and guessed 1W into 6 ohms Head-Fi, Oct 2019, noting it "can be voltage as well as current limited depending on load" Head-Fi, Jan 2018. In 2017 he wrote that driving direct "won't fill a room with sound, but it works very well for near field monitoring with efficient 8 ohm speakers", while 100 dB horns can fill a room Head-Fi, Jul 2017. In January 2023 he described traveling with generic passive 8 ohm 5 inch cubes Head-Fi, Jan 2023 driven from Hugo 2, listening "in a large hotel room with lots of volume" Head-Fi, Jan 2023. Its headphone and RCA outputs are identical, so the RCAs can feed speakers Head-Fi, Apr 2018.

DAVE. He gave 2.1W into 8 ohms Head-Fi, Jan 2018, and in 2018, for a Blu 2 feeding DAVE (BluDave), put the danger zone for current limiting into 8 ohms at +5dB on the volume Head-Fi, Jun 2018. In 2017 he ran 88 dB/1W office speakers from DAVE with plenty of volume Head-Fi, Sep 2017. In November 2020 (question not preserved) he wrote "4 ohms is too much for Dave - unless your volume is at -6dB or below" Head-Fi, Nov 2020. In 2024 he said DAVE cannot drive his B&W 803 D3 as TT2 does Head-Fi, Oct 2024.

Hugo TT2 (2018 to 2025). Headphone sockets and RCA give 7W into 8 ohms, the balanced XLR 18W (2018) Head-Fi, Nov 2018. He drives his B&W 803 D3 single-ended Head-Fi, Jul 2018Head-Fi, Oct 2019Head-Fi, Oct 2024, but said "85 dB on the KEF may be a tough ask" (2023) Head-Fi, Jan 2023.

Single-ended limits. With an 8 ohm load it clips at +7dB on the volume (2019) Head-Fi, Oct 2019. He called 4 ohms single-ended "absolutely fine" in 2021 Head-Fi, Aug 2021. In February 2025 he wrote "Any nominal load under 4 ohms is a no-no", warning a very low load may damage TT2 if protection is too slow Head-Fi, Feb 2025; in March 2025 he said it is fine "so long as it doesn't fall below 4 ohms nominal and 3 ohms minimum" Head-Fi, Mar 2025. In May 2018 he had written "Yes, it drives 1 ohm loads fine" (question not preserved) Head-Fi, May 2018; the 2025 limits are later. In 2023 he doubted 7W could damage a speaker run without clipping Head-Fi, Sep 2023.

Balanced XLR. In 2018 he described the XLR as for loudspeakers "when 18W RMS/8 may be needed" Head-Fi, May 2018, estimated 27W into 4 ohms Head-Fi, May 2018, and told an owner to try balanced if 7W lacked volume Head-Fi, Nov 2018. From August 2019 he warned of thermal trips on the balanced output "when driving 8 ohms or less", as "internal power loss quadruples in this mode" Head-Fi, Aug 2019. In January 2021 he wrote "My advice on TT2 driving efficient loudspeakers has not changed", advising against the XLRs into 8 ohms or less Head-Fi, Jan 2021. The threshold he states varies: "at or below 10 ohms" (March 2021) Head-Fi, Mar 2021, "loads less than 16 ohms" (February 2022) Head-Fi, Feb 2022, and 8 ohms or less (2022, 2023) Head-Fi, Apr 2022Head-Fi, Jan 2023. A post from 2025 or later says that above 7W into 8 ohms it "will eventually thermally trip" Head-Fi, Mar 2025. A tripped TT2 restarts once cool, and single-ended into 4 ohms won't trip (2020) Head-Fi, Nov 2020.

Wiring. Use XLR pins "1 for ground and 2 for hot", and check that XLR pin 3 is not connected to pin 1, as that "will short the negative output which may damage TT2" (2022) Head-Fi, Apr 2022.

What he has not said. He gave no minimum load for Hugo 2 or Mojo, and nothing on Mojo 2 driving speakers. Qutest he described as designed for easy loads such as pre-amp inputs Head-Fi, Sep 2019.

Quotes

“Note driving direct with efficient speakers won't fill a room with sound, but it works very well for near field monitoring with efficient 8 ohm speakers.”2017-07-31 Head-Fi, Jul 2017

“For TT2 when driving speakers (or loads less than 16 ohms) do not use the balanced connection - as it will thermally trip if run loud.”2022-02-17 Head-Fi, Feb 2022

“So it will be fine so long as it doesn't fall below 4 ohms nominal and 3 ohms minimum.”2025-03-18 Head-Fi, Mar 2025

“If you try this, it must be 8 ohms or bigger and efficient as you only have 1W, and don't go above ultra violet on the volume control.”2014-04-28 Head-Fi, Apr 2014

Dated positions

Caveats and open points

• Mojo 2 driving speakers, and minimum loads for Hugo 2 and Mojo, are not covered in this archive.
• Several Head-Fi answers reply to questions that are not preserved, so the load or speaker in question is sometimes unknown (for example the 2018 1 ohm and 2020 DAVE 4 ohm replies).
• TT2 XLR advice differs between 2018 (18W into 8 ohms for loudspeakers, try balanced for more volume) and August 2019 onward (thermal trip); in 2021 he wrote that his advice had not changed. The stated balanced threshold varies between 8, 10 and 16 ohms.

Topics: Driving loudspeakers directly, Heat, thermal protection and stacking