How many taps and pulse array elements does each Chord DAC have?
Short answer
Watts said in 2017 that the tap counts he quotes are for the first filter stage (WTA 1) only Head-Fi, Mar 2017. His figures: Hugo 26,368 Head-Fi, May 2014, Mojo 2 40,960 MFG Audio Reviews 28:30, Hugo 2 49,152 Head-Fi, Mar 2017, Hugo TT2 98,304 Head-Fi, Aug 2018, DAVE 164,000 HIFICLUBE.NET JVH 45. Pulse array elements, which he said are per channel Head-Fi, Nov 2019: Hugo and Mojo four Head-Fi, Feb 2018, Mojo 2 four Head-Fi, Feb 2023, Hugo 2, Qutest and TT2 ten Head-Fi, Jun 2017Passion for Sound 3:58Head-Fi, Oct 2018, DAVE twenty Head-Fi, Aug 2018. His Qutest tap figures disagree.
Practical answer. Watts gives a tap count for each Chord DAC's first filter stage and a separate element count for the pulse array. In 2017 he said the tap figures he quotes are "true real taps" for WTA 1 only, so they leave out the later WTA 2 filter Head-Fi, Mar 2017Head-Fi, Mar 2017. Asked in 2019 whether TT2's 10 and DAVE's 20 elements were per channel, he said "the number of pulse array elements relate to each channel only" Head-Fi, Nov 2019. The figures below are his, by product.
Taps (WTA 1) and pulse array elements, by product
- Hugo. In 2018 he gave its launch as 2014 article, Mar 2018, and listed it as "Hugo (2013)" in a tap-length list the same year article, Apr 2018. He gave 26,368 taps in 2014 Head-Fi, May 2014 and in 2017 described that first stage as going to 8FS Head-Fi, Jul 2017. In 2014 he said Hugo's pulse array has four elements, against 16 on the older QBD76 Head-Fi, Apr 2014.
- Mojo. In an interview recorded about January 2016 (published July 2016) he said "we've got a similar tap length with Mojo" to Hugo's "twenty six thousand odd" Hifistatement 3:15. In his November 2018 open-day talk (uploaded December 2018) he said the tap length had not been published and was "actually 38,000 taps" Pursuit Perfect System 10:21, and he repeated 38,000 at CanJam NYC 2022 MFG Audio Reviews 27:42. In 2018 he said Hugo and Mojo have "exactly the same 4e pulse array" Head-Fi, Feb 2018.
- Mojo 2. At CanJam NYC 2022 (late February; video published March 2022) he said "This is now 40,960 taps" and described an "Improved 4 element pulse array DAC" MFG Audio Reviews 28:30. In January 2022 he called it four fifths of Hugo 2's tap length, with no WTA 2 Head-Fi, Jan 2022, and in 2023 "a 4e pulse array" Head-Fi, Feb 2023. In October 2026 he said "I think it's 44 thousand taps" for Mojo 2 Part-Time Audiophile 33:10, a hedged spoken figure that differs from the 2022 number.
- Hugo 2. 49,152 taps for WTA 1, which he said in 2017 "is always present and does not change"; WTA 2 taps are extra Head-Fi, Mar 2017, and WTA 2 runs from 16FS to 256FS Head-Fi, Jul 2017. The pulse array has ten elements, up from four on Hugo Head-Fi, Jun 2017.
- Qutest. In February 2018 he gave one signal path for "Hugo 2/Qutest" with a 49,152 tap WTA 1 Head-Fi, Feb 2018, and in an April 2018 interview said Hugo 2 and Qutest offer 49,152 taps article, Apr 2018. In the Passion for Sound interview (published in parts December 2019 to January 2020; recording date not stated) he said "48 thousand taps" Passion for Sound 19:15, and in 2022 "48k taps" Head-Fi, May 2022. A January 2025 post in the Qutest thread says "the 98,304 taps are all used" in WTA 1 Head-Fi, Jan 2025; the post does not name the product and the question it answers was not captured. 98,304 is his Hugo TT2 figure elsewhere, and this archive does not reconcile the two. On elements, in the same interview (Part 2, published December 2019; recording date not stated) he told the interviewer "With your Qutest, you've got 10 elements" Passion for Sound 3:58.
- Hugo TT2. 98,304 taps in WTA 1 Head-Fi, Aug 2018Head-Fi, Dec 2018. At the 2018 launch he said 98,000 HIFICLUBE.NET JVH 7 and in that November 2018 open-day talk "90,000" Pursuit Perfect System 10:56. In December 2018 he wrote "It's 98,304 taps to be exact" and said they are switched off when an M Scaler is connected Head-Fi, Dec 2018. The pulse array is ten elements Head-Fi, Oct 2018Pursuit Perfect System 32:30.
- DAVE. 164,000 taps, given at the 2015 launch HIFICLUBE.NET JVH 45 and repeated in a podcast recorded in October 2025 and published in March 2026 ecoustics 23:40. In the same 2016 interview he said the first versions could not get timing closure Hifistatement 3:15. The pulse array has 20 elements Head-Fi, Mar 2016Head-Fi, Aug 2018. He explained the extra four over 16 as overhead so the elements keep switching as the signal approaches clipping Head-Fi, Mar 2016Head-Fi, Jan 2016.
- Older models. DAC64 had 1,024 taps and QBD76 had 18,000 article, Apr 2018Head-Fi, Apr 2014. The QBD76 has 16 elements Head-Fi, Apr 2014. This archive does not give a DAC64 element count.
With an M Scaler. In 2018 he said that with an M Scaler connected to Hugo 2 or Qutest, WTA 1 is not used and the signal passes to WTA 2 Head-Fi, Feb 2018. He describes the Hugo M Scaler as "the full 1 million taps" Pursuit Perfect System 13:16Head-Fi, Jul 2018; the exact 1,015,808 figure he gave in 2018 is for the Blu MkII article, Apr 2018. For Quartet he said "4 million taps" in 2024 AVstore 4:31.
How much weight to put on the numbers. In 2019 he wrote "Don't get hung up on the number of elements, it's way, way more complex than that" Head-Fi, Feb 2019. In 2018 he wrote that "the algorithm employed is much more important than the tap length" Head-Fi, Aug 2018.
What he has not said. He does not state a pulse array element count for the DAC64, and does not reconcile the Qutest figures of about 48,000 to 49,152 taps with the 98,304 in the 2025 post Head-Fi, Feb 2018Head-Fi, Jan 2025.
Quotes
“When I quote tap lengths it is only for the WTA 1 stage, and they are true real taps - not using FFT's or playing around with the numbers.”2017-03-19 Head-Fi, Mar 2017
“Yes the number of pulse array elements relate to each channel only.”2019-11-17 Head-Fi, Nov 2019
“Don't get hung up on the number of elements, it's way, way more complex than that”2019-02-20 Head-Fi, Feb 2019
“the Chord DAC 64 (1999) had 1,024 taps, we then progressed to Hugo (2013) 26,000 taps; DAVE (2015) 164,000 taps and Blu MKII (2017) 1,015,808 taps”2018-04-04 article, Apr 2018
Dated positions
| When | Products | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-04 to 2018-02 | Hugo (original), Mojo (original) | Hugo has a 26,368 tap WTA 1 filter and a four element pulse array; Mojo shares Hugo's 4e pulse array. Head-Fi, May 2014Head-Fi, Apr 2014Head-Fi, Feb 2018 |
| 2016-01 (recorded about then; published 2016-07) | Mojo (original) | He said Mojo has a tap length similar to Hugo's 26,000 or so. Hifistatement 3:15 |
| 2018-11 to 2022-02 | Mojo (original), Mojo 2 | He put Mojo at 38,000 taps and Mojo 2 at 40,960 taps, both with four element pulse arrays. Pursuit Perfect System 10:21MFG Audio Reviews 27:42MFG Audio Reviews 28:30 |
| 2026-10 | Mojo 2 | He said he thinks Mojo 2 is 44 thousand taps, a hedged spoken figure that differs from his 2022 number. Part-Time Audiophile 33:10 |
| 2017-03 to 2017-07 | Hugo 2 | Hugo 2 has 49,152 taps in WTA 1, with WTA 2 additional, and a ten element pulse array. Head-Fi, Mar 2017Head-Fi, Jul 2017Head-Fi, Jun 2017 |
| 2018-02 to 2022-05 | Qutest | He gave Qutest 49,152 taps (shared with Hugo 2), then described it as 48 thousand taps, with ten pulse array elements. Head-Fi, Feb 2018Passion for Sound 19:15Head-Fi, May 2022Passion for Sound 3:58 |
| 2025-01 | Qutest | A post in the Qutest thread, which does not name the product, refers to 98,304 WTA 1 taps, a figure he gives for Hugo TT2 elsewhere; this archive does not reconcile the two. Head-Fi, Jan 2025Head-Fi, Aug 2018 |
| 2018-05 to 2018-12 | Hugo TT2 | Hugo TT2 has 98,304 WTA 1 taps (spoken as 98,000 at the May 2018 launch and 90,000 in the November 2018 open-day talk) and a ten element pulse array. Head-Fi, Aug 2018Head-Fi, Dec 2018Head-Fi, Oct 2018HIFICLUBE.NET JVH 7Pursuit Perfect System 10:56 |
| 2015-05 to 2025-10 | DAVE | DAVE has 164,000 taps and a 20 element pulse array. HIFICLUBE.NET JVH 45ecoustics 23:40Head-Fi, Mar 2016Head-Fi, Aug 2018 |
| 2018-04 to 2024-05 | Blu Mk2, Hugo M Scaler, Quartet M Scaler | Blu MkII has 1,015,808 taps, the Hugo M Scaler 1 million, and Quartet 4 million. article, Apr 2018Pursuit Perfect System 13:16AVstore 4:31 |
Caveats and open points
- Tap figures are for WTA 1 only; he says WTA 2 and later filters are not counted.
- Pulse array element counts are per channel (said in answer to a TT2 and DAVE question).
- The Qutest tap figure differs between sources (49,152, 48 thousand, 98,304) and this archive does not reconcile them.
- The 1,015,808 tap figure is for Blu MkII, not the Hugo M Scaler, which he describes as 1 million taps.
- No pulse array element count for the DAC64 was found.
- The Porta-Fi interview is English as published; German Hifistatement articles were not quoted.
Topics: Specifications and feature facts, Tap length and diminishing returns, Pulse array DAC