What do the colored indicators mean (volume, sample rate, charging), and is a volume color the same level across Chord DACs?
Short answer
Each volume color covers a small band of steps: typically three 1 dB steps per color on the original Hugo, with the bottom (dark brown) and top (white) colors covering much wider ranges Head-Fi, May 2014Head-Fi, Sep 2014, two steps per color on Hugo 2 Head-Fi, Apr 2017. In April 2021 he said the colors are the same voltage level on Dave, TT2, Hugo 2 and Mojo, with blue at -12 dB being 1.0 V RMS on Dave Head-Fi, Apr 2021. Sample rate and charging colors differ by product (below). He gave no complete color table; Chord's manuals give one for each model that uses colors, collected on the indicator colors page.
The practical answer
Volume colors are bands of steps, and in 2021 he said a given color is the same voltage on Dave, TT2, Hugo 2 and Mojo. In the Hugo TT 2 thread in April 2021 he wrote: "The colours are the same voltage level - so blue (-12dB is 1.0v RMS) on Dave - same for TT2, Hugo 2 and Mojo." He added that TT2 "can go higher (+7dB) before it clips with 0dBFS input" Head-Fi, Apr 2021. In 2017 he said Hugo 2's output voltage into 300 ohms "is the same as Mojo, with the same colours" Head-Fi, Apr 2017; his stated maximum (1% THD into 300 ohms) was 5.4 V RMS for Mojo in 2016 and 5.3 V RMS for Hugo 2 in 2017 Head-Fi, Aug 2016Head-Fi, Apr 2017. The 2021 post names neither Mojo 2, Qutest nor the original Hugo.
Volume colors by product
- Hugo (2014): "There are 3 changes in volume per colour, each step is 1dB." Head-Fi, May 2014. From his spec spreadsheet, green is -24, -23 and -22 dB, dark brown runs from -70 dB to -43 dB, and white from 0 dB to +18 dB. The pre-set level gives 3 V RMS at 0 dBFS, setting white (0 dB) gives 4.75 V, and Hugo delivers "just over 5v RMS before it goes into clipping" Head-Fi, Sep 2014. In 2015 he said that in practice you only need volume to about 3 dB accuracy Head-Fi, Mar 2015.
- Hugo 2 (2017): one LED lights each side of the wheel, and "same colour is for two steps" Head-Fi, Apr 2017.
- Mojo 2 (2022 to 2024): to get 2 V, "set both volume LEDs to indigo (that's the first colour above blue)" Head-Fi, May 2022. The menu button shows whether you are in the high or low volume range; he said this only displays a 128-step digital volume more precisely, with no analog gain changes Head-Fi, Dec 2022. On clipping with no EQ boost, he wrote in February 2022 that Mojo 2 "can clip when the volume is set to white" Head-Fi, Feb 2022; in May 2023 that "Just hitting the white level is fine - it can't clip", only going deeper into white Head-Fi, May 2023; and in December 2024 that both LEDs must be white to clip, and that +3 dB of EQ boost means going 3 steps down Head-Fi, Dec 2024.
- Qutest (2018 to 2019): the colors set output voltage, chosen by pressing both buttons at start-up Head-Fi, Jan 2018, and he confirmed the manual: "1v red, 2v green, 3v blue" Head-Fi, Nov 2019.
Why colors. In 2017 he said the scheme follows the rainbow, with white as maximum, and that "it is a big disadvantage if one is color blind" Head-Fi, Aug 2017. He credits the idea to John Franks article, Dec 2017The Source AV 7:42. On Mojo 2 the power-up rainbow is a 16-second mode that lets the digital DC servo stabilize, which he said takes around 15 seconds to trim the DC Head-Fi, Jun 2023.
Sample rate colors
- Red is 44.1 kHz and orange 48 kHz; yellow is 88.2 kHz (2018, M Scaler thread) Head-Fi, Aug 2018.
- Hugo 2 (2017): "26 kHz to 45.2 kHz is displayed as red" Head-Fi, Aug 2017. In 2018 he said pass-through follows the input rate, so playing 44.1 makes Hugo 2 go red Head-Fi, Nov 2018.
- Hugo M Scaler output switch (2018): red is pass-through, green 176.4/192, blue 352.8/384 and white 705.6/768; "only white enables the dual data mode" Head-Fi, Sep 2018. On Qutest (2019) a cyan input light means dual data on the BNCs Head-Fi, Feb 2019.
- Hugo TT 2 (2018): "sample rate is the colour through the port"; the display shows sample rate and volume "only when things change" Head-Fi, Aug 2018.
- Qutest (2023): its sample rate display is accurate, so "a 96k file that is displayed as red has been sample rate converted by the source" Head-Fi, Dec 2023.
Charging colors (Hugo 2 and Mojo 2)
- Hugo 2 power switch (2017): cyan is half charge at 1 A, white full charge at 2 A, and magenta desktop mode after more than 24 hours on the charger Head-Fi, Mar 2017. Cyan is "not blue"; blue means fully charged with the unit on, and with the unit off a dark light means end of charge Head-Fi, Jul 2017. An FPGA thermal trip also forces cyan until it cools Head-Fi, Jul 2017.
- In 2019 he said cyan at power-up on the charger means half charge mode, which "indicates a problem with the charger; or that Hugo 2 is drawing more than 2A" Head-Fi, Sep 2019. In 2020 he said yellow is below 50% charge, "on the manual it looks orange" Head-Fi, Mar 2020.
- Mojo 2 (2024): stopping at blue "doesn't matter much", but "You will get longer battery life if you wait till magenta (purple)." Head-Fi, Feb 2024.
Chord's manuals fill in the rest. He gave no complete color table for any model. Chord's own user manuals give the colored indicators for the models that use them (sample rate, battery, charging, inputs, filters, crossfeed), collected on the indicator colors page; DAVE and TT2 have no battery and show most settings on a screen, with TT2's colors limited to volume and sample rate. No manual gives a level for each volume color: they show volume as a color bar or a range of colors. For Mojo 2 he said the voltage for each color is in his Mojo 2 presentation, which is not reproduced in the archive Darko.Audio 18:48Head-Fi, May 2022.
Quotes
“The colours are the same voltage level - so blue (-12dB is 1.0v RMS) on Dave - same for TT2, Hugo 2 and Mojo.”2021-04-06 Head-Fi, Apr 2021
“There are 3 changes in volume per colour, each step is 1dB.”2014-05-17 Head-Fi, May 2014
“There is logic to the color scheme, in that it follows the rainbow sequence.”2017-08-09 Head-Fi, Aug 2017
“half charge where it draws 1 A (cyan on power switch), or full charge at 2 A (white).”2017-03-14 Head-Fi, Mar 2017
Dated positions
| When | Products | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-05 to 2014-09 | Hugo (original) | Each volume color typically holds three 1 dB steps, but the bottom color (dark brown, -70 to -43 dB) and the top color (white, 0 to +18 dB) cover much wider ranges, with white giving 4.75 V RMS. Head-Fi, May 2014Head-Fi, Sep 2014 |
| 2017-04 to 2022-05 | Hugo 2, Mojo (original), Mojo 2 | Hugo 2 and Mojo share the same volume colors into 300 ohms; Mojo 2 needs both LEDs at indigo for 2 V. Head-Fi, Apr 2017Head-Fi, May 2022 |
| 2021-04 | DAVE, Hugo TT2, Hugo 2, Mojo (original) | The colors are the same voltage level across these DACs, blue being -12 dB and 1.0 V RMS on Dave. Head-Fi, Apr 2021 |
| 2022-02 to 2024-12 | Mojo 2 | With no EQ boost, Mojo 2 can clip only in white: just reaching white is fine, going deeper into white with both LEDs white can clip; EQ boost lowers the safe setting. Head-Fi, Feb 2022Head-Fi, May 2023Head-Fi, Mar 2024Head-Fi, Dec 2024 |
| 2017 to 2018 | Hugo 2, Hugo M Scaler, Hugo TT2 | Sample rate is shown by color, with red at 44.1 kHz and orange at 48 kHz in the cases he described. Head-Fi, Aug 2017Head-Fi, Aug 2018Head-Fi, Nov 2018Head-Fi, Aug 2018 |
| 2017-03 to 2020-03 | Hugo 2 | Power switch colors show charge state: cyan 1 A (also forced by an FPGA thermal trip, and in 2019 a sign of a charger problem or over-2 A draw), white 2 A, magenta desktop mode, blue fully charged with the unit on, yellow below 50%. Head-Fi, Mar 2017Head-Fi, Jul 2017Head-Fi, Jul 2017Head-Fi, Sep 2019Head-Fi, Mar 2020 |
| 2024-02 | Mojo 2 | Charging to blue is acceptable, but waiting for magenta gives longer battery life. Head-Fi, Feb 2024 |
| 2018-01 to 2019-11 | Qutest | Qutest's colors set output voltage at start-up: 1 V red, 2 V green, 3 V blue. Head-Fi, Jan 2018Head-Fi, Nov 2019 |
Caveats and open points
- He gave no complete color table for any model; he refers to his spec spreadsheet (Hugo) and his Mojo 2 presentation, which are not reproduced here. The tables on the indicator colors page come from Chord's manuals, not from him.
- The 2021 cross-model statement names Dave, TT2, Hugo 2 and Mojo only; nothing in this archive extends it to Mojo 2, Qutest or the original Hugo.
- Hugo 2 cyan: in 2017 he described it as the normal 1 A charge mode (entered when the charger voltage drops, or on an FPGA thermal trip); in 2019 he said half charge mode at power-up indicates a charger problem or a draw above 2 A.
- Sample rate assignments come from scattered replies about different products; colors beyond red, orange and yellow for plain input rates are not listed.
Topics: Controls, indicators and remotes, Volume, gain and output level, Internal batteries, charging and desktop mode