Sound Impressions
The following sound impressions were completed using the Rega Planar P1 turntable with the Carbon and Bias 2 MM cartridges combined with the Chord Electronics Anni amplifier and the Audeze MM-500 headphones.
These carts are on the cheaper side but are ones I know well and can easily reference them. The Bias 2 is more refined and detailed sounding than the Carbon, but the Carbon has a more ‘joyful’ and weightier performance with good separation.
The vinyl used were mostly reissues dating back to 2007, (original 1980s recordings), with some 180g options thrown into the mix.
Summary
The Chord Electronics Huei delivers a full-blooded signature, at least compared to the alternative phono stages I have heard in the office, namely the Project Audio Phono Box S2 and ALO Audio’s Stage 6.
It immediately relegates the cheaper Phono Box S to the storage cupboard in save for all but the warmest system setups or recordings where its thinner performance has some countering advantages.
Much of that fulsome tone comes from a distinctly driven and deeper low-end performance that shines through regardless of amplifier or headphones. It does get amplified with more warmth when paired with the Anni but that has more to do with the amplifier’s distinct coloration.
The Rega Carbon is known for its lively and musical performance, however, it’s not all cart-driven magic. Switching to the Phono Box S2 drained a lot of that weight and ‘drive’ from the performance giving it a much drier more clinical tone.
The Huei’s mids benefit from that stronger fundamental also with a pleasing level of density and body for both vocal and instrument alike. Vocals sit relatively near and upfront which I tend to prefer with headphones such as the MM-500.
Call me a midrange vocal lover if you like but if the vocals lack presence and gravitas I emotionally tune out when listening to any recordings. The Huei connects satisfyingly with excellent texture and above-average detail for both male and female vocals.
I do consider the Huei treble to be a little on the softer side compared to the airier soundstage from the likes of the Stage 6 which delivers more sweetened sparkle through the mids and highs.
Comparatively, there is less air and odd-harmonic presence here giving some instrumental note’s leading edges more of a rounded quality compared to Stage 6.
Rumble Filter
I have to note Huei’s rumble filter effect on the performance, a filter that kicks in at 50 Hz. With it on I had a perception of a more refined low-end with improved dynamic range compared to when it was turned off.
The noise control is palatable with a definite reduction in background hiss from the turntable during quiet passages of music when the Rumble filter is activated.
Funnily, the filter effect reminded me a little of the enhancing effects the M Scaler had when upsampling on the TT2. It brings a bit more focus and clarity to the delivery and improved mid-bass presence. Without it, the performance sounded a little flat and less emotive in its delivery.
Synergy
Managing the Noise Floor
Getting the right balance between Huei’s gain, amplification headroom, and matching headphones was more of a discovery process than running along some established benchmarks.
Of all the phono stages I have here the gain control on the Huei is the most complex as well as being the most accessible. That gave me the confidence to run through all of the stages in both XLR and RCA output modes with a wide range of amplifiers and headphones to see where the best setting might be.
Setups included Chord’s Anni, Ferrum’s OOR, the ALO Audio Stage 6, and the cheaper FiiO K9 Pro ESS. Headphones ranged from the very easy-to-drive Meze Audio Elite and Audeze’s MM-500 to the more demanding 300Ω ZMF Headphones Atrium and the Abyss Headphones Diana TC.
Unfortunately, the balance was never quite ideal for the various system setups I had in place with the audible noise floor just a little too high when the volume and dynamics from the recordings felt at their strongest or dead quiet for noise but with noticeably little volume headroom or loudness levels left in the matching amplifier.
Higher gain settings will always introduce more audible noise and some of these findings are of course anecdotal to my setup.
However, similarly priced units such as ALO Audio Studio 6’s phono stage were a little quieter with similar volume settings when paired with the same amplifier. The Huei did do better subjectively than the cheaper Phono Box S2.
I found that the green gain setting of 25 dB, (MM), combined with relatively sensitive headphones such as the MM-500 produced the best balance between dynamics, a quiet background, and volume headroom. After that, amplified noise from the turntable took a sharp jump upwards with the higher gain settings.
Amplifier Pairings
Two amplifiers stood out to me although the final choice of headphones will determine which one I would go with overall.
With the 300Ω dynamic driver Atrium, the Huei excelled with the Stage 6 SETA amplifier. A good tube amp always suits the Atrium but you also get the additional space and excellent instrumental separation, something that was less evident on something like the Ferrum OOR pairing.
The Atrium is a warm and relaxing sound but with massive soundstage potential. The resulting performance was wider and airier than the OOR but perhaps not quite as precise or as impactful.
One thing to note is the XLR output option of the Huei which does help elevate the staging width and channel separation more than the SE output.
Though the Stage 6/Atrium pairing was the superior setup for staging capability, the OOR did improve in that category using the Huei XLR output rather than the RCA alternative.
The Anni sounded weighty and slightly warmer compared to the OOR and Stage 6, however, its narrower staging quality was not the optimal pick for the Atrium.
Stage 6 delivers the better treble extension but the Anni combo does offer a weightier set of lows that makes good use of the perceived gusto from the Huei’s low-end. Cleaner-sounding and faster headphones such as the Audeze MM-500 felt more at home with this combo.
