[PANURUS]

Thank to Beolab for http://dr.loudness-war.info/

 

[Beolab]

Thank to Beolab for http://dr.loudness-war.info/

Im glad to share and help !

This is a huge key for good sound in the first step.

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

 
How much better does the $10k+ DAVE sound over the Chord Hugo? Is it 2 times better?
 
I can't demo it anywhere so I have to buy it without hearing it.

 I have not tried the Hugo but The QBD76 HDSD has been said by many people to be significantly superior to the Hugo despite less taps. I own the Red Reference III and that is almost identical except it improves upon the QBD76 HDSD in a couple of specs. Now in comparing Dave against the RR3 - it is quieter, more detailed, more focussed and purer sounding. The resolution level is a magnitude over the RR3 imo. I think direct comparison against the Hugo would likely stand out significantly and particularly in terms of dynamics because even against the RR3, DAVE stood out as far superior in this respect. For headphone listening this may not be quite so big a deal but if you listen via speakers I would expect the difference to be akin to listening to a full scale 3 way speaker compared to a monitor. The monitor will have detail but will not carry the scale and heft of the music. Its hard to put a scale on how much better the DAVE is compared to something like the RR3 (a £16k transport and dac) but I would venture it to be certainly twice as good. In terms of dynamics compared to the Hugo I would expect a direct comparison to show DAVE is playing in a completely different league. Perhaps as much as 4 divisions apart.

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

One thing I forgot to mention is DAVE's killer attribute - Timing. This is an aspect of music that shouldn't really come down to 'how many times better is it?' With something as important as Timing I think one should be asking "Does it have real world timing or not?" If we want something close to 'Real world' timing then DAVE is the only game in town right now for digital imo. You could spend almost as much buying a mega clock alone to link with a DSD flag waving manufacturers stack and still fail to deliver real world timing. How do you put a price on the experience of real world musicality? In my opinion that is almost priceless.

 

[Rob Watts]

It was the perception of timing - being able to hear the starting and stopping of notes - that really surprised me with Hugo, as this quality was a surprise, and I was not sure where it was coming from.
 
Dave primarily was about finding what the factor was that I had done with Hugo, then maximize it. I am glad to say I did indeed end up understanding what this factor is in technical terms.
 
Off to Can-jam Singapore now!
 
Rob

 

[Mython]

  we were told in no uncertain terms that Dave was just way too cheap. He claimed that nobody will compare a Dave at $13k against a $50k DAC, that to say Dave was better was ridiculous as the price was wrong. It can sound better, measure better, that just didn't matter as the price was wrong, and everybody measures by price. Telling this to an engineering driven company (John was with me) was, shall we say - somewhat disheartening. Ho hum.
 
 
 
Thanks Rob

 
 
Please don't be too disheartened, Rob.
 
Given time, your product will undoubtedly permeate the consciousness of audiophiles around the world - even those with the deepest pockets.
 
Every now and then, a product enters the marketplace and doesn't tessellate with the existing status quo. It takes time for the old status quo to adapt (both the retailers and their customers).
It doesn't necessarily mean that a mistake has been made with the product (or marketing of said product) that is causing the paradigm shift.
 
 
I, for one, would much rather see you design products that sincerely drive the state-of-the-art, and the status quo of the marketplace, forwards, rather than using your talents to drive the state-of-the-art forwards whilst tarnishing your achievements by cynically playing the disingenuous game of 'milking' audiophiles for as much as possible - an approach many fat dinosaurs in the industry still short-sightedly worship.
 
So what if a few snobbish dinosaurs deride or snub your efforts?
 
They will be more than outweighed by newcomers who could never aspire to afford a $50,000-$100,000 DAC, but who may perhaps be able to save and stretch to a $10,000 Chord DAC, and whose musical horizons will be inspired and expanded in a way never before within their grasp.
 
Satisfying a few snobbish dinosaurs, or expanding the horizons and enjoyment of many potential newcomers - I know which I would feel more satisfied by, if I were in your position

 

[m0nster]

Does anyone know where I could listen to a Dave in Switzerland? I will probably never be able to afford one, but after reading here I would love to be dreaming for a while!

 

[JaZZ]

Does anyone know where I could listen to a Dave in Switzerland? I will probably never be able to afford one, but after reading here I would love to be dreaming for a while!

 
I got mine from here. Bought it blind, though.

 

[m0nster]

I got mine from here. Bought it blind, though.

That's the only Swiss retailer I found too. I may ask them if there's a chance to listen to it. Thank you for your help, Jazz!

 

[Hiyono]

What setting did you guys prefer for the cross feed with headphones?

If Robb Watts could explain what cross feed 0-4 do? I would really appreciate it.

I been playing with Dave directly to a pass lab xa30.5 + speakers. Just moved it back to headphone setup. Haven't gotten to play around much yet.

 

[Beolab]

Its like buying a new Ferrari or Bentley , you just buy it , like the rest of us

 

[lovethatsound]

What setting did you guys prefer for the cross feed with headphones?

I been playing with Dave directly to a pass lab xa30.5 + speakers. Just moved it back to headphone setup. Haven't gotten to play around
much yet.

Hi m8
I don't use the cross feed,prefer the sound as it is☺

 

[Beolab]

@Rob Watts

May i ask what type / brand of headphones / speakers you where using during the development of DAVE ?

 

[Sonic77]

I am so happy with the Dave Dac, it sounds just awesome! I'm done as far as the dac hunt goes or all those little usb fixer thingys, I bought so many dacs, and so many filters, usb enhancers or fixers, or changers, or whatever they are, it was getting ridiculous. I'm done. I never said that and meant it, but now I'm positive, if this is my last dac, I could live with the Dave dac forever, it's that good, in my opinion.
I bought this Dac having never heard it, but knew and owned the Hugo. A couple of years ago I talked to John Franks at the Los Angeles can jam, I talked to him for several minutes about the new dac (Dave), and was sold right there, and couldn't wait to get the Dave. Now that I've had it for several weeks now, I think it's burned in, I can't stop listening to the Dave.
So, if you are thinking about the Dave dac, just know, I've listened and owned several dacs and the Dave just is so much better, it's not even close.
The high end audio guy where I bought the Dave was comparing it to dacs that were several thousand dollars more and kept saying to me, you were smart to get the Dave. I will not mention those dacs, but you can guess.  

 

[Rob Watts]

My reference loudspeakers is unusual; its made by Velour a small German company. I do not think they are made any more. The speakers had very good sound-stage depth, with an excellent bass for a relatively small loudspeaker. Headphones - Noble K10, Audeze, and Nighthawks. The majority of the listening tests was on loudspeakers.
 
Rob