To heck with it... I can't avoid this thread it seems
I have a second opinion from a friend that knows my system very well also, so I have to share this for the people that don't mind the competition.
I thought this was a High End Audio Head Fi Thread? I didn't realize it was a Chord only thread. There are only a couple of you guys who don't like what I did, and that is fine with me. As for the rest, who wouldn't want to know how the DAVE compared to the Twelve? The DAVE was compared to the Monobloc, so I compared the DAVE to the Twelve, and posted it right here on the DAVE thread.
I posted the review because I wanted to, nobody told me to. I made it honest, and with regards to my system, my findings, IMO. I didn't treat one DAC differently than another, just swapped out the DAC's only, and listened. Who wouldn't want to replace a 30K DAC with one less than half the price? Boy I sure would, but unfortunately, I cannot. One DAC is very clearly more transparent than the other in my system. One DAC also has an overall lower perceived noise floor in my system. Resistors piled to the ceiling or not.
I made very clear the value the DAVE presents. The fact that one can use any source, and not have any reclockers, USB tweaks, etc. and get world class sound, well that is really something!!
However, the Twelve, with the best possible source components in front of it, is better. It just is, so maybe the USB input of the DAVE is the one part of the DAC that is not actually transparent?? I do know the digital sources sound extremely similar using the USB input of the DAVE, and in effect masking transparency? I don't know, but it could be....
My friend came by Thursday, because I wanted a second set of ears and a second opinion. Both the Twelve and the DAVE were set up to quickly A/B the two of them running through my preamp. Only a USB Cable swap was required from the Server to either DAC, and a selector switch on the preamp, so maybe 10 seconds between comparisons.
Using the preamp, we listened to the Twelve for a couple tracks that he always likes to listen to here. "Made In The Shade" Lynyrd Skynyrd, and "Tobacco Road" Eric Burdon and WAR. Made in the Shade has a tuba in it that is very hard to recreate without sounding mechanical. Tobacco Road is so focused and clear, displaying holographic images supremely well. These are both PCM, with Skynyrd being 176/24, and Burdon and WAR being 16/44 CD rip.
After listening to the Twelve with these tracks, I asked what he thought. He said "sounds like it always does, amazing".
We then proceeded to A/B. I played Made in the Shade through the DAVE, then again through the Twelve, then again through the DAVE. Then he looked at me and said, "The Totaldac is more magic". I asked what he meant by that and he said "it sounds freakishly real, and the Tuba don't sound right with the DAVE". I asked what was wrong with it? He said "I can't tell where it is, and if I didn't know what it was, I don't think I could tell you it was a tuba".
Then we tried Tobacco Road with the Twelve, then the DAVE, then back to the Twelve. I asked what he thought. He said "Totaldac, I can see Eric, like even touch the guy he sounds so real. With the DAVE, he is gone. Not gone, but not here". His words, I took notes.
After this, I hooked the DAVE directly to the amps. I played the same tracks, and he asked "what did you do there?" Hooked the DAC to the amps directly. He said "well, it sounds pretty good actually, but I like it better the other way". I then put the preamp back in the loop. We listened to allot of music, and some vinyl. Had a great time talking about his system of which I am helping him build currently. Before he left, I asked him what he thought of the DAVE, and he said "oh it is very good, and better than I thought knowing your other DAC". I also asked him what he thought about the Vinyl in comparison to the DAC's. He said "The Totaldac sounds allot like your turntable, I'll say that". He is a therapist, so he then proceeded to tell me my problems and how stupid my system was, all while he was falling into his Porsche 911 with all the trimmings....
The Twelve is different, and in fact, revelatory with regards to transparency in a DAC . It is far better than any other Totaldac, and better than anything else I have tried. It is the only DAC that gets close to my vinyl. I can't say this about any other DAC, and yes, I mean on a resolute and transparent basis.
