[Silvertone4]

Some questions on the DAVE:
 
 
Has anyone experimented with HF Filter setting on the Dave?  What are the implications on the signature sound of the DAC when it's turned ON? 
 
What am I 'giving up' in performance when using the balanced outputs vs. singled ended?  In other words, am I sacrificing channel separation? noise floor? cross-talk? R and L channel level matching? etc..
 
Has anyone paired this dac with Ayre preamps?  Could you comment on the sound?
 
 
Thanks!!

 

[ubs28]

Some questions on the DAVE:


Has anyone experimented with HF Filter setting on the Dave?  What are the implications on the signature sound of the DAC when it's turned ON? 

What am I 'giving up' in performance when using the balanced outputs vs. singled ended?  In other words, am I sacrificing channel separation? noise floor? cross-talk? R and L channel level matching? etc..

Has anyone paired this dac with Ayre preamps?  Could you comment on the sound?


Thanks!!

It makes the HD 800 S less bright and it makes the Dave also a bit smoother to me. So I don't hear downsides. But that are simply my ears with the HD 800 S.

 

[romaz]

  After almost one year of ownership I'm still in love with my DAVE. Fantastic sound quality and ultimate reliability. But a few minutes ago it was doing something strange: it reduced the volume continuously by 6 dB, from –15 to –21, within about three seconds, as if somebody was turning the volume knob. I was listening with eyes closed, so couldn't see anybody/anything (I'm definitely alone in my apartement, and the door is locked). BTW, it was around 18:18 CET, and I was listening to Peter Hammill's «Golden Promises» (from «The Storm after the Calm»). Maybe somebody has an explanation?

Marcel, do you think your remote might be misbehaving?

 

[romaz]

  Some questions on the DAVE:
 
 
Has anyone experimented with HF Filter setting on the Dave?  What are the implications on the signature sound of the DAC when it's turned ON? 
 
What am I 'giving up' in performance when using the balanced outputs vs. singled ended?  In other words, am I sacrificing channel separation? noise floor? cross-talk? R and L channel level matching? etc..
 
Has anyone paired this dac with Ayre preamps?  Could you comment on the sound?
 
 
Thanks!!

 
According to Rob, turning on the HF filter reduces noise floor modulation resulting in a smoother sound but also degrades timing precision.  You will have to decide which you prefer.
 
In theory, if you are after the best transparency possible with DAVE, the SE outputs are more transparent than the balanced outputs due to the addition of an op amp in the balanced pathway but both sound excellent in my experience.  If your amp sounds better balanced or if you have really good balanced interconnects and not so good RCA interconnects, you might find that you prefer balanced.

 

[JaZZ]

 

  After almost one year of ownership I'm still in love with my DAVE. Fantastic sound quality and ultimate reliability. But a few minutes ago it was doing something strange: it reduced the volume continuously by 6 dB, from –15 to –21, within about three seconds, as if somebody was turning the volume knob. I was listening with eyes closed, so couldn't see anybody/anything (I'm definitely alone in my apartement, and the door is locked). BTW, it was around 18:18 CET, and I was listening to Peter Hammill's «Golden Promises» (from «The Storm after the Calm»). Maybe somebody has an explanation?

 
Marcel, do you think your remote might be misbehaving?

 
Through the walls of the original box where it is stored?

(I don't use it.)

 

[JaZZ]

I can't definitely decide between HF filter on and off, but most of the time prefer it off. The sound is airier and more detailed that way, and still smooth (enough). The difference is extremely subtle, but nevertheless not entirely negligible. I rather feel the difference than I hear it, an A/B comparison shows just minimal difference (although it's certainly real).

 

[TheAttorney]

^ That perfectly summarises my own thoughts on the HF filter.

 

[romaz]

  romaz - thanks for the thought-provoking post on the SOtM sms200 and the Shunyata HC cables. 
 
I had been thinking about the sms200 since seeing the Hans Beekhuyzen review and I have just reserved a unit which should be shipping into the UK within the next couple of weeks.  Like the TheAttorney, I too would be interested to learn what you thought about how well the LPS-1 paired with the sms200.  I upgraded my LPS-1 power lead to the Sonore DC-4, which I have found to add more authority and refinement to the mRendu sound (the stock lead sounding a little lean and bright).
 
Also, I think I will soon be in a position to take a loan of a Shunyata Alpha HC cable.  A few months ago, after having tried an Alpha Analogue, I contacted Shunyata for their advice on best pairing with the DAVE.  During the course of those exchanges I received replies from two different people at Shunyata with advice that led me to feel the analogue was probably the better pairing compared to the digital cable, but I was also encouraged to try out the Alpha HC cable if I could.  Knowing that you would have been testing them also with your speaker system, can I just check if your positive comments about the Shunyata cables reflected their use with the DAVE with its headphone amp hat on?   I do not have a dedicated mains line for my music system and having one installed is not a realistic option.  Also, I do not see myself feeling able to splash out on a Dinali, so I am wondering just how much benefit I would get from a Shunyata HC cable.
 
 
 

Hi Steve, it was Hans' review that piqued my curiosity as well.  He said just enough things for me to want to try it.  The LPS-1 will drive it fine.  I'm glad you like the Sonore DC-4.  I had a gentleman here in the U.S. craft a custom 12 inch UP-OCC silver DC cable for me with the Oyaide 2.1mm barrels and I have been quite happy with it as well.  The stock DC cable doesn't do the LPS-1 justice.
 
Regarding the Shunyata Alpha HC, give this one a go if you can.  I suspect it will be preferable to the Analog with your DAVE.  The quality of your mains line (as far as line gauge) may limit what you get with the Alpha HC.  Should you be able to swing the lesser expensive Denali 2000T at some point, the combination may help overcome a compromised mains line.  The pairing is quite remarkable.
 
Unfortunately, my comments regarding power cables were made with speakers and not headphones.  I have struggled to find interest in my headphones lately although that will change.  My Focal Utopias just arrived yesterday.  My re-worked HFC Trinity Helix arrives on Monday.  HFC will be crafting a set of custom headphone cables with their magnetic conductor for me and so I will be quite interested to see how this headphone cable fares.  

 

[lovethatsound]

Hi Romaz
Would be very interested in your opinion 's on the focal utopias.

 

[Ashrunner]

  You have a wonderful setup.  I foresee late nights and not much sleep for you in the coming days.  Congratulations!

This won't come as a surprise to anyone, but wow - had a great night with Dave.  It is 1:30am in San Francisco and I need to get up in five hours but it was worth losing some sleep to spend time with Dave since it was his first night in my home.  On some songs I didn't notice much of a difference between my schiit yggy/rag combo, but on most songs there was a clear, powerful difference.  On some albums, for example most Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd that I listened to tonight, I really don't think I could go back to my old set up after listening to the albums on Dave.
 
Dave and Utopia really pair well, by the way.  I played around with some settings on Dave, for example the cross feed and filtering, but didn't notice much of a difference.  I settled on cross 3 because it sounded a bit more 3D but that may have just been the songs I was playing when I tested it.  No buyers remorse on my end.  Even after only 8 hours, it is clear I'm going to be happy with the purchase.

 

[phonyx]

  Hi Steve, it was Hans' review that piqued my curiosity as well.  He said just enough things for me to want to try it.  The LPS-1 will drive it fine.  I'm glad you like the Sonore DC-4.  I had a gentleman here in the U.S. craft a custom 12 inch UP-OCC silver DC cable for me with the Oyaide 2.1mm barrels and I have been quite happy with it as well.  The stock DC cable doesn't do the LPS-1 justice.
 
Regarding the Shunyata Alpha HC, give this one a go if you can.  I suspect it will be preferable to the Analog with your DAVE.  The quality of your mains line (as far as line gauge) may limit what you get with the Alpha HC.  Should you be able to swing the lesser expensive Denali 2000T at some point, the combination may help overcome a compromised mains line.  The pairing is quite remarkable.
 
Unfortunately, my comments regarding power cables were made with speakers and not headphones.  I have struggled to find interest in my headphones lately although that will change.  My Focal Utopias just arrived yesterday.  My re-worked HFC Trinity Helix arrives on Monday.  HFC will be crafting a set of custom headphone cables with their magnetic conductor for me and so I will be quite interested to see how this headphone cable fares.  

 
Do you just use the Omega monitors with the DAVE in your office when not listening with headphones? Do you direct drive the speakers you use or run the DAVE into a power amp? 

 

[Crgreen]

My understanding is that the HF filter was designed to deal with DSD files, but it might have benefits for PCM, which is what most of use play most of the time, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. As a file format, DSD doesn't look like it will ever really take off.

Re: USB cable impedance, I'm a bit confused. Just how critical is it, and if it makes a significant difference why hasn't anyone raised or addressed this issue before, apart from one business which sells hand made cables?

 

[ubs28]

  This won't come as a surprise to anyone, but wow - had a great night with Dave.  It is 1:30am in San Francisco and I need to get up in five hours but it was worth losing some sleep to spend time with Dave since it was his first night in my home.  On some songs I didn't notice much of a difference between my schiit yggy/rag combo, but on most songs there was a clear, powerful difference.  On some albums, for example most Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd that I listened to tonight, I really don't think I could go back to my old set up after listening to the albums on Dave.
 
Dave and Utopia really pair well, by the way.  I played around with some settings on Dave, for example the cross feed and filtering, but didn't notice much of a difference.  I settled on cross 3 because it sounded a bit more 3D but that may have just been the songs I was playing when I tested it.  No buyers remorse on my end.  Even after only 8 hours, it is clear I'm going to be happy with the purchase.

I keep it off. The Focal Utopia needs as much soundstage as possible imo

 

[yellowblue]

After Roys fabulous report on the Omega CAM loudspeakers i decided to order them. They arrived yesterday and I used them first with my Belles 150A V2 poweramp. Sounded OK but the mids were a bit shouty. Today I made a cable (an older DNM loudspeaker cable) with RCA-plugs and plugged it directly into the Dave (like Roy does). And even if the loudspeakers are not fully burnt-in I can say that it sounds fantastic, better than with my old system with power amp, loudspeakers and cables that cost me aboout 6000 dollar. A lot simpler and a lot better.
My room is 20m2 and I get enough power from the Dave to hear with relatively high volumes. Thank you, Roy! 

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Some questions on the DAVE:


Has anyone experimented with HF Filter setting on the Dave?  What are the implications on the signature sound of the DAC when it's turned ON? 

What am I 'giving up' in performance when using the balanced outputs vs. singled ended?  In other words, am I sacrificing channel separation? noise floor? cross-talk? R and L channel level matching? etc..

Has anyone paired this dac with Ayre preamps?  Could you comment on the sound?


Thanks!!

Balanced vs Single Ended
What am I giving up with Single Ended? In a word 'dynamics' or at least a reduction in this aspect of the delivery. (I believe the balanced output has twice the current. If so it is understandable really.) I prefer Balanced because the best dynamic and transient rendition will always deliver the best musical involvement. I have tested Chord Sarum Tuned Aray and Avid Reference Black 'balanced' against Chord Sarum Super Aray Single Ended. In both cases the balanced won me over with the greater dynamics and musical involvement despite being inferior cables to the SE cable. I found nothing else to differentiate the two choices. No change in clarity to my ears (on my system).

HF Filter
When I used Sonus Faber Olympica III speakers, I originally had problems with musicality when the Filter was on but I eventually found that this was due to the speakers already being a little to much (bass) for my room size and so when the sound warmed up with the Filter on the dynamics were impeded by wall proximity (to the speaker). Moving the speakers further from the wall brought the musicality back to its previous level. So the problem was my room and speaker size and not the Filter. The Filter definitely warms things up but it does something else which is not immediately obvious:- The music has more ease. It is more natural and relaxed with the Filter on. After a while I found this naturalness had seduced me and I now favour the Filter on. Not sure why it does that but there is something 'right' about it to my ears at least.