[musickid]

i look forward to adding hms to dave next year.

 

[ekfc63]

Hi All,
For hard to drive headphones i.e. Susvara, Abyss 1266's etc., has anybody tried or own a high powered Headphone Amp that takes little to nothing away from the characteristics of the DAVE i.e. it's transparency etc. ?

I was running 1266TC with Dave and thought it sounded fine, but reading this forum and other articles online (audiobacon's in particular https://audiobacon.net/2016/04/15/chord-dave-review-project-evad-evaluation-dave/4/) left me with a nagging doubt as to whether I was maxing out the 1266's performance. I ended up with a Formula S / Powerman and although there is a slight loss of transparency, adding the amp has definitely elevated the sound overall.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I was running 1266TC with Dave and thought it sounded fine, but reading this forum and other articles online (audiobacon's in particular https://audiobacon.net/2016/04/15/chord-dave-review-project-evad-evaluation-dave/4/) left me with a nagging doubt as to whether I was maxing out the 1266's performance. I ended up with a Formula S / Powerman and although there is a slight loss of transparency, adding the amp has definitely elevated the sound overall.

Thank you ekfc63 for your reply and feedback. Much appreciated.
Did you also consider any tube amps prior to buying your Formula S to power your 1266 TC's ?

 

[ekfc63]

Thank you ekfc63 for your reply and feedback. Much appreciated.
Did you also consider any tube amps prior to buying your Formula S to power your 1266 TC's ?

I had an ALO Studio Six that I was using with my Focal Utopias, but it didn't have enough jam to drive the TCs which was a real shame since I just loved it. At the dealers I also tried the Simaudio 430 which I could have happily lived with.

 

[jlbrach]

I was running 1266TC with Dave and thought it sounded fine, but reading this forum and other articles online (audiobacon's in particular https://audiobacon.net/2016/04/15/chord-dave-review-project-evad-evaluation-dave/4/) left me with a nagging doubt as to whether I was maxing out the 1266's performance. I ended up with a Formula S / Powerman and although there is a slight loss of transparency, adding the amp has definitely elevated the sound overall.

In theory it would be better to be able to listen straight from the dave without an external amp but with the likes of susvara or abyss tc it isnt possible....I tried but in the end realized that listening with the formula s/powerman simply takes the TC or susvara to the next level...the formula s/powerman is an extraordinary amp IMHO and the grunt and increased soundstage one gets is well worth whatever marginal loss of transparency there might be

 

[stemiki]

These days I have read the whole thread, over a thousand pages, and since an updated model is not on the way, I have decided to sell my current dac and switch to the DAVE. I better stop reading the forums and ask for advice from experienced friends (simorag)!

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

These days I have read the whole thread, over a thousand pages, and since an updated model is not on the way, I have decided to sell my current dac and switch to the DAVE. I better stop reading the forums and ask for advice from experienced friends (simorag)!

You won't regret it. It's superb !

 

[bluecar]

Hi All,
For hard to drive headphones i.e. Susvara, Abyss 1266's etc., has anybody tried or own a high powered Headphone Amp that takes little to nothing away from the characteristics of the DAVE i.e. it's transparency etc. ?

I've got mine set up with a Benchmark HPA-4 driving Focal Utopia's via balanced connection. The HPA does a great job - takes away nothing, but adds plenty of power and control. I

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I've got mine set up with a Benchmark HPA-4 driving Focal Utopia's via balanced connection. The HPA does a great job - takes away nothing, but adds plenty of power and control. I

Thank you bluecar for your feedback. Much appreciated.

 

[Malcyg]

Thank you ekfc63 for your reply and feedback. Much appreciated.
Did you also consider any tube amps prior to buying your Formula S to power your 1266 TC's ?

Most people seem to favour balanced output from Dave for some reason however, if you wish to preserve maximum transparency, you should at least try RCA. I have tried a number of times over the years that I have owned Dave and always draw the same conclusion that RCA provides superior transparency to balanced connection, both when driving a power amp into speakers or a headphone amp. Rob Watts has stated this to be the case himself, but one should always test for themselves to determine what works best with their gear and ears.

Edit - I have replied to the wrong post, but the intent is the same.

 

[Uncle Monty]

This is gonna make some of you furious, but I’m not the only one who thinks the Innuos Phoenix reclocker helps to improve usb dac performance.

https://audiobacon.net/2020/09/08/innuos-phoenix-usb-reclocker-review/amp/

I use the reclocker in between my server and mDAVE, and I definitely think it brings about very noticeable improvements

I also read this review before then reading that Rob Watts apparently disagrees - don't know what to think, better get one on trial and see for myself, I suppose.

 

[edwardsean]

I also read this review before then reading that Rob Watts apparently disagrees - don't know what to think, better get one on trial and see for myself, I suppose.

Jay's review reflects his characteristic enthusiasm for products he likes, and in this forum, we should keep in mind he is talking broadly. When asked about Dave specifically, Jay says he does find improvement but without elaborating.

I also like the Phoenix–a lot, but I don't find it quite as transformative with Dave. Nevertheless, for me, it is a case where, having invited it into my system, there is no way it is leaving. I think its benefits are probably due equally to the Sean Jacobs power supply and the actual reclocking/regenerating architecture. The digital side does what the reviews describe, but the SJ power supply adds a clean, analog fullness which is very welcome for Dave. (Also, it should be made clear that the Phoenix has nothing to do with the signal timing for Dave's masterclock. It is reclocking the USB data packets.)

Anyone interested should really have a listen for themselves to decide if the improvements are worth the high cost. However, it is hard to argue that the Dave is the one DAC that the Phoenix can't impact. Certainly the argument can be made technically, but for myself, I agree with Srajan Ebaen in his 6Moons review of the Phoenix:

"For those who'd invoke their DAC's galvanically isolated USB transceiver to claim no possible use or need for such devices, I'll say that I haven't yet met a USB DAC which didn't benefit from an external reclocker."

If you've already read Jay's and Darko's reviews, Srajan's review, as well as Dawid Grzyb's at HiFiKnights, are well worth reading.

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/innuos2/
http://hifiknights.com/reviews/accessories/innuos-phoenixusb/

 

[Malcyg]

Jay's review reflects his characteristic enthusiasm for products he likes, and in this forum, we should keep in mind he is talking broadly. When asked about Dave specifically, Jay says he does find improvement but without elaborating.

I also like the Phoenix–a lot, but I don't find it quite as transformative with Dave. Nevertheless, for me, it is a case where, having invited it into my system, there is no way it is leaving. I think its benefits are probably due equally to the Sean Jacobs power supply and the actual reclocking/regenerating architecture. The digital side does what the reviews describe, but the SJ power supply adds a clean, analog fullness which is very welcome for Dave. (Also, it should be made clear that the Phoenix has nothing to do with the signal timing for Dave's masterclock. It is reclocking the USB data packets.)

Anyone interested should really have a listen for themselves to decide if the improvements are worth the high cost. However, it is hard to argue that the Dave is the one DAC that the Phoenix can't impact. Certainly the argument can be made technically, but for myself, I agree with Srajan Ebaen in his 6Moons review of the Phoenix:

"For those who'd invoke their DAC's galvanically isolated USB transceiver to claim no possible use or need for such devices, I'll say that I haven't yet met a USB DAC which didn't benefit from an external reclocker."

If you've already read Jay's and Darko's reviews, Srajan's review, as well as Dawid Grzyb's at HiFiKnights, are well worth reading.

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/innuos2/
http://hifiknights.com/reviews/accessories/innuos-phoenixusb/"

I agree with this and, in particular, with the reference to the ‘analogue fullness’ to which I would also add ‘warmth‘, but that is probably implied anyway. I don’t have the Phoenix but I do have a Statement, so it’s a similar thing. I recall discussing this 3 and a bit years ago with Roy/Romaz who had got himself a Zenith SE at the time and he was encouraging me to try the SOtM tX-Ulra and Master Clock with my own SE. Despite my slight scepticism and a definite reluctance to add boxes to my system, I tried it and it wasn’t the first nor the last time where I found beneficial improvement despite being contrary to the prevailing popular wisdom.

 

[ZappaMan]

I will say it again. The two apps you are running on your iPad or whatever to control LMS have nothing to do with the sound. They are not in the signal path. They just control what is played. You can prove this. Play something and turn off your iPad. The music continues. There are setting in LMS to allow the app to control volume in LMS (which might degrade sound quality), but there are also settings to avoid using the volume control in LMS and I would imagine that’s what you have set. Same with Roon. What you are saying is akin to saying you have two remote controls for your tv, and you get a better picture with one than the other. I’m not saying Roon does not sound different to LMS, just that I find it hard to believe two different LMS control apps can produce a difference.

I heard the high rollers say, keeping any roon remote control open during playback has negative impact, as the server/remote control become tightly bound to exchange metrics about current tract/position/etc and this has a material impact on the server/end point.

 

[musickid]

There is no physical connection between a roon remote and a roon server. It's getting silly now.