[Torq]

hi
can anyone tell me if Chord Dave uses universal voltage? for example, if I'm using Euro voltage (I think it's 220v), can I use a Dave originally bought for the Australian market (230v)?
thanks!

DAVE has an auto-switching PSU that'll work from 90V to 250V (both AC, obviously) on either 50 or 60Hz systems.

 

[DJJEZ]

My black DAVE has finally turned up. I was quoted 6 to 8 weeks to be made but after 4 weeks it's turned up

 

[Progisus]

Are the backgrounds darker?

 

[jlbrach]

My black DAVE has finally turned up. I was quoted 6 to 8 weeks to be made but after 4 weeks it's turned up

enjoy, great combo with the formula s/powerman

 

[edwardsean]

Are the backgrounds darker?

It's a tradeoff. The silver model is brighter with more high-end. (Grin).

 

[sm60]

2,021,885.87


How can the most advanced dac in the world, the Dave in combination with the M-scaler be far behind the times compared to dacs using off the shelf dac chips, or one that hasn't changed much in the last 20 years and has it's analogue outputs connected with computer ribbon cable? You really don't understand Rob Watts achievements or the sound quality that he has achieved.

With all due respect to Rob Watts, and I mean no disrespect to him or Chord, the idea that the M-scaler or the Dave has fundamentally changed digital audio science is patently absurd. When you measure even inexpensive DACs like the Topping 90, it has every type of distortion below -120dB. The science of DACs has been well known for over 50 years. Shannon’s information theory that established digital audio was done in the late 1940s.

If you point me to one scientific article published in an established IEEE journal on digital signal processing or information theory or even the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society that proves Chord’s design is superior, I’ll eat my hat. If you read John Atkinson’s review of the M-scaler in Stereophile, you’ll see he questions the very premise that a million tap filter is intrinsically better than other approaches. There’s really only subjective evidence and here it’s all one’s opinion vs someone else’s.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy listening to my M-scaler and the Dave. It’s a perfectly fine sounding digital audio front end. But I don’t for s moment believe it’s out of the ballpark superior to brands like dCS, who by the way haven’t used off the DACs for more than 30 years! There are many audiophile brands that use customized DAC solutions, e.g., TAS did a very favorable review of the Denafrips discrete ladder R2R DAC a few months ago.

I’m not trolling. I’m simply saying don’t get taken in by voodoo. If you genuinely want to improve your listening experience invest in good headphones or loudspeakers, pay attention to your listening room and above all attend live concerts. I can’t bear to listen to the m-scaler or the Dave for a few days after hearing a live concert by the San Francisco symphony. There’s simply no comparison between live vs. reproduced sound. I wish we would focus on the weakest link in the chain, and to me, that’s not the DAC or the upsampling algorithm. My two cents, but backed by every serious scientist in digital audio processing I know of. If you point me some scientific literature that proves me wrong, I’d love to read it!

 

[EuropeanEar]

Currawong seems to have seen the revelation that is the Focal Utopia+Chord DAVE+M Scaler. In my opinion its the best combination of performance at any price.

No offense but I doubt it. Have you ever heard the MSB Technologies Select DAC with the MSB Select headphone amplifier? The Nagra HD DAC with the Sennheiser HE 1? dCS Vivaldi stack connected to a Blue Hawaii/Stax SR-009s combo? Because that’s what is out there “at any price point.”

I owned a black Schiit Yggdrasil A2 and it wasn't in the same league as the DAVE even when used with top amplifier offerings…

I still have my old Yggdrasil and it is an outstanding product at a very, very decent price. Of course they’re not in the same league since the DAVE costs about 4-5 times more (depending on where you live).

Its not worth comparing the two and I think highly of Mike Moffat's work at the $2,449 price point.

That’s exactly my point: it’s not worth comparing two DACs when the price difference is this big.

 

[jlbrach]

With all due respect to Rob Watts, and I mean no disrespect to him or Chord, the idea that the M-scaler or the Dave has fundamentally changed digital audio science is patently absurd. When you measure even inexpensive DACs like the Topping 90, it has every type of distortion below -120dB. The science of DACs has been well known for over 50 years. Shannon’s information theory that established digital audio was done in the late 1940s.

If you point me to one scientific article published in an established IEEE journal on digital signal processing or information theory or even the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society that proves Chord’s design is superior, I’ll eat my hat. If you read John Atkinson’s review of the M-scaler in Stereophile, you’ll see he questions the very premise that a million tap filter is intrinsically better than other approaches. There’s really only subjective evidence and here it’s all one’s opinion vs someone else’s.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy listening to my M-scaler and the Dave. It’s a perfectly fine sounding digital audio front end. But I don’t for s moment believe it’s out of the ballpark superior to brands like dCS, who by the way haven’t used off the DACs for more than 30 years! There are many audiophile brands that use customized DAC solutions, e.g., TAS did a very favorable review of the Denafrips discrete ladder R2R DAC a few months ago.

I’m not trolling. I’m simply saying don’t get taken in by voodoo. If you genuinely want to improve your listening experience invest in good headphones or loudspeakers, pay attention to your listening room and above all attend live concerts. I can’t bear to listen to the m-scaler or the Dave for a few days after hearing a live concert by the San Francisco symphony. There’s simply no comparison between live vs. reproduced sound. I wish we would focus on the weakest link in the chain, and to me, that’s not the DAC or the upsampling algorithm. My two cents, but backed by every serious scientist in digital audio processing I know of. If you point me some scientific literature that proves me wrong, I’d love to read it!

not sure what the purpose of this rant was or why you even frequent the chord dave thread

 

[muski]

And there's that ever-so-useful "Ignore" button!

 

[tomwoo]

With all due respect to Rob Watts, and I mean no disrespect to him or Chord, the idea that the M-scaler or the Dave has fundamentally changed digital audio science is patently absurd. When you measure even inexpensive DACs like the Topping 90, it has every type of distortion below -120dB. The science of DACs has been well known for over 50 years. Shannon’s information theory that established digital audio was done in the late 1940s.

If you point me to one scientific article published in an established IEEE journal on digital signal processing or information theory or even the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society that proves Chord’s design is superior, I’ll eat my hat. If you read John Atkinson’s review of the M-scaler in Stereophile, you’ll see he questions the very premise that a million tap filter is intrinsically better than other approaches. There’s really only subjective evidence and here it’s all one’s opinion vs someone else’s.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy listening to my M-scaler and the Dave. It’s a perfectly fine sounding digital audio front end. But I don’t for s moment believe it’s out of the ballpark superior to brands like dCS, who by the way haven’t used off the DACs for more than 30 years! There are many audiophile brands that use customized DAC solutions, e.g., TAS did a very favorable review of the Denafrips discrete ladder R2R DAC a few months ago.

I’m not trolling. I’m simply saying don’t get taken in by voodoo. If you genuinely want to improve your listening experience invest in good headphones or loudspeakers, pay attention to your listening room and above all attend live concerts. I can’t bear to listen to the m-scaler or the Dave for a few days after hearing a live concert by the San Francisco symphony. There’s simply no comparison between live vs. reproduced sound. I wish we would focus on the weakest link in the chain, and to me, that’s not the DAC or the upsampling algorithm. My two cents, but backed by every serious scientist in digital audio processing I know of. If you point me some scientific literature that proves me wrong, I’d love to read it!

I think it is quite obvious why companies choose not to publish their proprietary technologies in scientific journals...

 

[iDesign]

No offense but I doubt it. Have you ever heard the MSB Technologies Select DAC with the MSB Select headphone amplifier? The Nagra HD DAC with the Sennheiser HE 1? dCS Vivaldi stack connected to a Blue Hawaii/Stax SR-009s combo? Because that’s what is out there “at any price point.”

Search. I have heard MSB Select+MSB Headphone Amplifier at their Watsonville, CA facility, the Sennheiser HE-1 on numerous occasions, the dCS Rossini and Bartók, owned the Stax 009 system many years ago, owned the Abyss 1266 Phi TC etc. etc. I have been a member of this site since 2004 and the days that SinglePower Audio, Eddie Current, and Ray Samuels were all the rage. And that doesn't even begin to count all of the flagship IEMs and speakers I've bought and sold. A few members like Raypin, Nomax, Mike Lavigne and a handful others have me beat. And I admit that I haven't dabbled much in brands like Dan Clark Audio and have avoided others like Woo Audio, HiFiMan and Audeze. But in my opinion the DAVE+Blu Mk II+Utopia is where the defense rests.

 

[DJJEZ]

Are the backgrounds darker?

Its the same. I had a silver loaner DAVE prior to the black DAVE arriving. the camera on my phone just sucks lol

 

[EuropeanEar]

Search.

I don’t have to. I asked you a simple question and you answered it; this is what a forum like this is for.

I have heard MSB Select+MSB Headphone Amplifier at their Watsonville, CA facility, the Sennheiser HE-1 on numerous occasions, the dCS Rossini and Bartók, owned the Stax 009 system many years ago, owned the Abyss 1266 Phi TC etc. etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the DAVE/M Scaler sound. But just like the Yggdrasil is not in the same league with the DAVE, the DAVE is not in the same league with the MSB Select. That’s just the harsh reality.

But in my opinion the DAVE+Blu Mk II+Utopia is where the defense rests.

It’s great if you’re happy with them or you found your end-game setup. However, it doesn’t mean that it beats everything at any price point.

 

[jlbrach]

I don’t have to. I asked you a simple question and you answered it; this is what a forum like this is for.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the DAVE/M Scaler sound. But just like the Yggdrasil is not in the same league with the DAVE, the DAVE is not in the same league with the MSB Select. That’s just the harsh reality.

It’s great if you’re happy with them or you found your end-game setup. However, it doesn’t mean that it beats everything at any price point.

you mean the DAC THAT COSTS 100K LOL?

 

[EuropeanEar]

you mean the DAC THAT COSTS 100K LOL?

Yes, I mean the DAC and headphone amplifier that cost way more than $100k, because the original claim was “at any price point”.