CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

 

[MvRBE10]

Exactly the same improvements i notice on the farad….. i say shoot out

 

[chesebert]

Same kind (probably to a lesser degree) of improvements you get with a better power cable - all part of improvements to power.

If Chord would only spend a bit more on designing the SMP.

 

[Reactcore]

LOL 600VA and Dave draws less than 40
I wished Hans did also compared using HP out of Dave.. just to confirm my findings that improvents are mainly cause of RF injected back in the mains > amp.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Been there, done that. Before the Dave was “dethroned” by the Lampi in my main system, I used the Dave for about 2 years with my Quads, so you can say I know its sound like the back of my hand. Mid-fi describes how I view the Dave. It’s a fine DAC for driving headphones and a desktop system. That’s why they apparently used a $20 power supply. Gets the job done, I suppose.

It’s weird to think of the DAVE as mid-fi, but after thinking on it some more, you might be right. If you narrow the dac arena down to just the high-end, the DAVE would fall in the middle in price, if not lower. Adding the DC4 makes it a $20K dac and then an M-scaler and DC4 for that is another $10K. I really want to compare dacs at that $30K level to see how the modded mDAVE compares. There are quite a few $30K+ dacs, that, at least in cost, could be considered summit-fi.

It’s crazy though, because when I first started in this audiophile thing, the Hugo 2 and Utopias were summit-fi for me. Now I’ve learned that there are better headphones and better amps/dacs.

There really does appear to be some price conditioning that goes on in the audiophile world. If you would have told me in the beginning that I’d have a $30K DC4’d mDAVE, I would have laughed at you. The cost just appeared to be very unreasonable in the beginning. Now, we’re calling it mid-fi

 

[chesebert]

I

It’s weird to think of the DAVE as mid-fi, but after thinking on it some more, you might be right. If you narrow the dac arena down to just the high-end, the DAVE would fall in the middle in price, if not lower. Adding the DC4 makes it a $20K dac and then an M-scaler and DC4 for that is another $10K. I really want to compare dacs at that $30K level to see how the modded mDAVE compares. There are quite a few $30K+ dacs, that, at least in cost, could be considered summit-fi.

It’s crazy though, because when I first started in this audiophile thing, the Hugo 2 and Utopias were summit-fi for me. Now I’ve learned that there are better headphones and better amps/dacs.

There really does appear to be some price conditioning that goes on in the audiophile world. If you would have told me in the beginning that I’d have a $30K DC4’d mDAVE, I would have laughed at you. The cost just appeared to be very unreasonable in the beginning. Now, we’re calling it mid-fi

I sure hope you didn't dump $30k into a dac blind. Dave with some DIY PSU would not be how I would spend $30k. Chord has never been a high-end brand. That's just me.

 

[DJJEZ]

It’s weird to think of the DAVE as mid-fi, but after thinking on it some more, you might be right. If you narrow the dac arena down to just the high-end, the DAVE would fall in the middle in price, if not lower. Adding the DC4 makes it a $20K dac and then an M-scaler and DC4 for that is another $10K. I really want to compare dacs at that $30K level to see how the modded mDAVE compares. There are quite a few $30K+ dacs, that, at least in cost, could be considered summit-fi.

It’s crazy though, because when I first started in this audiophile thing, the Hugo 2 and Utopias were summit-fi for me. Now I’ve learned that there are better headphones and better amps/dacs. Same for amps and dacs

There really does appear to be some price conditioning that goes on in the audiophile world. If you would have told me in the beginning that I’d have a $30K DC4’d mDAVE, I would have laughed at you. The cost just appeared to be very unreasonable in the beginning. Now, we’re calling it mid-fi

It's defintley funny also how this hobby ruins our perception and value of money over time. A $5000 headphone which seems unreachable in the beginning quickly becomes the norm and the same applies for other gear. Once you've spent X amount the next step above seems in reach lol My value of money has been ruined by this hobby 100%
I still think the DAVE is a high end product. Just on the lower end of the spectrum for high end compared to MSB/DCS which is ultra high end.

 

[DJJEZ]

I
I sure hope you didn't dump $30k into a dac blind. Dave with some DIY PSU would not be how I would spend $30k. Chord has never been a high-end brand. That's just me.

Say what you want but if someone was to make a top 10 dac list of the world, the chord Dave would be in it even if its not to everyone's tastes. High end and your definition of it is relative to where you are in your journey In this hobby. I think that definition is different for every single person. For me, Mid-fi stuff is a couple of thousand £ each piece of gear where for others It could be £500.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...IME in my system, the Dave, IF you upgrade the power supply (I was on a DC4), AND if you bypass the Amanero USB (I was on a Denefrips Gaia), it was neck-and-neck with the MSB Premiere dac. A little different sound, but comparable.

I listened with and without MScaler. That does NOT tip the scales, IMO. It's just different.

Dave solo, IMO, is mid-level. With the mods, it's excellent.

That said, the MSB Reference dac (which I subsequenly purchased after demo-ing both MSB dacs, and testing against Dave in many permutations) is better. In my opinion. In my system. It's not that close, either. But it's expensive...

 

[chesebert]

Say what you want but if someone was to make a top 10 dac list of the world, the chord Dave would be in it even if its not to everyone's tastes.

That's debatable...
In no particular order: dCS Vivaldi, dCS Rossini, MSB Select, MSB Reference, T+A SDV 3100, Emm Labs DV2, Nagra HD DAC, Weiss 501/502, Playback Designs Dream Dac, Linn Klimax Organik

Bricasti M1, ARC DAC 9 and BAD Reference should be considered as well. I would literally go through that list before I try Dave, to be completely honest.

 

[GryphonGuy]

I
I sure hope you didn't dump $30k into a dac blind. Dave with some DIY PSU would not be how I would spend $30k. Chord has never been a high-end brand. That's just me.

The DAVE is a high-end product even though Chord put it in the Choral range. Dave is very scalable despite Chord initially saying that it was not affected by upstream componentry which we now know is simply not true and now with lower noise power supplies, it scales beautifully.

Even by itself, DAVE was better than the Metronome $30k Signature DAC I had that Metronome was not able to repair (for reasonable cost). Now with the AR6 and Mundorf wiring upgrade, it surpasses that $30K DAC in every single way. Accurate timbre, which was always a hallmark of DAVE, is simply enhanced so even less brain power is required as the sound is simply the sound now (garbage can lid hit with padded drumstick, for example, is just so accurate sounding).

I guess I over-simplify but after 1 month of living with AR6 DC4, It and the DAVE is not leaving my setup anytime soon. I am completely happy with the combo.

Regards
GG

 

[chesebert]

Being completely happy is the only metric that actually matters.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I
I sure hope you didn't dump $30k into a dac blind. Dave with some DIY PSU would not be how I would spend $30k. Chord has never been a high-end brand. That's just me.

It was gradual. I started with a mTT2, traded the TT2 in for a DAVE and then got the 2 DC4s. When I had the mDAVE, I was debated between the DC4s and a DCS Rossini and clock. I figured it was cheaper to get the DC4s than starting off fresh with the Rossini. I haven’t heard the Rossini, but I really want to. I wonder how it compares to the DC4 mDAVE

 

[jlbrach]

It's defintley funny also how this hobby ruins our perception and value of money over time. A $5000 headphone which seems unreachable in the beginning quickly becomes the norm and the same applies for other gear. Once you've spent X amount the next step above seems in reach lol My value of money has been ruined by this hobby 100%
I still think the DAVE is a high end product. Just on the lower end of the spectrum for high end compared to MSB/DCS which is ultra high end.

same with everything sadly..I remember years ago when a broadway ticket sold for 100 dollars for the first time people went nuts there was all kinds of consternation and then people accepted it and it became the norm and now of course that is a seat in the bathroom lol

 

[chesebert]

It was gradual. I started with a mTT2, traded the TT2 in for a DAVE and then got the 2 DC4s. When I had the mDAVE, I was debated between the DC4s and a DCS Rossini and clock. I figured it was cheaper to get the DC4s than starting off fresh with the Rossini. I haven’t heard the Rossini, but I really want to. I wonder how it compares to the DC4 mDAVE

That’s what I figured. You went all the way and married Chord without playing around the field.