The DAVE display is pretty awful. It is either ditchwater-dull or garish. The resolution of the text is poor - either a higher res display should have been used or a sans serif font used that would make the resolution shortcomings of the display less painfully apparent.
If you want the environment of a DAC circuit to be as electromagnetically quiet as possible I'm not sure that an lcd-type display is even a good idea anyway.
I actually like the design aesthetic of the TT2, in particular the porthole view of the interior. It is a sign of the justified confidence that Chord has in the quality of their product that they have no misgivings in putting its internals on view. Rather like a restaurant where the kitchen is visible from the dining area. I wish more cues had been taken from that for the DAVE.
I dislike the colored marbles motif of the TT2 and other portable Chord products, as well as the Christmas tree lighting effects of the Dave. Mercifully on my Lampi DAC, there’s no display info at all except source selected shown using an amber retro looking Nixie tube. Newer DAC designs should all have smartphone interfaces anyway, like Roon does, so one can tweak away to your hearts content if you want, but the display should be minimal and definitely dimmable. But this is a subjective thing. McIntosh lovers love the big blue meters lighting up on their products (even their preamplifiers have them).
The DAVE display is pretty awful. It is either ditchwater-dull or garish. The resolution of the text is poor - either a higher res display should have been used or a sans serif font used that would make the resolution shortcomings of the display less painfully apparent.
If you want the environment of a DAC circuit to be as electromagnetically quiet as possible I'm not sure that an lcd-type display is even a good idea anyway.
I actually like the design aesthetic of the TT2, in particular the porthole view of the interior. It is a sign of the justified confidence that Chord has in the quality of their product that they have no misgivings in putting its internals on view. Rather like a restaurant where the kitchen is visible from the dining area. I wish more cues had been taken from that for the DAVE.
That new DACs should have smartphone interfaces is probably true. But how can DAVE be connected to a smartphone without introducing even more EM noise with WiFi and/or Bluetooth?
And Chord's only effort in this direction so far is GoFigure and that did not GoVeryWell...
Yesterday added a new sub to the dave, this one connects to the xlr of the dave. Had the rel 510 and 812 in the past but this is really a notch up. Alot of eq options via iphone or display and its a closed 15” the d15s from perlisten. What a beast. Ads another layer in the room. I goes down to 10hz. This week will do a rew measeurement session to blend it optimal but so on the fly its mental. Subbass adds so much atmossphere and makes alot of songs like it should. The seller compared it to the no. 25 and the carbonspecial but this one filles better and is on the same speed or faster as these beasts.
No its not like that i try to have a flat response with a little up in the sub because i listen most of the time on low volumes and take the music as intended, now with the power supply upgrades the bass is some much more detailed and placed that the sub adds much more musicality to the whole. I am not a homecinema guy i quest to get it like its intended if thats at all possible
I am reading it but mostly the guys who matter talk with respect about the chord stuff and the dave. Like everything in life if its good it is good everywere.
I got a Lampi Pacific DAC, but kept my Blu Mk2 and Dave for a second system in my (longish) dining room, where it drives a Quad system (Artera current dumping amplifier, 2805 electrostatics). I really like this Chord combo and don’t expect to sell it anytime. It’s perfect for a second system where I primarily play redbook CDs, upscaled to the Dave, which also acts as the preamplifier. The Lampi is in my primary system, which is all tubes. This way, I enjoy the benefits of both worlds. The solid state setup as you’d imagine is very transparent and precise with crisp transients and very good (electrostatic) bass. The primary system is very tubey sounding, warm, extremely dimensional with 3D soundstaging. Especially since I’m using a JJ 300B SET 20 watt integrated amplifier in the primary system, which has a sound that is perfect for 50s-70s analog sourced recordings. Solid state equipment and tubes live in different universes. They are ships that pass in the night, never meeting each other.
I was only using my Dave/mscaler for the sole use of the Focal Utopia plugged directly in. I prefer them out of a Naim Uniti Atom HE more. Has more body, warmth and my whole collection sounds great, not just well recorded albums. Whether it’s technically as good is up for debate but I prefer it for the Utopia.
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