[rkt31]

@Christer, I used shure srh940 and beyerdynamic dt880 both of which have flat response . I also listened on kef r300 bookshelf which are warmer still some 2L sample recordings sounded bright. I will try to find the number of that sample. but yes not all 2L samples sounded bright.

 

[longbowbbs]

 

Hard to beat Stillpoints.....Awesome 

Are they worth springing for? Was thinking of these or a townshend seismic stand/platform

They do make a positive difference. However, the benefits of these types of accessories are more pronounced with higher end more resolving gear. So you will find they add more value to higher quality systems.

 

[esimms86]

Stillpoints made a dramatic difference in my speaker based living room system. I invested in 12 of them in all, placed under my integrated amp, power conditioner and DAC, respectively. They cost me 3000 USD in total, plus 3 IKEA bamboo cutting boards to couple them to at 15 USD apiece.

I don't have any immediate plans to put them under DAVE(currently on order but not yet shipped) as I first need to give my wallet a chance to rest!

 

[esimms86]

This may fall under the province of "Judespeak," but in both recent CanJam videos Jude extols the virtues of listening to DAVE coupled with the Hifiman Shangri La. After reading Romaz's posts and also considering that the Shangri La headphone technology was trickled down to make the HE1000, I wonder if the DAVE/HE1000 combo (especially with DHC aftermarket cables) might actually equal or be better than DAVE mated to Shangri La. All speculation, of course, at this point since very, very few people have had access to both DAC/headphone systems.

 

[Christer]

This may fall under the province of "Judespeak," but in both recent CanJam videos Jude extols the virtues of listening to DAVE coupled with the Hifiman Shangri La. After reading Romaz's posts and also considering that the Shangri La headphone technology was trickled down to make the HE1000, I wonder if the DAVE/HE1000 combo (especially with DHC aftermarket cables) might actually equal or be better than DAVE mated to Shangri La. All speculation, of course, at this point since very, very few people have had access to both DAC/headphone systems.

Having heard the Dave HE1000 combo I am very tempted to get both.
Although IMO and for my  economy, both are  already  very overpriced.
A fifty percent discount  on both and I would buy them tomorrow.
But absolutely  no way would I pay the  insultingly ridiculous rip off price asked for the Shangri La!
I  still suspect that  my old Jecklin Floats once refurbished and connected to a new PSU would  compete very well with both the  already overpriced HE1000 and   the Shangri La and Sennheiser's new electrostat.
There are things like spatial retrieval ,decay and acoustic cues that even my HD 800 at less than half price of the HE1000 imho do slightly better.
In  High End Audio there  is often  no real connection between price and performance.
But there seem to be many   "audiophiles" who   "listen with their wallets". And equally often it seems judging by the looks of some stratospherically priced and extravagantly designed things in  High End Audio with their eyes, instead of their ears"!
No offence intended,by the way, DAVE looks a bit like a  little Silvery Submarine to me. But I could live with that  since I mainly listen to music with my eyes closed anyway. "We all live in a...."
I auditioned the first  Sennheiser Orpheus and the difference between it and  the Staxes and my Jecklin Floats was minute with SOTA  direct cut LPs in those days.
I didn't even bother with CDs in a high end context in those days. They  sounded too bad to even consider.
One of the most interesting quotes here recently for me was when someone here hinted that  a certain  company has realised that "audiophiles can't handle the truth", therefore adding a bit of distortion and beefing up the bass a bit to suit those who don't have a reference to  live acoustic music.
That said, I am very tempted to  get the DAVE/ HE1000 combo. 
They were really that good.

 

[m0nster]

I must admit that I do care what a given product looks like. I love how DAVE looks for example! That does not mean that I think looks are more important than how it sounds - not at all! But the audio gear is going to end up in my living room when I buy it, so it might as well look decent while still sounding incredibly good! Even better is when it's well-built and can take a tank driving over it - who knows what's going to happen next
Above all I am thankful for audio engineers that make the awesome sound happen. But I thank all the people that make the products look so good too - I think it's an important part.

Now I am ready for an audiophil bashing

 

[Christer]

I must admit that I do care what a given product looks like. I love how DAVE looks for example! That does not mean that I think looks are more important than how it sounds - not at all! But the audio gear is going to end up in my living room when I buy it, so it might as well look decent while still sounding incredibly good! Even better is when it's well-built and can take a tank driving over it - who knows what's going to happen next

Above all I am thankful for audio engineers that make the awesome sound happen. But I thank all the people that make the products look so good too - I think it's an important part.

Now I am ready for an audiophil bashing

Not to worry chicken curry, I also own some pretty eye-catching equipment.
My 500 watts per channel power pre-power amp combo  weigh in at roughly  60 pounds each, and look like tanks emitting a blueish eerie light on the floor. And my even  bigger and heavier electrostatic speakers stand taller than myself.
My HI FI and bookshelves full of  LPs dominate my living room.Most of my digitally recorded music is on smallish hardrives plus a couple of hundred SACDs and some DVDs and blurays.
Such are the choices I make when SQ and  music matter most.
But I did not buy either for their looks, nor new. I waited until  "audiophiles" with more money than ears  put both up for sale second hand at less than half price from  new.
For those with time  there are some decent  bargains to be made in the second hand High End  market.
Provided you don't neeed the latest model of everything.

 

[seeteeyou]

  I think a good DAC should be able to stand tall against anything and given all the noise that is being made about the DAVE possibly being the best DAC out there, then it becomes fair game for any comparison, whether its against the $99 AQ Firefly or a fully loaded $130K Select II.  In the end, you can't account for another person's preference but having taken the time to carefully listen to many things and make careful comparisons, I have no insecurities about having purchased the DAVE.  In other words, no one else has to tell me how good the DAVE is.  If 100 people came to me and told me they prefer their DAC "X" to the DAVE after having made their own careful comparisons, it would not change my opinion that I have in my possession the finest headphone DAC available in the world today and with Chord's upcoming amp and ADC, I believe there is no better place to be than exactly where I am at right now.
 
Regarding the Schiit Yggy, this is a very fine DAC, one that plays well beyond its asking price even though to my ears, it doesn't have the same level of refinement as the DAVE.  Its 75 ohm output impedance doesn't prevent it from driving headphones like an LCD-4 or HD800 and while it could drive an HE-1000, it would be a more difficult load to drive.  The bigger problem is that even if it had a digital volume control, it's analog output stage uses a buffer and a highly reactive load or a load with too low of an impedance may cause the buffer to overheat which could either damage the DAC or at the very least result in distortion.  This is the same reason that MSB claims its DACs cannot be used this way although their Select II is the exception as the Select II doesn't use an output buffer.  Lastly, as I am aware that MSB has given their blessing to having their DAC used this way via balanced outputs, it would be interesting to see the DAVE compared against the Select II this way.  DAVE vs Goliath.
 
While this "direct to DAC" connection adds to the reason why the DAVE is so transparent, in The Attorney's case, it is a moot point given that he uses an electrostatic headphone which requires an outboard amp.  I, for one, am eager to hear his listening experience with a well-broken in DAVE paired with his BHSE/SR-009 as no one else has provided their input with this specific combination but whether he ends up preferring the Yggy or the DAVE is of no consequence to me although it would perhaps behoove those with with a BHSE/SR-009 to make their own comparisons.

 
Thanks Roy for your clarification and we could find plenty of products with 75Ω output impedance in the 1.5K/2K/2.5K price range
 
http://www.rme-audio.de/download/hdspemadi_e.pdf#page=65
http://www.google.com/shopping/product/12766349912290994303
 
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/hdspe_madi_fx.php
http://www.rme-audio.de/download/hdspemadifx_e.pdf#page=79
http://www.google.com/shopping/product/4385090402755038361
http://www.google.com/shopping/product/17776905699464486366
 
http://www.merging.com/products/networked-audio/specifications
http://www.merging.com/uploads/assets/Installers/Horus_Hapi_3.0.70_Firmware/Hapi_User_Manual_rev09.pdf#page=14
http://www.google.com/shopping/product/10376367454183912509
 

---

 
6.3-mm output of MADI FX could easily compete with MSB Diamond IV and that's been verified by audiophiles in both Hong Kong and Taiwan already, we could even get that from Estonia for 1439.00 €
 
http://www.hkepc.com/forum/viewthread.php?fid=25&tid=2017783&ordertype=0&page=1#pid30830568
http://www.myav.com.tw/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=349951&perpage=1&pagenumber=7403
http://shop.pillipood.ee/0502040000/0/readmore/161179/
 
Properly implemented CS4398 DAC chip with the superior processing of Spartan-6 FPGA should work well with RME's SteadyClock
 
http://www.rme-audio.de/images/products/products_madi_fx_1b.jpg
 
HAPI is another interesting choice since it's connected via Ethernet instead of other interfaces, for me personally the most intriguing part would be its headphone output since that's working without having to add their optional DAC module
 
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/10825473-post194.html
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/new-digital-analogue-converter-merging-technologies-home-audio-market-22967/index6.html#post424026
 
And then the performance of MADI FX might not be that surprising thanks to its PCI Express interface, its simplicity could be such an advantage when compared to USB etc. Recently there were reports from multiple countries and they seemed to agree that running an optimized version of Windows from a RAM drive would result in fantastic results
 
http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=3364.0
http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3171
http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3267
http://www.aktives-hoeren.de/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=5848
http://www.myav.com.tw/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=20473423
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/running-win-os-purely-ram-27402/
 
So there we have it, there's something relatively affordable out there while we're still saving up for DAVE. Granted it might not be everyone since not all of us are willing to tinker with Windows to squeeze every last drop of performance from a setup like that.

 

[AndrewOld]

Can anyone who has a DAVE tell me whether it is possible to directly select an input on the remote, or do you have to cycle through all the inputs using the arrow keys. The downloadable DAVE manual only mentions the latter.
 
Also, can you directly control the volume on DAVE via USB - Audirvana has an option to control the volume on a DAC via USB if the DAC supports that, which could be useful.
 
Thanks.!

 

[lovethatsound]

Can anyone who has a DAVE tell me whether it is possible to directly select an input on the remote, or do you have to cycle through all the inputs using the arrow keys. The downloadable DAVE manual only mentions the latter.

Also, can you directly control the volume on DAVE via USB - Audirvana has an option to control the volume on a DAC via USB if the DAC supports that, which could be useful.

Thanks.!

Hi m8
Yes you can select the inputs using the remote controlDon't know about Audirvana
PS You have to use the arrows on the chord remote control to change the input

 

[Mython]

  For those with time  there are some decent  bargains to be made in the second hand High End  market.

 
 
And some would say also in the DIY High End market:
 
http://holtonprecisionaudio.com/
 
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/
 
 
If I had the cash right now, I'd have a DAVE feeding HPA 500w monoblocks (using analogue active crossovers) into Linkwitz LX521.4 dipole loudspeakers.
 
I can dream...
 
.

 

[drdkey]

Good morning 
I am new to the forum and my journey to the Chord DAVE began with looking for a music server to replace my Mac mini music server to feed my Devialet 250 as I wanted to hear more from the music consistently. I came in contact with a man who told me I may want to look at the process differently. He has a vast experience listening to high end DAC's and music servers. He heard the DAVE and purchased it and said that it totally changed his approach to music.  He sold off his other high end audiophile equipment as he felt it was the most "real "presentation of music that he had ever heard from a DAC. 
I live in the US and my nearest Chord dealer is 400 miles away. I have no experience with headphone listening but after reading this forum and having discussions with the person that I mentioned, I think this will be a new area for me to venture into in the future. My current system is the Devialet 250 with Magico V2 speakers. Has anyone compared the DAVE to the Devialet? This clearly would be a big change for me since the Devialet is an all in one setup. I am very excited to go hear the DAVE and more than willing to make the 400 mile trip.  I would appreciate any insight about the DAVE utilized in a non headphone setup as I enjoy having friends over to listen to music.
Best regards

 

[ecwl]

Can anyone who has a DAVE tell me whether it is possible to directly select an input on the remote, or do you have to cycle through all the inputs using the arrow keys. The downloadable DAVE manual only mentions the latter.


 


Also, can you directly control the volume on DAVE via USB - Audirvana has an option to control the volume on a DAC via USB if the DAC supports that, which could be useful.


 


Thanks.!

 


Hmmm... I have to disagree with lovethatsound on this one. There is no direct input select as far as I can figure out off the Chord Remote for DAVE. Meaning that you can't click a button so that the DAVE is set to USB input and another button and the DAVE is set to Optical 2 input. You have to use the left-right buttons to cycle through all the inputs. I just tried it again with the Chord remote. So unless lovethatsound has a special trick, I'd love to know. This is a minor nuisance because it means I can't program the input select into my Logitech Harmony remote easily. But I don't mind cycling manually through for the correct input.

As for direct volume control via USB, I'm not aware of any. But Rob Watts may have more to say on this one. I have to admit, I just never tried in JRiver. But in my experience, for USB DACs that allow for direct volume control, like my soon-to-be-former Audioquest Dragonfly, the manual is quite explicit about this feature.

 

[ecwl]

Good morning 


I am new to the forum and my journey to the Chord DAVE began with looking for a music server to replace my Mac mini music server to feed my Devialet 250 as I wanted to hear more from the music consistently. I came in contact with a man who told me I may want to look at the process differently. He has a vast experience listening to high end DAC's and music servers. He heard the DAVE and purchased it and said that it totally changed his approach to music.  He sold off his other high end audiophile equipment as he felt it was the most "real "presentation of music that he had ever heard from a DAC. 


I live in the US and my nearest Chord dealer is 400 miles away. I have no experience with headphone listening but after reading this forum and having discussions with the person that I mentioned, I think this will be a new area for me to venture into in the future. My current system is the Devialet 250 with Magico V2 speakers. Has anyone compared the DAVE to the Devialet? This clearly would be a big change for me since the Devialet is an all in one setup. I am very excited to go hear the DAVE and more than willing to make the 400 mile trip.  I would appreciate any insight about the DAVE utilized in a non headphone setup as I enjoy having friends over to listen to music.


Best regards

 


I think upgrading to the Chord DAVE would bring you to a completely different sonic level as it well should considering the price. I have listened to various Devialet Experts prior to committing to Chord DAVE and there are good reasons for choosing DAVE. But there are a lot of practical aspects to consider. First, you'll have to get a new power amplifier. There will be more connections and it'll take up more space. Your current setup would only be about the same if you already have a music renderer hooked up to your Devialet 250. Because DAVE is source-insensitive, even if you have a bad computer source, say a noisy Mac Mini, it wouldn't matter so you don't have to upgrade to anything ultra-high-end like Aurender. But if you're using Devialet Air, you will have to get a wireless streamer to hook up to the Chord DAVE. And you didn't mention whether you're using SAM with your Magico V2 as that functionality would be gone if you stop using Devialet. Unless you want to use computerized DSP on your Mac Mini to mimick the SAM functionality which would require more complicated setup. Ultimately, Devialet is a high-end all-in-one product whereas Chord DAVE is a state-of-the-art DAC. It is not ultra-complicated to setup a clean DAVE system but it's not going to be as simple as Devialet.

 

[AuJames]

There has been lots of talk about Dynamic Range and how one DAC is not comparable to another because of misleading Data but I think I can compare two DACs that seem to come up again and again in this thread based off data published by the manufacturer or designer. We can read between the lines and get a real apples to apples comparison of Dynamic range!

1st up the Chord DAVE, per Rob Watts output is 6V RMS maximum 2.6uV noise 20 KHz bandwidth.

2nd up MSB Select II, digging trough the data-sheet and measurements posted on their site maximum output is 3.5V RMS maximum but noise is elusive, not directly specced. However we can make a few assumptions that looking at the data will get us close. The output is claimed to come directly from the DACs with no buffers or gain, the output is 75 Ohms, The output of there FFT does not seem to have any excess noise so the Thermal noise of 75 Ohms probably dominates the output. Using this calculator (http://www.daycounter.com/Calculators/Thermal-Noise-Calculator.phtml) I plugged in 35 C (a reasonable operating temperature) 20,000 Hz bandwidth and 75 Ohms, the result is 0.168 uV.

Now for our comparison. First we need to normalize the values because the DAVE has a greater maximum output than the Select II. So 3.5 V / 6.0 V * 2.6 uV = 1.51 uV.
So the normalized noise of the DAVE is 1.51 uV and the Select II is 0.168 uV. Now for the interesting part, it is easy to decrease the noise of a signal source by paralleling multiple signal sources. To decrease the source noise by 6.02 dB (half) you must parallel 4 sources. So convert the difference to dB we have 20 log(1.51 uV / 0.168 uV) = 19 dB now 19 dB / 6.02 dB = 3.16, so it will take 4 ^ 3.16 = 79 DAVE DACs to equal one Select II.

So, it appears it will take 79 Chord DAVEs to reach the dynamic range of 1 Select II, not a small difference.