CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[Somatic]

Scalpel at the ready... to remove my spleen and liver to sell in order to afford to buy it!

Yes, I am also interested. I will be sitting back for a while though. See what people think compared to the OG and seeing if it has the same RF noise issues. I don't want to buy ferrited BNC cables if I don't have to. Plus I didn't hear a huge difference from the original Mscaler.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

Scalpel at the ready... to remove my spleen and liver to sell in order to afford to buy it!

Hahahaahhahahahahaha

 

[Amberlamps]

Rob Watts​

It's fine if there is no music playing and TT2 is silent. Never change HP connectors when music is playing, as there is a possibility of momentary shorts when plugging in/out. This advice applies to all DACs not just TT2!

Last edited: Apr 8, 2022 - Hugo TT2 Thread

I think that was what he said, something to do with plugging in and out of headphones, I also seem to recall the bit when he said all dac’s can suffer from it.

 

[stemiki]

Which battery are you using? Wondering how you set this up? Thanks.

You can find information in these previous posts of mine: 22.679 - 22.705 - 22.718

The battery was made especially for DAVE.

It is not found on the market but must be made by a specialized company. It's not easy to find someone willing to make it for you.

If you are interested, I can provide you with the contact details of the Owner and the web page of this Company, otherwise you can hear in your area if someone can make it for you.

 

[Somatic]

https://goldensound.audio/2022/03/14/chord-dave-measurements-with-mscaler/

I do like my Dave + Farad3 but I would have liked it it had measured a little better.

@GoldenOne mentioned that Dave in DAC mode shows very low level clipping. This was ameliorated by Reducing digital input level by 1dB.

How does one to this if they use Windows PC, Optical out and exclusive mode on Qobuz?

I guess my main gripes is the dynamic range is not the best in class and the headphone out seems to have higher distortion. I use an amp and Dave in DAC mode so I’m fine. But wish the dynamic range was higher.

All that said. I still like the Dave a lot. Excellent timbre and sounds more vivid than other DACs.

How does the Dave fair against something like Mola Mola? Is it all very similar at these points? Thanks.

 

[DJJEZ]

https://goldensound.audio/2022/03/14/chord-dave-measurements-with-mscaler/

I do like my Dave + Farad3 but I would have liked it it had measured a little better.

@GoldenOne mentioned that Dave in DAC mode shows very low level clipping. This was ameliorated by Reducing digital input level by 1dB.

How does one to this if they use Windows PC, Optical out and exclusive mode on Qobuz?

I guess my main gripes is the dynamic range is not the best in class and the headphone out seems to have higher distortion. I use an amp and Dave in DAC mode so I’m fine. But wish the dynamic range was higher.

All that said. I still like the Dave a lot. Excellent timbre and sounds more vivid than other DACs.

How does the Dave fair against something like Mola Mola? Is it all very similar at these points? Thanks.

Mola mola is same level as DAVE but i prefer the DAVE. i had the mola mola on home demo and wasnt impressed. It somehow sounded bright and warm at the same time lol I also prefer the holo may KTE to the tambaqui by alot.

 

[GoldenSound]

https://goldensound.audio/2022/03/14/chord-dave-measurements-with-mscaler/

I do like my Dave + Farad3 but I would have liked it it had measured a little better.

@GoldenOne mentioned that Dave in DAC mode shows very low level clipping. This was ameliorated by Reducing digital input level by 1dB.

How does one to this if they use Windows PC, Optical out and exclusive mode on Qobuz?

I guess my main gripes is the dynamic range is not the best in class and the headphone out seems to have higher distortion. I use an amp and Dave in DAC mode so I’m fine. But wish the dynamic range was higher.

All that said. I still like the Dave a lot. Excellent timbre and sounds more vivid than other DACs.

How does the Dave fair against something like Mola Mola? Is it all very similar at these points? Thanks.

This clipping only occurred some of the time, and only when outputting a constant full scale signal.
With any normal music it won't be an issue and isn't a worry.

 

[Somatic]

Mola mola is same level as DAVE but i prefer the DAVE. i had the mola mola on home demo and wasnt impressed. It somehow sounded bright and warm at the same time lol I also prefer the holo may KTE to the tambaqui by alot.

Thanks for the info. So what about Holo May vs Dave? Both good in different ways? Did you ever demo the Bartok?

 

[DJJEZ]

Thanks for the info. So what about Holo May vs Dave? Both good in different ways? Did you ever demo the Bartok?

I have alot to say about dave and may so will pm you.

I haven't demo'd the Bartok but I will next year along with rossini apex. I did demo the weiss 501 recently as well which was awesome.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Thanks for the info. So what about Holo May vs Dave? Both good in different ways? Did you ever demo the Bartok?

I have alot to say about dave and may so will pm you.

I haven't demo'd the Bartok but I will next year along with rossini apex. I did demo the weiss 501 recently as well which was awesome.

Also interested and had the same question.

-----------

A point totally separate from the above posts, we should be able to share varying opinions in this thread. I get why we feel like we often can't, but it's annoying. Big reason I started my own thread. You can't really share anything but glaring impressions in these brand/product specific threads, which is really unfortunate. It's almost just as annoying as the ASR crap in the thread lol. Anyways, happy thanksgiving all lol

 

[Triode User]

Thanks for the info. So what about Holo May vs Dave? Both good in different ways? Did you ever demo the Bartok?

I have written before on May vs Dave having been a Dave owner since 2016 and then having bought a May for a second system previously using a Qutest.

I think the May is one of those DACs that one needs to hear to see if it will fit in with what one regards as important for sound quality. Many do think it is superb but for me it just didn’t tick any boxes and I didn’t like it at all. I sold the May after 3 weeks and never missed it. I bought a second hand Dave for not much more and that is now in my second system sounding amazing.

 

[sm60]

Thanks for the info. So what about Holo May vs Dave? Both good in different ways? Did you ever demo the Bartok?

Another DAC to consider, designed here in California, although it is quite a bit pricier than the Dave.

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...g-from-the-source-to-the-output.34897/page-11

 

[sm60]

Mola mola is same level as DAVE but i prefer the DAVE. i had the mola mola on home demo and wasnt impressed. It somehow sounded bright and warm at the same time lol I also prefer the holo may KTE to the tambaqui by alot.

I have about 6 DACs at home, a mixture of solid state and tube, stand alone vs integrated with a CD player or a digital amplifier, at price points separated by three orders of magnitude. I find system matching crucial with DACs, as with any other component. There’s no absolute best DAC, and I’ve tried more than two dozen over 30+ years, just as there’s no one best speaker. It’s all about matching the qualities of the entire system. It’s also a function of the music you like to hear. If you primarily listen to acoustic instruments or voices in a natural environment like a church or a concert hall, vs if you like electronically synthesized rock and roll music, you might gravitate to different DACs.

My current reference speakers in my large 6000+ sq ft room are the massive 105 dB efficient Klipsch La Scalas, a 200 pound refrigerator sized fully horn loaded system that can be comfortably driven by a two watt single-ended triode amplifier. With average listening levels around 75-80 dB, I expect my SET amplifier requires a few milliwatts of power to drive the La Scalas to room filling levels. I find a DAC that works well here is quite different from a DAC that matches a secondary system in my dining room, built around the Quad 2905s, a 5’ electrostatic speaker that is 25 dB less efficient than my La Scalas. In both systems, the intrinsic sound of the loudspeaker and the room dominates what you hear, so you compensate in some way by tuning the rest of the system. If you measure loudspeakers and use something like a Tact to correct for room imbalances, you quickly find that flat frequency response at the listening chair sounds dreadful. Instead, you want a gentle roll off of the highs and elevation of the bass. The standard curves built into the Tact as well as the Lyngdorf all follow this pattern. That’s why absolute measurements don’t tell the whole story. What sounds pleasing to the ear is not flat response, which sounds over bright on most recordings.

 

[Somatic]

I have about 6 DACs at home, a mixture of solid state and tube, stand alone vs integrated with a CD player or a digital amplifier, at price points separated by three orders of magnitude. I find system matching crucial with DACs, as with any other component. There’s no absolute best DAC, and I’ve tried more than two dozen over 30+ years, just as there’s no one best speaker. It’s all about matching the qualities of the entire system. It’s also a function of the music you like to hear. If you primarily listen to acoustic instruments or voices in a natural environment like a church or a concert hall, vs if you like electronically synthesized rock and roll music, you might gravitate to different DACs.

My current reference speakers in my large 6000+ sq ft room are the massive 105 dB efficient Klipsch La Scalas, a 200 pound refrigerator sized fully horn loaded system that can be comfortably driven by a two watt single-ended triode amplifier. With average listening levels around 75-80 dB, I expect my SET amplifier requires a few milliwatts of power to drive the La Scalas to room filling levels. I find a DAC that works well here is quite different from a DAC that matches a secondary system in my dining room, built around the Quad 2905s, a 5’ electrostatic speaker that is 25 dB less efficient than my La Scalas. In both systems, the intrinsic sound of the loudspeaker and the room dominates what you hear, so you compensate in some way by tuning the rest of the system. If you measure loudspeakers and use something like a Tact to correct for room imbalances, you quickly find that flat frequency response at the listening chair sounds dreadful. Instead, you want a gentle roll off of the highs and elevation of the bass. The standard curves built into the Tact as well as the Lyngdorf all follow this pattern. That’s why absolute measurements don’t tell the whole story. What sounds pleasing to the ear is not flat response, which sounds over bright on most recordings.

Thanks for your perspective. Im impressed with you 6000 sq ft listening room . Do you own a Dave? If so, what do you pair it with?

 

[801evan]

https://goldensound.audio/2022/03/14/chord-dave-measurements-with-mscaler/

I do like my Dave + Farad3 but I would have liked it it had measured a little better.

@GoldenOne mentioned that Dave in DAC mode shows very low level clipping. This was ameliorated by Reducing digital input level by 1dB.

How does one to this if they use Windows PC, Optical out and exclusive mode on Qobuz?

I guess my main gripes is the dynamic range is not the best in class and the headphone out seems to have higher distortion. I use an amp and Dave in DAC mode so I’m fine. But wish the dynamic range was higher.

All that said. I still like the Dave a lot. Excellent timbre and sounds more vivid than other DACs.

How does the Dave fair against something like Mola Mola? Is it all very similar at these points? Thanks.

Think that's more of a strike on the chain and/or the Farad 3 as I've had excellent playback on the Dave HP out even with the stock psu on it.