[Tekunda]

I have the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced Dave, which is 2 years and 4 months old, for € 4500.
My concern is though, albeit the Dave being a great piece of audiophile electronics, its design is coming of age slowly.
The design is nearing it's 8th year, which is substantial in "electronic years".
What is your take on buying such a relatively "old" design especially that in the light of the $5000 range there are quite a few nice Dacs already (Holo Audio, Rockna)?
And I am convinced that within the next two years we can expect major electronic improvements in other Dac designs.

 

[AnotherFineMess]

I'm looking for an integrated amplifier to use in my speaker set up with the DAVE, when I get it. I'm currently using tubes Tsakiridis Devices), but have decided to move to solid state. I have Harbeth HL5+ speakers and a Rega P6 turntable. I'm leaning heavily towards Luxman 505uxII or 507z, partly because this model has a MM/MC phono stage (though it's also ok if it doesn't have one, because I also have a separate one I can use). Has anyone used any of these Luxman amps with the DAVE? If so, would you recommend it? I'm looking for something that's going to have good synergy both with the Harbeth speakers and the DAVE.
I've thought of just getting a power amplifier such as the Etude to hook up to the DAVE , but I wouldn't be able to hook that up to my turntable, so that's a no go.
I'd be grateful for any suggestions for integrated amps that are a good match for the DAVE up to around 5000 Euros, new or used. I would also consider separates as long as they don't exceed the budget.

 

[kawhia]

I have the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced Dave, which is 2 years and 4 months old, for € 4500.
My concern is though, albeit the Dave being a great piece of audiophile electronics, its design is coming of age slowly.
The design is nearing it's 8th year, which is substantial in "electronic years".
What is your take on buying such a relatively "old" design especially that in the light of the $5000 range there are quite a few nice Dacs already (Holo Audio, Rockna)?
And I am convinced that within the next two years we can expect major electronic improvements in other Dac designs.

IMHO go for it. It is a bargain. Warranty is usually five years and is transferable. So you are covered. Especially for hp listening DAVE is still one of the best dacs out there. If you are more into speakers, I personally wouldn’t spend this much on the dac, unless you have super high end speakers. But for hp Dave is king!!

 

[Reactcore]

I have the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced Dave, which is 2 years and 4 months old, for € 4500.
My concern is though, albeit the Dave being a great piece of audiophile electronics, its design is coming of age slowly.
The design is nearing it's 8th year, which is substantial in "electronic years".
What is your take on buying such a relatively "old" design especially that in the light of the $5000 range there are quite a few nice Dacs already (Holo Audio, Rockna)?
And I am convinced that within the next two years we can expect major electronic improvements in other Dac designs.

Thats the cheapest Dave ive heard of sofar.
Most are around €6500
Buy it after testing its 100% in good shape.

If you dont like it you can sell it with profit.

 

[miketlse]

I have the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced Dave, which is 2 years and 4 months old, for € 4500.
My concern is though, albeit the Dave being a great piece of audiophile electronics, its design is coming of age slowly.
The design is nearing it's 8th year, which is substantial in "electronic years".
What is your take on buying such a relatively "old" design especially that in the light of the $5000 range there are quite a few nice Dacs already (Holo Audio, Rockna)?
And I am convinced that within the next two years we can expect major electronic improvements in other Dac designs.

Go for the Dave, because the previous cheapest I have seen one offered is €6500, so you should be able to resell and get your money back, if you don't like the Dave.
Yes it is 8 years old, but Rob normally responds with an answer along the lines of 'after 8 years the competitors still haven't caught up'.
At that price you can listen to the Dave for a few weeks, and decide at your leisure whether Rob is speaking the truth.

[edited] The €4500 Dave turned out to be a 'to good a to be true' scam.

 

[kawhia]

4500€ sounds too good to be true.. Check functionality first. I am bold today and say that there is no better dac below 10.000€.

 

[griff500]

That seems suspiciously cheap.

 

[Mr X]

I have the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced Dave, which is 2 years and 4 months old, for € 4500.
My concern is though, albeit the Dave being a great piece of audiophile electronics, its design is coming of age slowly.
The design is nearing it's 8th year, which is substantial in "electronic years".
What is your take on buying such a relatively "old" design especially that in the light of the $5000 range there are quite a few nice Dacs already (Holo Audio, Rockna)?
And I am convinced that within the next two years we can expect major electronic improvements in other Dac designs.

I’d bite their hand off at that price and enjoy it for many years to come.

Bit worried why it is that low so do check it out thoroughly first before parting with your money.

 

[jlbrach]

I have the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced Dave, which is 2 years and 4 months old, for € 4500.
My concern is though, albeit the Dave being a great piece of audiophile electronics, its design is coming of age slowly.
The design is nearing it's 8th year, which is substantial in "electronic years".
What is your take on buying such a relatively "old" design especially that in the light of the $5000 range there are quite a few nice Dacs already (Holo Audio, Rockna)?
And I am convinced that within the next two years we can expect major electronic improvements in other Dac designs.

actually the dave will remain current for some time they seem to be updating the upscaler...I love mine and have no desire to upgrade it

 

[Powersquat]

4500€ sounds too good to be true.. Check functionality first. I am bold today and say that there is no better dac below 10.000€.

Agreed that's too cheap, I recently sold one of my Dave's, 3 years old and got £6500. IMO Dave is as stated still the best DAC at it's price, but over the last few months I've auditioned a number of DAC's, all at a higher price point than the DAVe, if you have between £15k and £30k there are some magnificent sounding DAC's out there.

 

[Powersquat]

I'm looking for an integrated amplifier to use in my speaker set up with the DAVE, when I get it. I'm currently using tubes Tsakiridis Devices), but have decided to move to solid state. I have Harbeth HL5+ speakers and a Rega P6 turntable. I'm leaning heavily towards Luxman 505uxII or 507z, partly because this model has a MM/MC phono stage (though it's also ok if it doesn't have one, because I also have a separate one I can use). Has anyone used any of these Luxman amps with the DAVE? If so, would you recommend it? I'm looking for something that's going to have good synergy both with the Harbeth speakers and the DAVE.
I've thought of just getting a power amplifier such as the Etude to hook up to the DAVE , but I wouldn't be able to hook that up to my turntable, so that's a no go.
I'd be grateful for any suggestions for integrated amps that are a good match for the DAVE up to around 5000 Euros, new or used. I would also consider separates as long as they don't exceed the budget.

I've been using Luxman amp's in my Dave/MScaler set up for some time, I've had the 507U, 509x and currently the M10x power amp and use the DAVE's pre amp directly to the M10X.

Coming from tube amp's I'd definitely recommend listening before you decide, the older U and X models were extremely silky, in fact the 509X is a great unit, it sounds like a top end Class A amp, despite being AB. Luxman have really shifted the sound profile of their latest models, My 10X doesn't have the warmth of it's predecessor the M900U, it's a more clinical sounding amp and as I understand the new 507Z and 509X are similarly voice. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's certainly a big departure for Luxman and a lot of the traditional Luxman user's would struggle to identify the newer models sound signature.

 

[Playtron]

hey guys that upgraded the power for Dave... may want to try the puritan with them... seems like it makes a big difference on the DAC... im ordering one

 

[Mr X]

hey guys that upgraded the power for Dave... may want to try the puritan with them... seems like it makes a big difference on the DAC... im ordering one

I can certainly vouch for it making a significant difference. So much so that I bought one and immediately bought another. These things will stay in my chain for a very long time.

 

[Playtron]

I can certainly vouch for it making a significant difference. So much so that I bought one and immediately bought another. These things will stay in my chain for a very long time.

damn!!!!!

 

[AnotherFineMess]

I've been using Luxman amp's in my Dave/MScaler set up for some time, I've had the 507U, 509x and currently the M10x power amp and use the DAVE's pre amp directly to the M10X.

Coming from tube amp's I'd definitely recommend listening before you decide, the older U and X models were extremely silky, in fact the 509X is a great unit, it sounds like a top end Class A amp, despite being AB. Luxman have really shifted the sound profile of their latest models, My 10X doesn't have the warmth of it's predecessor the M900U, it's a more clinical sounding amp and as I understand the new 507Z and 509X are similarly voice. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's certainly a big departure for Luxman and a lot of the traditional Luxman user's would struggle to identify the newer models sound signature.

Thanks, this is useful. The model I'm interested in is the 505uxII, an older model. Listening before buying is great advice, something one should always do, but work/time constraints and geography make it difficult for me to do this, though I could buy from a seller who accepts returns.

Is anyone else using an integrated amp, and if so, which one? Any suggestions would be helpful.