[GuiltyRocker]

Correct!
I pair my DAVE with Meze Elite and Focal Stellia and prior to the Cap mods I would always prefer my Hugo2 for headphones over Dave. Not so anymore.

Interesting, it went from sounding thin to full?

 

[Mr X]

Interesting, it went from sounding thin to full?

Exactly that!

I found headphones from Dave to always been too thin and lacking dynamics. Completely different from using with speakers.

You would not expect the headphone out on DAVE to be outperformed by Hugo but it was, at least to my ears and my chain.

Then I followed @Reactcore thread and with a little bit of help from him was able to do the cap mods and…wow! now for me it matches the glorious sound you expect from MDave. Much fuller than before and the sub bass really kicks but is still tight and clean how I like it.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

Exactly that!

I found headphones from Dave to always been too thin and lacking dynamics. Completely different from using with speakers.

You would not expect the headphone out on DAVE to be outperformed by Hugo but it was, at least to my ears and my chain.

Then I followed @Reactcore thread and with a little bit of help from him was able to do the cap mods and…wow! now for me it matches the glorious sound you expect from MDave. Much fuller than before and the sub bass really kicks but is still tight and clean how I like it.

Very nice, happy for you.

 

[GreenBow]

He means the modification as described in the link 'supercharging' in my signature

That's a fascinating read.
Also the post from Triode User who mentions a Steve Jacobs cap mod.

Someone did a capacitor mod to the Qutest a long time ago. I rememeber saying maybe they had just invented the Qutest TT. .... They were looking for a power-supply upgrade more akin to changing the expernal PSU, but tried capacitors. .... I can't remember what happened. They were intially very happy, but I think something changed, and they may have reverted back. It was in a Qutest power supply thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/poll-aftermarket-qutest-psu.935548/

 

[Reactcore]

That's a fascinating read.
Also the post from Triode User who mentions a Steve Jacobs cap mod.

Someone did a capacitor mod to the Qutest a long time ago. I rememeber saying maybe they had just invented the Qutest TT. .... They were looking for a power-supply upgrade more akin to changing the expernal PSU, but tried capacitors. .... I can't remember what happened. They were intially very happy, but I think something changed, and they may have reverted back. It was in a Qutest power supply thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/poll-aftermarket-qutest-psu.935548/

Oh even Qutest didnt scape from my cap modding see here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-qutest-dac-official-thread.869417/post-15399804


I played around with a SeanJacobs cap board too combined with my own cap mod but it was not improving things for me cause of the reason i have the resistors in place.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

Oh even Qutest didnt scape from my cap modding see here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-qutest-dac-official-thread.869417/post-15399804


I played around with a SeanJacobs cap board too combined with my own cap mod but it was not improving things for me cause of the reason i have the resistors in place.

I wonder what @Rob Watts thinks of this

 

[ZappaMan]

Oh even Qutest didnt scape from my cap modding see here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-qutest-dac-official-thread.869417/post-15399804


I played around with a SeanJacobs cap board too combined with my own cap mod but it was not improving things for me cause of the reason i have the resistors in place.

What’s going on in this picture, can you elaborate, is it yours and Sean Jacobs cap boards mods or just yours?

 

[Reactcore]

What’s going on in this picture, can you elaborate, is it yours and Sean Jacobs cap boards mods or just yours?

The 15 gold colour caps left under are the SJ board in place of the original PSU space being in series with the external PSU and Dave's PCB. On the right are my orange TDK with under it the chemicon caps mods.
This was on a second Dave.

The SJ board had a negative effect in the midrange until i put resistors in series with it. But it wasnt better than without that board for me. So i took my mind off it.

 

[jlbrach]

Correct!
I pair my DAVE with Meze Elite and Focal Stellia and prior to the Cap mods I would always prefer my Hugo2 for headphones over Dave. Not so anymore.

I have both the dave and hugo 2 and the dave for me is head and shoulders better than the hugo 2 for headphones...not even close...goes to show you how differently people hear things

 

[GryphonGuy]

I wonder what @Rob Watts thinks of this

He has to dislike it. No option for him.

 

[datka3]

I have Chord Stand if anyone is interested .
1300usd plus shipping.
Thanks

 

[GuiltyRocker]

He has to dislike it. No option for him.

Must be weird seeing your creation modified

 

[nwavesailor]

I understand from reading some of Rob's posts, particularly regarding the SMPS in the DAVE, that he thinks what any of us are hearing is simply different, no necessarily better.

If that is the case, I like what adding the SJ power supply did for my DAVE. I found it to be a very nice step up and not a subtle improvement. YMMV

 

[GreenBow]

I wonder what @Rob Watts thinks of this

I wondered that after reading the mods, and if Chord Electronics might think about implementing something in DAVEs going forward. Just saying as I have no experience of the mods, or the DAVE even. (Have a TT2.)

 

[GuiltyRocker]

I wondered that after reading the mods, and if Chord Electronics might think about implementing something in DAVEs going forward. Just saying as I have no experience of the mods, or the DAVE even. (Have a TT2.)

Tell me about it,