[Meridian7]

It's got settings, but you don't need to mess with them. The automatic settings are usually the best unless you have some exotic use cases. There are EQ options, but that's EQ. It just works "right out of the box." It really is a different proposition from HQP in that way.

I used to use HQP and, yeah, I couldn't resist going back and forth trying out different settings. If someone wants to tinker, it's a lot of fun. With HQP, I found you eventually settle down to a few configurations and stick with it. I've really come to prefer PGGB because, as an end-user vs. audio engineer, PGGB's designer has already gone through the options and given you its best as default/automatic settings.

Also, to my ears, for PCM with Chord Dacs, I really prefer PGGB. (DSD may be different story, I don't know DSD anymore). Aside from larger staging, better layering/imaging, increased resolution, fluidity, etc. there is also a pleasing density that fleshes out some of the leaness of the Chord house sound. How much that means to you is going to vary on your particular system. But, extreme as it sounds, I think if it wasn't for PGGB, I'd have moved to a different DAC by now.

The downsides, you're already aware of. There is huge multiplication of storage needed and the time it takes to encode your files. That said, if you have a M2 or H2, you can take it all with you. I mean, yes, you can wire up a huge battery to an MScaler and put that into a shoulder sling, but, that's mm...., not a great solution. When I have to spend time encoding, I do think of the fact that this is not only for, at home with Dave, but on the go with H2. Two FPGA birds, one algorithmic stone.

Thanks for your insights, very informative

 

[Meridian7]

A really good low cost sound quality tweak in my opinion is to stop using Roon.

I feel a probably naive question coming up: isn't roon bit perfect then? How does it manage to torpedo sound?
Since it's off topic, a link is well enough to dig further into it. Thanks.

 

[chelseafc]

It's got settings, but you don't need to mess with them. The automatic settings are usually the best unless you have some exotic use cases. There are EQ options, but that's EQ. It just works "right out of the box." It really is a different proposition from HQP in that way.

I used to use HQP and, yeah, I couldn't resist going back and forth trying out different settings. If someone wants to tinker, it's a lot of fun. With HQP, I found you eventually settle down to a few configurations and stick with it. I've really come to prefer PGGB because, as an end-user vs. audio engineer, PGGB's designer has already gone through the options and given you its best as default/automatic settings.

Also, to my ears, for PCM with Chord Dacs, I really prefer PGGB. (DSD may be different story, I don't know DSD anymore). Aside from larger staging, better layering/imaging, increased resolution, fluidity, etc. there is also a pleasing density that fleshes out some of the leaness of the Chord house sound. How much that means to you is going to vary on your particular system. But, extreme as it sounds, I think if it wasn't for PGGB, I'd have moved to a different DAC by now.

The downsides, you're already aware of. There is huge multiplication of storage needed and the time it takes to encode your files. That said, if you have a M2 or H2, you can take it all with you. I mean, yes, you can wire up a huge battery to an MScaler and put that into a shoulder sling, but, that's mm...., not a great solution. When I have to spend time encoding, I do think of the fact that this is not only for, at home with Dave, but on the go with H2. Two FPGA birds, one algorithmic stone.

I find it annoying that PGGB won’t do FLACs unless sample rate is less or equal to 8FS
It seems that Audiowise’s PGGB-IT does not have that limitation

 

[Digital Enigma]

Four letters for ya: P G G B

If people are feeding ultra high res PGGB files in to a chord dac then aren't you bypassing the internal WTA filter? isn't that what people buy chord for?

 

[Progisus]

If people are feeding ultra high res PGGB files in to a chord dac then aren't you bypassing the internal WTA filter? isn't that what people buy chord for?

You are correct but the mscaler does the same thing. Without upscaling the wta1 filter is one of the industry best. I like pggb for my local files and mscaler for streaming.

 

[edwardsean]

If people are feeding ultra high res PGGB files in to a chord dac then aren't you bypassing the internal WTA filter? isn't that what people buy chord for?

I think that's exactly the right set of questions to ask. Yes you are, and yes it is a lot of it.
It's a shame to forego all that work that went into the WTA filter, and if you don't have Mscaler or PGGB, it truly is a fine filter. But, for myself, I honestly would not use Dave without the external upscaling. It's that transformative.
It is also true that you don't need a Chord DAC to use PGGB. People have found success with other DACs, but it does work extremely well with Dave. The designer programmed it with Dave in mind. The thing is that Dave is more than the WTA filter. When Rob Watts built the Mscaler, he himself knew there was more to get out of it. PGGB is better and cheaper, with all the noted drawbacks.

 

[TheAttorney]

I feel a probably naive question coming up: isn't roon bit perfect then? How does it manage to torpedo sound?
Since it's off topic, a link is well enough to dig further into it. Thanks.

Try this link below. There's no definitive answer to your question, but most people would say it's not about the bits themselves, but about the noise that surrounds the bits, which is hard to get rid of once it gets into your network and system. Not everyone hears these sometimes subtle differences, so if you don't hear it... don't worry about it.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/roon-optimization-guide-for-increased-sound-quality.968792/

 

[Bowbow]

I suspect you're right.

Because their English and their arguments are always so bad, I imagine they're part of the ASR business to pump Chi-fi.

I am from Chine. 我可以很负责任的说，中国的发烧友也认为ASR的言论很扯淡。如果测试参数能代表一切，SMSL的su 10已经天下第一了。（In short, nearly all Chinese audiophile ignore ASR's statements since they are obviously ridiculous ）

 

[FunkyBassMan]

I am from Chine. 我可以很负责任的说，中国的发烧友也认为ASR的言论很扯淡。如果测试参数能代表一切，SMSL的su 10已经天下第一了。（In short, nearly all Chinese audiophile ignore ASR's statements since they are obviously ridiculous ）

Very well said about the SMSL SU10.

 

[Reactcore]

Lol
Found another person who 3D modeled a Chord Stack like i did

https://www.renderhub.com/sta-84/chord-electronics-etude-blu-mk-ii-dave-dac

 

[walterboss]

Having had my DAVE for nearly a month now, I decided to wade into power supplies, convinced that using the stock supply was leaving something out of the system.

So I've just put in a Puritan Ultimate Mains Cable and...ok. Wow.

The great thing about having a Susvara is that they're microscopes for highlighting changes in your system. A simple A/B took very little time at all, and the improvements are very significant. This cable has introduced a far bigger improvement for me than an M Scaler ever brought to my previous TT2. NB: I never had the M Scaler in with the DAVE.

The improvements are so stark I'm actually pretty stunned. Bass is deeper and more textured. Imaging and resolution more defined. Separation sharper. It's actually making me question is a lot of people who found the DAVE too 'thin' have actually been punished from using the stock cable. Because what I'm hearing now is significantly more musical and real.

I'm sure some will write this off as hyperbole, but I know the music I've been listening to for the past few weeks trying out DAVE and what it sounds like now with this new power cable. I hadn't really digging my Susvara with heavier rock/metal like Tool, but I feel like I'm now getting the deeper richer sound I expected from it. No, it's not got the insane punch and dynamics of my 1266 TC, but it sounds bloody delicious.

This morning I've been listening to Radiohead's OK Computer, my favourite album of all time, and one I know inside out and back to front. Or so I thought. I'm hearing instruments sustain or decay in ways I never knew. Soundstage has deepened and widened – I hesitate to say this, but I can't deny it – almost twice as much. It's insane.

I just don't have the funds to stump up for Farad3 and the like, but I am absolutely over the moon about this upgrade. I feel like I'm finally hearing what the DAVE is fully capable of. How I'm going to get any work done today, I have no idea.

This is total bliss

 

[Mr X]

Having had my DAVE for nearly a month now, I decided to wade into power supplies, convinced that using the stock supply was leaving something out of the system.

So I've just put in a Puritan Ultimate Mains Cable and...ok. Wow.

The great thing about having a Susvara is that they're microscopes for highlighting changes in your system. A simple A/B took very little time at all, and the improvements are very significant. This cable has introduced a far bigger improvement for me than an M Scaler ever brought to my previous TT2. NB: I never had the M Scaler in with the DAVE.

The improvements are so stark I'm actually pretty stunned. Bass is deeper and more textured. Imaging and resolution more defined. Separation sharper. It's actually making me question is a lot of people who found the DAVE too 'thin' have actually been punished from using the stock cable. Because what I'm hearing now is significantly more musical and real.

I'm sure some will write this off as hyperbole, but I know the music I've been listening to for the past few weeks trying out DAVE and what it sounds like now with this new power cable. I hadn't really digging my Susvara with heavier rock/metal like Tool, but I feel like I'm now getting the deeper richer sound I expected from it. No, it's not got the insane punch and dynamics of my 1266 TC, but it sounds bloody delicious.

This morning I've been listening to Radiohead's OK Computer, my favourite album of all time, and one I know inside out and back to front. Or so I thought. I'm hearing instruments sustain or decay in ways I never knew. Soundstage has deepened and widened – I hesitate to say this, but I can't deny it – almost twice as much. It's insane.

I just don't have the funds to stump up for Farad3 and the like, but I am absolutely over the moon about this upgrade. I feel like I'm finally hearing what the DAVE is fully capable of. How I'm going to get any work done today, I have no idea.

This is total bliss

Certainly not hyperbole as far as I’m concerned.
I run ultimate cables to my Dave and Mscaler via the Puritan156 which I would highly recommend you try and audition if possible.

Might be worth searching for the Puritan thread on these forums for more feedback from happy owners and their experiences.
Enjoy!

 

[gnomen]

I'm sure some will write this off as hyperbole,

Not me. I've just posted in the Weiss thread about upgrading to their Helios model. As part of the demo we tried a Shunyata mains power cable. Easy to hear the difference. And it is just as significant as you describe.

The Helios was my preferred path rather than the Dave (going from an MScaler/TT2 combo fed by a dCS Network Bridge). But all these high end DACs are amazing in how they can engage you with the music!

 

[walterboss]

Certainly not hyperbole as far as I’m concerned.
I run ultimate cables to my Dave and Mscaler via the Puritan156 which I would highly recommend you try and audition if possible.

Might be worth searching for the Puritan thread on these forums for more feedback from happy owners and their experiences.
Enjoy!

Thanks! I've got an IFI PowerStation currently, which was my first foray into controlling a very amateur noisy system. Even with poor cabling elsewhere the difference in blackness of background was incredible.

What this experience is making me question now is what difference such a cable might have made to my M Scaler experience, which was terribly underwhelming. That said, a lot of people who have found great improvements with an M Scaler have used the stock cable. But then, it's not like I've been asking for a show of hands

 

[walterboss]

I run ultimate cables to my Dave and Mscaler via the Puritan156 which I would highly recommend you try and audition if possible.

This appears to be a significant step up from my Ifi PowerStation which was bought very cheaply on ebay vs RRP. It's an upgrade I'd love, but will have to wait a year or two before making another step, as I'm still working my way through my chain. I've got a document of recommended items though, and the 156 will go on it