CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[officeboy20]

Don't worry, you're not missing much with those brands, I've listened to most of them and wasn't impressed at all. Stick to what you like and don't listen to trolls.

No wonder that the DAVE is still one of the top DACs in the market. Probably will save me money for 2-3 more years.

 

[dguitarnut]

The Dave’s built in headphone amplifier is not bad but you can introduce better sonics by using a good tube or SS amplifier. The addition of a Mscaler bumps it up a notch also.

 

[officeboy20]

The Dave’s built in headphone amplifier is not bad but you can introduce better sonics by using a good tube or SS amplifier. The addition of a Mscaler bumps it up a notch also.

Paired the DAVE with some Violectric amps and still prefer the solo DAVE when using my Focal Utopias 2022. Even the HD800, still prefer the solo DAVE

 

[Reactcore]

Paired the DAVE with some Violectric amps and still prefer the solo DAVE when using my Focal Utopias 2022. Even the HD800, still prefer the solo DAVE

Thats why ive put so much effort into improving its internal amp section by changing its DC power feed. As written in my thread. No added external amp can match this Dave's clarity combined with drivepower.

 

[shaylin3]

Has anyone tried pairing DAVE with Alto?

 

[officeboy20]

Thats why ive put so much effort into improving its internal amp section by changing its DC power feed. As written in my thread. No added external amp can match this Dave's clarity combined with drivepower.

Will check your thread. Thanks!

 

[miketlse]

Has anyone tried pairing DAVE with Alto?

The Alto was initially only sold to the audio professionals, some of whom do use DAVE, but I suspect that they don't browse head-fi, so they may not see your question.
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/professional

 

[officeboy20]

The Alto was initially only sold to the audio professionals, some of whom do use DAVE, but I suspect that they don't browse head-fi, so they may not see your question.
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/professional

I tried the alto during my last visit to the local seller. and damn, they sound so clean. I'm impressed with the form factor also

 

[OnlySoMany]

Update: I have a Sean Jacobs DC4 / ARC6 Power Supply for Chord Dave for sale super cheap!
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650187082-sean-jacobs-dc4-arc6-power-supply-for-chord-dave/

 

[icnaiwhimor1975]

Update: I have a Sean Jacobs DC4 / ARC6 Power Supply for Chord Dave for sale super cheap!
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650187082-sean-jacobs-dc4-arc6-power-supply-for-chord-dave/

great price

 

[OnlySoMany]

great price

Trying! Priced to move, wife wants me to move the boxes in the basement

 

[Meridian7]

Trying! Priced to move, wife wants me to move the boxes in the basement

SJ setup is a daring WAF challenge

 

[ecwl]

What's a possible DAC/Amp upgrade coming from DAVE? Any recommendations? Thanks

I think in addition to working on the Quartet Scaler, Rob Watts is working on an Ultima level DAC and an ADC which he has assigned his son to optimize. My gut feeling is that Quartet may show up at the end of this year and the Ultima DAC may show up at the end of 2026 and possibly 2027.

But what are you using as a source? In general, I find that if your source doesn't introduce any electrical noise into M-Scaler/DAVE, the power supply doesn't matter (even though many here would disagree). For the longest time, I used Toslink as a source because whenever I connect via S/PDIF or USB, I just get a worse sound. I finally got the Intona 7055-C for my USB source and that seemed to have solved the electrical noise issue from my source so I now use a USB source. The other issue is that it doesn't matter whether you're actively using the source or not, as long as it's grounds connected, the power supply noise from the source is still leaking noise into the Scaler/DAC. So it's just something to watch out for.

 

[shaylin3]

Still looking for a good quality SS amplifier to go with DAVE, hopefully better than ferrum oor, only use utopia for headphones

 

[LucheseCandido]

Way over my budget. I'm gonna pass.