[pkcpga]

Anyone compare the HE 1000 with the Chord Dave vs McIntosh MHA100? I know the DACs don't compare but for the differences in price is there such a huge difference for the average ear? The MHA is more versatile in allowing one to connect speakers. Is the amp in the Dave really powerful enough to drive the HEK to its full potential to loud enough volumes?

If you are looking for a great DAC at a more affordable price the naim DAC v1 is extremely good with a class a headphone amp and a more detailed listen like the Dave but not quite as refined. But the naim piece is around 2,400 and to me has a much better DAC than the mcintosh. The naim DAC also plays DSD. And you can easily attach a rega or arcam integrated preamp, amp piece for 1,200 more that will give you a better sound for your speakers as well or spend double on the speaker amp and attach a naim intergrated amp. I'd suggest going to a hifi shop and demoing some, mcintosh is no longer tube amps just "tube like filtering" on solid state amps at a premium price.

 

[Sonic77]

I took my cheap doohicky player to my high end dealer and compared it to the Dave and it was just as good as the Dave. My skull candy headphones rule!!!!! 

 

[rkt31]

I don't own Dave right now but have hugo and use it with a very revealing beyerdynamic dt880 600ohm headphones. frankly speaking while I enjoy Hugo with headphones but Hugo truly shines with a properly set speaker system. the kind of dynamism and depth Hugo offers can be best experienced with speakers. I use a sub too fed by Hugo rca out which further adds the magic of Hugo's ultimate bass definition. for comparing sometimes you need a bit of extra time as in a non familiar environment the brain finds it difficult to focus.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

   
@bigfatpaulie & @romaz, when talking about the M1, was it the M1se that you guys had owned or just the standard model?

 
I owned just the standard model. 

 

[Crgreen]

Yeah, I don't let the dealer dictate what kind of music I should listen to; I bring my own tunes, some of them crap recordings, some of them very well recorded. I base my choice of demo music off of certain sections or cues within the song that are often difficult for DACs to reproduce regardless of recording quality. For instance, I listened to Jeff Buckley's song "Grace" in redbook, because there is quite a lot of siblilance in his voice and I want to see how a DAC handles that. Or the very beginning of Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower," because the opening instruments are very congested and it's difficult to untangle that mess. Also I think the tape got a little chewed either on the multitrack or the master. Tracks like Patricia Barber's "Use Me" and Elvis Presley's "Fever" because I want to hear the close mic'ed upright bass, because like piano, you can tell a lot about a DAC with how it reproduces that instrument. And on and on...

Anyway, I listened to both the Berekely, the DAVE and the iDSD all through the same headphone amp, my SPL Auditor, with my same custom Mogami XLR cables. Well, not the micro, because it only has RCA outputs. All of the power was first fed through my PS Audio P300. I also used the iUSB 3.0 in and out of each rig. I could not tell the difference with the iUSB 3.0 with both the Berkeley and the DAVE, but the iDSD micro needed it, along with the Gemini cable.

As for my music software, well, I can't bring my home computer, which is an all SSD drive, 128gb ram, 6 core intel, water-cooled machine running Windows Server 2012R2. Instead, I had to use my son's little audiophile laptop I made for him (he's 13), which only has 16gb of ram. The reason I mention this with my playback software is because I use JRiver18, which still had the option to play from memory back then. I also use Jplay, along with Jplay mini, having the option to play from ram, as well. I've tried most of the other players, and yes, I've tried upsampling within my software, but I don't like, especially for an audition, because I only want the straight juice. Always kernel streaming.

That's it in a nutshell. I ain't using no speakers. Haha!

All later versions of JRiver have the option of playing from Ram, which is the preferred option. My understanding is that it 1gb is the maximum it can load (though I might be wrong) and I'm not sure why you need 128gb.

 

[romaz]

  While I agree with everything that's said about music selection, I personally think that it's best not to say that you need a specific kind of music to show the difference between Chord DAVE and another DAC. I've listened to Random Access Memories by Daft Punk on Chord DAVE and I can tell you it sounds the best I've ever heard. I have a friend who loves listening to very unique musical genres that I'm not even sure how to describe. Our favorite test track for him is Cantoma's Cantoma album Marisi track. Once again, Chord DAVE really shines. Even in these so-called sub-optimal music tracks, Chord DAVE shows off how perfect the timing is so every instrumental strike is much more engaging and then Chord DAVE also ensures the accuracy of the timbre of the instruments so everything you listen to is more natural (or in the case of electronic music, more accurate to the intention of the artist).
 
What I do think is true is that for some music selection such as electronic dance music by Daft Punk, most people truly does not have a reference point. We don't know how it "should" sound like. Because of the ubiquitousness of DAC chip based DACs, we are used to the noise floor modulation and timing distortions of limited tap length. Moreover, we are always most used to how our favorite track sounds like on our current DAC. As a result, for these more challenging music selection, it takes a much longer time for people to appreciate how Chord DAVE is truly sonically more true to the source (and IMHO superior) than other DACs. Obviously, there is also a matter of musical preference as some people prefer distortions (which sometimes I'm prone to myself).

I agree, the DAVE brings out the smallest details out of any recording, even at whisper levels and time resolution is one area in particular where it excels.  I also think it's good to bring a variety of musical genres during an evaluation, unique or not, so long as you are intimately familiar with those tracks.  If I have a short space of time to evaluate a piece of equipment, I am very purposeful about which tracks I prefer to listen to.  Daft Punk's Random Access Memories is very well recorded and is an excellent way of showcasing the bass of a system but as you stated, it's hard to have any reference of accuracy with synthesized music, it's truly more about which presentation you prefer rather than DAC fidelity, and with some types of music, the drive of the amplifier used or the tonality of the speakers used have as much influence on what you're hearing.  If you're looking to see how well one DAC presents even the subtlest details, then knowing the track intimately is more important than anything else but for me, complex tracks hide many more details and trip up many more DACs.  Since this is the genre I listen to the most and attend the most live performances of, my ears generally don't perk up until classical music is demonstrated but obviously, this is very listener dependent.  I try to also be careful about letting my emotions guide too much of my opinion during an initial evaluation because there is always the novelty of hearing something new and of course, there will be the contribution of other possible variables such as the amplifier and speakers or headphones that are being used that might be better or worse than what you have at home.  
 
Trying to evaluate a piece of equipment like a DAC is not always easy especially since the ultimate goal of a DAC is to be invisible.  At the same time, in the same way that you can't really properly evaluate a Bugatti Veyron buy driving it to the local grocery store, I think it helps to have music that will challenge a DAC to make sure the performance is there.

 

[Crgreen]

Actually, with JPlay, which I also use, there's no limit, but do you really need 128gb?

 

[x RELIC x]

@ xRELICx
Very nice pictures,just out of interest has the cradle you've got Dave in,improved the
sound,I've got to say,it certainly looks very impressive

Thanks.

Improved the sound? I don't know as I haven't listened to it without being in the cradle, and don't plan to take it out in the near future. I'm still getting used to the sound and what I'm hearing overall.

 

[paulchiu]

Thanks.

Improved the sound? I don't know as I haven't listened to it without being in the cradle, and don't plan to take it out in the near future. I'm still getting used to the sound and what I'm hearing overall.

 
I had to wait for my legs and while speakers sound the same, there is a bit more details with an even more darker background using headphones.  The unit top and sides certainly measures cooler with the legs.
With the legs, temp gun measures 97-99F
Without legs, about 99-101
 
paul
 

 

[EVOLVIST]

Actually, with JPlay, which I also use, there's no limit, but do you really need 128gb?

I use the machine for other things when I'm not using it for music. When I'm using it for music it's dedicated. I have several OSs that I can boot from depending on what I'm doing.

 

[EVOLVIST]

You know, all said, I can't get the sound of the DAVE out of my head either. Hmmmm... I think because I'm a headphone listener, and the input straight into the DAVE was superb, I just keep thinking about it.

What I'm REALLY thinking about, though, is the crossfeed, which sounded like you were changing to a different DAC each time you went from 1 to 2 (I didn't care for the 3rd crossfeed setting; it didn't sound near as natural as the first two).

I've read all the pages here, but I just can't remember, is there any added reverb to the DAVE crossfeed? I wonder how it's done.

 

[Rob Watts]

Cross-feed is a digital implementation of conventional 1980's analogue techniques - so mathematically it is identical to conventional analogue cross-feed.
 
Absolutely no added reverb at all within Dave.
 
I would recommend you try Dave at home - not that you can't hear what Dave can do in a show or at a dealers - but I find my sensitivity is an order of magnitude worse outside of home. I have often tried headphones that sounded good at a show - take them home and within 5 minutes you can have a very different impression (in both directions - much better or much worse than expectations). Moreover, it takes time to fully appreciate what Dave can do as the way it handles music is very different to conventional digital. 
 
Rob

 

[lovethatsound]

Croos-Feed,it's amazing how some people like it,and some people don't.I personal don't use it with my hd800.It just goes to show how we all hear things in a slightly different way.

 

[x RELIC x]

Croos-Feed,it's amazing how some people like it,and some people don't.I personal don't use it with my hd800.It just goes to show how we all hear things in a slightly different way.

Is there a hearing equivalent to color blindness? We have different preferences is how I would more accurately put it. Sure, not all hearing capabilities and acuity are at the same level, but I'm sure we all can generally tell a C note from an E or G. Apologies, it's pet peeve of mine when I keep reading this.

I like Crossfeed 3 or none, depending on the strength of the recording.... so far....

Binaural is ALWAYS no Crossfeed.

 

[romaz]

Croos-Feed,it's amazing how some people like it,and some people don't.I personal don't use it with my hd800.It just goes to show how we all hear things in a slightly different way.

I know what you're saying.  I could easily be happy without it but I prefer it, especially Crossfeed 3.  I leave it on permanently with each of my headphones.