[DaveRedRef-III]

With regards to Davina, I hope Chord commission a recording (perhaps a remastering using Davina ADC's) to showcase the technology. That would be something worth hearing back through the Dave I think.

 

[x RELIC x]

Oh yes, very well. Particularly with my HE1000, now modified. But you'll also notice the DAVE's phenomenal spatial imaging with other (open) headphones, such as the HD 800.

Add Utopia to that list. The depth in particular is fantastic. Width is not overly wide but realistic with the DAVE Utopia pairing, and the imaging is stunning.

 

[Crgreen]

Push the menu button followed by pushing the right arrow for a few seconds until the display blinks. This will switch between PCM and DSD. In my case it only works with the right button not the left one.

Thanks. I tried that but no joy with my remote I'm afraid.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

 
Rob, what is most important with the DAVE?

 
 
Aweinspiring.  Thank you so much.  Not just for this, but all your contributions to date.  You are a true asset to the community and you've helped, guided and influenced me on numerous occasions (always for the better).  Thank you for your wisdom, patience and diligence.  I'm so sad to hear you won't be around for a sometime; it is our loss.  I wish you nothing but the very best.
 
Stay well my friend.
 
-Paul

 

[Crgreen]

Likewise. I hope all goes well.

 

[Rob Watts]

  Thank you jazz.
 
Is the depth of the soundstage of the Dave audible on headphones, or does it need a speaker system?
 
For Rob Watts : which headphones do you use while on airplanes or indeed anywhere else?
 
And which portable speakers, if any, do you use in your hotel room?
 
What is your home hi-fi system which you use with Dave?
 
Thanks

Yes you can hear the depth on HP, but it is suppressed compared to loudspeakers. But instrument inner detail is much better with headphones - I would dearly like the strengths of both.
 
Headphones - Audioquest Nighthawks - they sound tonally like loudspeakers, and have very low distortion. The Focal Utopia is on my to listen list.
 
Loudspeakers - a small German brand that is no longer made. They have exceptional bass and extremely good depth.
 
Chord have a very large number of LS and headphones, so new products get put through lots of differing combinations by the guys at Chord at the prototype stage. 
 
Rob

 

[Rob Watts]

With regards to Davina, I hope Chord commission a recording (perhaps a remastering using Davina ADC's) to showcase the technology. That would be something worth hearing back through the Dave I think.

I will be doing some initial recordings to mostly test for depth - I plan to have two prototypes, fed with the same mic feed, so I can change the internal configuration and see if noise shaper resolution is the same for DAC's and ADC's - they should be. So this will be natural sounds in my Welsh village - dogs barking, birds, etc. I will test for sounds that are several miles away to close up.
 
Also, it will be home recordings of guitar and a few other instruments, again with two units with differing internal settings - how else can one do AB testing with an ADC? The other issue is transient reproduction, timing and how this relates to decimation, which is currently very poorly done. I am currently thinking about the best way to consistently and reliably do this. Percussion comes to mind as the best way to do this.
 
The next stage is to release to professional engineers, and here we have a number of big names lined up, so I won't be dependent on my inexperienced efforts. These recordings will be used for final decimation testing as I will record at 768 kHz then post recording convert down to 44.1 16 bits - and having the original 768 k on hand will be very interesting.
 
I will be posting more about this once the PCB is finished.
 
Rob

 

[analogmusic]

Dear Rob
 
of course Davina  will benefit future recordings.
 
I am hoping that older recordings made in hi-res (and of course analog tape) can lead to remastered CD versions which will sound much better?
 
I am not sure that some recordings made in 44.1/16 can be helped by Davina? The Genesis self titled album (apparently all digital recording) comes to mind, but somehow on vinyl it sounds quite good.
 
I am not alone in saying we are really looking forward to hear the Davina audio samples
 
Thank you !

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

A cheap snare drum might come in handy Rob I would have thought. Twofold really. One the obvious spike transients but two the high resolution required to truly replicate the snare.

This may sound odd but I would also consider testing with recordings of the sea. To my ears the sea lapping on a beach is something ADC's and DACs have a real problem with. There is so much constant high resolution in this sound it shows up the inadequacies of conversion. For me that was a 'stand-out' for DAVE when I first played Quadrophenia by the Who through it. The sound of the sea sounded so much more real than I had ever heard it through other systems including those from Chord.

Anyway just a couple of suggestions fwiw.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop. This is a fascinating project imo.

 

[asindc]

For those who own the DAVE, please confirm the maximum sample rate through AES.  The DAVE manual from the Chord website says 96, but some posts here and elsewhere say 192.

 

[asindc]

  For those who own the DAVE, please confirm the maximum sample rate through AES.  The DAVE manual from the Chord website says 96, but some posts here and elsewhere say 192.

Found the answer in post # 1115 of this thread, 192.

 

[Smazz]

I'm interested in ordering a Chord Dave. I only found one dealer in the US. Is that dealer the only option?

 

[Rob Watts]

A cheap snare drum might come in handy Rob I would have thought. Twofold really. One the obvious spike transients but two the high resolution required to truly replicate the snare.

This may sound odd but I would also consider testing with recordings of the sea. To my ears the sea lapping on a beach is something ADC's and DACs have a real problem with. There is so much constant high resolution in this sound it shows up the inadequacies of conversion. For me that was a 'stand-out' for DAVE when I first played Quadrophenia by the Who through it. The sound of the sea sounded so much more real than I had ever heard it through other systems including those from Chord.

Anyway just a couple of suggestions fwiw.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop. This is a fascinating project imo.

Yes but that depends on my non existent playing abilities! But I think I will get one and thanks for the idea. My son is a grade 2 guitarist, and his teacher is very good, so I will be recording them practicing. At the same time it will give a natural voice test too.
 
One thing I will try is loud fireworks - the initial crack, the LF bloom, and the way the sound reverbs around the valley will be a good test of depth too.
 
I will be getting wood blocks though - reproducing the timbre of a wood block naturally is quite a challenge, plus you have the initial transient whack which is really difficult to get right. And its something one can play consistently too.
 
These initial tests will be crucial, so I can optimise the design of the ADC - in terms of the power of the noise shaper, and in how the system decimates from 104 MHz 6 bits back down to 768 kHz 24 bits. In current ADC's this decimation is done very crudely using simple moving average filters.
 
The microphones I am thinking of using is the Earthworks QT50 using a Schneider disc. This technique has the benefit of recording phase information as well as amplitude differences. Plus using omni-directional mics to my mind is the best way of encoding depth cues - at least that's the advice I have been given. The QT50 is impulse accurate up to 50 kHz too, and is ruler flat from 5 Hz to 50 KHz.
 
Rob 

 

[EVOLVIST]

I'm interested in ordering a Chord Dave. I only found one dealer in the US. Is that dealer the only option?

Bluebird is the only distributer/dealer in the US. But there are a lot of authorized smalltime dealers that you can seek out. I couldn't even begin to tell you how to find them. I believe someone in this thread pointed one out to me. Post your state and I'm willing to bet someone can help.

 

[Smazz]

Bluebird is the only distributer/dealer in the US. But there are a lot of authorized smalltime dealers that you can seek out. I couldn't even begin to tell you how to find them. I believe someone in this thread pointed one out to me. Post your state and I'm willing to bet someone can help.

Thanks for the response, I'm in Miami, FL. I'd appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction.