I suppose that might be possible, but EAC has ripping quality pretty well covered, for the most part.
There are many reasons why I dislike streaming, but you are probably right that it will become the de facto choice.
All those of you who can afford DAVE, you are lucky lucky people that, whatever digital format you prefer to listen to, you will be experiencing the bleeding-edge of what is possible in terms of playback resolution and quality
The question for me is whether Rob can find a way to retrieve the data and present it in a way that suits Dave better than a piece of software on a computer or the previous Blu and Red Ref 3 for that matter. If Blu 2 can do a better job than Blu 1 (which by dint of the fact it is being launched implies that it can) then the best that Dave can deliver has more to do with just sending it a red book file of zero's and one's from a computer. If so this is likely to be better than a balk standard software program on a computer for sure. Rob has certainly learned something because the existing Blu and Red Ref 3 both sound more natural when using just 44.1 up sampling when feeding Dave. It will be interesting to hear the outcome of his latest work.
Another day and I have been listening to my LCD-4's with both the Moon Neo 430 amp and the Dave alone.....I find it sounds better to my ears without the amp but without the amp I have to listen between -15 and -3 for the most part and my only concern is the ability of the amp to output sound at these or perhaps even louder levels without clipping or other problems....when I listen to the Utopia I find I am listening between -30 and -20 which is quite a difference.I also have the HE1000 which falls somewhere in between.I also notice that the Dave is brutally honest and really distinguishes between HP's and their characteristics....you better like the sound of your HP alot if you get the Dave or else you are going to be very critical of it....all in all a completely different listening experience thus far
My understanding is that while TT clips if turned up too loud, DAVE doesn't as headroom has been put in to make sure.
Well, in pure voltage terms, anyway. There's always the possibility that a headphone demands too much current.
Those levels on your LCD-4 matched what I briefly experienced at CanJam recently. It just requires a lot of voltage.
So far I've resisted the idea of getting DAVE as an upgrade from my TT. I'm enjoying the TT to such a ridiculous extent it seems unnecessary. The devil on my shoulder says "life's short, the music could be better with DAVE". And Focal Utopia wants my attention, too...
I understand your feelings regarding your TT because it is truly a fantastic DAC....I had the same thoughts about upgrading to the Dave but in the end i couldnt resist....you only live once right?....I do hope your explanation of the Dave regarding potentially clipping is correct because the Dave itself sounds better to my ears than the Moon Neo 430 as an external amp and believe me I love that amp,but straight out of the Dave just sounds better assuming it can handle the load
.I also notice that the Dave is brutally honest and really distinguishes between HP's and their characteristics....you better like the sound of your HP alot if you get the Dave or else you are going to be very critical of it....all in all a completely different listening experience thus far
Yup! That's exactly what I'm experiencing with my HD800s. Lesser DAC/Amp combos were fine until I moved to the DAVE. It's not the DAVE's fault; it's what I wanted out of music, i.e. the unvarnished truth, but the DAVE really does expose the shortcomings of stock HD800s, I believe. The Senns are still great headphones; don't get me wrong; nonetheless, for the first time I find the HD800s to be fatiguing now because it is not masked by a veiled DAC.
I had to give Davina a short break, as I have been very busy finishing off the new Blu for a show later this month. But I am back onto Davina now, so I hope to finish the PCB by the end of (this!) October.
For sure I will publish copies of test recordings, together with some files that are experimental (one Davina set up one way, another Davina a different way both fed the same mic feed) so we can all hear the difference.
Yup! That's exactly what I'm experiencing with my HD800s. Lesser DAC/Amp combos were fine until I moved to the DAVE. It's not the DAVE's fault; it's what I wanted out of music, i.e. the unvarnished truth, but the DAVE really does expose the shortcomings of stock HD800s, I believe. The Senns are still great headphones; don't get me wrong; nonetheless, for the first time I find the HD800s to be fatiguing now because it is not masked by a veiled DAC.
Based on my post a while back, I doubt if the 800S is the answer.
I just didn't get on with it at all. The sound wasn't sharp, but it was boring. From a purely tonal perspective I preferred my HD600 driven by Dave.
I think a lot of this had to do with me getting used to my Stax 009 for several years. As far as I can tell, the HD800S (and 800 to greater extent) have exactly the opposite frequency response curve in the mid to upper mid range (i.e when the 009 goes up, the 800 goes down). This would have exaggerated the tonal issue I had with the 800S on female vocals.
Some people love them (or at least modded or EQ'd versions of them), but I suspect if you're not happy with an 800, then an 800S won't solve all the problems.
Yeah, and like the Attorney said, I probably won't like the 800S with my DAVE either. I'm probably going to go with the Focal Utopias, or at least give them a shot as more tonally balanced.
Yeah, and like the Attorney said, I probably won't like the 800S with my DAVE either. I'm probably going to go with the Focal Utopias, or at least give them a shot as more tonally balanced.
I had the 800 and the 800S.....i found the soundstage to be unnatural to my ears and even the new 800S to be too bright...the Utopia with the Dave is brilliant....yes,a bad recording will still sound bad but a good recording is truly special.....if you can swing it,well worth it IMHO
Well, I'm pretty sensitive to high pitched noises. Oddly enough, I just took a hearing test, and once I got into the 16khz range, I didn't so much hear the tone as I felt the tone. Right now I still have a bit of a weird feeling in my head having been listening to those tones. I wouldn't say I have a golden ear (I mean, I'm 42); still, somewhere in that 14khz-20khz range my head started to swim with the high pitched noise, whether I actually "heard" it as a high pitched tone or not. Maybe that's what dogs feel when they get hit with one of those dog repellent gadgets.
So, yeah, I suspect that 6-8khz spike is what really gets on my tit about the HD800s.
I understand your feelings regarding your TT because it is truly a fantastic DAC....I had the same thoughts about upgrading to the Dave but in the end i couldnt resist....you only live once right?...
I've thought of a new way to weigh my options. After CanJam I'd decided that I'd probably want Utopia first before DAVE, on the basis Utopia is probably the biggest upgrade. That is, if I prefer Utopia over HD 800 S.
But nagging at the back of any upgrade plan has been the question of whether Sennheiser will introduce a new headphone above HD 800 (S)... It could be years.
The new thought process starts off pretty simply: DAVE is inevitable. And quickly escalates to "well, while waiting to see if Sennheiser does something new, might as well listen to DAVE."
Anyway, nothing's going to happen until I can spend time with a dealer's well run-in Utopias. Preferably over a weekend or a whole week (I want to find out if they hurt my dumbo ears). It might be a few months before that becomes practical.
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So, what do you think: which is the bigger upgrade, HD 800 S to Utopia or TT to DAVE?
Received my dave today and have been giving it a spin this evening...coming from the TT I didnt know exactly what to expect given that i loved the TT...that said,so far i am very impressed....incredible detail and space ,listening to each instrument in its place so clearly is a kick...this is very early obvious with no burn in etc but so far it is indeed a step up from the TT which aint easy.....the one thing i do not like is the confusing menus,lousy manual and general difficulty navigating around the Dave....Chord makes magnificent products at very high price points but their design and manual in many cases leave much to be desired....that said it sounds so damn good
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