[ubs28]

I think the best sound I have ever heard away from my living room was precisely this set-up. It was at the Tokyo audio fair last year, and half a dozen Dave owners - who were Japanese reviewers - were doing presentations using this system and using their music. It sounded glorious, and was goose-bump emotionally involving music all the time.

Sometimes it can be frustrating attending shows with a distributor set-up - poor acoustics, or a not too good set-up, can leave one feeling disappointed. But this system was in the zone; and I thought I do not care what anybody else in the room thought as for me this was making music - this is what audio is all about.

Rob  

Good to hear. Maybe I'll go for the Chord amplifiers.

 

[JaZZ]

 

I think the best sound I have ever heard away from my living room was precisely this set-up. It was at the Tokyo audio fair last year, and half a dozen Dave owners - who were Japanese reviewers - were doing presentations using this system and using their music. It sounded glorious, and was goose-bump emotionally involving music all the time.

Sometimes it can be frustrating attending shows with a distributor set-up - poor acoustics, or a not too good set-up, can leave one feeling disappointed. But this system was in the zone; and I thought I do not care what anybody else in the room thought as for me this was making music - this is what audio is all about.

Rob  

Good to hear. Maybe I'll go for the Chord amplifiers.

 
Better wait for Rob's «digital» class A amplifier for the DAVE! Possibly another breakthrough product.

 

[EVOLVIST]

Better wait for Rob's «digital» class A amplifier for the DAVE! Possibly another breakthrough product.

Yeah, here's the rub on that amp. Nobody knows how much it'll cost. That's what's kinda bugging me right now. I friggin' hate the march of technology sometimes.

 

[rgs9200m]

Class A amps run extremely hot. My Pass could heat up a whole room. Sure sounded nice though.

 

[Christer]

  Class A amps run extremely hot. My Pass could heat up a whole room. Sure sounded nice though.

They do indeed. My MF amp also  often serves as the only heating needed in my listening room during sometimes a bit chilly Swedish summer nights. 
And although design comes very far back on my list of preferences regarding HI FI products I have to admit that both its visually  very impressive  heavy-weight  and size and those orange feet shining faintly under the poweramp section  when it is  properly warmed up provides enough light to navigate around an otherwise darkened room at night.

 

[Christer]

  It's very much possible that a Hugo² with M-Scaler sounds better than a DAVE alone (that also depends on the headphone output for those with this priority). The price would be similar, but you also gain portablity. On the other hand you lose some desktop ergonomy.
 
Somehow the combo Hugo² + M-Scaler seems a bit odd in terms of price discrepancy. So why not phantasize about a matching, affordable stand-alone M-Scaler, despite Chord's denial?!

Hello JaZZ, I am certainly with you all the way in this "phantasy." One of the main reasons apart from its ridiculous price I did NOT buy a DAVE,was advice given  from among others Ted over at Computer Audiophile.
With recent developments I am very happy that I resisted.
With a bit of luck things may  now have  matured to a level where I might both "have the cake and eat it". 
The possiblility of a non compromise home DAC that can also serve as a near SOTA DAC on my travels sounds very tempting indeed to me..

 

[AndrewOld]

  It's very much possible that a Hugo² with M-Scaler sounds better than a DAVE alone (that also depends on the headphone output for those with this priority). The price would be similar, but you also gain portablity. On the other hand you lose some desktop ergonomy.
 
Somehow the combo Hugo² + M-Scaler seems a bit odd in terms of price discrepancy. So why not phantasize about a matching, affordable stand-alone M-Scaler, despite Chord's denial?!

The stand alone M Scaler has to happen. Rob has already said he would never have put the M Scaler in with the Blu2 had he known how good the M Scaler was. He also said how quick it was to add a USB input to the Blu2. How can it not be simple to just drop the mechanism from the Blu2 and produce what so many of us want - a stand alone M Scaler. A 7kg CD mechanism as a front end to a portable DAC makes even less sense than it does to DAVE owners who have no CDs.  But maybe the dual inputs on the Hugo 2 can be read the other way ... that Chord are considering bringing the M Scaler technology into the price range of the Hugo 2, perhaps as a stand alone box or perhaps with a streamer. I hope they are thinking carefully about the future.

 

[Kamil21]

The stand alone M Scaler has to happen. Rob has already said he would never have put the M Scaler in with the Blu2 had he known how good the M Scaler was. He also said how quick it was to add a USB input to the Blu2. How can it not be simple to just drop the mechanism from the Blu2 and produce what so many of us want - a stand alone M Scaler. A 7kg CD mechanism as a front end to a portable DAC makes even less sense than it does to DAVE owners who have no CDs.  But maybe the dual inputs on the Hugo 2 can be read the other way ... that Chord are considering bringing the M Scaler technology into the price range of the Hugo 2, perhaps as a stand alone box or perhaps with a streamer. I hope they are thinking carefully about the future.

I would guess that a cheaper, Hugo like M Scaler would be dependent on the availability of a low power, lower cost processor. At the moment the Blu2 M Scaler is running on a top end processor with power requirements that are challenging for a portable device... so maybe a 0.5M Scaler built into a Poly like device?

 

[JaZZ]

I don't think a portable, battery-driven M-Scaler is an option, not for the near future anyway. Personally I would consider it overkill, also in that it perverts the portability aspect. Most of the time I enjoy the music more just with the burden of a small DAP in my pocket or on my arm despite the sonic compromize. After all (real) mobility represents half of the ingredients of mobile music listening. A triple stack in the kilograms range brings the system closer to a transportable than a portable system.

 

[AndrewOld]

I would guess that a cheaper, Hugo like M Scaler would be dependent on the availability of a low power, lower cost processor. At the moment the Blu2 M Scaler is running on a top end processor with power requirements that are challenging for a portable device... so maybe a 0.5M Scaler built into a Poly like device?

Who knows? I'm just confused. What are Chord imagining will be used with the dual inputs of the Hugo2?

 

[TheAttorney]

   One of the main reasons apart from its ridiculous price I did NOT buy a DAVE,was advice given  from among others Ted over at Computer Audiophile.
With recent developments I am very happy that I resisted.
With a bit of luck things may  now have  matured to a level where I might both "have the cake and eat it". 
The possiblility of a non compromise home DAC that can also serve as a near SOTA DAC on my travels sounds very tempting indeed to me..

Do you mind summarising Ted's and others advice about DAVE?
 
Regarding waiting for the next model, the obvious downside of that strategy is that there is always a next model. And in the meantime, you're making do with something less than you could have. We've all been there. What happens when Chord announces in 2018 the incredible 1 tera tap "TT-Scaler" that is not quite compatible with whatever model combination you bought in 2017?  
 
Having said that, I agree that it's still a rather confusing limbo time for existing and budding DAVE owners. We could do with a more helpful statement of intent from the Chord team. Along the lines of the USB input added to the Blue-2 that made everyone happier. Remember Chord, this is not a "problem", it's an "opportunity"!    

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Just thought I would mention, that I just purchased a blues album on Prestige Profiles by 'Lightnin' Hopkins'. Bearing in mind most authentic blues albums were recorded on a shoestring, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality.

If you like your blues predominantly played on acoustic and with a consistently good groove then this is worth checking out. He really did have a nice group of musicians working with him. Nicely understated but accomplished. The feel throughout the album is excellent.

Also it is pleasing to find an acoustic guitar recorded well from this era. Often the singer would get the best mic and the acoustic would get little to no real attention in regard to natural mic placing and fidelity. Not bad for a group of essentially low bubdget 55 year old blues recordings.

 

[AndrewOld]

 ..
 
Having said that, I agree that it's still a rather confusing limbo time for existing and budding DAVE owners. We could do with a more helpful statement of intent from the Chord team. Along the lines of the USB input added to the Blue-2 that made everyone happier. Remember Chord, this is not a "problem", it's an "opportunity"!    

The USB input didn't make me happy at all I'm afraid. I thought it was just a bodge. Doesn't do anything for the DAVE owners who don't have any CDs. Unless you think we are stupid enough to buy a very expensive and utterly redundant transport for a medium we abandoned (in my case) over a decade ago. 

 

[Beolab]

But who said that the M-Scaler should be transportable, i have not seen anyone say that. What everyone wants is just the M-Scaler in a separate alu case with optical , usb and coax input and for me it can draw continuously 20A if it would


I think this will happen, but more likely during 2018, so just have a little patience, because we discuss things here that are not even released yet.

 

[rkt31]

this thread either talks about using Dave directly with single driver speakers ( few watts ) or 1000+ watts mono blocks driving big line speakers and similar. there is no problem in that as it depends on one's choice and cash to spare. but the problem with 1000+ watts mono blocks is that they don't offer higher input sensitivity to fully utilize the dave's high output, means they depend upon large gain . say an 8 ohm speakers will require about 90v output to reach 1000 watts, at 2v input sensitivity ( this is norm even with most expensive amps ) which is huge gain factor around 33db . this much gain ultimately reduces the transparency and amplifies the flaws of associated equipments, RMI and emi interference etc. imho until unless someone requires to fill a huge hall, these big speakers ( and thus 1000+ watt mono blocks amp) are not required. due to their big size they can lack in imaging specially in medium to small rooms. imho better solution is to use a pair of good quality bookshelf having around 40 to 45 Hz lower frequency response and if required a powered sub with variable cross over can be used to fill in for lower frequencies.