CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[GreenLeo]

Only your ears can answer that question.

I don't understand the reply. I believe Attorney has heard both. Hence ask the question. If I can access both, I surely will have my verdict.

 

[seeteeyou]

Maybe that reply was more or less like "ear of the beholder" since individual preferences do play a role?

DAVE could drive HE1000 V2 directly and that's an advantage for those of us who don't own any (preferably ToTL) electrostatic amps.

However, the performance of SR-009 would largely depend on what electrostatic amp we're putting right behind DAVE. If that amp were SRM-T8000 or anything from Stax, the performance of SR-009 should largely depend on the quality of preamp as well.

And then we might wanna think about whether it's a better choice to invest in M-Scaler and stick with HE1000 V2, or go for the SR-009 + SRM-T8000 combo instead.

 

[TheAttorney]

I don't understand the reply. I believe Attorney has heard both [009 and HEK V2]. Hence ask the question..

The short answer is that I'm not going to tell you .

The longer answer is that I've deliberately not listened to my BHSE/009s for a few months now, as part of my downsizing experiment to see if I can live with DAVE-direct-to-dynamics as a simpler long term replacement. On the brief occasions when I did compare a while back, I felt that there were some things the electrostatics did that the HEK V2 (or any other dynamics) couldn't quite match. OTOH, much of the time I felt I was listening to the negative effects of inserting any external amp vs DAVE's direct connection, rather than to the headphone differences. So, swings and roundabouts (as it is with any of these TOTL headhones).

What I have already confirmed to myself is that I can indeed live indefinitely with DAVE + HEK V2 if that was the only option. What I have yet to decide is if I should sell my full electrostatics setup (and therefore complete my downsizing goal), or keep them for SQ, or nostalgia, or seller's remorse reasons. I'll report on that in a few weeks once my HEK new audiophile cables have fully settled in and I thereby give the HEK's as good a fighting chance as they're ever likely to get in this showdown.

 

[Whazzzup]

Downsizing? Whazzat?

 

[lovethatsound]

I don't understand the reply. I believe Attorney has heard both. Hence ask the question. If I can access both, I surely will have my verdict.

Hi,what i mean is,that surely when your spending this sort of money on headphones,you really do need to hear them yourself,of course people can guide you on here,but a guide is all that it is.I mean i would tell you that the focal utopia is better than them all,which to me it is.Now other people on here would say something else is better,do you see where I'm coming from.I know sometimes its hard to get to demo all these great headphones,and very time consuming,but at the end of the day only your ears will tell you which one YOU like the best,before you part with all that money.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Maybe that reply was more or less like "ear of the beholder" since individual preferences do play a role?

I also can't/won't answer your question directly, but your question is correct.

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with a DIY T2+009 at home with my DAVE. It's an amazing setup: fast, resolving, detailed up to wazoo. It is a truly world class rig by anyone's standards. That said, when I gave it back I walked away knowing, finally, that I am just not a 009 guy. Some are, and that's great: it is a marvelous headphone.

You really have a hear for yourself.

 

[paradoxper]

Yup.

 

[Whazzzup]

OK dowwwn size ing, I think i get it now...?

 

[rkt31]

chord hugo feeding directly to power amp. audio recorded through olympus ls100, video through phone. power amp benchmark ahb2, speakers kef r300, source fiio x3 2k, plenty of ferrite cores on power and digital cables.

 

[TheAttorney]

In the UK at least, "downsizing" usually refers to older parents, whose children have all now left home, replacing their family-sized homes with something smaller and easier to maintain.

In headfi context, I've enjoyed the fun of big shiny equipment, tube rolling, careful setting up, long warm-up times etc - because the end result was a fantastic sound.
But I sometimes wish I could get the same fantastic sound just by switching on a simple piece of equipment that is compact enough pick up and transport around with ease.
Rather like having a portable rig, but with TOTL main rig SQ.

Prior to DAVE, there was no advantage to switching from my long term electrostatics to dynamics headphones because the latter also (usually) needed a big heavyweight amp to sound fantastic - some users even have monoblock power amps to drive their more inefficient headphones.

But DAVE's direct headphone output gives the promise of downsizing with absolutely no compromise to SQ (not everyone agrees on this, but then you'll never get full consensus on any topic).
Edit: Blu-2 has now complicated DAVE's original promise for me - but I wasn't to know that at the time.

 

[Whazzzup]

In the UK at least, "downsizing" usually refers to older parents, whose children have all now left home, replacing their family-sized homes with something smaller and easier to maintain.

In headfi context, I've enjoyed the fun of big shiny equipment, tube rolling, careful setting up, long warm-up times etc - because the end result was a fantastic sound.
But I sometimes wish I could get the same fantastic sound just by switching on a simple piece of equipment that is compact enough pick up and transport around with ease.
Rather like having a portable rig, but with TOTL main rig SQ.

Prior to DAVE, there was no advantage to switching from my long term electrostatics to dynamics headphones because the latter also (usually) needed a big heavyweight amp to sound fantastic - some users even have momoblock power amps to drive their more inefficient headphones.

But DAVE's direct headphone output gives the promise of downsizing with absolutely no compromise to SQ (not everyone agrees on this, but then you'll never get full consensus on any topic).
Edit: Blu-2 has now complicated DAVE's original promise for me - but I wasn't to know that at the time.

Ahh so this downsizing thing, a foreign concept and rarely discussed at head fi, is further exasperated at the higher the price point by electronic companies continuously releasing technical add ons. inexplicably it seems to occur at all price points, funny that..... don't worry robb at chord is working frantically on more high tech gizmos to add on to dave, and of course, these promises of sound improvement will tempt the most stall worth of individuals I'm sure.
however i applaud the ability to make room for more advanced stuff, down the road.

 

[ecwl]

I
Edit: Blu-2 has now complicated DAVE's original promise for me - but I wasn't to know that at the time.

I think in the past, I would argue that if people need to stretch their budget but they can potentially afford Chord DAVE, I would probably recommend them to really think about getting DAVE instead because I do think it is a significant level of performance above other DACs. On the other hand, while I would say that Blu2 is also a significant level of performance above other state of the art digital sound, I have to admit, I'm not sure if I would recommend anyone to stretch their budget to get Blu2. I think Blu2 is one of those luxuries that if you can afford it and you want to pay for it, you should go for it and you'll enjoy it tremendously. But I don't think people should make any financial sacrifices to get Blu2 because of its price.
To me, the more interesting question is with the Hugo2 out, would I still make the same advice to people about DAVE. Or would I say if you can stretch your budget to get Hugo2, go for it but otherwise, unless you can afford DAVE, just go with the Hugo2 because Hugo2 may be at such a high level of performance that as great as DAVE is, it's probably not worth it for most people to stretch their budget for DAVE. Hard to know since I haven't listened to Hugo2 yet. I'd be super curious to find out.

 

[Whazzzup]

Until TT 2 then get that, then there is Dave 2, just in time to start the merry go round again. I am actually having fun with this but I can see why cynicism has been poking its head as folks balk at the everescallating prices and endless upgrades and extensions...
But then again if Hugo 2 is levelling the field and making it unnecessary to buy Dave et all...? Somehow I don't think that is the marketing end game. But back to Dave...

 

[ecwl]

But then again if Hugo 2 is levelling the field and making it unnecessary to buy Dave et all...? Somehow I don't think that is the marketing end game. But back to Dave...

I highly doubt Hugo 2 would level the playing field to make it unnecessary to buy DAVE. Otherwise, Rob Watts would not be lugging around DAVE around the world on airplanes. He could have easily carry a Hugo 2 instead.
I think recommending people the "best" product in their preferred price range is always challenging. For most people, should we recommend DAVE or Hugo 2? Not sure.
I think before Hugo 2 came out, I would probably tell people to go with Hugo if they can afford it. If they can't, I'd say go with Mojo. If they can stretch their budget, go with DAVE. If they can't but they can easily afford Hugo TT, I would say Hugo TT is a more than worthwhile upgrade over Hugo that people should go for Hugo TT. However, if people need to stretch their budget to pay for Hugo TT, I'd probably suggest Hugo instead. I think this represents a personal value judgement on prices of DACs and how I value the differences in sonic quality. I don't think there is a right or wrong but it's my personal opinion.
Not having heard Hugo 2 yet, I'm not sure what my perspective now would be. But even if my perspective were to change, it'll just be one man's opinion.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

I don't know the Hugo (TT or 2) but many people who I trust and have heard them, along with DAVE, all seem to feel that DAVE is well worth the additional cost versus the Hugo's.