CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[Whazzzup]

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.

Im sure it is, if you want to afford the cost

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.

completely agree

 

[jlbrach]

dave is in a league all its own...i am waiting for blu 2 to hopefully make it even better

 

[x RELIC x]

I've got the Hugo2 tour unit right here. DAVE isn't threatened by it, but the Hugo2 does bring some qualities of the DAVE to the table.

 

[GreenLeo]

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.

I know Attorney has been using BHSE from the other threads.

 

[GreenLeo]

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.

I'm certainly looking forward to your report.

 

[tunes]

I know Attorney has been using BHSE from the other threads.

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.

Let's not forget the fact that HUGO2 is transportable relative to DAVE. If I could move DAVE all over my home and take it with me on long vacations it would be my first choice. Some folks like the freedom of changing their listing environments especially at home with open back TOTL phones. Even if DAVE is in a different league than HUGO2, there is the convenience of portability with achieving the best possible SQ of anything out there you could possibly move around easily. My ultimately plan is to get the HUGO2 for the above reasons and move up to DAVE. Then again I wonder if HUGO2 plus Blu2 upscaler would best the DAVE alone as another option for home listening. Now a comparison between DAVE alone and HUGO2 plus Blu2 would be an interesting comparison. Let us know if anyone gets a chance to audition that combination.

 

[AndrewOld]

Its an interesting journey .. I went Hugo, Hugo TT, Hugo DAVE and was pleased, amazed and then knocked out by each step. I would hope that as Rob iterates round the loop he learns stuff, not to mention fixes those little details that get left out in the push to meet launch deadlines. So the Davina might be expected to bring something to the table, the M Scaler aspect might have more to go - there are certainly some curious phenomena to explain, for example why is 1m taps so much better than the other options. And of course there is all the streamer stuff to look forward to, if Chord can get a solid result with the software. Good times.

At least one can hope Chord will never make another CD player! (btw, have you seen that Linn Products, who stopped making CD players years ago, are offering an unconditional discount of €2400 if you swap your old CD mech or preamp for one of their top end streamers. Way to go imo. )

 

[lovethatsound]

Its an interesting journey .. I went Hugo, Hugo TT, Hugo DAVE and was pleased, amazed and then knocked out by each step. I would hope that as Rob iterates round the loop he learns stuff, not to mention fixes those little details that get left out in the push to meet launch deadlines. So the Davina might be expected to bring something to the table, the M Scaler aspect might have more to go - there are certainly some curious phenomena to explain, for example why is 1m taps so much better than the other options. And of course there is all the streamer stuff to look forward to, if Chord can get a solid result with the software. Good times.

At least one can hope Chord will never make another CD player! (btw, have you seen that Linn Products, who stopped making CD players years ago, are offering an unconditional discount of €2400 if you swap your old CD mech or preamp for one of their top end streamers. Way to go imo. )

I don't think chord will give you that sort of a deal,after all the original blu was supposed to be upgradable to blu 2 ,but chord went back on their word with that.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

We became official Chord Dave Dealers a couple days ago. Now taking auditions for time with the the beast.

I tried capturing the natural aura that the Dave exudes....

 

[Triode User]

We became official Chord Dave Dealers a couple days ago. Now taking auditions for time with the the beast.

I tried capturing the natural aura that the Dave exudes....

Congratulations. It looks good with the matching stand.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Congratulations. It looks good with the matching stand.

Thank you! Mark told me that the Dave with matching stand looks like "pure sex". (excuse me if that offends anyone here). I have to agree with him. Good job Chord on aesthetics as well as sound.

 

[GreenLeo]

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 th

Its an interesting journey .. I went Hugo, Hugo TT, Hugo DAVE and was pleased, amazed and then knocked out by each step. I would hope that as Rob iterates round the loop he learns stuff, not to mention fixes those little details that get left out in the push to meet launch deadlines. So the Davina might be expected to bring something to the table, the M Scaler aspect might have more to go - there are certainly some curious phenomena to explain, for example why is 1m taps so much better than the other options. And of course there is all the streamer stuff to look forward to, if Chord can get a solid result with the software. Good times.

At least one can hope Chord will never make another CD player! (btw, have you seen that Linn Products, who stopped making CD players years ago, are offering an unconditional discount of €2400 if you swap your old CD mech or preamp for one of their top end streamers. Way to go imo. )

I guess that the RCA output of Hugo2 may be the weak link. I like the DAC of HUGO and tried using it as a desktop DAC when it just came out. Eventually, HUGO remains in the mobile department.

 

[tunes]

I know Attorney has been using BHSE from the other threads.

Are you implying that the HE1000 V2 cannot be driven sufficiently by the HUGO2 for away from home use? My understanding was that the HUGO2 was more powerful than the HUGO1 and could drive HEK2??

 

[Matez]

Is the HEKV2 better than than 009?

It surely is different. And the outcome depends on amplification used.

 

[Matez]

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.

I've heard something along those lines recently as well. Some people who'd heard many TOTL DACs say that DAVE surely is up there with the very best sources available today.