CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE
Jan 17, 2018 at 11:29 PM Post #9,796 of 25,746
Interesting.. I just checked the AQ site and found this:

Q: Will JitterBug improve the sound of my computer audio even when I’m not using a USB DAC?

A: Yes. For instance, if your computer is connected to your A/V system via Toslink or HDMI, and your music is stored on an external USB 2.0 or 3.0 hard drive, adding a JitterBug in between the external hard drive and computer will yield an overall improvement in sound.

And of course it’s on a manufacturers web site so it must be true!?
 
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:10 AM Post #9,797 of 25,746
And of course it’s on a manufacturers web site so it must be true!?

My ears agree with their claim in this case. :)

The first time I plugged it in I didn't expect to hear any difference, my thought process was "I hear a little bit of glare, eh I'll plug this little critter in since I already have it but I doubt it will have any effect at all"
 
Jan 18, 2018 at 8:57 AM Post #9,798 of 25,746
All fascinating stuff.

One thing I find with my Dave is that I seem to measure or associate sound 'quality' far more now with image depth than I ever did before.

With other DACs previously, it has centred more on brightness/brittleness, the clarity of instruments, etc. I've changed out XO's and op amps and soldered in improved components to try and rectify these things. With the Dave, it looks like my soldering iron will be consigned to the loft! Also, I wouldn't even know where to start within the Dave as the architecture is very different to your standard single or twin DAC chip topology.

Anyway, hats off to Mr Watts and Chord for having the energy and the balls to build completely from the ground up, without reliance on ESS, Wolfson, etc.
 
Jan 18, 2018 at 1:40 PM Post #9,799 of 25,746
I have been running my BluDAVE with Wyred4Sound mAMP monoblocks. They are perfect for a desktop near field application as they are so small and pack a punch at 250 WPC. They are Class D amps using the ICEpower module. However, I have always found them to sound flat and lifeless with my BluDAVE and KEF LS50's. AudioAdvisor is blowing out the NuForce STA200 amp for $499 (originally $1299). It is a smallish AB amp based on the Goldmund Job 225. Thought I'd give it a try as a cheap placeholder until Rob's digital amp comes out. I am shocked at how much better it sounds than the Class D amps, and its not even broken in yet. It provides significantly more air around the instruments, wider soundstage, and more precise imaging. I had read on this thread earlier that DAVE does not play well with Class D amps and my experience would bear that out. Does anyone know why? In any event I can highly recommend the STA200 as a cheap placeholder until Rob's digital amp comes out. It even looks nice with my silver DAVE!

IMG_0106.jpg
 
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Jan 18, 2018 at 2:56 PM Post #9,801 of 25,746
i can highly recommend this amp for a cheap solution with DAVE. It has pretty high gain (approximately 34.4 dB) but I hear no hiss at all from the LS50 with the DAVE on mute and my ear right next to tweeter. Can't get much higher than -25 dB on the DAVE volume scale without it being too loud for me. It looks like AA may be out of them but as ray-dude indicates Amazon has some at the same price. I would be happy with this amp even at its original price of $1299. It also runs extremely cool, although the rear heatsink gets a little warm. I am set until the Chord digital amp comes out! I can post some interior shots if anyone is interested. It is very well built and supposedly comes from the same Swiss factory that Goldmund uses, as does the Job 225. Looks good with silver Chord gear and is only available in silver at this time AFAIK. This amp gets my speaker rig sounding much closer to my headphone listening experience with the Utopia amplified by DAVE. Here is a good TAS review:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/optoma-nuforce-sta200-power-amplifier/
 
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Jan 18, 2018 at 5:05 PM Post #9,804 of 25,746
The CD drive cannot play a SACD.

And even if it could, it would be illegal to support spdif out in most countries -- at least standard spdif. SACD is a copy protected format. The DAC interface would need to implement something to convey the copy protection bit... (I know that my former PS Audio stuff did just that betw its transport and DAC.)
 
Jan 18, 2018 at 6:16 PM Post #9,805 of 25,746
Blu2 plays the CD layer of SACDs (that have one) just fine. I have done it multiple times.
 
Jan 18, 2018 at 8:47 PM Post #9,807 of 25,746
I had read on this thread earlier that DAVE does not play well with Class D amps and my experience would bear that out. Does anyone know why?

The simple answer is that DAVE/Blu2 first upsamples to 768kHz with its 1 million taps and then to 12.3MHz then to 104MHz. Class D amplifiers are usually switching at up to 400-500kHz. So you’re going to lose timing accuracy and transients will sound off. I also think the ICEpower module is not load invariant which can cause a slightly off frequency response from the KEFs. I think Rob Watts actually described the class D amplifier issue in more detail somewhere in Head-Fi. Maybe somebody can find it and provide a link. I seem to recall him saying there’s frequently a lot more noise floor modulation in most class D amplifiers that can make music sound too bright. And then the switching is like DSD which makes the soundstage flatter but I don’t really understand why since class D amps are not DSD DACs amplified. It might have something to do with low-level linearity which maybe crucial in capturing depth of soundstage.
 
Jan 18, 2018 at 8:51 PM Post #9,808 of 25,746
Jan 18, 2018 at 9:02 PM Post #9,809 of 25,746
Jan 18, 2018 at 9:43 PM Post #9,810 of 25,746
Interesting. I didn't know that. (Re: the Blu2 drive not handling SACDs.) I assumed it would since DAVE supports native DSD. I still don't exactly follow why, but I'll read up this about on the Blu2 thread if there is any info there. Thanks for the heads up.
 
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