[dmance]

New Stereophile Article!
https://www.stereophile.com/content/chords-million-tap-digital-filter

 

[maxh22]

@Rob Watts Can you mention the exact model number of the MSI laptop you are using?

 

[Ross]

I'm starting to get a bit concerned with Chord's quality control.

First, the cd transport in my Blu 2 does not work. Now I have just discovered that the headphone output has the channels reversed. I'm not sure how that is even possible, since the headphone socket appears to be soldered directly to the pcb, so there does not seem to be any way that the incorrect wires could be connected. I have checked the cabling and tested with three different sets of headphones. At first I thought it might be a problem with Roon, but I get the same result with JRiver. The RCA and XLR outputs are fine. Very strange. I have contacted my dealer, who I'm sure will address the issue quickly.

On the plus side, the DAVE/Blu 2 does sound amazing. I have just posted the following comments on a different forum:

I recently bought a Chord DAVE and swiftly followed it with the Blu2. This was far more than I ever imagined I would spend on any source, let alone a digital one.


Around the same time I spent a week with the Ayre QX5 Twenty. I have previously owned a range of DACs, including the Metrum Pavane, Meitner MA1, Resonessence Invicta Mirus, Auralic Vega, Calyx Femto, as well as the Chord Hugo and QBD76 and a few others.


The DAVE/Blu2 is on a different planet to every other DAC I have heard. It took me a while to get a handle on what it is doing. Doing an A/B comparison with another DAC will not really demonstrate its strengths. The difference is not detail, or soundstage, or dynamics, or timbre, or any of the other usual audiophile standards, although it is as good as anything else at those. It is the sense of presence and naturalness, the "realness" of the sound that subtly creeps up on you. The ability to relax and forget about the medium.


I have always been an analog guy and have always regarded digital as a secondary source to vinyl. No matter how good the digital source, there was always something fundamentally artificial and unsatisfying about it. And despite vinyl's obvious limitations, there was always something fundamentally "right" about its sound which, on a good turntable, was very satisfying, and which digital had never achieved.


That was until the DAVE/Blu2. Finally, digital has gotten in the same ballpark as vinyl in terms of realism, presence and the ability to be musically satisfying at a deep level. This is not to say that the DAVE sounds "analog" or like vinyl (as most reviews say about most DACs). It clearly sounds digital (in a good way), with all the benefits of digital - silent backgrounds, incredible detail, perfect tonality, lack of distortion. But it is equally as satisfying and engaging as vinyl, without trying to replicate the sound of a turntable or adding artificial warmth or smoothness. I have no doubt this because of Rob Watts' unique design and the proprietary filters his FPGA uses.



And I think these qualities only become apparent over time. You need to listen to a well run-in unit for weeks, not hours. And as I said earlier, an A/B comparison with another DAC is not the way to experience what DAVE offers. I can easily imagine that other DACs may sound more impressive at a superficial level in that type of comparison. While DAVE's strengths may be subtle, they are profound. ​

 

[Jozurr]

This isn't the first time I've heard the CD player on the BLU2 failing. A friend had received a demo unit where the CD would skip and stutter many times. Surprising some considering CD players from decades ago work just fine.

 

[Ross]

... Now I have just discovered that the headphone output has the channels reversed. I'm not sure how that is even possible, since the headphone socket appears to be soldered directly to the pcb, so there does not seem to be any way that the incorrect wires could be connected. I have checked the cabling and tested with three different sets of headphones. At first I thought it might be a problem with Roon, but I get the same result with JRiver. The RCA and XLR outputs are fine. Very strange. I have contacted my dealer, who I'm sure will address the issue quickly.

Okay, ignore this. I've figured out the problem. I had connected the two BNC cables in reverse. I thought these were just data cables and not stereo channels. All is now fixed.

 

[rayl]

Okay, ignore this. I've figured out the problem. I had connected the two BNC cables in reverse. I thought these were just data cables and not stereo channels. All is now fixed.

I had that thought but why would xlr/rca be reversed from headphone?

 

[Ross]

I had that thought but why would xlr/rca be reversed from headphone?

They weren't - I had in fact reversed the RCA cables, although the XLR cables were correct.

 

[Rob Watts]

@Rob Watts Can you mention the exact model number of the MSI laptop you are using?

It's an MSI 17.3" GT72S 6QF, UHD panel, Core i7 6820HK 2.7 GHz, 32GB RAM...

 

[jscmd2000]

Is it normal for the round display on the Dave to go off and on once in a while in the middle of playing a track? It seems kind of random.

 

[miketlse]

Is it normal for the round display on the Dave to go off and on once in a while in the middle of playing a track? It seems kind of random.

I seem to remember something like this being explained by Rob Watts.
This sequence of posts talks about the display blinking.
Hope they answer your question..

 

[jscmd2000]

Found it, thanks!

 

[Jawed]

It's DAVE saving settings. If you don't change anything (volume, crossfeed etc.) it won't blink.

As far as I can tell, it waits 33 seconds maximum before saving. When you make an adjustment it will countdown 33 seconds. If you make another adjustment just before 33 seconds have passed, that adjustment will also be saved.

 

[jscmd2000]

Thanks! Good to know it isn't broken. I only saw it in my peripheral vision at first so wasn't sure but caught it couple of time.

 

[jlbrach]

yes mine does it as well

 

[jonstatt]

Thanks! Good to know it isn't broken. I only saw it in my peripheral vision at first so wasn't sure but caught it couple of time.

Actually it is mentioned in the manual. I found mine blanks after a new track is playing as well. Must be the way the streamer drops and restarts the signal between tracks.