[Rob Watts]

If DAVE is like Hugo TT, then max output from DAVE will be >0dB, i.e. music recorded with 0dB peaks will clip.

TT has about +17dB maximum gain, so the input shouldn't exceed -17dB if you want to run TT at maximum volume. DAVE is probably similar.

I have actually embedded an overload margin with Dave - that's why its 20 elements rather than 16 - so data over 0dB will be reproduced with very low distortion. So -3dB is 3v RMS, +3dB is 6v RMS and at this point it is perfectly linear. You need to go to +4dB when clipping will just be about to start. In practice, this means if the control is +4dB or less, Dave won't clip at all. This assumes loads of 33 ohms or easier.
 
Rob

 

[Mython]

I wonder how many DAVEś they have sold in the end of 2016, this is going to be a world record in selling the most Ultra High End Dac's in one year i think!

 
 
I have noticed that a surprising number of people have registered as new members on head-fi, seemingly specifically to interact with Rob about Hugo/Mojo/DAVE.

 

[lovethatsound]

My dealer will be delivering my new speakers this week along with a DAVE for me to demo at home...

Warning:you'll never want that DAVE to leave your HOME.

 

[Hiyono]

I just got mine!.  Burning it now.  I'll have to upload the opening video later since my Wifi device is very slow in Japan.
 

 

[estreeter]

  I just got mine!.  Burning it now.  I'll have to upload the opening video later since my Wifi device is very slow in Japan.
 

 
Just curious - is your wifi device any faster in Taiwan or Hong Kong ?  

 

[smial1966]

Congratulations. That'a a very fine pairing you have there. Aural delights await you. 

 
Quote:

  I just got mine!.  Burning it now.  I'll have to upload the opening video later since my Wifi device is very slow in Japan.
 

 

[bmichels]

With MQA that seems to take off, is it reasonable to buy a very TOL DAC that APPARENTLY do not have any MQA upgrade planed ?

can the music server/streamer do ALL the MQA décoding ? I understood that for best MQA résults, the DAC also MUST be prepared for MQA ?

But ... Our hobby is all but resonable anyway ! )

 

[highendhifi]

Warning:you'll never want that DAVE to leave your HOME.

Absolutely, lol-that's what my bank account is afraid of!

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

I see DCS, Aurender and Auralic have joined the growing list of backers for MQA. DCS in particular represents heavyweight backing for the protocol.
 
I really hope Chord will back MQA and offer a software update for Dave to include MQA file handling.

 

[ecwl]

I see DCS, Aurender and Auralic have joined the growing list of backers for MQA. DCS in particular represents heavyweight backing for the protocol.

I really hope Chord will back MQA and offer a software update for Dave to include MQA file handling.

Whereas I just hope whatever music software I use, e.g. JRiver, would support and convert MQA files to the original PCM files (24/192 or 32/384 or whatever they do) for playback. I'm not too keen to ship the Chord Dave back to the UK just for MQA upgrade...

 

[Beolab]

I see DCS, Aurender and Auralic have joined the growing list of backers for MQA. DCS in particular represents heavyweight backing for the protocol.

I really hope Chord will back MQA and offer a software update for Dave to include MQA file handling.

The dave need a new EPROM chip so according to Rob you have to send it back to Chord for upgrade, but im not worried at all its going to take some time untill everything have established.

Romaz said that he thaught that DAVE hade more air and dept btw the notes from a 16/44.1 file vs a MQA file from another DAC brand when he had listen at CES, so no worries guys!

 

[lovethatsound]

The dave need a new EPROM chip so according to Rob you have to send it back to Chord for upgrade, but im not worried at all its going to take some time untill everything have established.

Romaz said that he thaught that DAVE hade more air and dept btw the notes from a 16/44.1 file vs a MQA file from another DAC brand when he had listen at CES, so no worries guys!

I've just been reading about MQA and it said you only need a software upgrade to use it to its full potential.It also said that you should still be able to play a MQA file on any dac without any update,it just won't be at MQA full sound potential.Maybe Rob could explain the pros and cons of this.And one more thing does a Dac like Dave really need MQA anyway?

 

[Beolab]

I've just been reading about MQA and it said you only need a software upgrade to use it to its full potential.It also said that you should still be able to play a MQA file on any dac without any update,it just won't be at MQA full sound potential.Maybe Rob could explain the pros and cons of this.And one more thing does a Dac like Dave really need MQA anyway?

The algorithm SW are written in the FPGA EPROM in the DAVE and its not possible to to upgrade for the end user by USB.

The MQA are supporting all existing 192khz and 384khz DACś today, depending on where the conversation are dun.
If it converts and unpacked in an earlier stage in the MQA server or the MQA Ready streamer where it can be unpacked and converted into PCM 24/192 like BlueSound will most likely do then you can have almost any crapy DAC in the end, but if you would take 100% benefit of the full MQA+ SQ you need a dedicated MQA DAC , so CHORD / Rob have to do some hardware EPROM upgrades if this should be reality, then you have to send it to Chord later on.

I have heard a MQA sample at HiFi Klubben in Stockholm in a closed MQA demo through a BlueSound Node II streamer downscaled to 24/192khz connected to a NAD dac , and i was not so impressed, because it wasn't true MQA, and sounded more like an ordinary good 24/192 khz file.

So the conclusion is that you need a MQA Ready DAC to take full advantage of the SQ and not just the smart packaging.

 

[romaz]

Having spoken to MQA at CES last week, they told me MQA decoding can take place at either the server/streamer level or at the DAC.  You don't need both although there's no problem if you have both and there's no SQ advantage to having the decoder at one position or the other.  At the server/streamer level, depending on the hardware, a software update is all that you might need.  This will be the case with the likes of Auralic, Aurender and Lumin.  I have confirmed that with them.  For MQA decoding at the DAC level, as most DACs are not computers, most DACs will need to incorporate a hardware MQA decoder and apparently this is not a simple task.  Several DAC manufacturers I spoke with have no immediate plans to do this.  While the DAVE is technically a computer, when I asked Rob this question last month, he indicated MQA decoding will have to take place at the source and not within the DAVE.
 
When I spoke with Auralic, their Aries and Aries Mini will have MQA decoding capability with their next firmware release due soon and they expect that none of the DACs they connect with will have problems.  When I spoke with Aurender, they are committed to MQA also but their rollout will take time (months) because in their words, they value a smooth user experience free of glitches and so while their hardware will do the decoding, they want to do extensive testing with various DACs to make sure there are no problems.  When I spoke with MQA about this, they confirmed that there is the potential for problems with certain DACs although the problem they suggest sounds quite minor.  The problem they foresee is that if an MQA file houses a 24/352 file, for example, and if the DAC is not capable of playing that file, you could have a glitch, possibly in the form of a lock up.  With MQA files, apparently there is no way to know the bit depth or sampling rate of the file stored within until after the file has been decoded.  With the DAVE, there should be no issues that I foresee as the DAVE, through USB, is capable of playing everything up to 4x DSD and 768 KHz sampling.

 

[brightonjel]

As far as I understand it, MQA is an umbrella label for two separate technologies which can operate independently or combined.
 
(I) One feature is that hi-res files can be encoded ("folded" in Meridian's terms) and packaged into 44.1 or 48 kHz files. Without MQA decoding they will play "as -is", and Meridian said that there may be some improvement even then because they apply an appodizing filter.  If MQA decoding is available, the player will un-pack the file and play it in hi-res, up to either the source rate of the material or the max rate that the particular device will support. (See the following for a detailed explanation: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/beyond-high-resolution/)
 
(II) The second aspect of MQA goes one step further.  Meridian has been working with studios to go back and calibrate the recording chain used on certain session of interest, in order to build a signature of how the master recordings were made.  This permits the replay DAC to "correct" for the recording process, and hence play-back something much closer to the original music being recorded.  I *think* that this requires a hardware decoder, but have no more info than that.  No idea how the marketing or labelling will work, but we'll doubtless see more as materials and players roll out. (See this overview from 2L: http://www.2l.no/pages/album/120.html)
 
(I) being generic should be relatively easy to implement, and so anything that offers Tidal streaming, for example, would be the most obvious first candidates.  (II) though requires that the replay DAC, which is unique to each player, applies the necessary corrections in order to account for what was learned about distortions or specific characteristics of the recording chain.