[Triode User]

Has anyone changed the power supply in Dave?

I know it has been done by quite a few people. I am considering this and would be interested in people's experiences . . who did it, what if anything was the benefit, how much did it cost. If you would prefer to reply by PM rather than set hares running in the thread that is fine.

 

[Foxman50]

If you do get an answer to your question please kindly share as i would be most interested.

 

[Triode User]

If you do get an answer to your question please kindly share as i would be most interested.

I'll PM.

 

[hieukm]

I think many user would like to know possible modification done to Dave PSU. Please kindly share publicly even it affiliated to some shop.

 

[iDesign]

Has anyone changed the power supply in Dave?

I know it has been done by quite a few people. I am considering this and would be interested in people's experiences . . who did it, what if anything was the benefit, how much did it cost. If you would prefer to reply by PM rather than set hares running in the thread that is fine.

The uncertainty in how Chord would or would not handle an out of warranty repair on a modified DAVE would give me pause. I have yet to see anyone who photographed the process or posted measurements that substantiate the benefits-- its easier to screw up a perfectly good DAC than to improve it.

 

[Triode User]

@hieukm PM sent.

@iDesign Sure, one has to be under no illusion here. If you take the top off then you are on your own. For that reason I do not expect public sharing of what people have done and is why I am conducting discussion by PM.

 

[thomaskong78]

Hmmm. I want to say that I don't think the 800's are better than the Abyss - they are both clearly top shelf.

The Abyss is a dark sounding headphone. Everything has this certain weight to it (I'm not talking about impact). They are fast sounding and very detailed and accurate. The HD800's are the ying to that yang - they have a bit more air, in that things sound a bit more relaxed. They sound lighter. I think in this side by side the 800's are a bit wider with their staging, or perhaps just separation is better? The 800's are known for being brittle or harsh and with the DAVE none of that present - they sound smooth and effortless.

More time is needed with both with the DAVE to make an accurate comparison. I've heard a lot of SS amps with the HD800's and the DAVE is easily the best.

I agree with this opinion.

HD800s driven by Dave and Mscaler does not give any harsh edge.

Its spatial que is so excellent that I enjoy listening to opera or musical through this comination.

Abyss phi CC driven by Dave direct give very transparent sound but not with enough impact.

It seems that Abyss phi CC need more power.

 

[holeout]

Has anyone changed the power supply in Dave?

I know it has been done by quite a few people. I am considering this and would be interested in people's experiences . . who did it, what if anything was the benefit, how much did it cost. If you would prefer to reply by PM rather than set hares running in the thread that is fine.

I'm definitely interested in your findings on the Dave PSU, please share your findings. Much appreciated!

 

[Jawed]

No there has been no design changes to Dave over the past few years, so it's not a design issue. Chord do test Daves in dual BNC mode using stock cables for drop-outs. I am seeing Matt (Chord's production director) next week, so I will discuss it with him. It's also very strange it's a right channel issue - I have never seen that before. If you need further help or advice, send me a PM.

I was at Nintronics all day yesterday listening to speakers, fed from Aurender -> USB -> M Scaler -> dual-BNC (stock? looked like stock) -> DAVE.

We had exactly the same problem. Occasional clicks in just the right channel (usually gaps of 20 or 30 seconds between clicks).

This was the final "best" setup, using the pair of BNC inputs on the rear of DAVE closest to the DX outputs, which I believe are inputs 3 and 4. In the other BNC sockets (1/2 it seems) the problem was worse.

When I was last at Nintronics, back in April, their DAVE and M Scaler had none of these problems. Simon at Nintronics thinks that their M Scaler is new and it seems probable their DAVE is not the one I listened to earlier in the year as they tend to sell their dem Chord gear frequently as far as I can tell.

So Rob, it might be an idea if Matt contacts Nintronics to debug their M Scaler + DAVE combination since it has the same problem, and it will be easier to access!

Feel free to mention me by name in relation to this problem.

 

[Drewligarchy]

Quick question. Using Dave's preamp, what decibel level is associated with 1 volt? My amp has an input sensitivity of 1 volt, so want to set this appropriately for obvious reasons.

Edit: With M Scaler

 

[rkt31]

Quick question. Using Dave's preamp, what decibel level is associated with 1 volt? My amp has an input sensitivity of 1 volt, so want to set this appropriately for obvious reasons.

Edit: With M Scaler

Change your amp to benchmark ahb2, it allows much higher input sensitivity.

 

[Drewligarchy]

Change your amp to benchmark ahb2, it allows much higher input sensitivity.

Ok - if I had an audio store that might be easy.

with M scaler and an amp with 1 volt input sensitivity, where should I set Dave to optimally drive it?

 

[rkt31]

Ok - if I had an audio store that might be easy.

with M scaler and an amp with 1 volt input sensitivity, where should I set Dave to optimally drive it?

1v should be light blue. If you have an integrated amp, 1v or 2v won't matter much as the input to integrated amp first goes through volume pot. But if you plan to feed to a power amp directly then more than 1v would give you clipping and in any case you wouldn't be able to reach 1v in Dave as 1v in that power amp would give full rated output.

 

[Drewligarchy]

1v should be light blue. If you have an integrated amp, 1v or 2v won't matter much as the input to integrated amp first goes through volume pot. But if you plan to feed to a power amp directly then more than 1v would give you clipping and in any case you wouldn't be able to reach 1v in Dave as 1v in that power amp would give full rated output.

It's a headphone amp via single ended. If I am using Dave as a preamp, I am trying to figure out what is the decibel level I shouldn't exceed - in terms of gain staging appropriately as sometimes I use the preamp and sometimes I use the volume pot.

 

[llamaluv]

Quick question. Using Dave's preamp, what decibel level is associated with 1 volt? My amp has an input sensitivity of 1 volt, so want to set this appropriately for obvious reasons.

Edit: With M Scaler

It's a headphone amp via single ended. If I am using Dave as a preamp, I am trying to figure out what is the decibel level I shouldn't exceed - in terms of gain staging appropriately as sometimes I use the preamp and sometimes I use the volume pot.

The DAVE outputs 3V single-ended when the volume is set to -3dB. You're trying to decrease the output by a factor of 3 because the amp's input sensitivity is 1V. This means decreasing the digital volume control by -10dB. But the M-Scaler decreases the input signal by -3dB, so add 3dB back on, which gives a final answer of -10dB. Pretty sure that's right...