CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[lovethatsound]

No, what we really need is THE TRUTH )

Or at least an honest, personal interpretation of the truth, untainted by fanboy-ism, herd-ism, shill-ism, blind prejudice, blind scepticism, etc, etc,  
Not easy to pull it off, but amongst the considerable noise on this site, I do feel there are some posters around here who can do that sufficiently well.

 

[smial1966]

What isolation devices (if any) are DAVE owners using to protect against spurious vibrations? I have DAVE sitting on a spiked plinth atop a wooden rack, but did wonder whether adding Stillpoints footers would be advantageous.
 
Any thoughts guys?   

 

[lovethatsound]

Well this is something we all already knew, opinions very, YMMV, ect Yet we all love to read reviews, I think by now we have learned that we need judge for ourselves which is our preference. I think in time there will be a consensus that the DAVE dac really is in a class all it's own. 

+1

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

  What isolation devices (if any) are DAVE owners using to protect against spurious vibrations? I have DAVE sitting on a spiked plinth atop a wooden rack, but did wonder whether adding Stillpoints footers would be advantageous.
 
Any thoughts guys?   
 

 
1) I use VetexAQ granite platforms for my transport, Dac and Power amp.
2) Each granite plinth sits on 4 Sorbothane Hemispheres
3) Dave Dac also sits in Chord cradle
4) Red Ref III also has 2 Stillpoints Ultra SS at front leading edge to eliminate any self induced vibration created by the disc mechanism
5) Dave Dac lowest leading edge steadied by 2 more Stillpoints Ultra SS because it sits on a soft membrane on the inner edge of the cradle  and I like to add a rigid stability to how my units sit once they have been properly isolated
6) Loudspeakers sit on 500mm granite plinths which themselves sit on 4 x Ricable SK4 spikes for each plinth*
 
*You would think that speakers with spikes going straight onto large granite slabs that sit on my carpet would be enough to isolate the speakers and you would be right but unfortunately speakers create their own vibration and those slabs will react with the carpet surface. This results in a less clearly defined top end and my experience in adding spikes to the underside of the slabs was frankly profound.

 

[smial1966]

Many thanks for the invaluable information. I'll borrow a set of Stillpoints Ultra SS Isolators from my local dealer and try these underneath DAVE.
 
As an aside, the Chord cradle is £1,500, so I wondered whether you considered it a necessary/worthwhile purchase for DAVE? Does it do anything else apart from tilting DAVE at an angle and securely holding the unit?
 
Thanks again.

 
 
Quote:

   
1) I use VetexAQ granite platforms for my transport, Dac and Power amp.
2) Each granite plinth sits on 4 Sorbothane Hemispheres
3) Dave Dac also sits in Chord cradle
4) Red Ref III also has 2 Stillpoints Ultra SS at front leading edge to eliminate any self induced vibration created by the disc mechanism
5) Dave Dac lowest leading edge steadied by 2 more Stillpoints Ultra SS because it sits on a soft membrane on the inner edge of the cradle  and I like to add a rigid stability to how my units sit once they have been properly isolated
6) Loudspeakers sit on 500mm granite plinths which themselves sit on 4 x Ricable SK4 spikes for each plinth*
 
*You would think that speakers with spikes going straight onto large granite slabs that sit on my carpet would be enough to isolate the speakers and you would be right but unfortunately speakers create their own vibration and those slabs will react with the carpet surface. This results in a less clearly defined top end and my experience in adding spikes to the underside of the slabs was frankly profound.

 

[Beolab]

This massive stand also works perfectly for DAVE and all procucts in the Coral range:

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Smial
I have found that Chord isolation is very good indeed. If you look at the fundamental design of say a Red Ref III player or Dave cradle or Chord power amp you will see the design flow is to get the feet out from under the unit. So you have horizontal carriers which connect to the vertical feet. If we compare that to most HiFi units the feet are directly under the chassis. In my experience all the best isolated components work on the same principal as used by chord and even Stillpoints design is centred around that principle (albeit on a micro scale). Which is why I believe Stillpoints are considered the best in their field right now.
 
Is the cradle overpriced? Damn right it is! Does it do the job it was designed to do? Yes, very well imo.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Just as an aside to my comments above regarding isolation:
 
When I bought my VertexAQ Kinabalu platforms 10 years ago each came with these 3 pucks to put under the unit.
 

 
It is the spiked one that was most important as it stabilised the unit with the granite surface once isolated. That is the same principle I am using my Stillpoints for. First isolate, then anchor for stability. That has provided the best results for me over the years.

 

[Kamil21]

This massive stand also works perfectly for DAVE and all procucts in the Coral range:

Has anybody seen the stand in black?

 

[highendhifi]

Just placed my order for a black DAVE!

 

[Kamil21]

Just placed my order for a black DAVE!

And a black stand?

 

[highendhifi]

And a black stand?

No, I'll probably use a Townshend platform under

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

This massive stand also works perfectly for DAVE and all procucts in the Coral range:

Massive Stand...... Ha Ha Ha.
 
This is a massive Chord Electronics stand ;
 

 

  

 

[lovethatsound]

Massive Stand...... Ha Ha Ha.

This is a massive Chord Electronics stand ;




  

show off lol

 

[Jon773]

I had the pleasure of listening to the Dave at the recent London headphone show. I have to say it sounded extremely good, very detailed and it really brought the music to life, made me want to upgrade my Hugo, but then I had to remind myself of the price. They had it hooked up to a pair of LCD-3.
 
My friend was trying out the Hugo TT and came over to try the Dave as well, he was also extremely impressed... Best part was when a gentleman walked up to try out the Dave and my friend warned him to beware as he would only end up wanting one and its "pricey", chap turns to him and says "its ok, I own the company".... I thought I recognized him, it was John Franks.
 
Great product, well worth a listen to if you get  a chance and they Chord team had it hooked up to quite an extensive music collection as well, so you are bound to find something you know well to listen to.