[romaz]

though I am not into orchestral music very much ( Indian music ) but I have few albums. imho the placement of drivers both in case of headphones and speakers relative to ears is the key to the difference of imaging produced by both. in case of headphones you can't adjust the position and sadly in case of speakers , most listeners place the speakers straight firing. over the years I have found that correct toe in of speakers plays a very major role for imaging of speakers. it is so much so that when my speakers are disturbed by even few mm( or even less ) I know that there is something wrong. and believe me this toe in is required for every speaker and room combinations. there is only one toe in for correct imaging which depends upon speaker type and room conditions. ( correct toe in is independent of listening position ) in that way headphone have the disadvantage that you can't adjust the position of drivers relative to ears.

What you say about speakers is very true and this is why a properly set up speaker system can image so well but it sounds like you haven't heard a pair of really good headphones.  The better headphones have angled drivers that were toed in by the manufacturer to achieve a certain degree of imaging.  There are also headphones that have angled pads that can be adjusted for personal preference (Abyss).  Moreover, you can also buy aftermarket pads with varying degrees of toe in.  In fact, there are numerous threads on Head-Fi that talk about this.
 
No one disputes the advantages that speakers have but don't make it sound like headphones can't image at all.  

 

[jelt2359]

though I am not into orchestral music very much ( Indian music ) but I have few albums. imho the placement of drivers both in case of headphones and speakers relative to ears is the key to the difference of imaging produced by both. in case of headphones you can't adjust the position and sadly in case of speakers , most listeners place the speakers straight firing. over the years I have found that correct toe in of speakers plays a very major role for imaging of speakers. it is so much so that when my speakers are disturbed by even few mm( or even less ) I know that there is something wrong. and believe me this toe in is required for every speaker and room combinations. there is only one toe in for correct imaging which depends upon speaker type and room conditions. ( correct toe in is independent of listening position ) in that way headphone have the disadvantage that you can't adjust the position of drivers relative to ears.

If you have a chance, try the AKG K1000. Here's an example of how it can be used, with toe-in and all.
 

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Thanks but no thanks - I would just go back to my speaker system for orchestral music or jazz. I think only a speaker system can fully utilise the Dave's potential and to use it solely on a headphone setup is a waste. Minute differences which can only be barely heard in headphones can become exponentially more prominent in a speaker system. And this is where a high end DAC or player shines over its lesser counterparts.

 

[rkt31]

yes exactly what I wanted to say. I myself use a decent head setup but imho for a dac to shine, the speaker set up is required. sometimes I compare mojo and fiiox3 with headphones and at times even fiio does not sound that bad but when I connect fiio line out and mojo line out to speaker system , there is no comparison at all. fiio ( fiio's dac) via line out sounds too slow without any dynamism and music sounds congested, but not mojo. even the complaint of mojo and Hugo sounding less wide through headphones is gone in speaker set up. that said I would always love to own a good headphone like ether c ( some very good reviews with mojo) whenever I have enough funds. right now thinking how to get Dave.

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Dave should be the best value for money product on the high end side. Has anyone compared Chord Dave with  the following DACs and how does it fare against them? Any thoughts will be much appreciated !!
 
- dCS Vivaldi (DAC unit only)
- EMMLab DAC2X
- MSB Platinum Select / Select 2
- Esoteric D-01X 
- Meitner MA-2?

 

[TheAttorney]

I'm curious about how people with access to both high quality headphones and high quality speaker systems listen to music. I am finding that I am drawn to listening to large scale symphonic music on headphones and more intimate music on speakers. That may sound counterintuitive....

I'm the opposite...so far, in that I love listening to quartets etc on headphones, but not large scale orchestra because I miss the scale and weight of the live event. However, as I exclusively listen to headphones  these days, I'll try out your idea about getting lost in the music - it would be great if I could get over this final hurdle in a 100% headphone environment, as I have no desire to go back to the hassles of a correctly set up speaker system. .
 

Originally Posted by shuttlepod /img/forum/go_quote.gifI guess it's time for the next installment of the High Fidelity Cables chronicles....

That's two strong endorsements for these HFC products now. I'm intrigued, but 2 things are holding me back:
 
1. The limited range so far: Wageguide only for US sockets/voltages (it seems); and no XLR version of the cable coupler.
2.The large HFC upgrade path is both a blessing and a curse. If I go for these entry level products, I'd be forever fretting that I chose the runt of the litter, and wonder what the next model up brings? With the stratospheric prices of the HFC top end, that is not a good position for me.
 
BTW, for a couple of years I've had Quantum's QV2, which is a direct rival to the  Waveguide at many levels including price. But the QV2 does something completely different: it injects noise into the mains in the form of harmonics of the mains frequency - which I find amusingly ironic. The very subtle SQ improvement of clarify and tidiness was worth the money, but I wasn't so bowled over that I felt the need to explore the range any further.

 

[lovethatsound]

Dave should be the best value for money product on the high end side. Has anyone compared Chord Dave with  the following DACs and how does it fare against them? Any thoughts will be much appreciated !!

- dCS Vivaldi (DAC unit only)
- EMMLab DAC2X
- MSB Platinum Select / Select 2
- Esoteric D-01X 
- Meitner MA-2?

Hi Louis
I think the best thing you could do is to demo the Dave yourself,it's the only way you're ever gonna know if its for you.

 

[apops]

Dear all, sorry for the OT reply, I'm an happy owner of a DAVE, moving to DC from Italy next week. I would be very pleased to meet anyone sharing the same audiophile passion in the area.
Many thanks,
Andrea

 

[esimms86]

  I'm the opposite...so far, in that I love listening to quartets etc on headphones, but not large scale orchestra because I miss the scale and weight of the live event. However, as I exclusively listen to headphones  these days, I'll try out your idea about getting lost in the music - it would be great if I could get over this final hurdle in a 100% headphone environment, as I have no desire to go back to the hassles of a correctly set up speaker system. .
 
That's two strong endorsements for these HFC products now. I'm intrigued, but 2 things are holding me back:
 
1. The limited range so far: Wageguide only for US sockets/voltages (it seems); and no XLR version of the cable coupler.
2.The large HFC upgrade path is both a blessing and a curse. If I go for these entry level products, I'd be forever fretting that I chose the runt of the litter, and wonder what the next model up brings? With the stratospheric prices of the HFC top end, that is not a good position for me.
 
BTW, for a couple of years I've had Quantum's QV2, which is a direct rival to the  Waveguide at many levels including price. But the QV2 does something completely different: it injects noise into the mains in the form of harmonics of the mains frequency - which I find amusingly ironic. The very subtle SQ improvement of clarify and tidiness was worth the money, but I wasn't so bowled over that I felt the need to explore the range any further.

Boldface type is my doing. You definitely need a "wageguide" when going down the HFC  road!
 
Esau

 

[STR-1]

1. The limited range so far: Wageguide only for US sockets/voltages (it seems); and no XLR version of the cable coupler.

Hi. I emailed HFC a couple of times to ask if the Wave Guide could be used in the UK with an adapter without losing some of the SQ benefits, but I received no reply. Have they confirmed to you that it currently is not usable here? Would be a shame if that was the case as the Wave Guide sounds like a very good low-cost opportunity to try out this technology. Cheers

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Nice. Really nice.

 

[romaz]

Hi. I emailed HFC a couple of times to ask if the Wave Guide could be used in the UK with an adapter without losing some of the SQ benefits, but I received no reply. Have they confirmed to you that it currently is not usable here? Would be a shame if that was the case as the Wave Guide sounds like a very good low-cost opportunity to try out this technology. Cheers

HFC just returned from a big audio show in Washington, D.C.  It might take time for a response.  If you obtain a US to UK adapter, I can confirm for you that the MC-0.5 Waveguide will work just fine.  
https://www.amazon.com/Ceptics-Grounded-Universal-Plug-Adapter/dp/B0080R95XI/ref=pd_sim_23_9?ie=UTF8&dpID=41bDKhihWCL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=TATJ6M75VF6BEZRFHRNP
 
Because the more magnets, the better, many people buy these types of adapters so they can fit several MC-0.5s into one socket.  They cost about $5 USD:
 

 
These adapters can be piggy backed allowing even more MC-0.5s to be plugged into one socket.  Here's mine with 5 MC-0.5s.
 

 

[onsionsi]

Yggdrasil is way better than the DAC in the MHA100.

But then so is the much cheaper Mojo or, for that matter, the basic Schiit Bifrost.

The MHA100 DAC is, in no way, on any plane, anywhere vaguely close to the Hugo, TotalDAC, DAVE or Bricasti units.  I'm in the process of a huge evaluation of such DACs, including the McIntosh begin discussed here, so I've got some recent hands-on (ears-on) experience with all of these units.

So, did you mean the Chord Mojo has a better DAC than the MHA100 DAC.

 

[Anwer]

Hi everyone,
 
I'm visiting London next week. Is there any Audio shop where I can listen to Dave even for a few minutes?

 

[Torq]

So, did you mean the Chord Mojo has a better DAC than the MHA100 DAC.

In my opinion, yes.

And yes, that is what I meant.