CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[lovethatsound]

I always used to think CD only sounds ok and vinyl was king but once you get a well mastered CD and a very, very good DAC digital is superior imo.

your so RIGHT☺

 

[Christer]

  The Jake visit was definitely one of the highlights of the show. And because the idea was to compare the sound of the ukulele recorded a couple of weeks ago against the sound of the system, we dropped a Dave into the system. Stereophile were going around the show, and trying to see which system sounded closest to the original which is a cool idea; but the flaw is that the microphone and ADC is also part of the chain.
 
I have some personal interest, as my son had just started to play the ukulele, so I know the sound of his instrument quite well.
 
Because I am interested in how it was miked, (hopefully having to do my own test recordings soon) I asked about the mic - it was a classic Neumann valve (tube) mic; I think the U47. I asked about placement, and it was 3 inches from the strings - so I was expecting a very bright incisive sound.
 
Firstly Jake played - and frankly his playing was exquisite; I have never ever heard a ukulele played with such expression - or with such speed and finesse - if you like the sound of the ukulele, check out Jake Shimabukuro, he has his own website - the album is the Nashville sessions. Next came the recorded version. For all those that have postulated that Dave's cavernous sound-stage is something I have added, I can confirm that the sound was completely and utterly flat, hovering immediately above the Dave in centre line from the speakers - exactly as one would expect from a close miked sound with no added reverb. But the live was clearly brighter with more transient impact - recorded being a bit softer and warmer - I guess the U47 is playing its part here, as it is chosen because it sounds warm.
 
So it proved very interesting, and gave me a tiny glimpse into the fun I should be having later this year in recording my own son's ukulele. 
 
Rob 

Don't you think the speakers used  at this comparison could be part of what you heard as well?
Which Vienna Acoustics model is it?
Ok we are talking  human voice and ukulele only here. But they still look  like pretty small and  square  boxes, and seem to have quite a few speaker elements with  I assume all the distorting  crossovers needed in  a typical dynamic elements, conventional box speaker. I suspect the coloration from  crossover filters and dynamic elements used may play  a part here  too.
Try playing music via  DAVE/BLU2  with electrostatic speakers  with neither cones nor crossover filters possibly  interfering in the important  mids to treble  frequency range of a ukulele.
Electrostatic speakers  also do transients  faster and better than any other speaker I know of.
The best recordings and DACs deserve the very best in speakers too.

 

[WoSoLoo]

Yes it will accept DoP DSD64 and DSD128 but no more as the SPDIF is limited to 384 kHz.

Rob

thanks for your reply, can you recommand a mirco usb to bnc cable suitable for my dave connection to steamer.

 

[Crgreen]

A few days ago I recieved the latest issue from Stereophile and found out that they just reviewed Yggdrasil. The reviewer was listening to it for over a year. So he took his time doing the review. I reckon the same thing is going on with Dave. They probably have it in Queue and or are working on the review right now.

Quite possibly, though it won't appear in the next issue. I find it difficult to understand why it might take over twelve months to evaluate, measure and write a review of the DAVE, a major product using innovative technology produced by a well-established manufacturer. Generally, that's not how the hi-fi press works. And in TAS, Robert Hartley writes about Berkeley and Meridian products as soon as he can, keeping readers up to date with new technology and advances. Given how he's waxed lyrical over both those products, I'd be interested to read what he has to say about the DAVE.

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

It will be interesting to see if Blu2 is even acknowledged by the leading Hifi reviewers, given that the industry seems to have moved wholesale to streaming. It would be an irony now CD has finally fulfillid its promise that the industry was looking the other way and following a new, as yet unfulfilled, dream.

Is it all about the money? You bet

 

[bmichels]

It will be interesting to see if Blu2 is even acknowledged by the leading Hifi reviewers, given that the industry seems to have moved wholesale to streaming. It would be an irony now CD has finally fulfillid its promise that the industry was looking the other way and following a new, as yet unfulfilled, dream.

Is it all about the money? You bet

 
If I buy the Blu2 it will first be for it's M-Scale possibility so that I will pot Blu2 between my Music server and my DAC (which may not be DAVE), and the CDPlaying will be an added bonus for me.

 

[Crgreen]

I'm quite sure the Blu2 will receive extensive reviews as it can be partnered with the DAVE and is the first product to employ M-Scaler technology. It's a newsworthy item and you'd expect it to be covered in the press. They'll write about whatever will fill their pages, and although CD players have fallen off, they still get reviewed, usually opening with "There are still plenty of CDs out there, and if you're looking for your last player".

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Let's hope so but you'll notice it didn't figure in the lineup of possible award winners or even mentioned in the best audio products of CES despite its undoubted groundbreaking credentials. Not even mentioned under the Chord write up and though I have no real respect for the writeups of what hifi (even less so now) they were the official sponsors and announcers of the awards.

http://www.whathifi.com/news/stars-ces-2017-best-audio-products-ces

 

[Crgreen]

Agreed, a strange omission in the coverage On the other hand, the magazine tends to focus on the cheaper end of the market, and with only ten awards, having given one to the Hugo 2 it would be difficult to give another award to a Chord product. In the past, the magazine has always been enthusiastic about Chord's gear.

 

[miketlse]

Agreed, a strange omission in the coverage On the other hand, the magazine tends to focus on the cheaper end of the market, and with only ten awards, having given one to the Hugo 2 it would be difficult to give another award to a Chord product. In the past, the magazine has always been enthusiastic about Chord's gear.

 
Yes,
 
Even on the WHF forum, there are often posts suggesting that WHF has too much favouritism for Apple products, and during the past year there were a few posts complaining about too much favouritism for Chord products when giving awards.
 
Maybe WHF are just being cautious regarding the Blu 2, until enough users have had a chance to listen to one.

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Agree with both comments. Let's hope the serious Hifi writers acknowledge Blu2 for its true achievement

 

[jelt2359]

Each to their own, i find having a CD collection extremely satisfying, same with LPs. I also like framing artwork.

The excitement of getting a new record in the mail, the physicality, reading the through the book as you listen. All of that gone when its a digital download. How mundane it must feel to be music lover that only "owns" digital downloads or uses online streaming.

I envy you- you're one of the target audiences for this device then. For me, I use Roon, and I'm a huge fan. It's all about user behaviour- I'm not going to give up Roon anytime soon, not for vinyl, not for cd, not for analog tape...

 

[Kamil21]

Agree with both comments. Let's hope the serious Hifi writers acknowledge Blu2 for its true achievement

Quite possibly, though it won't appear in the next issue. I find it difficult to understand why it might take over twelve months to evaluate, measure and write a review of the DAVE, a major product using innovative technology produced by a well-established manufacturer. Generally, that's not how the hi-fi press works. And in TAS, Robert Hartley writes about Berkeley and Meridian products as soon as he can, keeping readers up to date with new technology and advances. Given how he's waxed lyrical over both those products, I'd be interested to read what he has to say about the DAVE.

Notwithstanding their commercial and editorial challenges, I have a great deal of respect for these magazines, in especially Stereophile, Hifi-News and Hifi Critic. In particular because they at least make some effort to have quantitative lab measurements as well as a ranking of some sort.

Sterephile just did an online rave on Chord at CES and have reviewed other Chord products like Mojo in the past do I don't think there is any bias here. Sometimes the challenge is in obtaining review products, especially expensive ones, and to circulate them in house amongst their writers over several months. Other times, it is because they have to rotate their publishing schedule.

In this era of fake news and dubious online reviews, the golden reference for me is still Hifi Critic who are purely subscription based, dare to have their own forum, and maintain their reviewing methodology for easy access on their website.

I am not a member of the industry, just a hobbyist who depends on reviews to help make good choices.

 

[Crgreen]

Just to be clear, I wasn't accusing Sterophile of bias, only that I found the omission odd. Nothing more. The explanation might lie in what you say - though it would be strange for Chord not to have let them have a review item for such a long period when so many other magazines have been able to obtain one - but I've really no idea.

 

[Kamil21]

Just to be clear, I wasn't accusing Sterophile of bias, only that I found the omission odd. Nothing more. The explanation might lie in what you say - though it would be strange for Chord not to have let them have a review item for such a long period when so many other magazines have been able to obtain one - but I've really no idea.

No worries. Just hope Stereophile sees this and get a full review and analysis on the WTA filter as they did with MQA