[TheAttorney]

Hi jibrach, I think you are over-worrying this getting old thing. Apart from anything else, there's not a huge amount you can do about it, so enjoy what you have.
 
The last time I checked, my hearing tailed off beyond 12Khz, but quite recently I'm pretty sure I could tell which direction my ethernet cable was connected. And could tell the difference between my KE washing machine pads under my DAVE and my recently acquired Black Ravioli pads (as recommended by romaz, and more about that in due course). And whether my laptop source was running on battery or mains. Etc, etc.
 
So I'm pretty sure you or I will be able to very obviously notice the difference a Blu 2 will make.
Now, if you went to too many loud concerts and now you're as deaf as post, then maybe nothing can help you. But if you can still appreciate Dave at this point, then I'm pretty sure there is still some way to go yet. 

 

[EVOLVIST]

Also,when comparing components that are all top of the line how much does the hearing prowess of individuals reviewing the products as well as consumers listening to them enter into the debate?...just food for thought..we can design cars that drive 250 MPH but what is the point if the speed limit is 65?

Heh. We're hard-hitters today. I've asked myself the same question, because what's more, how old is Rob? How's your hearing, Rob Watts ?It must be pretty good to come out with the DAVE. On the other hand, is peer review conducted within the Chord house on all products?

Hey, I'm 43, I'm not as old as you, Jon, but I have a touch of the tinnitus. It's not much. I don't even hear it most of the time, but it's ever so slightly there. I even read an article recently that gave a list of famous musicians from all genres who have tinnitus and/or hearing loss to some degree, and some of these cats are young! Like in their 20s young.

These days I protect my ears, and honestly this is one of the reasons I'm no longer listening to cans. There. I said it.

So, yeah, I wonder about many of the same things that you do; I'm sure many of us in here do. I know there are some golden ears in here, but I'm not one of them. I'm lucky to hear up to 16kHz. With bass I can hear much, much lower, though, even beyond the point where my 13-year old son can't hear it.

I guess the only way to really know is by auditioning the product to see if you can hear the difference. If you can't, well, enjoy what you have, right?

 

[jlbrach]

  Hi jibrach, I think you are over-worrying this getting old thing. Apart from anything else, there's not a huge amount you can do about it, so enjoy what you have.
 
The last time I checked, my hearing tailed off beyond 12Khz, but quite recently I'm pretty sure I could tell which direction my ethernet cable was connected. And could tell the difference between my KE washing machine pads under my DAVE and my recently acquired Black Ravioli pads (as recommended by romaz, and more about that in due course). And whether my laptop source was running on battery or mains. Etc, etc.
 
So I'm pretty sure you or I will be able to very obviously notice the difference a Blu 2 will make.
Now, if you went to too many loud concerts and now you're as deaf as post, then maybe nothing can help you. But if you can still appreciate Dave at this point, then I'm pretty sure there is still some way to go yet. 

I am not over worrying at all just posing a question and facing up to the inevitable.I do have a touch of tinnitus in my left ear and i have been wearing hearing protection for the last 15 years when I go to concerts.I do not listen at very loud levels when I listen to my HP's and i am pretty much the opposite of my friend Evolvist in that I have been listening to my home stereo pretty much exclusively until the past couple of years when I got into HP's and now I find the convenience of the HP's to be addicting as well as the fact that living in an apartment building doesnt allow me to use my Loudspeakers to their potential all that often.My point is essentially this in a nutshell.....if we are all chasing the last 2% with different cables and power chords etc. ,wouldnt it be a kick in the head if in fact our hearing doesnt really allow us to hear anything more than we already do no matter the new advances in equipment......that doesnt mean that different HP's or equipment will not have different sound signatures...an LCD-4 sounds very different than a Utopia...that said it is a subjective difference not an objective one

 

[Deftone]

  Here is my question going forward.I own a Dave and absolutely love it...best investment I have made in this crazy obsessive hobby we all share.I am however in my 50's and recognize that hearing like everything else degrades over time...faster for those who abused it over the years but degrade it does for everyone....Lets assume that Blu 2 improves the performance of the dave by a couple of %.....actual real improvement to be sure but will I be able to perceive it and future marginal improvements as i age?....I ask this question in a generic way because we all face the same issues.Also,when comparing components that are all top of the line how much does the hearing prowess of individuals reviewing the products as well as consumers listening to them enter into the debate?...just food for thought..we can design cars that drive 250 MPH but what is the point if the speed limit is 65?

 
Good question, as 26 year old that goes to live metal gigs occasionally i have started to think about using some sort of hearing protection for live events and protecting my ears for future listening. i did a test and i can hear up to 17.5Khz so that seems good for my age and i want to keep it that way. It is interesting in what age do these differences with gear start to become unoticable.

 

[x RELIC x]

Well, primary frequency response isn't the only measure of audio. What about timing/transients/timbre/depth etc.. These are areas that are most prevelant from the DAC and very important under ~11kHz as well as above. So, if worrying about high frequency loss consider that above ~11kHz represents only one octave of the 22Hz-22kHz audio spectrum. That leaves 9/10 octaves within 22Hz-22kHz that is still heard.... not bad.

Don't worry about it.

 

[EVOLVIST]

Well, primary frequency response isn't the only measure of audio. What about timing/transients/timbre/depth etc...

This is why I would like to be a Chord lab rat for a day. I would like to hear all of screwed up stuff in a controlled setting as it's adjusted to sound good, and then better, and better...

That's why I wonder if anyone else at Chord backs up Rob's findings. Like, "No, I don't hear what you're hearing, Rob." or "Man, this sounds too good to be true!"

Of course a magician never gives away the secrets to all of his tricks. With all of explaining that John and Rob have done, I'm sure they aren't giving out all of the secret sauce. Eye of newt. A dead cat's paw. Some hair from an insane woman (THAT should be easy to come by). You know, the usual.

 

[514077]

Well, primary frequency response isn't the only measure of audio. What about timing/transients/timbre/depth etc.. These are areas that are most prevelant from the DAC and very important under ~11kHz as well as above. So, if worrying about high frequency loss consider that above ~11kHz represents only one octave of the 22Hz-22kHz audio spectrum. That leaves 9/10 octaves within 22Hz-22kHz that is still heard.... not bad.

Don't worry about it.

I got the same idea about hearing from the Hans Beekhuisen video about MQA.  All those high freqs don't matter as much timing and sample rate.  So I'm going to indulge my audio habbit till I'm ancient.

 

[romaz]

Here is my question going forward.I own a Dave and absolutely love it...best investment I have made in this crazy obsessive hobby we all share.I am however in my 50's and recognize that hearing like everything else degrades over time...faster for those who abused it over the years but degrade it does for everyone....Lets assume that Blu 2 improves the performance of the dave by a couple of %.....actual real improvement to be sure but will I be able to perceive it and future marginal improvements as i age?....I ask this question in a generic way because we all face the same issues.Also,when comparing components that are all top of the line how much does the hearing prowess of individuals reviewing the products as well as consumers listening to them enter into the debate?...just food for thought..we can design cars that drive 250 MPH but what is the point if the speed limit is 65?

Here's another way to look at it. If your ears can appreciate the magnitude of difference between the original Hugo and DAVE and you find the magnitude of difference to be worth the price that you paid for your DAVE vs Hugo, then I believe you will have no trouble appreciating what Blu2 will add to your DAVE.

 

[archeryc]

Thinking of upgrade my power cable of Dave, any recommendation?

 

[rgs9200m]

After lots of experiments, I used Shunyata power cables on every CD player or DAC I ever owned and found they were the best.
Clear without shrillness or hardness. I am very fond of the old Anaconda series, especially the Anaconda VX (but the Anaconda Alpha is also really good).
The VX was meant just for digital and it works. You can get them used (audoigon, etc.).
I can't speak for the Dave though, and my TT has no power cord, just the wall wart.

 

[rkt31]

@archeryc, check furutech website. look for bulk power cable and it's tech on the website. the technology used in furutech bulk power cable is far far advance than any readymade branded cable. there must be dealers who would make a power cord for you with high quality furutech connectors as per your order. Dave will not require very thick gauge cable due to it's less power demand . so a 1.5m furutech cord made from bulk cable , costing around $400 or so may beat even the most expensive power cords. there is no hidden fact that in any cable the most important factor is the purity of metal and geometry of crystals for which furutech is the leader. in fact many high end brands use furutech bulk cable.

 

[Triode User]

Thinking of upgrade my power cable of Dave, any recommendation?

Work out how much money you can afford, add 50% to the amount and then go and buy a power cable for that much. Make sure it has a big and unwieldy plug on the Dave end and make sure the cable incorporates exotic technology and materials. It also helps if the cable is covered in a sheath that makes it ridiculously stiff and almost unusable.
 
All of that is essential to increase the expectation bias sufficiently and to allow the power cable to extract the maximum amount of musicality from the untainted electricity that streams from the magic socket on the wall.
 
Either that or get real and realise that the last 1m of power cable plugged into the Dave will not make a blind bit of difference bearing in mind that the electricity has already come several hundred yards on the street through perfectly standard copper cable and then through very cheap copper cable buried in the walls of your house.
 
Oh and no need to respond. We don't want a cable discussion to start in the Dave thread. I'm just having fun at your expense.

 

[GryphonGuy]

"...the last 1m of power cable plugged into the Dave will not make a blind bit of difference..."

Oh how I wish that were true. It would be a much cheaper hobby that way.

Regards
GG

 

[m0nster]

"...the last 1m of power cable plugged into the Dave will not make a blind bit of difference..."

Oh how I wish that were true. It would be a much cheaper hobby that way.

Regards
GG

Isn't a hobby as expensive as you wish it to be? As I see it you get a lot of musical enjoyment with the DAVE, great headphones and regular cables (power and USB). That's the point where I chose to stop spending for the moment. And I am happy with it.

Now waiting to see what Rob is cooking up. But even if the difference is bigger than anyone expected, it's still a hobby. And if you enjoy the music today, you shouldn't enjoy it less tomorrow just because there are ways to make it even better.

Btw, trying to persuade myself too here

 

[jelt2359]

Thinking of upgrade my power cable of Dave, any recommendation?

I really like Grover's Empress power cords if you like a smooth balanced sound with good separation at not too much coin. Just went to a friend where he put his on his amp, I put mine on the Dave, and it sounded so incredible we're both thinking of getting more now. Ha.