[draytonklammer]

Your avatar has evolved... Nice~

I decided that it would look a bit more professional than Harambe.

 

[SuperBurrito]

My take on the Chord Dave:

https://tascware.com/thesummit/dave

Phi, Utopia, and LCD-4 coming soon, in that order.

Awesome, Looking forward to it. I have the Utopias which are amazing and very comfortable but sometimes I find them lacking the fun factor that something like the LCD-X provided.

 

[musickid]

very nice heartfelt impressions. i need to save more forcefully now

 

[jelt2359]

If I can give you anymore detailed thoughts on anything, let me know!
I am considering a full review of the Chord DAVE driving the Abyss Phi (along with my Phi review finally)

It's the BEST I have heard in a headphone to date. It bests many loudspeaker setups I have heard as well (to my ears -- I love microdetails)
YES, I have tried the Orpheus, Stax 009 (not the 007 mk1 sadly), Susvara, LCD-4, HD800S, etc. -- no flagship has crossed the line like the Abyss Phi for me.

Now with the Chord, it's even better.

What amp are you using with the 009? For me the 009 and the 800 do certain things my Phi doesn't.

 

[ZappaMan]

A silly question, is it a waste to audition the Dave with hd-650 headphones?

Would I expect to be underwhelmed. I did have an audition, but I’d been rushing around a lot and perhaps I just wasn’t settled enough to hear it properly.

 

[ZappaMan]

Another silly question, but why do people spend so much on a DAC, why not use analogue tech? Is it because of the expense of collecting records?

 

[jelt2359]

Expense is one thing, another is convenience. Lots of stuff available on streaming and digital downloads these days. I’m also not a fan of physically changin media.

Besides, who says that good analog setups are cheap?

 

[rayl]

Another silly question, but why do people spend so much on a DAC, why not use analogue tech? Is it because of the expense of collecting records?

At risk of reopening an old flame... there is much music (by my definition) not available in vinyl.

Actually this even applies to classical. The San Francisco Symphony Mahler cycle is one of my fav romantic period productions. Vinyl was a limited run before my time.... today the cd or hdtracks are still avail..

 

[tunes]

Also, I couldn’t find the audiophile speaker set-up CD you referenced for sale anywhere. Where did you get it??

Thanks

Has anyone heard the
STAX SRL 700 wirh DAVE? Was wondering if the mandatory driver amps needed for electrostatic headphones interferes with the purity of the DAVE’S output?? If you have heard these with DAVE how do they compare with HEKV2 and Utopias??

Thanks

 

[miketlse]

Another silly question, but why do people spend so much on a DAC, why not use analogue tech? Is it because of the expense of collecting records?

Convenience expense, and no availability of some music are probably the main things in peoples minds.
There is also the fact that every time that a record is played, the record experiences some wear and degredation (even if only small with a very good turntable). This is one driver for the Davina project, to enable very old and rare records to be accurately digitised, and then put in permanent storage.

 

[Triode User]

Another silly question, but why do people spend so much on a DAC, why not use analogue tech? Is it because of the expense of collecting records?

Maybe because a system with Blu2 and Dave connected to something such as Innuos Zenith SE sounds so darned good (possibly better than many or most analogue systems) and is also convenient.

 

[rgs9200m]

Yep, I would look forward to more impressions. Nice detailed insight of how different types of music sound. Ha-ha, I like Abba too. Again, thanks for all the work you did on this. A real fine contribution here.

 

[Natronious]

Another silly question, but why do people spend so much on a DAC, why not use analogue tech? Is it because of the expense of collecting records?

One obvious answer, is that, fortunately, we don't necessarily have to choose one over another. I enjoy having options, and as others have mentioned, sometimes convenience is the deciding factor. Personally, in our household, we enjoy BOTH, analogue and digital.

 

[GryphonGuy]

A silly question, is it a waste to audition the Dave with hd-650 headphones?

Would I expect to be underwhelmed. I did have an audition, but I’d been rushing around a lot and perhaps I just wasn’t settled enough to hear it properly.

The HD-650 was what I used on my DAVE for 3 or so months before I had a chance to listen to and purchase the Utopia. DAVE made the HD-650's sound the best they'd sounded in their long life but are no match for Utopia and DAVE does deserve high-end headphones. However, if you've spent your life savings on a DAVE and can only afford an HD-650 then they will sound very good on DAVE. But save up to give DAVE what it was designed for and deserves.

Regards
GG

 

[draytonklammer]

Is anyone ever concerned about the eventual build up of dust and other particles inside of their Dave?

I was looking at the holes on top this morning and thinking that to myself.

I know a majority of high-end equipment have more holes for ventilation, but just a curious thought I had to myself as this is my most expensive equipment piece right now.