[x RELIC x]

Technically you are 100% correct. However there is Qutest, same DAC as H2, but 2/3 the price.
But Qutest has an amp similar to Mojo, but "fixed" to line out and without volume control.
But I guess doing the "Qutest treatment" to Dave would translate to much smaller relative cost decrease, given the much higher cost of Dave.

you’re correct about the Qutest, but I agree, I’m not sure it would translate to significant savings on the DAVE. I guess only Rob and Chord will know...

 

[tunes]

I am about to give up my Aurender N100H for a reasonable offer. I used it literally twice since purchase a few years ago and decided to use my DAP with optical out as a transport instead. It’s essentially brand new!

Please PM me if you have any interest.

 

[Drewligarchy]

you’re correct about the Qutest, but I agree, I’m not sure it would translate to significant savings on the DAVE. I guess only Rob and Chord will know...

I don't think it would lead to any savings on the Dave. While I truthfully don't know, I think adding or removing the headphone output on the Dave is relatively trivial from an engineering perspective and cost wise. Qutest exists to fulfill the entry level Chord Dac market segment. It's a fantastic DAC regardless of price. I'm sure the bill of materials for DAVE are much, much lower than the retail cost. Chord charges what they do because of R&D, and it's what the market would bear. Do I think it's worth it - yes! I have one and I'd buy it again.

I don't see any reason for Chord to create a DAC that sits in between Dave and TT2. It would cannibalize the sales of Dave and I can't imagine volume would increase that much at that level to offset the price difference.

 

[Drewligarchy]

My experience with playing with Digital Cables with Dave / Mscaler has led me to believe that the differences in digital cables are entirely due to handling RFI and noise. I was always skeptical of digital cables because the data is encoded, but this makes sense to me and provides at least a potential scientific explanation for differences in sound.

For that reason, when using Toslink with a Chord Dac - or most modern Dacs where Jitter is a minor issue - leads me to believe that their really aren't any differences in toslink cables that work. Sure, glass may allow you to transfer higher bandwidth over longer distances - but if we really do take jitter out of the equation (I can't hear it at least) - are there really any differences on Toslink cables?

IMO, analog cables do affect the sound as they - in many cases - act as a filter.

 

[Drewligarchy]

Don't think it's the BNC cables as they work fine with my TT2/HMS set up.

Still think it might be BNC cables. I think the Dave is more sensitive on the BNCs than the TT2. I think Chord managed to make them more stable on the TT2. I had the same issue with stock cables, but when I used different cables, I didn't have an issue any longer.

I would also try the other inputs as suggested as that worked for me too. With certain cables, though, both set of inputs work flawlessly.

 

[iDesign]

I don't see any reason for Chord to create a DAC that sits in between Dave and TT2. It would cannibalize the sales of Dave and I can't imagine volume would increase that much at that level to offset the price difference.

Agreed. A DAVE without a headphone input is never going to happen and would be completely pointless. It would make more sense for someone to just purchase a secondhand DAVE if they could not afford a new unit.

 

[adyc]

Don't think it's the BNC cables as they work fine with my TT2/HMS set up.

According to dmance, the mechanism of detecting dual rate is much more robust with TT2 than Dave. So I would try a new set of BNC cables.

 

[tunes]

Agreed. A DAVE without a headphone input is never going to happen and would be completely pointless. It would make more sense for someone to just purchase a secondhand DAVE if they could not afford a new unit.

Well. If there is a used DAVE on the market, I want to know what DAC they “upgraded” to.

 

[iDesign]

Well. If there is a used DAVE on the market, I want to know what DAC they “upgraded” to.

I suspect most are cutting back on spending (and rogue dealers selling them at wholesale). There are many for sale:
https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Chord+dave

 

[tunes]

I suspect most are cutting back on spending (and rogue dealers selling them at wholesale). There are many for sale:
https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Chord+dave

That’s sad that so many went over budget, didn’t like the SQ DAVE can offer or wanted something better??

 

[jacc]

Hi. I have been using dual bnc output of blu mk2 without any problem. This morning I tried using a single bnc cable via the "single bnc output", but sample rate is only showing 176.4 (instead of 352) on DAVE. Just wondering if anyone of you are using the single bnc output to DAVE? I have also checked the upsample toggle switch but no help.

 

[fire2368]

Potentially stupid question.

I like the crossfeed implementation a lot on the Dave but I like using my external tube amp, to keep the crossfeed into the amp do I just connect it out of the headphone out and set to -3dB?

Does anyone else do this?

 

[ray-dude]

I learned the hard way that once you set cross feed with headphone plugged in, it stays on even when using the RCA or XLR outs on the back (even if you can’t see it on the display)

headphone has to be plugged in to see the cross fade setting or change it, but it is on for all outputs

 

[ecwl]

Potentially stupid question.

I like the crossfeed implementation a lot on the Dave but I like using my external tube amp, to keep the crossfeed into the amp do I just connect it out of the headphone out and set to -3dB?

Does anyone else do this?

That is not even necessary because crossfeed is ON for the headphones jack, RCA and XLR outputs if you turn it on with headphones plugged in. And it stays on when you unplug the headphones even though you cannot see the setting on the display.
That was part of the DAVE’s design. Great for Head-fi people, even those who want to use external tube amp.
But it can be annoying for people like me who switches between headphones and speakers as I always turn on crossfeed for headphones but I don’t always remember to turn off crossfeed before unplugging the headphones so I ended up getting unwanted crossfeed from my speakers.

 

[fire2368]

Did not realise that, should have probably tried to listen to it first before applying my own thoughts.