[Triode User]

But with the eventual digital amps the Dave is redundant, ie the MScaler goes direct into the amp, so that is the real way forward and perhaps why Dave 2 is not a priority? (As well as it being difficult to find any weak spots in the current Dave).

As to the MScaler itself, it may well be that future iterations have more internal filtering enabling dual bnc to be retained. Don’t forget there is a compelling argument to retain backward compatibility and also that a low noise bnc output might ultimately be superior to optical. Innuos eschews optical on their top of the range Statement because they found by measurement that the process of converting optical back to an electrical format resulted in a signal with more noise than doing without the optical connection.

 

[musickid]

with a quality used dave is the warranty transferred or how does that work? if not do you just send it to chord for repair if needed and pay yourself?

 

[Triode User]

with a quality used dave is the warranty transferred or how does that work? if not do you just send it to chord for repair if needed and pay yourself?

The Dave warranty is 5 years.

see :-

https://chordelectronics.co.uk/warranty-policy/

"Your warranty will begin from the initial date of purchase from an authorised Chord Electronics retailer and is transferable to a new owner providing that the original purchase receipt is provided and that the product was new and was not a reconditioned, demonstration or ex-display model, however. The warranty is only valid within the region of original purchase."

 

[musickid]

thanks for clarifying that.

 

[lcasadonte]

I apologize if this has been asked before but I can't find any references. To use a Dave bought from the uk in the us do you just replace the power chord and maybe flip a switch? Is this all thats required? I was thinking of buying a used dave from the uk. they are around 3k us and at that rate I probably wouldn't care about the warranty. Thanks,

 

[ufospls2]

I apologize if this has been asked before but I can't find any references. To use a Dave bought from the uk in the us do you just replace the power chord and maybe flip a switch? Is this all thats required? I was thinking of buying a used dave from the uk. they are around 3k us and at that rate I probably wouldn't care about the warranty. Thanks,

$3000USD? Thats pretty (ok, VERY) low price wise for a DAVE, be wary of scams if you're using www.hifishark.com, there are many.

All that is needed is the corresponding power chord for the region you live. You don't even need to flip a switch, just plug in, the DAVE automatically works with the regions voltage.

 

[anygreg]

they are around 3k us and at that rate I probably wouldn't care about the warranty. Thanks,

that makes it about £2.3k GBP.... think that’s a scam buddy.

 

[odessamarin]

3k for Dave.. it's scam. Stay away.

 

[lcasadonte]

Got it thanks.

 

[jlbrach]

dont buy a dave for 3K unless it is from a friend or somebody you know and trust

 

[simorag]

Re: DAVE and crossfeed

Yesterday I listened to my loudspeakers and clicked once too many on the crossfeed button when the loudspeaker session ended and I got back to my typical headphone usage, thus getting back to 0 instead of 3 as I wanted .

This morning I was listening to new music I haven't heard before (discovery mode in Roon) but immediately noticing something was obviously wrong, the soundstage was flat and the location of the instruments was really unnatural, borderline annoying. Listening fatigue was kicking in due to excessive directionality of the sound to my ears.

After a while I finally decided to double check the CF, and discovered it was at 0 so I sat it back to 3 et voilà, the DAVE magic was back in full spades !! Depth perception, immersive and more naturalistic presentation, a slightly smoother / darker tone are the most apparent changes to my ears.

Out of curiosity, I tried to get back to 0 again and use the CF through Roon DSP settings, with much worse results, namely a noticeable loss of transparency.

I find this feature of the DAVE (crossfeed implementation) a major asset of this machine, and it is an indispensable feature for me specifically as a headphones-first, mainly acoustics music, listener. Bravo @Rob Watts!

 

[TheAttorney]

Re: .... I find this feature of the DAVE (crossfeed implementation) a major asset of this machine

Agreed. to the point I can no longer listen to headphones unless CF is enabled, unless I'm listening to near-monophonic recordings.
I also tried Roon's CF and also noticed a loss of transparency.

Regarding the increasing smoothness as one increases Dave's CF, I've always felt there were 3 possible reasons for this:

1. The more natural 3D style presentation is inherently less fatiguing
2. The increasing bass boost (around 1.1, 1.5, 1.9 db from memory) can also have the relative perception of reducing higher frequencies.
3. There is some unnatural smoothing of transients, edges and fine detail (i.e. a slight loss of transparency, not unlike the HF filter)

After 2+ years of consideration, I feel that all 3 of the above are contributing to the smoothing effect. So unfortunately, I do feel that CF does introduce a slight loss of transparency, but at a much more subtle level than Roon's CF.
And this (and the bass boost) is most noticeable with CF=3, despite that having the most 3D presentation.
With some recordings and system synergies, that smoothness may well be considered beneficial, but once I hear an effect, my OCD tendencies won't allow me to un-hear it again.
So my default setting is CF=2 as the best balance of 3D presentation vs clarity.

This is with HEK SE headphones, which have a large and particularly wide soundstage as a startpoint.
And whether the slight loss of transparency is real or imagined, I still think Dave's CF is great overall.

 

[ekfc63]

I’ve had my Dave for a few weeks now and have been loving it with my Abyss 1266 TC. I had some time today so plugged the Dave into my (separate) speaker system. Initially I used the Dave in preamp mode. mmmm not sure about this. The balance was all off and it didn’t sound good. Tried it in DAC mode. Much better. Balanced and smooth sound. I guess I’m in the Dave in DAC mode camp. One thing I did notice was how totally different my speaker system (Naim SL2 driven actively using Teddy Pardo amps with a sub) sounds compared to the Abyss.

 

[iDesign]

I think the benefit of using the crossfeed on the DAVE is highly dependent on the music, headphone, and listener’s perception of sound. I don’t use the crossfeed with well recorded or newly released albums because I find most sound engineers/mixers have done an excellent job in recent years. However, with older jazz recordings and other genres I find more albums that benefit from the crossfeed (although some old albums are still unlistenable via headphones no matter the setting). I am also someone who appreciates the nuances of music and I sometimes feel using the crossfeed takes away from the listening experience when an artist or sound engineer has thoughtfully/artfully decided to adjust the mix for the left or right channel. Those nuances are lost with the crossfeed and it somewhat dulls the image. For my individual preferences I rarely use the crossfeed.

 

[ekfc63]

I'm getting fairly tempted to start covering mine as well.

i just ordered a custom cover from https://www.digitaldeckcovers.com/. Very reasonable pricing.