[Paul Bjernklo]

I'm don't listen to CD much these days but have an old Marantz CD player (63 I think) that I could connect to my Dave via toslink for this purpose. How much do CD transports matter sound quality wise? Would I be better off getting a newer CD transport? Cambridge makes one (the CXC) which is low'ish money and has some good reviews. How is toslink rated? The Marantz also has a digital coax out. Better than Toslink?

I have used CD Transports for along time and they do make a significant (massive to me) difference. I have a Cyrus CDT Signature that was around £1795 new when I bought it, but from reviews the Audiolab 6000 CDT at around £380 seems a steal and a bit better than the Cambridge according to for example a review by David Price at Hifi Choice. My recommendation would be to upgrade to that with a cheap Kabeldirekt Optical cable from Amazon. And yes Optical Toslink sounds a lot better.

https://www.audiolab.co.uk/6000cdt/

 

[miketlse]

I have used CD Transports for along time and they do make a significant (massive to me) difference. I have a Cyrus CDT Signature that was around £1795 new when I bought it, but from reviews the Audiolab 6000 CDT at around £380 seems a steal and a bit better than the Cambridge according to for example a review by David Price at Hifi Choice. My recommendation would be to upgrade to that with a cheap Kabeldirekt Optical cable from Amazon. And yes Optical Toslink sounds a lot better.

https://www.audiolab.co.uk/6000cdt/

I support Paul.
I realise that Chord would like everyone to buy a Blu2, but step back for a moment.
I have found that with the Hugo 2, even a simple optical (using kabeldirekt) feed from a bluray drive to the Hugo 2, then direct driving speakers, offers the best sound quality that I have ever experienced.
DAVE can work wonders, but it appears that providing DAVE with a good input source is relatively simple.
Explore that, then post your findings.

 

[Paul Bjernklo]

I support Paul.
I realise that Chord would like everyone to buy a Blu2, but step back for a moment.
I have found that with the Hugo 2, even a simple optical (using kabeldirekt) feed from a bluray drive to the Hugo 2, then direct driving speakers, offers the best sound quality that I have ever experienced.
DAVE can work wonders, but it appears that providing DAVE with a good input source is relatively simple.
Explore that, then post your findings.

Hi, would be interested to know what speakers you use please as I have tried my PMC speakers directly from my Hugo 2 but sounded congested at normal volume, the speakers are high sensitivity at 90 db, but I have read that transmission line speakers crave power...

 

[iDesign]

I support Paul.
I realise that Chord would like everyone to buy a Blu2, but step back for a moment.
I have found that with the Hugo 2, even a simple optical (using kabeldirekt) feed from a bluray drive to the Hugo 2, then direct driving speakers, offers the best sound quality that I have ever experienced.
DAVE can work wonders, but it appears that providing DAVE with a good input source is relatively simple.
Explore that, then post your findings.

It’s the integration of the M scaler and Phillips CD Pro 2 mechanism into the Choral design that make the Blu Mk II so compelling for most DAVE owners. Adding the Blu Mk II is a step forward over a third-party CD transport without the M scaler.

 

[miketlse]

Hi, would be interested to know what speakers you use please as I have tried my PMC speakers directly from my Hugo 2 but sounded congested at normal volume, the speakers are high sensitivity at 90 db, but I have read that transmission line speakers crave power...

I use my Hugo 2 direct driving 3 different types of speakers, according to the use case.
When working at my PC, I can use either the Wharfedale Diamond 1, or the Monitor Audio Silver as the computer monitor speakers, and both work fine, although not surprisingly the MA sound better.
When downstairs in the main room, I can direct drive the floorstanding Focal Aria 936 loud enough for my needs (listening to jazz at sensible levels).
Direct driving removes the 'veil' that I was experiencing when using an amplifier (that applied when using both a Mojo or a Hugo 2), and restores the transparency that I loved when using headphones.
Some owners have posted that they need much more power for listening to other music genres, at louder volumes - I don't dispute that.
Nevertheless I do believe that a simple bluray drive, with optical out to Hugo 2, then direct driving good speakers, offers fantastic bang per buck.
Yes like @iDesign points out, you can do even better, by using more expensive transports, dacs such as DAVE, etc.
These days, I do enjoy reading archive hifi magazine articles, describing how in the 1950s/1960s audiophiles used to achieve so much enjoyment from diy amplifiers that output only 2W.
It does keep me awake to the idea that many owners of Hugo 2, TT2, DAVE, could experience great enjoyment if they explore direct driving speakers, but this might mean that they have to discover more efficient speakers.

 

[onsionsi]

Just out of curiosity if someone did get a chance to listen to Aries Cerat Kassandra 2 Ref and compare it to Dave.

 

[F208Frank]

Likely going to be a fun Saturday.

 

[musickid]

There is a strong chance after plenty of thought that i will be trading my TT2/MSCALER for a black DAVE first week of June. It would be great if everyone could help me here.

1) How does PCM plus // DSD plus work in terms of optimising the relevant playback of those music formats. What's going on inside DAVE here?

2) Is optical still the preferred source for DAVE or can a good usb battery powered source compete? With optical is there a good glass cable available in the UK which does 192kHz? I know kabeldirekt does but that's plastic.

3) Finally can someone explain the Phase Pos setting. What it does and how it works and what it should be set at?

Many thanks to everyone. (this move has taken alot of courage as it has taken me 3 years to build my TT2/MSCALER system). A long while ago i listened to a Dvorak passage with DAVE and my Oppo PM1 and have never felt so gripped as i did then.

 

[F208Frank]

I highly suggest keeping M Scaler as you will likely "wonder" what M Scaler Dave sounds like after you acquire DAVE.

Maybe sell TT first. Buy Dave, try M Scaler with DAVE, then sell M Scaler.

At least then you would have that curiosity gone.

But then again maybe not knowing keeps life simpler, just some suggestions.

Myself, I have the M Scaler on hand and am going to listen to solo Dave for a full month before adding it in to enjoy the journey.

 

[musickid]

yes you make some very good points. my plan was to go solo dave with my pm1 headphone and call it a day so in effect barring myself from a future mscaler purchase to keep the total budget realistic and manageable. i wonder. listening now to mTT2 sounds excellent and i could use the dave upgrade money to buy the top of the range wave bnc cables improving the sound of my mTT2 even more. but then again dave is not a legend for no reason. to get the dave means trading in both tt2 and mscaler at the same time. i believe the new picture of the black dave above motivates me even more.

 

[CreditingKarma]

yes you make some very good points. my plan was to go solo dave with my pm1 headphone and call it a day so in effect barring myself from a future mscaler purchase to keep the total budget realistic and manageable. i wonder. listening now to mTT2 sounds excellent and i could use the dave upgrade money to buy the top of the range wave bnc cables improving the sound of my mTT2 even more. but then again dave is not a legend for no reason. to get the dave means trading in both tt2 and mscaler at the same time. i believe the new picture of the black dave above motivates me even more.

During my quest for a new dac I had an scaler with my TT2 and then auditioned a Dave at at the sametime. I actually preferred the Dave without the mscaler while i felt like the TT2 sounded better with the mscaler. In the end I felt like both benefited more from the addition of a streamer ( Auralic Aries G2) than from the Mscaler. Your mileage may vary but I agree keep the scaler and sell the TT. If you like the Dave without the Mscaler then you should not have much trouble selling it later.

 

[Triode User]

Myself, I have the M Scaler on hand and am going to listen to solo Dave for a full month before adding it in to enjoy the journey.

I bet you give in after less time than that! For sure, listen to Dave by itself for a while (a couple of hours?) but why miss out on a months worth of better sound quality? Have fun though whatever you do!

 

[Lucky87]

During my quest for a new dac I had an scaler with my TT2 and then auditioned a Dave at at the sametime. I actually preferred the Dave without the mscaler while i felt like the TT2 sounded better with the mscaler. In the end I felt like both benefited more from the addition of a streamer ( Auralic Aries G2) than from the Mscaler. Your mileage may vary but I agree keep the scaler and sell the TT. If you like the Dave without the Mscaler then you should not have much trouble selling it later.

Oh man you said the naughty word “The Dave sounds better without the M Scaler” I agree with you 100% on the Dave sounds best by itself. I still waiting for someone to answer my question on what’s the best power cord but all I got was “buy a M Scaler“ hey what time is it answer “buy the M Scaler“

 

[CreditingKarma]

Oh man you said the naughty word “The Dave sounds better without the M Scaler” I agree with you 100% on the Dave sounds best by itself. I still waiting for someone to answer my question on what’s the best power cord but all I got was “buy a M Scaler“ hey what time is it answer “buy the M Scaler“

Maybe try the transparent power cords. The premire is a good starting point. They retail around $600. The high performance is nice too and about 1/2 the price.

 

[jlbrach]

IMHO as good as dave is by itself, and I had it before I got my blu2, the combo with the blu2 is head and shoulders better but requires to live with it and experience the subtleties..at this level of performance and price all improvements are incremental