CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[Mircea C.]

I have one of the first Daves. It is identical to the current ones in all respects. Don't pay any attention to the remote, the Daves are all the same whatever the age. Buy a Dave and you will be getting the best.

Thank you Nick. Got one Waiting now for payment to be cleared in order to arrange shipment. Can't wait It looks like is coming with a new(er) remote.

 

[Triode User]

Thank you Nick. Got one Waiting now for payment to be cleared in order to arrange shipment. Can't wait It looks like is coming with a new(er) remote.

Cool! Welcome to the world of Dave. You will not regret it.

 

[CRITICALSHOT]

I have experience with the dCS Rossini, Vivaldi, MSB Select, Yggdrasil, and numerous ESS 9018 based DACs to name a few. Purchased the DAVE and Blu Mk II. Case closed.

Never tested the totaldac but that seems moot now.

Are there any differences in the upscaling of the Blu Mk II and the MScaler?

 

[iDesign]

Are there any differences in the upscaling of the Blu Mk II and the MScaler?

No, if you don't count the i/o differences and pass through option.

 

[musickid]

i'm on the verge of trading my tt2/hms for a dave right now as i type. unlikely i'll add an mscaler to dave for headphone listening due to cost. any last minute guidance here as i'm feeling a touch anxious.

 

[ZappaMan]

i'm on the verge of trading my tt2/hms for a dave right now as i type. unlikely i'll add an mscaler to dave for headphone listening due to cost. any last minute guidance here as i'm feeling a touch anxious.

do you have to pay more money on top ?

life a journey, cash in, make a change, no regrets !

 

[musickid]

less than 2k. it is a great deal.

 

[CRITICALSHOT]

i'm on the verge of trading my tt2/hms for a dave right now as i type. unlikely i'll add an mscaler to dave for headphone listening due to cost. any last minute guidance here as i'm feeling a touch anxious.

I was thinking about doing the same thing. I was listening to the TT2 without the MScaler for a couple of days and tried to convince myself it sounded just as good. I put it back in and realized I was deluding myself. I read several Dave reviews and they waxed on that it was so much better with the Blu. You can alway get the Mscaler or Blu later. You should just jump out of the window and do it. At some point you can always get the upscaler; maybe if it takes awhile the new Dave or whatever will be out. You want to try something new is all (upgraditis).

 

[musickid]

I've decided to keep the mscaler/tt2. the mscaler adds sparkle and energy to the music. without it the music doesn't grip me as much. i can't let go of it. now i can look for some top grade headphones too.

 

[Triode User]

I've decided to keep the mscaler/tt2. the mscaler adds sparkle and energy to the music. without it the muisc doesn't grip me as much. i can't let go off it. now i can look for some top grade headphones too.

was this in your home demo comparison with the Dave? If so did you give in to temptation and plug the MScaler into the Dave?

 

[musickid]

The desire to own a dave isn't powerful enough for me to give up my mscaler. The TT2 without the mscaler is fundamentally lacking in a quality which is hard to put into words. I can't say for certain that i would be able to push for another mscaler to add to a dave if i went that way. We are now venturing into a £12K digital audio headphone system plus the scaffolding to hold it up. Maybe in the near future.......

 

[Triode User]

Having had a swop around in my system I have been listening to solo Dave for the last week whilst I try to work out where to place the mscaler (the MScaler is silver and the rest of the system is black - don’t ask how I ended up with that but if you have a black one you want to swop please get in touch!). I have been appreciating again just how good is solo Dave. The texture of the notes is superb. It also has a lightness of touch to the details and yet really gets a grip in the detailed bass.

 

[CRITICALSHOT]

No, if you don't count the i/o differences and pass through option.

The Dave has a setting by which one can select between DSD or PCM in the settings. Some say there is an appreciable difference when selecting the correct one for the format.

"The M Scaler will not upscale DSD sources natively. All DSD data will be converted to PCM before being upscaled. DSD64 will be converted to 192K PCM and then upscaled to the desired amount by using the OP SR button. DSD128 will be converted to 384k PCM and then upscaled to the desired sample rate using the OP SR button. DSD256 will be converted to 768k PCM and will not be upscaled."

Does the Blu do the same thing to DSD? If so, have you listened to DSD on the solo Dave with both (PCM/DSD) settings and what could you hear?

 

[Amberlamps]

I've decided to keep the mscaler/tt2. the mscaler adds sparkle and energy to the music. without it the muisc doesn't grip me as much. i can't let go off it. now i can look for some top grade headphones too.

Alot of folk think tt2 is where it's at. Alot of inputs, more power and not as expensive as dave.

Dave may be chords primo dac, but tt2 is the better all rounder imho.

MK, my advice would be to wait and keep your mtt2 and see what chords next move is. Plus not being able to turn dave's screen off would drive me nuts, tt2's screen and volume ball is leet, but the mscalers balls bugs the schiit out of me, I know there is a "dim" function built in to the mscaler, but there really is a need for the led's to be turned off completely.

I'm sure that once new users figure out how things work, that they could easily use it without the lights being on, if not, they could enable them again and then turn them off once they change whatever settings they need to change.

I'm with you MK, our setups are so good that upgrading to a dave, is actually a downgrade to what you have already.

 

[Triode User]

Plus not being able to turn dave's screen off would drive me nuts

The 'Display 4' setting on Dave automatically turns Dave's screen off after a short delay.