CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE
Jan 15, 2022 at 3:55 PM Post #18,901 of 25,821
I was finally able to get back to listening to music after a few weeks of home improvement works. DAVE and Scaler now finally housed in a proper rack near the sofa :)
My other sources are also pretty good but DAVE is just sublime...
That's a pretty cool table
 
Jan 15, 2022 at 4:08 PM Post #18,902 of 25,821
That's a pretty cool table
Yeah, love it. Made out of oak just like the floor it sits on. Weighs a ton too, which is reassuring given how chubby DAVE is.

Got even fatter since the pandemic started :p
 
Jan 15, 2022 at 4:45 PM Post #18,903 of 25,821
I was finally able to get back to listening to music after a few weeks of home improvement works. DAVE and Scaler now finally housed in a proper rack near the sofa :)
My other sources are also pretty good but DAVE is just sublime...
Saw your post on facebook also, very cool👍🏻
 
Jan 19, 2022 at 7:15 PM Post #18,905 of 25,821
Hi Good People,

I just ordered a DAVE.

Address.jpg

Is it supposed to be 8 lbs only?
rofl. Dave is light, but not that light :smile:

any way, looking forward to your impressions. Did you grab a blu mk2/mscaler to go with it?
 
Jan 20, 2022 at 12:05 AM Post #18,906 of 25,821
Hi Good People,

I just ordered a DAVE.

Address.jpg

Is it supposed to be 8 lbs only?
Are you sure you didn’t accidentally order the mojo together with the poly?

:)
 
Jan 21, 2022 at 10:06 PM Post #18,907 of 25,821
Thought I shared this. I suppose everyone values different things in audio setup, but the below video (a 2021 summary but ended up being more about Chord Dave / M scaler setup), Hans declared the Chord Dave / M scaler setup the king of time resolution, this being the reviewer that did in depth testing with Mola Tambaqui & Holo May Dac.

 
Jan 21, 2022 at 10:40 PM Post #18,908 of 25,821
rofl. Dave is light, but not that light :smile:

any way, looking forward to your impressions. Did you grab a blu mk2/mscaler to go with it?
Lol. Yeah. Wondering what happened. No, not the Blu or the mscaler yet. Apparently, there will be a new Mscaler at some point?
 
Jan 21, 2022 at 11:18 PM Post #18,909 of 25,821
Lol. Yeah. Wondering what happened. No, not the Blu or the mscaler yet. Apparently, there will be a new Mscaler at some point?
Didn't know that but guess I'm not surprised. Tbh I'm kinda curious how much longer until the dave gets replaced even
 
Jan 22, 2022 at 12:02 AM Post #18,910 of 25,821
Didn't know that but guess I'm not surprised. Tbh I'm kinda curious how much longer until the dave gets replaced even
I believe Rob said the custom FPGA (or whatever) haven’t advanced enough to make a DAVE 2 just yet. I think he’s still doing research, but it’ll probably be a bit until we get a DAVE 2. In the meantime, the DC4 is a good upgrade

The Choral M-Scaler may come out as early as the end of this year, last I read, but who knows. Maybe Rob can chime in
 
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Jan 22, 2022 at 4:23 AM Post #18,911 of 25,821
Had a few friends over for an audio meet up last night and listened to the Abyss Diana Phi on my DAVE+Mscaler desktop setup.
I currently use a Focal Utopia and was rather impressed by the soundstage and overall presentation.

I was also somewhat surprised that DAVE drove the Phi with aplomb, especially considering some comments about DAVE having an underpowered headphone amp.
What have people found to be the best move after owning the Utopia?
 
Jan 22, 2022 at 7:25 AM Post #18,912 of 25,821
Had a few friends over for an audio meet up last night and listened to the Abyss Diana Phi on my DAVE+Mscaler desktop setup.
I currently use a Focal Utopia and was rather impressed by the soundstage and overall presentation.

I was also somewhat surprised that DAVE drove the Phi with aplomb, especially considering some comments about DAVE having an underpowered headphone amp.
What have people found to be the best move after owning the Utopia?

If keeping a minimalistic setup (i.e. using the DAVE as an amp) is a must, I would recommend to try the Meze Empyrean and the Solitaire P for a different sound presentation compared to the Utopia. Other than being relatively easy to drive, they synergise very well with the DAVE IMO.

I had the Diana Phi with superconductor and - as an AB-1266 long time owner and fan, I appreciated their signature with the DAVE as well, but for my tastes I prefer some more midrange warmth / weight.

If its ridiculous pricing is not an issue, I feel the Valkyria (a quite unique sounding pair of headphones, which has become my daily driver during the last several months) pairs very well with the DAVE as well, especially for acoustic genres.

Listening to some violin concertos all this morning and I absolutely loved the timbre and texture, no hints of stridency or overly lean sound, which can sometimes happen with the 'wrong' pairing, still retaining the magic transparency and atmospheric staging of the DAVE / M-Scaler.

fischer-tchaikovsky.png

hahn-bach.png

mullova-mendelssohn.png
 
Jan 22, 2022 at 10:08 AM Post #18,913 of 25,821
Had a few friends over for an audio meet up last night and listened to the Abyss Diana Phi on my DAVE+Mscaler desktop setup.
I currently use a Focal Utopia and was rather impressed by the soundstage and overall presentation.

I was also somewhat surprised that DAVE drove the Phi with aplomb, especially considering some comments about DAVE having an underpowered headphone amp.
What have people found to be the best move after owning the Utopia?
If you want something that offer different strength compare to Utopia, and you do like your Thummim tuning, my suggestion would be Meze Elite.
 
Jan 22, 2022 at 6:50 PM Post #18,914 of 25,821
Had a few friends over for an audio meet up last night and listened to the Abyss Diana Phi on my DAVE+Mscaler desktop setup.
I currently use a Focal Utopia and was rather impressed by the soundstage and overall presentation.

I was also somewhat surprised that DAVE drove the Phi with aplomb, especially considering some comments about DAVE having an underpowered headphone amp.
What have people found to be the best move after owning the Utopia?
Looking at the first rate setup in your signature, I might consider keeping the Utopia and adding an Innuos Phoenix USB? I found it made a solid step up in soundstage and presentation.
 
Jan 22, 2022 at 6:51 PM Post #18,915 of 25,821
Looking at the first rate setup in your signature, I might consider keeping the Utopia and adding an Innuos Phoenix USB? I found it made a solid step up in soundstage and presentation.
+1 for the Innuos Phoenix USB
 

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