CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[edwardsean]

• Cable assembly with 100cm Farad Level 2 silver cables, custom backplate and the power monitor: 1000 euro
• 3x (+5V, +15V, -15V) Farad Super3 basic version: 1516 euro
• 3x (+5V, +15V, -15V) Farad Super3 full upgraded (SR Purple fuses, Furutech Rhodium AC inlet) versions: 2158 euro

When you first starting posting about this setup, it sounded a bit unruly, but your setup is really clever and beautiful.

it's interesting that Mattijs is offering the connection assembly as its own package. I wonder if the power monitor board relies on his proprietary monitoring tech built into the Super3 or if its just reading voltage/current. If it's the latter this could open doors to broad possibilities.

For those with the skill and inclination, you could experiment with different configurations of power supplies. For instance, someone could get a pair Super 3s for the -/+ 15V rails and mate it with an entirely different power supply for the 5V rail. The Farad has a rich, thick sound that would work wonderfully on the analog rails, but you could opt for something with more speed for the digital rail like the hybrid Ferrum Hypsos.

 

[MvRBE10]

Any plans on a single +_ 15vdc power supply using one center taped transformer? Should be an improvement over 2 individual +15v and -15v supplies
BTW I’m using a super 3 on my ProJect CD Box RS transport with great results

No thats really bad for audio.. seperate transformers is the key for good sound. Cross contermentation and handling different currents on the same transformer is really not the way to go.

 

[MvRBE10]

When you first starting posting about this setup, it sounded a bit unruly, but your setup is really clever and beautiful.

it's interesting that Mattijs is offering the connection assembly as its own package. I wonder if the power monitor board relies on his proprietary monitoring tech built into the Super3 or if its just reading voltage/current. If it's the latter this could open doors to broad possibilities.

For those with the skill and inclination, you could experiment with different configurations of power supplies. For instance, someone could get a pair Super 3s for the -/+ 15V rails and mate it with an entirely different power supply for the 5V rail. The Farad has a rich, thick sound that would work wonderfully on the analog rails, but you could opt for something with more speed for the digital rail like the hybrid Ferrum Hypsos.

You are correct. Its just reading and letting through. You can put any powersupply behind it. Freedom is key. No pressure of buying explesit his thing. Apple vs open source and android eg.

To be honest mattijs is really a tech nerd and good solutions are in his mind always above any other thought. If its not good he will not release it.

 

[edwardsean]

You are correct. Its just reading and letting through. You can put any powersupply behind it. Freedom is key. No pressure of buying explesit his thing. Apple vs open source and android eg.

To be honest mattijs is really a tech nerd and good solutions are in his mind always above any other thought. If its not good he will not release it.

I'm a big fan of Mattijs myself! I wanted to upgrade the output caps for the Super3. He was completely enthusiastic and willing to dialogue intensively. I went through a bunch of different options, but he turned me on to the Wima film caps, and long story short, it wound up in the updated Super3s.

In the process I blew out the regulator chip (the danger of working with supercaps that don't discharge right away). It was really deflating, but he diagnosed the problem from half way around the world. I overnighted the IC from Mouser, and I was back up and running the next day!

I'm really excited to see how this progresses even further with the upcoming Super10 and other projects he has in the works. I wonder if it would be helpful to some if he would offer a complete unit for the Dave in some form, or maybe package everything together in a kit. That way less experienced users could get in on upgrading the Dave's power supply.

The impact of better quality power on the Dave is transformative. Nick from Wave HF likened the Dave + SJ DC4 to a Dave2. I agree; it's at that level of upgrade. I've heard that a side by side comparison of the DC4 and Farad solution is loosely in the works. If and when the happens, I'm so curious to hear the impressions!

 

[MvRBE10]

They already tested the new super10 against the dc4 a customer of him has it and it just blew it away on every front (on his setup). I confirmed with mattijs if i could make such a statement but i can. The super10 is a powersupply from another league but still cheaper than the acr6 setup so if the money is there i will in future eventually goto the super10. But the great thing is the super3 is already for its money at the top. And when upgrading you are not depended of the dave community the super3 can be sold to anyone or shift them to the router or something else. I like this way of investing. And indeed mattijs is thinking in solving and learning and changing it for the better. I myself am engineer in electronics and like this kind of mindset.

 

[griff500]

After making the pictures i removed all the dust… mannn

Have you got the mscaler?

I believe the complete set ex vat is 2500,- here below farads websitetext and statement ;

Thanks for your interest! We have made a special power supply upgrade for the Chord Dave based on our Farad Super3 power supplies. These are available in +5V, +15V and for the -15V the Dave also uses we specially developed the first ever negative regulated supercap supply making use of the Super3 technology.



The advantage of three single supplies is that it gives much better sound quality against a one box solution, because the fuse and power cables are splitted and all supplies are fully separated, so no interactions on each other. We found this to be quite important for best sound. Also it gives more flexibility towards future upgrades (for example with the upcoming Farad Super10 supply). And last sound for digital and analog can be tuned with the individual power cables and fuses, so this gives more possibilities for tuning the final sound even better.



We have designed a special power monitoring PCB which fits exactly in the spot where the original Dave SMPS supply is now. This monitor takes care the Chord only will get powered up when all three voltages are present and within parameters. This will protect the Dave during start-up and from any anomalies with the incoming power when operating. Connected to this monitor there are three 100cm Farad Level 2 silver wires for the three power supply units, and at the other side a connector with shielded cables and gold plated contacts which fits the Dave power connector inside.



We provide a special backplate which fits exactly in the slot where the AC inlet is originally. You only need to unscrew the top plate, remove the original AC inlet and SMPS power supply en slide in the assembly we provide. Close the top plate again and you are ready to play. No soldering.



Prices for this setup are:

• Cable assembly with 100cm Farad Level 2 silver cables, custom backplate and the power monitor: 1000 euro
• 3x (+5V, +15V, -15V) Farad Super3 basic version: 1516 euro
• 3x (+5V, +15V, -15V) Farad Super3 full upgraded (SR Purple fuses, Furutech Rhodium AC inlet) versions: 2158 euro

The Super3 supplies are available in AC voltage ranges 100Vac, 110-120Vac, 220-230Vac factory set. Prices are ex VAT, FedEx courier shipping worldwide is free with all orders in the Farad web shop.



If you want to be kept updated, please follow us on Facebook or Instagram. We also can put you on a mailing list and let you know as soon as we have more to tell about it. We expect to be able to ship the upgrade sets in February.

--
Met vriendelijke groet / With kind regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Cordialement,
Mattijs de Vries, Farad power supplies
www.Faradpowersupplies.com
Utrechtsestraatweg 198
3911TX Rhenen (UT)
The Netherlands

Very interested to hear more about this and comparisons with Sean Jacobs' products.

 

[chesebert]

Boy I think you guys are hurting Chord’s feelings . Properly designed SMPS should have less and not more noise than linear PS.

Perhaps Chord should contract the SMPS design to AMR/ifi. Their cheap SMPS is close to a battery-level performance in terms of DC noise.

 

[zen87192]

I’ve visited the Farad site after reading a lot of threads recommending the Super 3. Thing is, the Dave isn’t even mentioned on the Confirmed Loads page…. So… is my build correct please? Super 3, 220-240 Vac, Voltage = 15?, 3A or 1.5A?, Connector = 5.5/2.5? Can Anyone recommend the Furutech Rhodium AC Inlet, DC Power Cable Upgrade Level 2 and AC Power Cable?

 

[MvRBE10]

No please read the copy i pasted 3 threads ago! 15v -15v and +5v. The load of the dave is so minimal that the farad superseeds it 3x on the most +15 i believe

 

[MvRBE10]

Boy I think you guys are hurting Chord’s feelings . Properly designed SMPS should have less and not more noise than linear PS.

Its proved over and over again also in this community that smps do suck whatever they say. And its on all fronts proven otherwise. Smps has noise period. That chapter is really closed

 

[chesebert]

I point you to this thread for actual testing data. https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/31119-power-supply-8-group-test-lps-and-smps/

I can tell you most of the TOTL dac makes have now moved to SMPS, if that’s any indication of SMPS performance for digital components.

 

[Triode User]

The impact of better quality power on the Dave is transformative. Nick from Wave HF likened the Dave + SJ DC4 to a Dave2. I agree; it's at that level of upgrade. I've heard that a side by side comparison of the DC4 and Farad solution is loosely in the works. If and when the happens, I'm so curious to hear the impressions!

Indeed I did say that about the DC4 and the Dave. . . . . and then the even better ARC6 version came along and that moved the goal posts some way beyond a DC4.

It would be really good to have an ARC6 Dave and a Farad Dave side by side in the same system and hear both. I think it would need both versions of a converted Dave to be available for proper comparison rather than rely on audio memory. When I have compared the stock Dave to the DC4 or ARC6 Dave I have had both side by side for easy and proper comparison.

I really hope to be involved in a Farad and Sean Jacobs Dave comparison one day. Perhaps the easiest way for it to happen would be if a Farad Dave owner in the UK and I can get together and do that. I am a great fan of the Farad Super3 for the Qutest and indeed that is what I used with my own Qutest. The only power supply I found that could surpass it in my system with the Qutest was when I tried a DC4 and that to my ears was a rather shocking step up . . . . but then so is the difference in price which is not to be lightly dismissed! However I tried the swop one day with an audio buddy and his face was priceless.

Boy I think you guys are hurting Chord’s feelings . Properly designed SMPS should have less and not more noise than linear PS.

No, RW’s feelings are not hurt. He has explained exactly why he thinks we are wrong to favour the LPS to power the Dave and he probably shakes his head in quizzical dismay every time he reads our posts saying we favour a Sean Jacobs or Farad power supply with the Dave. I would like to think he is somewhat tolerant of what we say though because we all agree that the Dave is the best DAC that one can buy, whether in standard or modded form.

@zen87192 Please let me know when you order your Farad set up for the Dave and we can get together to compare our Daves.

I point you to this thread for actual testing data. https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/31119-power-supply-8-group-test-lps-and-smps/

To be fair, I do not think that one can extrapolate any of that with $100 or cheaper LPSs to the ones we are using with our Daves. A good LPS is not cheap to build. That is a known disadvantage. I hope I am not being too condescending there.

 

[x RELIC x]

Is it OK to drive Headphones from the Balanced out of the DAVE? I ask to see if there is any benefit being increased Bass perhaps?

Do not drive headphones from the DAVE’s xlr out, there is not enough current.

Categorically do not do this. The balanced drive has insufficient current drive and is intended to drive power amps only.

Dave can drive the HE1000 with ease - they are rated at 90 dB 1mW 33 ohms. Dave will give 1.4W into 33 ohms that translates to ear damaging 121 dB SPL with the HE1000.

Moreover distortion is virtually identical with a 33 ohm load - that is hundreds or thousands of times smaller than the best headphone amps. Unless you like the sound of distortion, and prefer reduced transparency, and no depth, don't use an external amp.

Rob

I am not listening....

Actually, production Dave now has short circuit protection resistors installed on the balanced XLR, so it absolutely won't drive headphones! It didn't have the current drive either for headphones too.

As to cross-feed - I prefer 3, its closer to loudspeaker perspective.

Rob

Both Hugo 2 and Dave can deliver 0.5A RMS as limiting current - but Hugo 2 can be voltage as well as current limited depending on load. So Dave will deliver 2.1W into 8 ohms, but Hugo 2 is 1.05W into 8 ohms.

The 50 mA current limit only applies to the balanced output, which is for balanced inputs on power amps, not for driving loads.

TT2 and Dave are different. On TT2 the XLR OP's are wired directly to high output current OP stages, XLR pin 2 is the same as RCA phono, but Dave is via 33 ohm resistors. And with Dave the negative output is not high current, so it will not drive headphones. The intent with Dave was to drive amplifiers only with the XLRs.

 

[chesebert]

Indeed I did say that about the DC4 and the Dave. . . . . and then the even better ARC6 version came along and that moved the goal posts some way beyond a DC4.

It would be really good to have an ARC6 Dave and a Farad Dave side by side in the same system and hear both. I think it would need both versions of a converted Dave to be available for proper comparison rather than rely on audio memory. When I have compared the stock Dave to the DC4 or ARC6 Dave I have had both side by side for easy and proper comparison.

I really hope to be involved in a Farad and Sean Jacobs Dave comparison one day. Perhaps the easiest way for it to happen would be if a Farad Dave owner in the UK and I can get together and do that. I am a great fan of the Farad Super3 for the Qutest and indeed that is what I used with my own Qutest. The only power supply I found that could surpass it in my system with the Qutest was when I tried a DC4 and that to my ears was a rather shocking step up . . . . but then so is the difference in price which is not to be lightly dismissed! However I tried the swop one day with an audio buddy and his face was priceless.



No, RW’s feelings are not hurt. He has explained exactly why he thinks we are wrong to favour the LPS to power the Dave and he probably shakes his head in quizzical dismay every time he reads our posts saying we favour a Sean Jacobs or Farad power supply with the Dave. I would like to think he is somewhat tolerant of what we say though because we all agree that the Dave is the best DAC that one can buy, whether in standard or modded form.

@zen87192 Please let me know when you order your Farad set up for the Dave and we can get together to compare our Daves.


To be fair, I do not think that one can extrapolate any of that with $100 or cheaper LPSs to the ones we are using with our Daves. A good LPS is not cheap to build. That is a known disadvantage. I hope I am not being too condescending there.

How much are you spending on your linear PS?

 

[MvRBE10]

How much are you spending on your linear PS?

Seeing it as all expensis in a life time aand the joy we get from it. Near to nothing in the big picture

Looking at all of us having a dave and stuff attached to it makes us all sort of having it for the fun of it and because we can. Its just if we want to spend it, not if we can or cannot. At least if i judge most of us correctly we are in that playfield