[ZappaMan]

I often wonder whether some audio reviewers partake of a smoke to help them - feel the energy…. Get the creative juices flowing…

 

[ZappaMan]

6:22 PM CT. We have July 4th weekend off. No work Friday or Monday for me. I also took a few more days off as well. Time to relax.

#vacationmode

Perfect time to rearrange everything so the cables aren’t touching etc. the audiophile life is demanding of time but rewarding in escapism.

 

[thunder 99]

That may be answered soon when the Choral MScaler (2) is introduced. My prediction is that many ex-DAVE owners may return once this is released with it possibly gaining glowing reviews.

Whats the choral M Scaler?

 

[Triode User]

Whats the choral M Scaler?

All we know is it will be a new version of the Mscaler to join the Dave in the Choral range. It is therefore expected to be a similar footprint and price range to the Dave. It will not replace the Hugo range of Mscaler which will remain. The last mention of a release date was later this year.

If it has the same SQ difference compared to the Hugo Mscaler as the Dave does compared to the Hugo TT2 then it will be very special.

 

[Triode User]

I know nick bacon has alot of research in his system and invested a serious amount of money in it and it works also for him but there are also a few with the same experience as me.

Yeah, I have been using a Sean Jacobs LPS to power my Dave for more than two years, first with a Sean Jacobs DC3, then a DC4 and now with the upgraded ARC6 version. Initially I also had a feeling that the Dave sounded so good with the DC3 power supply upgrade that I wondered if I really needed the Mscaler. Indeed I often found myself just listening to solo Dave but now I can 100% say that with my 2 1/2 years of listening to my Sean Jacobs powered Dave it still definitely sounds better with the Mscaler. I used to power my Mscaler with a Farad Super3 but when I first started to use the DC3 with the Dave I changed the Mscaler power to DC3 as well because to my ears that sounded better than the Farad, less fatiguing etc.

As is usual I do not think that one can generalise about things. Not all LPS powering the Dave are the same. I used to have a Farad Super3 with my Qutest but I changed that to a DC4 and it was as if a whole new DAC had been put in my system. The difference was stunning. So when you hear the Farad powered Dave as sound better than when you had the Farad powered Mscaler in your system I do not doubt you but equally that does not ring true for my DC4 / ARC6 powered Dave and Mscaler which simply gets better and better for having the Mscaler in the system. I have not yet heard a Farad powered Dave but if my Qutest experience is anything to go by then there is a huge difference between a DC4 and a Farad Super3 and bear in mind that the DC4 has since been upgraded with the ARC6.

So I share your enthusiasm for a LPS powered Dave but based on my experience I suspect you are just at the beginning of the journey rather than end game and that there is more to come with the SQ that you can get from your Dave with an LPS. Keep enjoying the music!!

 

[Reactcore]

Mattijs explained it to me when you try to remove as much feedback in your analogue system in the music chain as possible everything will open up and become musical. As every form of feedback will kind of clogh the signal and degrade it but make it measure better. Its the ultimate fight designers of amps and all that stuff have. You can make it measure like killer but all that compensating and feedback in systems kills the music.

Feedback is normally applied to set and keep a OP stage steady at a certain amplification level but feedback can also give oscillation noise.. what we dont want is this to get signal correlated (noise modulation)

With a feedback lacking design its a challenge to keep the amplification level itself not to correlate with the signal.

In the end its best to have the least stages as possible.. a non excisting circuit cant degrade anything.

 

[Reactcore]

I often found myself just listening to solo Dave but now I can 100% say that with my 2 1/2 years of listening to my Sean Jacobs powered Dave it still definitely sounds better with the Mscaler.

I took my scaler out for a while.. but really miss its effect on the ambiance, texture of notes and being able to follow and understand songtexts..

With headphones its just too appearent..
no its absolutely going back in.

 

[muski]

Has it been used with VIBRAPOD CONE?

Yes, I use the cone as well...

 

[burbster]

I know but its really system depended, it worked very well for me for a full year but i really think its depending on your synergy with the components in the system. And what you are seeking yourself also. It surely upped my system in my old setup. I know nick bacon has alot of research in his system and invested a serious amount of money in it and it works also for him but there are also a few with the same experience as me. So we are not all the same and seeking other things i guess in our guest for audio nirvana. A different path and aproach does not lead to the same components using. But it does not mean the old or the new is good or not good just different. And maybe a year from now i changed it all again…. Its fun

Just to add my experience, I was an early adopter of the MScaler, paying my deposit prior to release date (after home demoing the BluMk2). I have owned it for around 4 years and used it with several digital sources I owned over that period of time, Auralic, Melco, Innuos and Antipodes to name a few. Without exception, the MScaler improved the sound quality significantly. However, over the last few weeks, after some comments on this forum, I have been placing the MScaler in and out of the chain and listening intently. I currently have the DC4 PSU in my Dave and have recently moved to a CDT as my sole source (Aqua La Diva Mk2) Initially, due to the config of my rack, in order to feed the CDT directly from my Dave I had to use an inferior Co-Axial cable, and whilst I noticed some surprising differences, I still marginally preferred the sound with MScaler in the chain. But after re-jigging things, to make it a fair comparison I used my normal Co-axial cable (the one that I had used from CDT to MScaler), to go between the CDT and Dave, that's when things changed. I wont go into detail, but I am now totally convinced that my setup sounds better without the MScaler. Like I said this is the first time this has ever happened in my setup. My primitive theory, is the Aqua CDT gives out far less noise and has a better internal clock than MScaler. I know perceived wisdom is that DAVE is immune to jitter, but is it totally immune or just less affected by Jitter than other DACS, but still nonetheless affected??? Hans B, had a similar experience with Grim MU1, he could not explain it either.
(I used a Farad3 supply and the cheaper Stream cables with the HMS)

 

[SteveHulk]

And would you believe it.

A tax invoice from FedEx for valves that were delivered at the beginning of APRIL has just landed on my doorstep! At the beginning of JULY!

The FedEx UPS TNT nightmare continues...

Honestly, trade with the EU is just going to become impossible at this rate.

Brexit.

 

[SteveHulk]

I have just picked up the DAVE and I received this via email...

"Here's a brief description of the repair:
Faulty cap C248 / replaced
Replace PSU as precaution
Firmware updated /Display replaced / All tested"

All at zero cost.

Wow. Just wow.

 

[alxw0w]

I have just picked up the DAVE and I received this via email...

"Here's a brief description of the repair:
Faulty cap C248 / replaced
Replace PSU as precaution
Firmware updated /Display replaced / All tested"

All at zero cost.

Wow. Just wow.

Kudos to Chord for such customer service. I'm wondering what was updated in the firmware.
@Rob Watts anything we should know about?

 

[chesebert]

I have just picked up the DAVE and I received this via email...

"Here's a brief description of the repair:
Faulty cap C248 / replaced
Replace PSU as precaution
Firmware updated /Display replaced / All tested"

All at zero cost.

Wow. Just wow.

Time to rip out that POS replacement PSU

 

[zen87192]

And would you believe it.

A tax invoice from FedEx for valves that were delivered at the beginning of APRIL has just landed on my doorstep! At the beginning of JULY!

The FedEx UPS TNT nightmare continues...

Honestly, trade with the EU is just going to become impossible at this rate.

Brexit.

I'm still waiting for FedEx to find, pick then deliver my Farad Package! Bloody nightmare. 10 Days since landed and still not found and delivered. They confirm all taxes paid so delay is unknown to them.

 

[zen87192]

I have just picked up the DAVE and I received this via email...

"Here's a brief description of the repair:
Faulty cap C248 / replaced
Replace PSU as precaution
Firmware updated /Display replaced / All tested"

All at zero cost.

Wow. Just wow.

Fantastic news! Very interested with the Firmware Update info if ever made public. Also, was the power supply replaced with exactly the same as the original? Just interested. Looking forward to your further review of the Farad Power install. Have a great weekend!