CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[number1sixerfan]

Recently sold a Holo May KTE because I lacked space for it in my new location. Have been using my Hugo 2 as a DAC to my Armageddon, does a decent job but cant help but feel I am missing that special sauce of the May. The DAVE has always interested me due to its quirky design and reputation and I cant help but wonder how great the step up from a Hugo 2 would be for headphone-only use.

the difference is significant

I've had both the Hugo 2 and Dave for a long time--the Hugo 2 the longest before upgrading to the Dave. The Dave is indeed a significant step up in every aspect of the sound. Detail, speed, holographic spacing, bass, vocals, midrange, etc. The more important thing to determine is what type of tonal sound you're after. If ultimate transparency is your goal, the Dave will be a massive and welcome step up. But if instead you'd welcome a bit of a tonal change from the Hugo 2 and perhaps are missing the warmer sound in the May, then it could make sense to go for something else along similar lines or to just go for it directly again. Really just depends on what you're missing from the May.

The Hugo 2 really is a preview of what the Dave ultimately is like..

 

[iamoneagain]

I wasn’t a fan of the Hugo 2 when I used with the original Focal Utopia. It was too thin and analytical for my tastes. Even slightly preferred the original Hugo since it had a more organic sound but it lacked the technical aspects and soundstage was kind of small.

The Dave on its its own solved all my issues I had with the Hugo 2. Seemed slightly warmer while adding clarity, soundstage and depth. The mscaler further improved soundstage, layering, separation and life-like sound but felt at slight cost of warmth. I bought all this with inheritance money and thought I wasn’t making a rational choice spending so much, so ended up selling it after a year. Currently doing just fine with Naim HE into ZMF Aegis.

 

[GuiltyRocker]

Had the May, it was incredible, especially for the 1266TC, but after i bought the Immanis, the May was a really bad anti-synergy piece, and it took me some time to find that out. I originally wanted to go for a TT2+MScaler, but ended up with the Dave+MScaler instead, never missing the May afterwards, not even with the 1266TC.
Regarding the MScaler it comes down to if you have an upscaling method already or not, because any TOTL DAC does improve considerably when you're using higher res files (except maybe the typical NOS DAC's, which the May is one of, which is why i liked it with my normal 44.1kHz stuff).
I also did a big comparison post or two in this thread about them. Of course i never heard the Hugo 2 or TT2, but the Dave is incredible and was a step-up in terms of resolution, dynamics, bass and also separation (all in combination with the MScaler of course) to the May. What i lost compared to the May: Musicality and laid-back, forgiving sound, but since i own an Envy, i can easily get the musicality factor back with tubes.
I now think that the Dave (with the MScaler) is a serious step-up from the May. Especially when owning a tube amp i would recommend getting a more incisive / aggressive / forward sounding DAC.

Nice, I heard the May and it put me to sleep, I just don't like the laid back overly-liquidy sound. To me music should be fast and visceral, like Live music is. No judgment to those who like overly warm and laid back stuff, I'm just not one of them.

 

[ecwl]

Recently sold a Holo May KTE because I lacked space for it in my new location. Have been using my Hugo 2 as a DAC to my Armageddon, does a decent job but cant help but feel I am missing that special sauce of the May. The DAVE has always interested me due to its quirky design and reputation and I cant help but wonder how great the step up from a Hugo 2 would be for headphone-only use.

Are you feeding your Hugo 2 with the Bluesound node? Are you using the USB connection or the Toslink connection?

Try taking out the USB cable and use a Toslink cable between the Hugo 2 and Bluesound Node and see if you like the sound better. You can’t A/B this because as long as the USB cable is connected; the Bluesound node can still inject noise into the Hugo 2 that it may or may not be able to completely filter out. You may find the sound more satisfactory via Toslink.

 

[Digital Enigma]

Nice, I heard the May and it put me to sleep, I just don't like the laid back overly-liquidy sound. To me music should be fast and visceral, like Live music is. No judgment to those who like overly warm and laid back stuff, I'm just not one of them.

Do you only listen to live recordings then?

 

[chesebert]

PSA: Toslink is the worst way to connect high end digital gear: plastic plug, LED transmitter, consumer quality receiver, wavelength too long, light scattering issues, smeared/softer transients (works with Dave because Dave is too thin and too sharp, too aggressive, and too edgy), slower sounding and reduced dynamics.

 

[Digital Enigma]

 

[theveterans]

PSA: Toslink is the worst way to connect high end digital gear: plastic plug, LED transmitter, consumer quality receiver, wavelength too long, light scattering issues, smeared/softer transients (works with Dave because Dave is too thin and too sharp, too aggressive, and too edgy), slower sounding and reduced dynamics.

How would you rate the Emm Labs DAC2 (not the DAC2X V2) against the DAVE?

 

[chesebert]

How would you rate the Emm Labs DAC2 (not the DAC2X V2) against the DAVE?

DA2 or DAC2? I don’t have DA2, but I thought DA2 had just a tad too much transient energy when used with Emm Labs NS1. I think the dealer should demo DA2 using the matching SACD transport and not the streamer. In any case, the latest i upgrade supposedly solved the transient issue, and the sound profile is back to vinyl-like analog quality with greater dynamics and bass response. They also fixed the streamer issue by integrating the whole thing within the DAC. I have transition back to listening to CD/SACDs most of the time, so will unlikely continue to upgrade the DAC.

Dave and DA2 are not in the same class in terms of sound quality. Dave simply lacks the kind of sound density, drive, dynamics and bass response that almost all high end dacs have. Dave sounds digital and most high end dacs do not.

 

[theveterans]

DA2 or DAC2? I don’t have DA2, but I thought DA2 had just a tad too much transient energy when used with Emm Labs NS1. I think the dealer should demo DA2 using the matching SACD transport and not the streamer. In any case, the latest i upgrade supposedly solved the transient issue, and the sound profile is back to vinyl-like analog quality with greater dynamics and bass response. They also fixed the streamer issue by integrating the whole thing within the DAC. I have transition back to listening to CD/SACDs most of the time, so will unlikely continue to upgrade the DAC.

Thanks for the DA2 impressions! I was referring to the vintage DAC2 (not the DA2) since you have it on your sig

 

[chesebert]

Thanks for the DA2 impressions! I was referring to the vintage DAC2 (not the DA2) since you have it on your sig

DAC2 is hella old at this point Background is not as black, soundstage is not as big, precise or impressive, resolution is not as high, sound density is slightly better, slightly weightier note, bass is slightly better, more laid back and analog sounding. DAC2 used to be TOTL but is a good midfi dac now. I still really like DAC2 as it makes almost anything sound good and is very musical.

Edit: I intentionally chose not to upgrade my DAC2 to DAC2x v2 because of its relaxed and laid-back sound profile. The upgrade is relatively inexpensive and can be done anytime I desire, even now.

 

[theveterans]

DAC2 is hella old at this point Background is not as black, soundstage is not as big, precise or impressive, resolution is not as high, sound density is slightly better, slightly weightier note, bass is slightly better, more laid back and analog sounding. DAC2 used to be TOTL but is a good midfi dac now. I still really like DAC2 as it makes almost anything sound good and is very musical.

Thanks!

I'll have to hear the DAC2 for myself at some point. I'll feed it with modern tweaks like AES through BADA USB reference DDC (I'm in the process of upgrading my series 2 to the reference) and networking tweaks like fiber + eno2 and Diretta protocol too and see how much it scales to today's stuff

 

[chesebert]

I'll have to hear the DAC2 for myself at some point. I'll feed it with modern tweaks like AES through BADA USB reference DDC (I'm in the process of upgrading my series 2 to the reference) and networking tweaks like fiber + eno2 and Diretta protocol too and see how much it scales to today's stuff

Sure. Transport/front end is 40% of the sound in a digital system. Hard to find a DAC2 as most people would pony up the amount to upgrade to DAC2x v2.

 

[theveterans]

Sure. Transport/front end is 40% of the sound in a digital system. Hard to find a DAC2 as most people would pony up the amount to upgrade to DAC2x v2.

My friend is kindly loaning me his DAC2 while I upgrade my Yggy MIB to Byggy later this year that's why

 

[chesebert]

My friend is kindly loaning me his DAC2 while I upgrade my Yggy MIB to Byggy later this year that's why

You should buy it from your friend for cheap (it’s old) and send it to Emm Labs to get it upgraded and basically get a new dac back .

I would try both BADA USB and directly via USB with some USB decrapfier in-between (you are however limited to 44/48 because dac2 is old ). I had a streamer with USB output and I tried that with DAC2 thought DAC2 sounded pretty good (not digital) with CD quality content.