[ChisChas]

Perhaps you should think of the Blu2 as a MScaler + free CD transport.

Ha ha, you must know the hi-fi dealer where I auditioned the Dave on Friday, his personal view is that the Dave is a brilliant DAC with a free headphone amp thrown in.

 

[ChisChas]

Is this the french review that you are referring to?

Yes, pity the review is so brief and he doesn't specify what music he uses. The HiFi+ review is longer and very complimentary. Alan Sircom of HiFi+ seems to be saying the Pathos InPol Class A amp is powerful enough to drive (even) the Susvaras. Why Alan Sircom of HiFi+ uses two very ordinary headphones is a mystery, I guess the answer might be that's all he could get his hands on?

I'm auditioning the Pathos InPol headphone amplifier next week. Perhaps a Chord Dave with a Pathos Inpol (without the optional Sabre 9018 DAC) would look after all one's needs? My dealer who doesn't handle Pathos was saying that the Dave was a brilliant DAC but it would sound even better with the Metaxas headphone amp (which doesn't have a DAC).

 

[ChisChas]

So it seems the rating of sound (quality) is highly dependent on the personal sonic ideals. And not to be underestimated: The high volume-control settings necessary may look allarming to some users.

It's a shame that we clearly exist in different time zones as I can't participate in a live conversation, hey ho...........

I'm playing catch-up with the headphone side of things but in a main hi-fi system, it is advisable to provide your system with plenty of reserve power (watts & current) so the amps can cope with transients when they come along. Are things different in the digital amplifier world? If you run a digital audio player or a headphone amp at near maximum routinely, how does it cope with transients?

 

[ChisChas]

The digital amp is supposed to take care of that.

Can you expand on your view? The 'supposed' was deliciously ambiguous................

And thanks again for the tip re highlighting sentences only, finally got there

 

[x RELIC x]

Ha ha, you must know the hi-fi dealer where I auditioned the Dave on Friday, his personal view is that the Dave is a brilliant DAC with a free headphone amp thrown in.

Lol, your dealer should read some of Rob’s posts here as it’s much more than your typical ‘amp’ implementation.

 

[ChisChas]

.I know Rob Watts hates an external amp with the Dave but in some cases it may be warranted...in the case of the Susvara if my limited listening at canjam was an accurate indication then yes they would definitely require the external amp

'All' Rob Watts needs to do is give us a Chord Dave 2 with more grunt but I believe it's not a simple business, the Dave is an complete design and adding more power to its output section can't (presumably) be done without a general update of the entire Dave? At £8,500 it's an expensive DAC if the particular user feels it lacks adequate power for their particular headphone.

 

[ChisChas]

Lol, your dealer should read some of Rob’s posts here as it’s much more than your typical ‘amp’ implementation.

My dealer is VERY au fait with the Chord Dave. I don't wish to name the dealers as I have stated that the question of the power is one individual's professional view (I don't accept this view with the Utopias btw). Most dealers would prefer to sell their customer two expensive bits of kit, rather than just one. I am delighted that some of those who own or have had experience with the Dave have come forward with their own different views, this is why Head-Fi is so useful

I bought my Utopias from said dealer after my audition using the loaner Utopias with the Dave so I have made a commitment to an easier to drive headphone. If people are listening to the Utopias before they have a minimum of 200 hours on them , they are not listening to the real Utopia but the unrun-in version I heard at The Indulgence Hi-Fi Show last September. The loaners were also completely unrun-in and if I hadn't known better I would have put them back in their box and not bothered further.

I have now educated the UK Distributors accordingly and they are now ensuring that any of the Focal headphones they send out for review are properly run-in. I wonder why the 'leading edge' Focal headphone dealers didn't do this, it is in their interest for the Utopia to present itself in the best possible way at Shows (where the UK Distributors take a stand and customers like me can audition their products). That is how I first heard the Utopias.

As I've stated in a post, I will be returning to the Dave once my own Utopias are run-in. Sadly the loaners weren't on permanent loan, I hope to have them for the Pathos InPol Class A headphone amp audition next week but then I have to return them.

 

[ChisChas]

raydude

Just read the Mojo/H2/Dave comparison review, a fantastic effort and very useful. Apart from the fact I've blown my annual music budget in 3 months and you've got a lot of interesting music recommendations within your review. I already have the Magnificat album in high res from 2L which is lovely.

But one thing is apparent, all your music choices are from top notch sources (including the Daft Punk album) and my music is virtually all WAV 16/44.1 (with a few 24/96), partly due to cost, partly to lack of supply with the genres of music I typically listen to. Some CD's have been recorded well, others not so and the better the DAC & headphones the more apparent the failings are.

I have mentioned listening to David Gilmour's 'Live at Pompeii' CD at the recent Dave audition (some of his guitar work too piercing). I've been listening to Sia's 'Some People Have Real Problems' via my Questyle QP2R this morning which was great (and even better with my Hugo 2) but her 'We Are Born' album is not an enjoyable listen using either and would be even less enjoyable with the Dave (even using the single on/off filter option).

 

[miketlse]

Can you expand on your view? The 'supposed' was deliciously ambiguous................

And thanks again for the tip re highlighting sentences only, finally got there

Hopefully the digital amp will be announced at CES in two days - if so, then we will all know a lot more about it's capability.

 

[Currawong]

Can you expand on your view?

I've lost the post where it was described, but I gather that the digital amp will take the digital output of the DAVE, pre-conversion to analog, and instead convert it through a beefier amplification stage. Right now the Chord DACs convert the output of the FPGA via a series of transistors, which is then fed to either an opamp or discrete amplification stage (depending on product). I'm guessing that the digital amp would have a similar series of transistors that feeds a speaker amplification stage of their design. This would also potentially be great with headphones too.

 

[Whazzzup]

But one thing is apparent, all your music choices are from top notch sources (including the Daft Punk album) and my music is virtually all WAV 16/44.1 (with a few 24/96), partly due to cost, partly to lack of supply with the genres of music I typically listen to. Some CD's have been recorded well, others not so and the better the DAC & headphones the more apparent the failings are.

There are server options that play 16/44 brilliantly and in the end I’m not sure if I’m hearing better sq on flac files to monster dsd files or if it’s just a better master recording to begin with. The majority of my collection is as such and the source has never sounded better to me. There are lots of PP but the category is worth it.

 

[Triode User]

'All' Rob Watts needs to do is give us a Chord Dave 2 with more grunt but I believe it's not a simple business, the Dave is an complete design and adding more power to its output section can't (presumably) be done without a general update of the entire Dave? At £8,500 it's an expensive DAC if the particular user feels it lacks adequate power for their particular headphone.

Don't forget that there are many other DACs which cost far more than the Dave and have no ability to drive headphones at all. In my opinion these other DACs are also inferior to Dave in the DAC dept.

 

[ChisChas]

And here is the HiFi+ review of the Pathos InPol Class A headphone amplifier that can come with a Sabre 9018 DAC if you wish but the Dave and the Pathos InPol (without the optional DAC) could be a very effective pairing? The DAC is £575 and the price is then £4,024 or £3,449 without DAC.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/pathos-inpol-ear-headphone-amplifier/

I guess Alan Sircom of Hi Fi+ didn't have access to better headphones?

The top of the Pathos has two exposed EH 6922 double-triode valves which looks darn sexy imho

 

[ChisChas]

There are lots of PP

Sorry but I have already admitted to being one of the dunces on this thread, I guess this just proves it, what is PP? Petulant Peters, Picky People?

 

[Whazzzup]

Price points...