[buzzlulu]

PS - been doing the two channel game myself for quite a while

There is definitely a Chord cult on Headfi
Not saying they dont make end game products however there are others out there as good and better

 

[MacedonianHero]

Macedonia hero
I guess we will agree that we disagree

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/linn-klimax-ds-network-music-player/

https://www.whathifi.com/linn/klimax-ds-3/review

I guess we will.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/chord-electronics-dave-da-processor

Measurements (I haven't seen any better for a DAC):
https://www.stereophile.com/content/chord-electronics-dave-da-processor-measurements

 

[Lathlaer]

If I learned anything during my brief period of consuming everything headphone-related it's that regardless of how much you spend on your setup there will always be at least ten people waiting in line to say that they think that something else is better

The best you can hope for is for your setup to be considered "one of the best".

 

[MacedonianHero]

PS - been doing the two channel game myself for quite a while

There is definitely a Chord cult on Headfi
Not saying they dont make end game products however there are others out there as good and better

I simply followed my ears and based on what I've heard, the DAVE was the very best. The unique headphone output without going through a separate amplifier really is the most transparent I've heard pretty much any headphone sound. In a 2 CH setup, it absolutely floored me and when we subbed in a $30K+ MSB DAC, we were all floored on just how much better the Chord DAC was. With regards to as good or better, measurement-wise, there is no better...at least none that I've seen.

 

[MacedonianHero]

If I learned anything during my brief period of consuming everything headphone-related it's that regardless of how much you spend on your setup there will always be at least ten people waiting in line to say that they think that something else is better

The best you can hope for is for your setup to be considered "one of the best".

There will never be consensus (there NEVER will be) and I never made an assertion that there was, but that said, my original comment was:

"Absolutely the best I've heard the Utopia sound (and I've heard these headphones through many top flight setups)."

And yes, to date, it still is the best I've heard. If I find something better, then that will change (as might my setup).

 

[emrelights1973]

Dave/mscaler duo is not bad, what about people using Naim streamers with just Hugo as a dac from Naim forum

 

[buzzlulu]

And for so

Dave/mscaler duo is not bad, what about people using Naim streamers with just Hugo as a dac from Naim forum

And for some reason almost all prefer Hugo1 over Hugo2

I know someone who had an old Chord Q(?) model (pre DAVE) who preferred it to the DAVE
And this guy has been at it for many decades and runs a mega Naim system - Active

 

[MacedonianHero]

And for so


And for some reason almost all prefer Hugo1 over Hugo2

I know someone who had an old Chord Q(?) model (pre DAVE) who preferred it to the DAVE
And this guy has been at it for many decades and runs a mega Naim system - Active

Yeah, that's simply not accurate.I would ask for citations? I certainly would take the Hugo2 over the Hugo any day of the week (as most people I know would agree with).

 

[buzzlulu]

You can visit the Naim forum and peruse if you desire
There are several who feel that way
Something about the original being "magic"

Before the Hugo 1 came out many on the Naim forum were singing the praises of the Lavry (and Weiss)
But that was many moons ago

 

[MacedonianHero]

You can visit the Naim forum and peruse if you desire
There are several who feel that way
Something about the original being "magic"

Before the Hugo 1 came out many on the Naim forum were singing the praises of the Lavry (and Weiss)
But that was many moons ago

I found the Hugo 2 was a rather impressive improvement over the original. Not only was the tap count greatly increased, but the sonic improvements were apparent almost immediately. Please have a look at the Hugo/Hugo2 threads here and you'll see the vast majority agree that 2>1. The Hugo2 bested many desktop DACs I've reviewed / owned too that were several times larger (and pricier). That wasn't the case with the original.

 

[emrelights1973]

They connect Hugo to 20k£ ND 555 streamer.....

 

[Zhanming057]

I simply followed my ears and based on what I've heard, the DAVE was the very best. The unique headphone output without going through a separate amplifier really is the most transparent I've heard pretty much any headphone sound. In a 2 CH setup, it absolutely floored me and when we subbed in a $30K+ MSB DAC, we were all floored on just how much better the Chord DAC was. With regards to as good or better, measurement-wise, there is no better...at least none that I've seen.

Huh. When we did this with a Dave+Mscalar, a Nagra Classic DAC (the same one that I now own), a Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference 2 and a DCS Rossini, pretty much all of us ranked the Dave the last out of the four. I wasn't that impressed with the DCS Vivaldi, though, and felt that it was overpriced and underperformed without the Clock and Upsampler. I came into the test with no prior feelings on the four DACs, and I felt that the Dave was the thinnest and least engaging of the four, and while the Mscalar helped, it wasn't enough to beat out the other DACs.

Chord does have its own signature which some might prefer, and we're all splitting hairs with $10k DAC's of course. I like the Hugo 2 enough and found the TT 2 impressive for its price, though.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Huh. When we did this with a Dave+Mscalar, a Nagra Classic DAC (the same one that I now own), a Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference 2 and a DCS Rossini, pretty much all of us ranked the Dave the last out of the four. I wasn't that impressed with the DCS Vivaldi, though, and felt that it was overpriced and underperformed without the Clock and Upsampler. I came into the test with no prior feelings on the four DACs, and I felt that the Dave was the thinnest and least engaging of the four, and while the Mscalar helped, it wasn't enough to beat out the other DACs.

Chord does have its own signature which some might prefer, and we're all splitting hairs with $10k DAC's of course. I like the Hugo 2 enough and found the TT 2 impressive for its price, though.

Again, my comments were specific to the actual measurements and to the integrity of the digital to analog conversion and the corresponding distortion and performance. That point isn't up for argument unless you can show me data that says otherwise. With regards to personal preference, that's up for the individual (as per your comments). My comments were with regards to MY personal experiences (as they were clearly stated).

 

[RHMMMM]

Again, my comments were specific to the actual measurements and to the integrity of the digital to analog conversion. That point isn't up for argument unless you can show me data that says otherwise. With regards to personal preference, that's up for the individual (as per your comments). My comments were with regards to MY personal experiences (as they were clearly stated).

The MSB Reference DAC just won The Absolute Sound Product of the Year per the Jan 2019 issue. As you know, system matching is pretty important.

Just curious, which MSB DAC was it that you heard and what was the rest of the associated equipment in play?

 

[buzzlulu]

Zahnming
Good post

Funny thing for me. I went to CanJam with the intent of demoing the new Nimbus amplifier (Violectric). The Mr Speakers booth had it connected to a TT2. I used my Utopia's with Kimber Axios CU cable. I was not impressed.

The same suite was shared with the Headamp guys - they always have a knack of putting together nice systems. I wanted to hear the new GSX Mini. They had it paired with the new Mytek Brooklyn+. Imho a much more engaging system. Excellent.
I need to revisit the TT2 as something was maybe wrong (?) I was expecting much more.

I owned a Mojo and thought that was amazing vfm
Hugo1 was ok

I was at the Meze booth and heard the Empyrean run straight from a DAVE. That was nice.