Long post, so bear with me. I’ve had the Topping DSE90 for a week now and compared it to the DAVE. Here are my subjective impressions. I think they'll be helpful for someone following this thread and wondering “how could all the glowing Chord reviews” be wrong.
Aside on blind testing since it's so often mentioned here. Blind would be ideal but I don’t think standardized blind testing will ever be the norm in audio except by the manufacturers. It’s too impractical for a consumer. (How can you really blind test headphones anyway, all of which feel different on your head? You can only really make a mock Utopia if you’re Focal). And I can’t imagine how you would do double blind testing on audio components. I don’t think subjective tests are pointless, though. The point of blind testing is to isolate causal factors to get rid of confounders (bias being the chief one here), but there are many areas in science where you cannot blind test. You get around this by increasing your data set. You measure the tested variable under many different circumstances and then use linear regression to determine whether the “causal” influence or weight to the tested variable. The idea being that with a large enough data set, the statistical noise added by possible confounders washes out.
Ok, I didn’t do quite that, just an amateur imitation of it. I tested the Topping vs. DAVE on multiple systems using 3 headphones and 2 loudspeakers. I also got my teenage age son to help me, which was partially a blind test because he doesn’t know the value difference of the DACs. I also tried tube amps and solid states. I tried on multiple days to minimize the “new toy” factor. I even tried in different rooms because my loudspeakers are in different locations. I used balanced XLR interconnects as well as unbalanced interconnects, although one of my amps only takes RCA interconnects. I tried CDs as well as Qobuz Flacs and Tidal MQA on Roon.
I was expecting a wash, but to my surprise the Topping D90SE was superior to the DAVE in every scenario. And the more expensive the speaker, the more the difference was noticeable for both me and my son. I have no idea about quality control or build quality of the Topping, I’ve only had it a week. But sonically, no contest for me.
I was shocked. I’m not even upset about the money factor, because my sound system, which I thought already sounded great, sounds even better. I was even thinking about letting anyone who is in NYC come check it out, but perhaps a better direction is: if you can afford the DAVE, the Topping is a less than 1/10 of the cost. So buy it, and compare honestly and see what you think. Take the DAVE out for a couple of days and see if you miss them. Meanwhile, I sent the DAVE in for measurements and let's see what they say.
I list the components below. As you can see, I have more tube amps right now than solid state so maybe that was a factor.
Rather than say all the usual things about sound quality, let me just say that I’m starting to think the point of a DAC is to simply to get out of the way as cleanly as possible. I feel like the Topping DE90 does that better than the DAVE. It allows my speakers and amp to do what they’re supposed to. If you like euphonic distortions, get a nice tube amp rather than go through the the DAC to get it.
And spend most of your budget on speakers, as opposed to 50% which is what most dealers will try to tell you.
I don’t want to bash Chord. The DAVE is a great sounding DAC. But it was released in 2015. I think it has been left in the dust with some of the newer products coming out now at a much cheaper price point.
Speakers used: BW 802D4 tower, BW 805D bookshelf, Hifiman Shangrila, Hifiman Susvara, Focal Utopia
Amps: Airtight ATM-300, Primaluna EVO 400, Danatone Headspace, Peachtree Nova 500
