Playing directly into the Genelec’s, both the PS Audio and the Chord show off why they are considered two of the best DAC/pre-amplifiers choices below US$15K. German publication Stereo rates them both at ‘98%’ in their latest Hifi Jahrbuch (Yearbook) but in also acknowledging the price disparity between the two units, they award the DirectStream five stars but DAVE only three. Such absolutism doesn’t help us much when it is the qualitative nature of their sound that separates ’em.
The DAVE’s sense of hyperrealism doesn’t feel as unnatural as that H word might suggest. On Burial’s Untrue, we note a window-wiper clean view of this landmark album’s darker corners – DAVE goes further than the
Redclouded DirectStream in this respect – as well as more cleanly defining player outlines without the comparatively harder etch of the Mytek. DAVE’s tonal colour-burst is superior to both rivals but the DirectStream still gets the nod on tonal mass – it’s chunkier, chewier, meatier.
The Chord unit gives us a more intimate take on The War On Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding, especially noticeable when paired with a loudspeaker, like the Genelec, that favours closer positioning to one’s listening position lest they sound a little stand-off-ish. Another reason why I opted for the 8341 over the bigger 8351 is the stronger possibility for later repurposing as desktop speakers where close range performance is even more crucial.
Where the DAVE really pulls ahead of the DirectStream is in packing the uber-dense layering of more complex recordings like Four Tet’s Everything Ecstatic. Under Chord control, densely packed productions come on with less confusion – music seems to make more sense.
The not insignificant ~US$4000 financial leap from DirectStream to DAVE holds tight to the Coloradan’s big, dynamic sound but goes deeper with aural satisfaction. In the restaurant world, an American-sized portion that pays strict attention to nutritional value.