Chord DAVE Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[chesebert]

Good luck with that to the people who buy used.

Didn’t I already say the unit was out of warranty? Second hand/out of warranty products mean the manufacturer has no legal obligation to repair the product.

 

[sarumbear]

Is that a rhetorical question? Do you know?

The capacitor should obviously have been selected to have a very long life in its intended usage.

Of course I know. Why whould I ask that question otherwise?

Electrolytic capacitors have a finite and defined life. You can shorten that time by stressing them more than the way that time was specified. Temperature is the main reason.

A quality capacitor with a radius of 10mm will be specified at 7000hrs. DAVE was introduced in May 2015. If this unit belongs to the first manufactured batch and it is run for 4hrs a day the capacitor has been polarised for 10,000hrs. If the temperature of the unit is hot to touch as @amirm reported then the capacitor most likely had reached EOL somewhere back in 2019.

At 30% over use the capacitor effectiveness is expected to be reduced around 50% now. It is general practice to over-specify electrolytic capacitors by 2-3x. Hence, given the use case the capacitor should still be doing its job but in need of replacement.

 

[calugg]

Thank you for this review. I'm "so OVER" the class war in high fidelity products, especially when the uber priced stuff is clearly not worth their costs. I could NEVER afford this, although I'm a former professional musician (retired). This gear is clear aimed at folks who are sensitive to "status politics" instead of sharing music. Meh. I will happily move on.

 

[Trell]

Of course I know. Why whould I ask that question otherwise? [snip]

It came across as snark.

 

[the_brunx]

Didn’t I already say the unit was out of warranty? Second hand/out of warranty products mean the manufacturer has no legal obligation to repair the product.

Second hand out of warranty, and First hand out of warranty is sometimes handled differently, (especially without a receipt). Sometimes a company repairs for free (a few cents in parts) to keep the customers loyalty but if they see no future benefit in you they might reject and drain you in the moment because that's the only time they perceive benefiting from you.
but thinking about it, I Think in this case they will always repair for free, because if you're willing to shell out so much on a DAC without scepticism, then they got some more products on the pipeline for exactly such a simple person. its the smartest way for them.

 

[sarumbear]

It came across as snark.

Read the sentence as is. If I need to make a snarky comment I will make sure the reader will not fail to understand it as a snark.

 

[Trell]

... Second hand/out of warranty products mean the manufacturer has no legal obligation to repair the product.

Refusal due to second hand will not go so well in EU, depending on the country.

 

[Katji]

I wouldn’t know for sure unless I heard it. I always leave some wiggle room as audio is very subjective and personal. I was hoping you know what “digital” sounding means but I was wrong you have obvious never heard non “digital” sound reproduction in your life - go borrow a Linn turntable or some tape and get some listening experience

Well, subjective and personal...I started with it before 1970. So I'm not sure...if I don't hear "digital sound", maybe it's because my hearing has deteriorated over the years.
My bullshit detector definitely hasn't though.

 

[groovybassist]

I think I’ll keep my Matrix Audio Element X.

 

[Ra1zel]

I would expect the Chord DAVE SINAD to be at least 120 + 10*log($14,000 / $650) = 133.3 dB.

I'm not sure if Johnson noise allows this kind of performance in room temperature. Someone with more clue than me please correct me.

 

[poxymoron]

At US $14,000 how can this get 12 votes for great? Overpriced in the extreme. Still, clowns with too much money will love this thing.

 

[Trell]

Read the sentence as is. If I need to make a snarky comment I will make sure the reader will not fail to understand it as a snark.

But the point is still that the wrong capacitors was chosen along with a deficient heat management engineering. Do that competently and you have a device that can last for a very long time, barring bad batches of capacitors. For a $14 000 product that is a DAC that should be a given, don't you think?

 

[DonR]

- go borrow a Linn turntable or some tape and get some listening experience

Snap, crackle, pop, wow, flutter and hiss? So glad those days are over.

 

[Ra1zel]

Who the heck voted this as Great? Golfing Panther. Maybe a typo? Gotta be a typo

Measures about perfectly transparent, if we disregard the looks and absurd price there really isn't anything to criticise in real world use.

 

[DonR]

Measures about perfectly transparent, if we disregard the looks and absurd price there really isn't anything to criticise in real world use.

I agree. Technically it is "fine" and in 2015 may have even been "Outstanding" although DACs have been more or less transparent for decades so I am not sure how helpful that is. Looks are subjective but the overall appearance is definitely unique and is "Not Terrible" IMO. The screen fonts are terrible from a usability perspective and should never have been used this side of the turn of the century and is "Poor" IMO. Value for money is outrageous and rates a "Poor".

 

[YSC]

Measures about perfectly transparent, if we disregard the looks and absurd price there really isn't anything to criticise in real world use.

yea sure, the SINAD is even ~10 db better than my R2R Holoaudio Spring 2, and I run that in NOS...

but hey, working and performing perfectly fine is one thing, it's price is another, and although beyond what actually matters, the competition in the same ballpark did outperform this most of the time is what makes my reserve

 

[Katji]

Snap, crackle, pop, wow, flutter and hiss? So glad those days are over.

Not really, not for me. I get the snap/crackle/pop much more than I did 50 years ago. Almost all my records were new and clean and so on. Now, a lot of the music I listen to has samples from old R&B records in it, sometimes it's a bit irritating, but it usually passes in a few seconds.
...So this record crate-digging thing is a bit weird to me.

 

[Jomungur]

Of course I know. Why whould I ask that question otherwise?

Electrolytic capacitors have a finite and defined life. You can shorten that time by stressing them more than how that time was specified. Temperature is the main reason.

A quality capacitor with a radius of 10mm will be specified at 7000hrs. DAVE was introduced in May 2015. If this unit belongs to the first manufactured batch and it is run for 4hrs a day the capacitor has been polarised for 10,000hrs. If the temperature of the unit is hot to touch as @amirm reported then the capacitor most likely had reached EOL somewhere back in 2019.

At 30% over use the capacitor effectiveness is expected to be reduced around 50% now. It is general practice to over-specify electrolytic capacitors by 2-3x. Hence, given the use case the capacitor should still be doing its job but in need of replacement.

I am getting confused. I ordered the unit new near end of year 2019. Or are you talking about another unit?

 

[Trell]

Not really, not for me. I get the snap/crackle/pop much more than I did 50 years ago. Almost all my records were new and clean and so on. Now, a lot of the music I listen to has samples from old R&B records in it, sometimes it's a bit irritating, but it usually passes in a few seconds.
...So this record crate-digging thing is a bit weird to me.

I've not owned a turn table for over 35 years, and I don't miss it personally except the cover art and other things often included. That said, there is much music on LP that is never going to be available digitally.

 

[DonR]

Not really, not for me. I get the snap/crackle/pop much more than I did 50 years ago. Almost all my records were new and clean and so on. Now, a lot of the music I listen to has samples from old R&B records in it, sometimes it's a bit irritating, but it usually passes in a few seconds.
...So this record crate-digging thing is a bit weird to me.

I immediately get a sense of nostalgia whenever I hear a song that starts with the characteristic crackle and pop of a record but I would rather listen to an all-digital version that is clean.