Chord DAVE Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[Ra1zel]

I'm not impressed by the filter - in my book (and in the red, I presume), the filter should be down say 130 dB at Fs/2 - here it is -45.

//

Sure you are right, but the thing is... Ive never seen a DAC with a filter -130dB at Fs/2. Have you?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Last millennia has a nicer ring to it.

[pedant] millennium [/pedant]

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Well it seems to be common knowledge here and same post here;

... unless this poster was being misleading, which isn't as probable, but possible I suppose.

I checked the links for Dave component failures and found nothing.
The one post (on both links) you offered is an interested party from Farad team, trying to sell replacement LPS for Dave.
That excludes him!
And no, they are just playing with PSU, not trying to prevent anything.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Sure you are right, but the thing is... Ive never seen a DAC with a filter -130dB at Fs/2. Have you?

or even a sharp 100, which incidentally Chord dacs do manage

 

[AudioSceptic]

It's still their flagship dac. Current on their website in the Choral range.

Yes, and I'm not aware the website is hard to find, from wherever you are.

 

[JSmith]

I checked the links for Dave component failures and found nothing.

Check out the post by SteveHulk... it was interesting a member here was able to pick the problem just from the posted pic.


JSmith

 

[AudioSceptic]

or even a sharp 100, which incidentally Chord dacs do manage

Are you sure? Have you looked at the GoldenSound results?

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Check out the post by SteveHulk... it was interesting a member here was able to pick the problem just from the posted pic.


JSmith

Are you serious? how many times do we need to talk about ONE single occasion of one single component failure.
I asked for common issues, known issues, a pattern.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Are you aware of this analog vs digital blind test from 1984(!!!): http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/bas_speaker/abx_testing2.htm

Thanks for the reminder of this classic test.

 

[JSmith]

I asked for common issues, known issues, a pattern.

You're welcome to go through all 1477 pages if you like.

That excludes him!

I don't think it does, as other posters do not disagree... ymmv.


JSmith

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Are you sure? Have you looked at the GoldenSound results?

Yep, I think so. It is at -100dB with a bandwidth of less than 100Hz, ofcourse if you zoom to a scale of 10Hz, you can see a lot of weird things. Third graph is down to Hertz!
Name another DAC that does better, or even 90% as good.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

You're welcome to go through all 1477 pages if you like.

I don't think it does, as other posters do not disagree... ymmv.

Now I know you are pulling my leg!

 

[Snake Oil is life]

I did a quick Google, couldn't find anything.
Do you have any links? outside of ASR.
As I have said, 14K is what I pay for my car, not my DAC - yeah it is too much!
Regarding some folks upgrading the power supply (The Farad Saga!), they must have very deep pockets indeed.
This brings us to a post I submitted at Head-fi regarding this upgrade directly at Rob Watts himself!
I accused him that it is all his fault! until he releases a Dave2 (perhaps 3) a two or three box version, one for power supply that can be upgraded, one for clock generator and one for DAC, and charge over £20K for it. Some people with deep pockets need their load lightened, and he should do it.
But he was adamant that the factory PSU was better or at least as good as any external device, trying in vain to debunk the LPS superiority.

I think Chord enthusiasts will say that you have a peasant's car ! Dave is for the cream of the cream the true audiophiles with deep pockets... There is no true audiophile without....

 

[JSmith]

Find a report on a Dave with a failed PSU cap.

You asked @Sharpi31 to do the above... so to assist I located same. Then you started asking for a solid pattern (which was suddenly moving the goalposts somewhat), after declaring their build quality was second to none. The intention of answering your first query to Sharpi31 was not to establish a pattern of failures. A $14K DAC should be overbuilt to the point it will last half a lifetime without failure under normal usage and as we can see fairly basic spec'd capacitor has been used in the SMPS. So my suggestion is to focus on that and not drift off into a find this find that circular discussion that detracts from the main point of this review thread.


JSmith

 

[Ken Tajalli]

You asked @Sharpi31 to do the above... so to assist I located same.

You located NONE! that was an substantiated claim, by someone who is being paid to sell an alternative PSU for the device. If someone affiliated with Chord says, there has never been a failure on any device, I for one, will have difficulty believing him.

Then you started asking for a solid pattern (which was suddenly moving the goalposts somewhat), after declaring their build quality was second to none. The intention of answering your first query to Sharpi31 was not to establish a pattern of failures. A $14K DAC should be overbuilt to the point it will last half a lifetime without failure under normal usage and as we can see fairly basic spec'd capacitor has been used in the SMPS. So my suggestion is to focus on that and not drift off into a find this find that circular discussion that detracts from the main point of this review thread.

Same goal posts! the capacitor on the PSU is not good enough, so I asked for past failures! one is bad luck, five is a pattern.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Yep, I think so. It is at -100dB with a bandwidth of less than 100Hz, ofcourse if you zoom to a scale of 10Hz, you can see a lot of weird things. Third graph is down to Hertz!
Name another DAC that does better, or even 90% as good.

Isn't that -40 (from -60 to -100)? It's barely started at 22.05, and what's the point of being flat to 22 kHz anyway? 20 is all that's required. It bottoms out at ~22.15. Start just a little earlier and you have the perfect filter so why didn't they do it?

Better would be the sharpest ESS filters, I think, although I haven't seen them zoomed in like this.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

I think Chord enthusiasts will say that you have a peasant's car ! Dave is for the cream of the cream the true audiophiles with deep pockets... There is no true audiophile without....

Now that we have established that I am poor, it brings us to the fact that "Price" and "Value for money" is a subjective issue.
To Elon Musk, if he likes the disposable packaging of a $14K object, he already has had his value for his money, but not me.
This is why any product should be judged on merit, and not the price.
So Amir, recommends including the price, but judges excluding it.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Better would be the sharpest ESS filters, I think, although I haven't seen them zoomed in like this.

I hope somebody explains it to you, but its not me.

 

[solderdude]

Only if you can find an RCA DAC with 3Vrms output though. With normal 2Vrms DACs, the L30 is gain limited to 6Vrms output.

The Dave can deliver 12V on line out... just connect that to the L30

 

[solderdude]

Chord various filters are not various reconstruction filters

They aren't

with no effect on after brickwall filter response

That's not so. Regardless whether or not they would be in front or after the reconstruction filter the effect will be there. So gentle roll-off and then sharp drop.

Since mScaler, artificially upscales everything to HiRes sampling rates, the filters are not needed, and may interfere, so Chord recommends switching them off.

Nope... the gentle roll-off switched off may vs not in place may well be audible to young folks.
The Dave filter is equally steep to M-scaler so why would the gentle filter not be needed. That would make no sense.
Besides isn't the idea of high-res to get info >20kHz and not have it rolled off ?