Chord Dave

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ricred1

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I'm currently using a Chord Dave DAC connected via USB to my Antipodes S30/S40/S60 combination music server. I'm looking for suggestions below $20K to listen to as possible replacements. I'm not unhappy with any particular aspect of the sound, but I'm curious about how other DACs will sound in my system.
 
ricred1 said:
I'm currently using a Chord Dave DAC connected via USB to my Antipodes S30/S40/S60 combination music server. I'm looking for suggestions below $20K to listen to as possible replacements. I'm not unhappy with any particular aspect of the sound, but I'm curious about how other DACs will sound in my system.
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I do not know what speakers you have in your system, but IME the greatest bang for your buck is in your speakers/room. If it were me, I would first look at what speakers I might be able to get if I added $20k to what I currently have.
 
Im currently running a Melco into a Dave and Ultima 5 amp. I'm considering an Antipodes server as well although I have my doubts that it will beat my comparatively cheaper N1Z in any appreciable sense. I have an Mscaler on its way as well, apparently this will be transformative for the Dave but I cant comment until I experience it. Maybe that will be the way to go???
 
Mike,
Thanks for the recommendations. Where do I start with MSB...what base, do I need a reclocker, what about power supplies? Several people have told me to start with the Reference DAC, but that's out of my price range.
 
Nicoff,

I started the upgrade process a year or so ago. I started by listening to several speakers below $50K. Everything I preferred over my current speakers were close to or over $80K, so I decided to upgrade my music server. I recently upgraded my amplifier and now I want to upgrade my DAC. My speakers are staying for the foreseeable future.
 
I really like my Antipodes combination. Mark with Antipodes provides truly outstanding customer support.

I heard the M Scaler in my system and I prefer the Dave on its own. The M Scaler made everything sound "artificial", so I returned it.
 
ricred1 said:
Nicoff,

I started the upgrade process a year or so ago. I started by listening to several speakers below $50K. Everything I preferred over my current speakers were close to or over $80K, so I decided to upgrade my music server. I recently upgraded my amplifier and now I want to upgrade my DAC. My speakers are staying for the foreseeable future.
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Remind me again, what are your current speakers?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I replaced my Chord Dave with a used Nagra HD Dac, which was within your budget. (There was also a Lumin X1 between them, but that only lasted a year.) I intended to get the DCS Bartok, but found the Nagra far more engaging and musical.
 
ricred1 said:
I'm not unhappy with any particular aspect of the sound, but I'm curious about how other DACs will sound in my system.
Click to expand...

Odds are that you may have not heard what the DAVE is really capable of. One area really lacking in the DAVE is the power supply. The SMPS used in the DAVE is an off the shelf part that costs less than $25 as I understand it. The Sean Jacobs DC4 ARC6 will apparently make the DAVE competitive with DACs many times the price of the DAVE.
 
kennyb123,
I understand what you are saying about adding the Sean Jacobs DC4, but it isn't possible to hear it in my system. I don't want to pay $7K for a power supply that I can't hear in my system prior to purchasing. Some describe the Dave as being accurate, clinical, and mechanical sounding. I don't believe the power supply would change the tonality of the Dave, but I could be wrong. I don't know if that description is true or not, because I haven't compared any DACs to the Dave in my current system. I'm trying to determine if there are other DACs below $20K that can present a 3D-soundstage like the Dave, but are more musical than the Dave? I've looked into the TotalDAC d1-seven and MSB Premier, both are over $20K.
 
ricred1 said:
kennyb123,
I understand what you are saying about adding the Sean Jacobs DC4, but it isn't possible to hear it in my system. I don't want to pay $7K for a power supply that I can't hear in my system prior to purchasing. Some describe the Dave as being accurate, clinical, and mechanical sounding. I don't believe the power supply would change the tonality of the Dave, but I could be wrong. I don't know if that description is true or not, because I haven't compared any DACs to the Dave in my current system. I'm trying to determine if there are other DACs below $20K that can present a 3D-soundstage like the Dave, but are more musical than the Dave? I've looked into the TotalDAC d1-seven and MSB Premier, both are over $20K.
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Here’s what Ray wrote in his fabulous review on AS (posted here):

“Right out of the gate, it was obvious that DC4 was taking all the goodness of the DC3 and kicking up several notches: faster and more controlled dynamics (to put it mildly), breathtaking resolution and clarity and control, a true physicality and presence in the bass, and (most importantly for me) a remarkable holographic sense of space that spreads from behind the speakers to next to me on my sofa, and even above me. If DC3 makes instruments real and physically present, DC4 brings the performance into the room and up next to you, creating a hologram of the space of the performance that must be experienced to believe.”

The ARC6 version of the DC4 takes it even further. Contact Nenon over at AS to inquire about a demo. He’s assembling these for Sean in the US. I have no affiliation with either but just have a number of friends who own DAVEs and have heard their exuberance about what these better power supplies have done for their listening.
 
kennyb123 said:
Odds are that you may have not heard what the DAVE is really capable of. One area really lacking in the DAVE is the power supply. The SMPS used in the DAVE is an off the shelf part that costs less than $25 as I understand it. The Sean Jacobs DC4 ARC6 will apparently make the DAVE competitive with DACs many times the price of the DAVE.
Click to expand...

You are spot on about the cheap power supplies that Chord uses. My son bought a Qutest and we replaced the cheap wall wort with a Teradak $100 LPS and the difference was astounding. I also bought him the $100 ifi ipower X power supply which is not an LPS and achieved the same improvement in sound. More detail, blacker background, more punch and weight to bass, increased clarity and resolution. The difference was not subtle. It makes me wonder why they just don't offer a better power supply as an upgrade.
 
Mechnutt said:
You are spot on about the cheap power supplies that Chord uses. My son bought a Qutest and we replaced the cheap wall wort with a Teradak $100 LPS and the difference was astounding. I also bought him the $100 ifi ipower X power supply which is not an LPS and achieved the same improvement in sound. More detail, blacker background, more punch and weight to bass, increased clarity and resolution. The difference was not subtle. It makes me wonder why they just don't offer a better power supply as an upgrade.
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The Qutest can scale to even greater heights with an even better power supply. I owned a TT2 and a Farad Super3 brought an improvement on par with upgrading to a better DAC.

Rob Watts is a genius when it comes to converting digital to analog. I think that has left him with a bit of a blind spot when it comes to other areas. Power supplies is one of those areas.
 
I reached out to Nenon regarding the ARC6 power supply. The ARC6 is $10K! My debate now is what makes more sense, $10K for a PSU and keep the Dave or $27K for a new DAC?
 
ricred1 said:
I reached out to Nenon regarding the ARC6 power supply. The ARC6 is $10K! My debate now is what makes more sense, $10K for a PSU and keep the Dave or $27K for a new DAC?
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That is their top end power supply. You could also consider a DC4 (non ARC6 version) or a DC3.
 
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