[SuperBurrito]

I hope mine doesn't take 7 weeks! Dealer told me 2-3 weeks. Apparently they are made to order? Makes sense considering the dollar value. I am sure Chord does not want to inventory many DAVEs. I'll be fine with my Gumby until then.

From what I gather, the North American distributor was totally out of stock and they just received a fresh shimpent from Chord. My dealer said there has been super strong demand in the US, England and Japan for the Dave. Combine that with limited parts supply and probably limited manufacturing capacity, and I'd bet that production is in pretty low volumes.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Welcome to the club. I have tried a number of headphone amps and also agree the Dave pre straight into headphones is very difficult to beat.

Please may I know if you try Dave with your GS-X which you prefer ...?

Recently I have a brief time with the Questyle Gold Stack and compared to Dave. The result dare I say on this forum but I found the Questyle IMO very musical. At this level and cost both perform well but I did prefer the Questyle ( only tested with LCD4 ) i could live with both and perhaps i found the change refreshing.

I am not an expert or have trained ears but if i were on headphones only would have picked Questyle, I did not test in my Hifi system but would expect Dave to perform better as I tested the Questyle in a number of ways, it seemed the synergy of the system complimented the Questyle DAC.

So I am more than pleased with Dave and if the Mscaler ever comes look forward that as well.

Look forward to your comments with Dave direct to headphones

I will definitely try my dynamic headphones straight from my DAVE and with the DAVE coupled with my GS-X Mk2 before I list the GS-X Mk2 for sale.

 

[GryphonGuy]

I will definitely try my dynamic headphones straight from my DAVE and with the DAVE coupled with my GS-X Mk2 before I list the GS-X Mk2 for sale.

I auditioned a GS-X Mk2 with Utopia and DAVE. Stunning stuff and made standing difficult as my knees became weak at the sounds and music that combo produced. You could never justify the expense of the GS-X Mk2 if you have a DAVE but didn't already have a GS-X Mk2. The DAVE is that good IMHO. If you already have the GS-X Mk2 then the keep/sell decision will be a highly personal one. I wouldn't let go of a superb piece of kit like the GS-X Mk2 if I already owned it. Might be useful from time-to-time.

Regards
GG

 

[MacedonianHero]

I auditioned a GS-X Mk2 with Utopia and DAVE. Stunning stuff and made standing difficult as my knees became weak at the sounds and music that combo produced. You could never justify the expense of the GS-X Mk2 if you have a DAVE but didn't already have a GS-X Mk2. The DAVE is that good IMHO. If you already have the GS-X Mk2 then the keep/sell decision will be a highly personal one. I wouldn't let go of a superb piece of kit like the GS-X Mk2 if I already owned it. Might be useful from time-to-time.

Regards
GG

We shall see..

 

[jlbrach]

what i find so extraordinary is the fact that a 2 year old product as expensive as the Dave is should be so difficult to come by.....says a hell of a lot about the quality of the product

 

[thunder 99]

Hi guys,
Just wondering if anyone has paired a Chord DAVE with a 300B amplifier?.
I am currently looking at using a WA234 with the DAVE. But my impression is that Woo Audio amps don't pair well with the output of DAVE as DAC or Preamp. Wondering if anyone else has had issues especially the treble becoming very harsh and artificial. And wondering if that has something to do with the 6V output of the DAVE?
Thanks

 

[ray-dude]

what i find so extraordinary is the fact that a 2 year old product as expensive as the Dave is should be so difficult to come by.....says a hell of a lot about the quality of the product

I think it may be an indication of how extraordinarily messed up their supply chain is right now (whether because of Brexit or whatever). The Blu2 saga continues, and I wonder if they're having supply chain issues with the FPGA in the DAVE as well? For the Blu2, it is shocking that they weren't able to secure any reasonable quantities of the literal (sole sourced) heart of their new product well ahead of time. That's the kind of thing you lock down commitments for a year before your ramp.

I have tremendous empathy for what the Chord team is going through...stumbling on sole source supplier dependencies is an absolute nightmare. I

 

[paulchiu]

Hi guys,
Just wondering if anyone has paired a Chord DAVE with a 300B amplifier?.
I am currently looking at using a WA234 with the DAVE. But my impression is that Woo Audio amps don't pair well with the output of DAVE as DAC or Preamp. Wondering if anyone else has had issues especially the treble becoming very harsh and artificial. And wondering if that has something to do with the 6V output of the DAVE?
Thanks

I use DAVE with Thöress 300B and Cary 300B amps using tubes from the 1950s to current stock from Russia to Japan.
The imaging is fuller with sweet vocals together with the DAVE.
So, in short it depends on the amp and the 300B. Results will vary. I never heard the WA234.

 

[SuperDuke]

Hi guys,
Just wondering if anyone has paired a Chord DAVE with a 300B amplifier?.
I am currently looking at using a WA234 with the DAVE. But my impression is that Woo Audio amps don't pair well with the output of DAVE as DAC or Preamp. Wondering if anyone else has had issues especially the treble becoming very harsh and artificial. And wondering if that has something to do with the 6V output of the DAVE?
Thanks

DAVE is great w. the EC Balancing act. Lots of detail and body. I had no problem w/ the 6V output of DAVE. (the BA is designed rather conservatively though so it's less than typical 300b output)

 

[Triode User]

Hi guys,
Just wondering if anyone has paired a Chord DAVE with a 300B amplifier?.
I am currently looking at using a WA234 with the DAVE. But my impression is that Woo Audio amps don't pair well with the output of DAVE as DAC or Preamp. Wondering if anyone else has had issues especially the treble becoming very harsh and artificial. And wondering if that has something to do with the 6V output of the DAVE?
Thanks

I havent used dave with a 300B but I have used it with 2A3 monos and 845 monos. My experience is that dave does not do well going straight into the tube monos and it is better with preamp. Without a pre amp I find the sound to lack focus and bass goes all flabby. I set the dave to about 0db then use the pre amp for volume control. If you set the dave to 6v output then also you might overload the power amp which will give distortion.

 

[thunder 99]

I havent used dave with a 300B but I have used it with 2A3 monos and 845 monos. My experience is that dave does not do well going straight into the tube monos and it is better with preamp. Without a pre amp I find the sound to lack focus and bass goes all flabby. I set the dave to about 0db then use the pre amp for volume control. If you set the dave to 6v output then also you might overload the power amp which will give distortion.

Which preamp were you using? I am having similar issues re:lack of focus though someone using a Thorens 300B have said the treble is not an issue for them, it is mellow and detail elsewhere is preserved. So seriously confused about whether this combination works and has synergy or not. Currently using DAVE with Vitus and they sound awesome.
The other part of the issue which I guess isnt strictly part of this thread but useful in the current contex - I am looking at a pair of WA234's to be able to be used with the DAVE. Saying that DAVE can work well with a dedicated tube preamp, what do you feel a WA234 modded to be a preamp will sound like intrinsically - I guess its not just simply adding a couple of outputs but redesigning the output stage completely which may not be optimally accomplished just by modding a head amp?
Thanks

 

[Triode User]

Which preamp were you using? I am having similar issues re:lack of focus though someone using a Thorens 300B have said the treble is not an issue for them, it is mellow and detail elsewhere is preserved. So seriously confused about whether this combination works and has synergy or not. Currently using DAVE with Vitus and they sound awesome.
The other part of the issue which I guess isnt strictly part of this thread but useful in the current contex - I am looking at a pair of WA234's to be able to be used with the DAVE. Saying that DAVE can work well with a dedicated tube preamp, what do you feel a WA234 modded to be a preamp will sound like intrinsically - I guess its not just simply adding a couple of outputs but redesigning the output stage completely which may not be optimally accomplished just by modding a head amp?
Thanks

I was using an Icon Audio LA5 TX pre amp but now use a Music First transformer volume control passive pre. Both made the Dave and tube poweramp combination sound amazing. Dave used as a pre straight into the tube monos was not happy.

Sorry but I can't comment about other amps.

 

[dmance]

I was using an Icon Audio LA5 TX pre amp but now use a Music First transformer volume control passive pre. Both made the Dave and tube poweramp combination sound amazing. Dave used as a pre straight into the tube monos was not happy.

Sorry but I can't comment about other amps.

Those chiming in...please quote amplifier input impedance and input voltage gain ...and then similar for the pre-amp .to see what Dave is sensitive to. Re: Music First, why a passive device in the chain matters I have no idea.

 

[Triode User]

Those chiming in...please quote amplifier input impedance and input voltage gain ...and then similar for the pre-amp .to see what Dave is sensitive to. Re: Music First, why a passive device in the chain matters I have no idea.

The Music First is a TVC, ie a Transformer Volume Control. If you are not familiar with this type pf passive then there is plenty of info on the web. Basically it gives 0dB to -52dB reduction in signal level (it can give +6dB but I do not use that switch position). The point is that it doesn't just stick a resistor in to reduce the volume. By using a transformer, when the voltage is reduced the available power of the signal is not reduced. Hence why this type of pre amp is very good at driving longer than normal cables.

I have found the best sound is with Dave set at 0dB and then using the Music First Pre Amp at about -34dB to get a decent volume. The same volume can be achieved with Dave at -34dB and the pre amp at 0dB but the quality of the sound is affected (in fact it doesn't sound very good at all). Taking the Pre Amp out of the system and driving the tube power amps direct from Dave set at -34dB sounds exactly the same, same volume, same poor sound.

 

[miketlse]

@Peter Hyatt did you manage to audition that DAVE at the dealers in Zurich?