Chord DAVE DAC Review - King of the hill or over the hill?

I have reached my peak with the Roon -> Rose RS150 -> Chord Qutest combo. I'm done. I can't tweak more out of my system. I've tried the M-Scaler, it's nothing I can describe as significant. It was just a bit "different", neither worse nor better. I don't have a house where this could unravel (or 20k+ speakers ;), so that's never gonna happen. Roon has the Muse DSP and I started playing around with the HQPlayer, subjectively I got an improvement from that, which was on par with the M-Scaler/Qutest combo. If I didn't have Roon, I'd probably jump on the M-Scaler, but as-is. I'm done until we see some major technological jump.

Best video you ever made. Watched the whole video.

I use a TT first generation and I am totally satisfied till today with it´s performance. Maybe in the upcoming year(s) I will upgrade to a DAVE for sure and hope it will last as long as my TT do in keeping me happy 🙂

Hello. Very interesting review. I also own a TT2 and I'm testing an MScaler, but unfortunately I cannot obtain the big step in depth, space and details as you mention here. Mid/high range is affected by some harshness I can't remove. I'm using a 2GO/2YU combo as streamer, I use them mostly as Roon endpoint, and the feeling is that what is between the streamer and the router is not properly optimized yet. Could you please provide details on the streaming chain you use in your system? Thank you!!

Great in depth review as always ! It would be great fun if you compared it with the Mola-Mola Tamboquie 32 bit DSP DAC and made a interview with Bruno Putzeyes , and also dCS , LampiZator and AMR DP-777 SE tube DAC. 👍👍

great information thanks! so much to consider when looking at different converters within the context of one's system. There are so many different approaches that makes for an abundance of questions

I like listening to the tracks you cover. lt shows were I have gone 'right' in my system. WBCables matter. Best, D.

Awesome video and interview with RW! Totally new to Chord and just uploaded a review on the Mojo 2. Such an impressive little DAC/AMP. Would love to test out the Dave /TT2 / M scaler at some point. Could only imagine how incredible they must be since the Mojo did so well!

Would love to hear it. Would hate to have to pay for one. If someone wanted to give me one then sure, I guess I could begrudgingly abide provided they asked me really, really nicely. In all seriousness I'm sure it sounds great but I'd rather remain ignorant as to just how resolving things can get as to not invalidate my prior purchases. However I don't feel like that also enfranchises me to trash the product or Chord. Dave has been around long enough that if it sucked so sufficiently it'd of made a quiet exit from the market. Appreciate the video my guy. I done learned alil.

I did it Lachlan. Splurged on a used Dave at about 50% of the cost! Wow just wow! I can hear the guitarists' fingers touch the strings before they strum! I also feels like the type of pinpointable imaging jump from a midrange headphone to the utopia. So amazing so far! Here is one thing that was very interesting even with my Susvara: Going from the Dave's built-in single-ended port to an external A90 actually sounded worse (even with quite expensive XLR interconnects). I am hearing no clipping at all with the susvara and the Dave's own headphone jack. It feels just way higher end than my A90. I was wondering if you have any tips on the crossfeed and HF settings (0 off to me ia super clear and the widest soundstage). HF on at the moment.

It looks good

I see you've reviewed most Chord products by now. Are you also planning to review the Hugo 2?

When is Chord upgrading it's Qutest and Dave, i hope chord would soon launch next gen of these products very soon as they are in the market since quite long and sales of these units would also not be so great as it used to be like 3-4 years earlier. By the way great video !!

I just saw an interview with RW where in he said a new Dave is possible by year end 2023. He said it has exponentially ( I think ) more taps and a much warmer sound. Have you heard anything about this?

Rob Watts is a musical genius that’s why I would only consider chord dacs for bang for your buck

Consider me tapped out. 🙃 The technical presentation and the cost can be overwhelming for many, but I actually really appreciate some aspects of summit HIFI. Nice to have goals as well. :)

Another great review! Nobody else is this thorough on youtube! As a data point, I run my Qutest with a Plixir Elite BDC power supply and Denafrips GAIA DDC feeding it. When I demo'd a Hugo TT2, the Qutest/Plixir/GAIA combo edged it (shockingly). And for nearly $2k less.

Great review , would love to hear comparisons with Mola Mola tambaqui at similar price point and the Weiss 205 at a lower price point.

This is more about the recording: 32:39 “the experience of sitting a few seats back at a concert” depends on mic placement. If close mic-ing is used, then it’ll always be too in-your-face. But with a single or minimalist mic recording you’ll get a more concert like performance.

Hi. I fully agree with you about the more "analytical" sound of Dave. That was exact reason why I chose to go with dCS Lina dac and the Master Clock instead of Dave. It's a crazy money combo, I know. I payed $31K in Melbourne AU, but I was completely blown away by how Lina improved sound of my stereo system. That smooth, delicate, beautifully separated, very deep and open soundstage, but still dynamic, full body and exciting sound was too addictive to say no to.😄 Lina combo is a perfect marriage with my Pass Labs XA30.8, xp-12 and Sopra 3 speakers. I know you review systems more towards headphone experience, but I was wondering if you had a chance to hear Lina and what is your opinion about it? Thank you.