Chord Electronics DAVE

AUTHOR MIROSLAV MAGLEN
PHOTO CHORD

There is a family house in Bratislava in the alley behind the main station. Since it was already cold and drizzly, I was happy to leave it parked behind the gate. My editorial colleague Viktor Kubal was waiting for me there. We toasted our welcome and briskly ran up the stairs to the modern Dream Audio listening area, where the warmth of home, the smell of coffee and two "hot" listening rooms awaited us, in which we were to perform two tests at once. I probably don't need to introduce Dream Audio, a company that deals with audio technology in the high-end class, to our readers. But I will tell you good news, they are preparing a new shop in Petržalka, where many audiophiles will be able to bow their heads and, of course, listen to some of it. Construction is in full swing, but they still gave us their full attention.

So I settled down on a chair in the bigger listening room and on the top shelf of the rack a transducer from Chord Electronics Ltd called DAVE was looking at me with its huge round eye. I remembered the astronaut in Space Odyssey named Dave, but in this case it's an abbreviation for Digital-to-Analogue Veritas in Extremis. As a word from Latin stuck with me, I thought the title sounded strong: Veritas in Extremis - truth in extremes. The technology of the company from the south of England is based on aviation, where attention to every detail and the processing of materials is a must. It was founded by John Franks and, in addition to being the owner, he is also the main designer and the ideas for the look and overall concept of the products come from him. Rob Watts is responsible for the architecture of the digital technologies and therefore the heart of the Dave converter. Since their founding in 1989, they have supplied their first amplifiers to the BBC and later to renowned studios including Abbey Road, Sony Music (New York) and later The Royal Opera House. The motto is to bring studio performance into our homes.

Dave is the highest model among the company's five converters. It is relatively small, with rounded atypical shapes. I know I mentioned aviation, but to me the large eye display looks more like a window into the bowels of a Nautilus submarine. However, when it lights up, all the necessary data will be displayed. The edges of the device are rounded, which is also matched by the wave-shaped indicator LEDs. Also rounded off is the massive volume control, surrounded by four smaller control buttons that can be used to switch inputs or navigate through menus. Aesthetically, they are placed in milled recesses, which, together with a number of Allen key screws, gives the device an industrial character. What's on the front of the device is what I would normally call a 6.3 mm connector, but in the hands of Chord's engineers, I can safely call it a massive interface for connecting headphones. The preamplifier that manages this "interface" is also of excellent sound quality, eliminating the need to buy an external headphone preamplifier. The back side contains everything you need. Outputs are both unbalanced Cinch and balanced XLR. They can be set to have a fixed or variable output signal volume level. If we use the second option, the converter also serves as a preamplifier, which in this case eliminates one link of the assembly and can be connected directly to the terminator. However, we cannot use this option if we have an analogue signal source, such as a turntable, but we have a large stock of digital inputs. Four 75-ohm digital inputs via BNC connectors, one XLR AES/EBU, two optical inputs and one USB digital input. On the right side there are four more digital outputs via BNC connectors, for additional connectivity options.

I learned from the guys at Dream Audio Studio that the unit has exceptional signal conversion technology. It is a new version of the advanced Spartan 6 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with 1000 times the computing power of the traditional mass-produced DAC chip that is the digital heart of the device. DAVE's FPGA is bloated with more than a million lines of code to face complex timing, speed and accuracy problems. The FPGA's extraordinary capability enables a number of key sonic benefits, in addition to the aforementioned improved timing and superior noise shaping performance, supposedly of any known DAC. DAVE technology delivers music with unparalleled realism and musicality, with an unmatched response to timing. If someone is interested in frequencies, it can process signals via PCM up to 768 kHz/32 bit and DSD stream 11.2 MHz.

Stand

The device is sold separately with remote control only, as an added value in terms of appearance, but mainly functional, you can buy a stand. It is a solid aluminium component on four massive anti-vibration feet. The instrument in it is slightly rotated forward so you can see the top of the instrument better. The large mass dissipates heat from the transducer and aids its cooling. Once the instrument was mounted in the stand, the sound improved audibly. The unit and stand are available in silver and black and can be stacked with other Chord products, eliminating the need for a hifi rack. Combinable with M Scaler technology via BMC connectors.

Sound

The signal source was SGM Extreme from Taiko Audio. I discovered John Rutter's Requiem album from Reference Recordings in my playlist, which I also have on record at home, so I was very curious to see how digital would handle the songs. After a few minutes it was clear that the instrument would offer a very clear sound, clear, full of detail. The solo singer's singing had a very good natural timbre, and when the organ came in, it became clear that the line-up could go to some real depths. I also focused on the natural colour of the voice in the second, this time jazz song How Deep Is the Ocean by Diana Krall. Aside from the natural color, it sounded very present and was full of micro-details. I also played other songs by this artist to get a feel for the other instruments, which were excellently recognizable.

With Sway, the strings towards the end of the song appealed to me, their fullness sounded just like I'm used to at acoustic concerts. I also stayed in the jazz mood with Till Bronerl's A Thousand Kisses Deep. A double bass along with a trumpet that was almost holographically placed in the space. Trumpeter Till had an excellent touch, the trumpet was perfectly placed in the space. As the transducer indicated that it could deliver a fast and dynamic sound, I put on Kraftwerk, namely the good old Robots, which, together with the YG boxes, showed something that I could perceive not only with my ears, but also with my whole body. Felix Laband in Miss Teardrops made a really big scene. The percussion was electronic, but it was still flying in space and I had to say that the sound engineers managed to create a perfect 3D impression during the recording. Finally, I put on John Grant's Pale Green Ghosts. With her, the details literally came to the fore.

What to listen to

Music server Taiko Extreme
Switch: Paul Pang Studio OCXO QUAD Switch
Terminal amplifiers: PILIUM Hercules,
Split preamplifier: PILIUM Alexander
Speakers: Yg Acoustics Sonja 2.3i
Cables: Siltech Emperor and Empress, Siltech Ruby Mountain II
Mains filter: Torus Power Avr 16
Rack: Artesania Exoteric Rack
Pads: Hifistay

Conclusion

It is evident that Chord has experience with studio sound, and it showed in the high level of detail. The vocals and instruments were stripped down to their naked essence. The character is more vigorous, dynamic. If you're looking for some wispy sonic softness, Dave is definitely not that type. Clear sound with plenty of studio-quality detail with a slightly cooler tinge, excellent spatiality and an almost holographic three-dimensional imaging. Add to that the modern industrial design and you can say that this is a top-notch instrument both musically and in terms of appearance.

Chord Electronics DAVE

Frequency range:
20 Hz - 20 kHz flat within +/-0.1 dB (HF filter off)
Sampling frequencies:
44.1 kHz - 768 kHz (16 - 32 bit)
DSD64 - DSD512 native DSD + DoP (input dependant)
Digital inputs:
4x 75 Ω S/PDIF
BNC Coax - 44.1 kHz - 384 kHz
1x AES XLR - 44.1 kHz - 96 kHz
2x Fibre Optic TOSLINK - 44.1 kHz - 96 kHz
1x USB Type B - 44.1 kHz - 768 kHz
(16 - 32 bit) - PCM and DSD
Analog outputs:
1x RCA unbalanced
1x XLR balanced
1x ¼" TRS headphone output
Dimensions H x W x D (with connectors): 7.8 cm x 33.5 cm x 15.2 cm
Weight: 5 kg
Price: 11 800 €
www.dreamaudio.eu