I’m toying with the idea of getting a third DAC which is the Chord Dave. The idea was conceived several years ago but I wasn’t really serious going into it since my existing Chord QBD76 sounds very satisfying, and a used Dave is still expensive. Every time I listen to it I forget about everything and just immerse myself in the music. The QBD76 has survived the test of time, and an attempt to dethrone it with a Luxman DA-06 about 4 years ago failed.
I have read about Chord Dave vs QBD76 vs Hugo TT2. I understand it’s all subjective and system dependent. Most picked the Dave to be the superior DAC while few thought the Hugo TT2 sounds better. However, none found the QBD76 to sound better than the Dave.
Coming back to the thread, I may have the opportunity to pick up a used Dave but it is still a lot of money even though it’s used. Considering that I am perfectly happy with my QBD76, it may not make much sense to consider the Dave UNLESS it’s proven to be noticeable worthy upgrade in sound quality. There are also other alternatives such as Denafrips Venus 15th which may offer something different but I’m not really interested in other DACs other than a used Dave. I also tend to hang on to stuff which I don’t use, a bad habit I know. I will only keep equipment or speakers which I feel are worth keeping as I’ll still sell if they are poor and don’t appeal to me. If I end up with the Dave, I will likely keep the QBD76 and Luxman for the 2nd system.
Do people who have compared the QBD76 and Dave (or TT2) feel the Dave is worth the money and a keeper? Do you still keep other lesser DACs which are not used frequently?
If I were in your position, I’d prefer to save for a speaker upgrade rather than use my current funds on a similar DAC that offers only a marginal improvement compared to what a speaker upgrade could bring.
Just curious, which speaker (standmount) will sound better than the Marten Duke 2? I actually regard the Duke 2 as endgame. I could move to the Marten Parker Duo (ceramic) but am not ready, and there are some reports that there’s not much between the Duke 2 and Parker Duo.
I’ll consider new speakers if I have a new room (new house) in the future, not at the particularly cramped space I have at the moment.
I haven’t heard it myself but the Dave is quite long in the tooth now. If I were you I would look for something more contemporary that would provide an out-and-out improvement worthy of the outlay to one-up your current Chord DAC.
Surely the best idea is to demo the Dave and then decide. You’ve already stated you are more than happy with what you have now and the Dave is an expensive upgrade. If it’s not broke don’t fix it.
I have a DAVE. I’ve also had a Qutest, TT2, with Mscaler. The DAVE is great. Mine’s a year old but it’s excellent. I recently started using its preamp to drive my ATC 40 actives. My system sounds wonderful
I haven’t, but I recall a member some years ago with a QBD76 saying to the effect that he felt it was so good Dave couldn’t be more marginally better. A year or two later he heard Dave and bought it… I haven’t seen him on the forum for a good few years - I think his forum name had Tony in it, and I recall he had triamped DBLs, and lived in East Anglia.
But best answer is to get one on home demo if you can, though I’m sure you know that - or at least take your QBD to wherever someone is selling a secondhand Dave to compare.
Beat me to the punch. The Dave is a long way from long in the tooth and there are multiple reviews out there which have put it against more recent DACs and find that it still tops them.
I’ll never be in the market for one but I’ve heard one at length and it definitely beats the TT2. Whether it does so enough to justify the cost, even second hand, is a purely personal decision.
It has a massive soundstage which the lesser Dacs don’t have… I would encourage you to buy one… it remains one of my best hi fi purchases and I have no regrets
The other chord dacs are in second and third systems and also used in my car etc…
Still though Dave is the King! The QBD 76 won’t quite have the massive soundstage of the Dave…
I’m sure the Dave sounds fine but for that kind of money it would be foolish to not explore other options that have cropped up in the intervening years.
Ours ears are all different so what we like will always be different but I’ve heard about half a dozen “Dave beaters” over the years and none of them came remotely near.
Of course it t makes sense to also hear other DACs - and that is whether or not younger. But your wording seemed to suggest forgetting Dave in favour of something “more contemporary”. Presumably you had some DACs in mind within the OP’s budget ballpark that you thought would sound better than Dave, which I know you haven’t heard, rather than just being led by supposition?
Not forgetting per se but a product, in particular a digital one where the march of technology is stronger felt, that has been on the market for a while would have me place it lower on the list of models to consider because I would feel the value proposition would be lower. Maybe the Dave still shows the competition a clean set of heels, great, but I would be surprised if it was still a market leader at it’s price.
As for what I would suggest, well for me personally I would seek demos of Aqua and Esoteric models.
The Parker Duo, you know the answer. I wouldn’t buy a Dave, I’ve auditioned it many times and it is ridiculously overpriced, if I was gifted one I wouldn’t even break the seal and just sell it. There are quite a few better DACs out there, reasonably priced ones, mine to begin with.
Struggling to understand why anyone would care whether it’s the market leader or not. Others may like other DACs, which is fine, but better is a concept judged over weeks not shows or a dem over a couple of hours. I think it’s reasonable to conclude that its value proposition has declined but, given that it’s a decade old, it has declined by remarkably little and as its more than a DAC for most users then even the pure DACs which are in the ball park aren’t leaping ahead.
I first heard Dave at a dealer’s premises, where I’d gone to audition a DAC half its price, and with absolutely no desire or wish of spending more, in fact needing convincing that £4k was worth spending. The literal wow it indiced in both myself and my son (having neither knowledge nor interest in hifi, purely being there to keep me company) meant it couldn’t be forgotten, so a few weeks later I arranged a home audition (also comparing with the £4k and my existing very good DAC, actually trying to persuade myself it wasn’t worth the money. But my attempts failed - and even had my wfe call out from the next room saying “for goodness sake, that one is so clearly the best just buy it - not baulking when I then told her its cost. There might be better DACs out there, but i haven’t heard, and they would have to be truly stunning to be better. Clearly the neutral, natural sound character with great detail is simply not for you, though of course I have no idea what you heard it through, which could be influential (in my case firstly PMC Fact 12 and then PMC EB1i speakers, in both cases driven by a Bryston 4Bsst amp)”
