Qutest, Hugo TT2, Mscaler

My dealer are making up a RCA to XLR(mono) pair so I can try the DAVE direct to 300DR, as well as ‘via’ the Allegri+ or Prima.

I have the Fractal F1 RCA here too for comparison.

Nick, (and Simon if relevant)
What specific cable are you using for the home-purpose balanced set up with the Neutrik XLR’s ?
Stuart

How do people find the fans on the etude? I’m trialling a second hand one with tt2 and although they are quiet I am definitely aware of them

From what distance?

The fan noise was a concern for me when I first got it as I use mine in a near field system. I sit about 4ft away from it. If I move to within a couple of feet with no music playing I become aware of it… 3ft if there are no outside noises at all and everything is very quiet in the house. As soon as any music is playing I’d have to be on top of it to hear it.

When I was looking for mine, I was aware of one dealer who had a demo unit but wouldn’t sell it as he was returning it to Chord to replace a noisy fan. So, they can be noisy but I guess if it is and it’s under warranty then it may be worth speaking to Chord about it.

I had a loud one first - but it was replaced by Chord via the dealer. The current fan is not audible unless I am right by the Etude - or it has been working out hard (which given the Etude loves to boogie happens quite a lot) and the Etude casing is hot - but even then not noticeable more than a metre a way.

Thanks. Yes I think as toonartist describes it. It seems to do a great job and would certainly reduce the box count. I will drop chord a line and see what they say

My rack sits right next to the sofa and the Étude is sometimes just about audible when no music is playing, probably a similar level to the hum on the 250DR it replaced. Certainly not loud enough to be a concern.

Hi Simon,

What pre-amp and cabling are you using?

M

Interesting, I’m not sure my Ultima even has a fan, I do know it is absolutely silent.

That’s what I’m looking at replacing. I think I’m looking for it rather than concentrating on the music sometime!

The Ultima is very big with heatsinks etc, perhaps the Etude is just a bit too small for passive cooling?

No, there’s not much space left inside the Etude…

PS… yes I know, the wiring isn’t at right angles but you have to admire the use of space :flushed:


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Those wires are a mess, must sound like a bag of spanners :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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:joy::rofl::joy:

Yes, tad more room in the Ultima. Incredible how small they can make things now

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Hi
I am currently using the DAVE preamp -
Cabling includes: Naim Hiline, Naim DC1, True Signal Audio loudspeaker cable, Chord Electronics SPDIF cables, and home-brew goldplated silver core twisted pair analogue interconnects
Simon

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For my DIY cables I use Belden 8760 and Neutrik which together cost hardly anything and I find difficult to beat. This is a screened twisted pair cable which to my ears is far better than any star quad microphone cable.

Out of interest I also have a pair of Iconoclast Gen 4 OCC XLR cables which cannot be described as costing hardly anything but they still use the cheap as chips Neutrik XLR connectors and I have no problem with that.

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so what will be the end game?

Chord Amp
Naim NAP 250 or 300?

The Etude - I like the 252/300DR sound signature the most but it sets up more bass resonances the other side of the party wall (although bass control in the listening room, with good stand mount speakers, is very good).

The 250DR is great, hearing it again it is like a comfortable set of slippers, but it doesn’t have the clarity of the Etude or 300DR - if there was an intermediate’275DR’ that could have worked, but that is just me theorising.

Sound proofing is not in scope for this year or next.

A shame because I have spent the last year ‘building’ and upgrading my Classic system from various sources but I really do rate the NDX2/XPS-DR/Dave/Etude as a differently voiced system - certainly not a downgrade, but a different approach.

I will be keeping my NDX2/XPS-DR, Atom and Qb2 so hardly leaving the fold.

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