{"id":3680,"date":"2025-05-29T12:06:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/?p=3680"},"modified":"2025-06-06T16:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T14:47:00","slug":"chord-dave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/tests\/types\/dac\/chord-dave\/","title":{"rendered":"CHORD Dave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The best DAC from Chord Electronics, the Chord Dave tops the range with a look that’s still very personal, but an indisputably remarkable musical result, among the finest and most precise available. Thanks to its all-FPGA structure and extremely high-performance noise filters, it extends the soundstage as far as possible and delivers quality detail down to the tiniest levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, in almost all areas and product ranges of high-fidelity, Chord remains a manufacturer of top-of-the-range electronics whose creator John Franks’ ultimate desire is the most precise possible reproduction of the sound signal. Delegated to one engineer in particular, the DAC department has found in Rob Watts the initiator of great successes such as the Poly, the Hugo and the Mojo, although the man still has a soft spot for his most accomplished product: the Dave. An acronym for \u2018Digital to Analogue Veritas in Extremis\u2019, this very top-of-the-range DAC does not deviate from the design devolved to the entire Choral category, which still includes four devices today, since the recent disappearance of the BLU MKII CD transport. In addition to a power amplifier called \u00c9tude and a preamplifier called Prima, both of which are dominated by products from the Full Size (including the Pre 2 and Ultima 5 tested in issue no. 41) and Reference lines, a Symphonic phono preamplifier is integrated among the sources with the Dave, a digital-to-analogue converter to which digital preamplifier and headphone amp functions are added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Choral Stand fits all the products in the range, allowing them to be positioned vertically or stacked, and, as always at Chord, provides extra stability and improved vibratory effects, thanks to its CNC-machined construction from solid, machined, aircraft-grade aluminium, combined with small rubber elements. Available in polished nickel, matt black or silver, the feet match the converter’s choice of black or silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With computers ten times faster than those of the Hugo, the Dave is looking for the ultimate sound with the help of its Xilink Spartan-6 core, which enables programming of an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) with the capacity to process more than a million lines of code, at a speed much faster than that of most converter chips. Its 164,000-point WTA filtering is capable of up to 256 femtoseconds and features 166 proven core DSPs for parallel processing. The noise filter recovers high-resolution data up to 2,048 femtoseconds and converts it to 5 bits, then reprocesses it in a 20-element FPGA, which alone is more powerful than the entire network of the brand’s smallest Hugo 2 DAC. This circuit provides an extremely low noise level for the analogue output stage, as well as very high high-frequency linearity, which drastically limits distortion. A single feedback loop, implemented by two resistors and two polypropylene capacitors, provides the best possible integration of the overall signal path, while a very low-noise power supply plan delivers the purest possible current to the other components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its solid, machined, aircraft-grade aluminium chassis and Choral Stand feet, the Dave can be used both as a digital preamplifier and as a pure converter. All modifications are visible through the LCD display recessed inside a porthole in the centre of the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the right, in addition to a large stainless steel controller for volume control, four cross-shaped ball buttons can be gently pressed to navigate the menu and select the various parameters and inputs on offer. An HF filter can be activated, as can a number of colours on the screen and, above all, a number of sound modes, allowing you to adapt the music to your personal preferences. All these operations are also possible from the remote control, which is very simple, with four cross-shaped buttons in addition to the Menu, Mute and Sleep buttons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"chord<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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At the rear, a number of connections allow the Chord to be integrated, leaving one surprise: the engineers preferred BNC coaxial to RCA coaxial. This means that you need to use an adaptor for the four inputs of this type if you only have conventional coaxial cables, which are by far the most widespread among hi-fi cable manufacturers, even though professionals and certain brands (Naim, Linn) have long preferred and sometimes still prefer BNC connections. An AES\/EBU XLR input, another USB and two Toslink optical inputs are added, as well as four digital outputs, also on BNC sockets. On the far right, the IEC 10A connection is topped by a 0-1 switch to completely deactivate the DAC, which otherwise remains hot unless put to standby using the remote control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 6.35 headphone socket on the front further enhances the Dave’s versatility, making it almost completely self-sufficient for desktop listening, where all you have to do is plug in a computer via USB and insert your headphones to enjoy music from the highest spheres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The set up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Provided you have a BNC cable or an adaptor, or a USB or AES cable, connecting the Dave is then child’s play, especially as it is recommended not to bring hi-fi sector cables that are too bright, but rather simpler elements that avoid any unverified additions to the curves long studied by Rob Watts. In its price range of \u20ac10,990, this converter plays in the big league and needs to be associated with a very high-end environment to express itself fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tested it as a DAC and preamp on Accuphase E-600 amplifiers in situ, then cross-checked our listening at Music Hall in Paris on the enormous E-800, while as sources we used a MacBook on Audirvana Studio via USB as well as SACD and network transports from different ranges, including the Aurender N30SA at Music Hall. Two orthoplanar headphones were also used for testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"chord<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The sound<\/strong> of the CHORD Dave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What can you say about a product like this when Chord Electronics talks on its website about the best DAC in the world, a somewhat presumptuous notion when you’ve heard the excellent Nagra, Esoteric, Linn or dCS converters, all based on FPGA architecture, but all still much more expensive than the Dave. If the Dave has no comparable in its brand, either in the Full Size range or in the Reference range, it’s quite simply because Rob Watts believes that, for the moment, he has reached the end of the technological possibilities available, which are themselves already much more powerful than those of the majority of DAC chips. Having reached a level that was deemed highly satisfactory during development, both in terms of measurement calculations and the resulting listening experience, Rob Watts carried out several more months of tests to check that his device could no longer be improved. He is now waiting for even more powerful calculators to try and surpass his product, which is currently a benchmark in terms of maximum distance from background noise and the perception of a black backdrop, allowing the musical image to unfold completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, while competition with other inferior DACs on certain musical tracks sometimes gives only slightly favourable impressions in favour of the Dave, it proves untouchable as soon as you move on to more complex tracks. With a large opera chorus, for example, or simply Bach’s Toccata on organ by the late Simon Preston, who died on 13 May, the clarity and surgical precision of the conversion create some great moments. From the extreme treble, which is never acidified or distorted, to the bass, the depth of which is only limited by the speakers – again, tested in a very broad way thanks to the complementary listening carried out at Music Hall on Sonus Faber Amati Tradition (\u20ac30,000) and Wilson Audio SabrinaX (\u20ac24,000) – the entire spectrum is particularly stimulated by the contribution of the Dave’s conversion throughout the available dynamic range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening through headphones brings the same levels of background noise reduction and pure sharpness of every detail, particularly well differentiated from each other by the luminosity of the soundstage, for which the relief of the image develops to the point of often allowing the position of musicians or instruments to be drawn out perfectly, particularly with live recordings. Once the headphones are plugged in, the outputs to the amplifier cut out automatically, to the regret of some hi-fi fans who know that the sound heard through headphones can be even better when the same music is played outside in the listening room, but for the benefit of real practicality. As well as being precise and refined, headphone listening is warmed by the quality of the amplification used..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"chord<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Our conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With its distinctive design, which shouldn’t prevent you from listening to it and comparing it with the larger, often classier models of its competitors, the Chord Dave demonstrates the brand’s expertise in sources and, more particularly, in digital conversion. Produced using the most modern and advanced technologies, the best DAC created by Rob Watts reveals fine, hyper-detailed sonorities, enhanced by a soundstage free of all background noise. For any digital music lover in search of the utmost purity, this product must be checked out, with the real risk of emerging as the one that brings the most benefits to the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Author<\/strong>: Vincent Guillemin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical sheet: CHORD Dave<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Origin<\/strong>: United Kingdom<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Price <\/strong>: \u20ac12 490 (2025)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Dimensions <\/strong>: 335 78 x 152 mm<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Weight <\/strong>: 5 kg<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Frequency response <\/strong>: 20 Hz – 20 kHz ; +\/- 0,1 dB<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Harmonic distortion (THD<\/strong> ) : 0.000015<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Signal-to-noise ratio (THD+N)<\/strong>: – 127.5 dB<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Digital inputs<\/strong>:
    • 4 x SPDIF BNC ; 1 x AES XLR ;<\/li><\/ul>\n
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      • 2 x Toslink optical; 1 x USB-B<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Analogue outputs<\/strong>: XLR; RCA; 6’35 headphone jack<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Audio formats<\/strong>: 44.1 kHz – 768 kHz (16 – 32 bit) and DSD64 to DSD512 native DSD + DoP<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The best DAC from Chord Electronics, the Chord Dave tops the range with a look that’s still very personal, but an indisputably remarkable musical result, among the finest and most precise available. Thanks to its all-FPGA structure and extremely high-performance noise filters, it extends the soundstage as far as possible and delivers quality detail down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115,114,37,35,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dac","category-chord","category-manufacturer","category-tests","category-types"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4026,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680\/revisions\/4026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vumetre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}