Chord Electronics DAVE
Chord Electronics DAVE delivers reference-grade transparency, lightning-fast transients and a remarkably holographic soundstage from its FPGA DAC architecture. Soundnews praises its lucid, lifelike detail and explosive dynamics, while Pursuit Perfect System highlights its clean, controlled DAC/preamp performance. With formidable connectivity and integrated headphone drive, it is a compact digital front end built for uncompromising systems.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
91/100
Features Connectivity
87/100
Value for Money
91/100
Pros
Exceptional resolution, transparency and natural detail without a clinical edge.
Fast, powerful dynamics with precise bass control and convincing transient attack.
Expansive, layered imaging and strong DAC/preamp capability in one compact chassis.
Extensive digital inputs, balanced and RCA outputs, plus a well-built aluminium enclosure.
Cons
Its revealing, immediate presentation can sound hard or fatiguing if system balance and source quality are not carefully optimised.
The headphone output is not ideal for the most demanding planar headphones, including Hifiman Susvara-class loads.
The supplied remote feels basic and plasticky for a component at this level.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Reviewers consistently portray DAVE as an exceptionally transparent, fast and uncoloured converter with unusually convincing spatial focus, dynamics and musical involvement. Its revealing nature rewards excellent recordings and carefully matched systems, though one reviewer found its upper-frequency energy and raw presentation could become tiring in an unsuitable setup.
Tonal Balance and Musicality
95/100
The Ear found DAVE natural, evenly balanced and neither overly analytical nor editorial, while Passion for Sound said instruments sounded convincingly true to life. Hifi Pig called it the most accurate DAC heard in that system and described it as breathtakingly good, although it is unforgiving of poor recordings and one Pursuit Perfect System review noted that excessive upper energy could become fatiguing in its particular setup.
Resolution and Detail
96/100
Detail retrieval is a recurring standout: Soundnews said DAVE outperformed every R-2R and delta-sigma DAC the reviewer had tested for resolution and dynamic range, without turning detail clinical. Pursuit Perfect System heard no smearing or lost detail in complex music, and Passion for Sound called it astoundingly revealing while praising its ability to expose texture and nuance without forcing them forward.
Digital Performance
94/100
Reviews repeatedly describe a clean, immediate and artifact-free presentation, with Convince Me Audio hearing a dark, black background and Pursuit of the Perfect System reporting no hardness, brittleness or overtly digital edge. DAVE is also praised for exceptional speed, timing and transient precision; its specified -127.5dB THD+N and 127.5dB dynamic range support those observations.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
91/100
Construction receives direct and consistent praise. Hifi Pig found it rock solid and very well put together, Soundnews highlighted the exceptionally thick aluminium body, and Pursuit Perfect System described the machined aluminium construction and user interactions as exemplary. The compact chassis is engineered with substantial mass and vibration control in mind, according to The Ear.
Features Connectivity
87/100
DAVE combines balanced XLR and RCA outputs, four BNC digital inputs, AES/EBU, two optical inputs and USB, plus four DX outputs for Chord ecosystem expansion. It supports PCM to 768kHz and DSD512, includes variable output for DAC/preamp use, a capable headphone amplifier, phase selection and crossfeed. Its connectivity is extensive, though USB and BNC carry the highest-rate formats and one reviewer found the headphone stage less suitable for demanding planar headphones.
Value for Money
91/100
At roughly $10,495-$14,900, DAVE is plainly a very expensive component, and several reviewers acknowledge that upfront cost. Even so, Hifi Pig said it was worth every penny, Pursuit Perfect System called it very good value given its DAC, preamp and headphone-amplifier capabilities, and The Ear likewise described it as good value. The unusually complete functionality and repeatedly exceptional sound are the basis for those favourable comparisons within its high-end market.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
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Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Frequency Response
- 20Hz to 20kHz +/- 0.1dB
- THD +N
- -127.5dB (AWT)
- Channel Separation
- >125dB @ 1kHz
- Dynamic Range
- 127.5dB (AWT)
- Headphone Output
- 1% THD 6.8v RMS with 300Ω (154mW) 1% THD 6.8v RMS with 33Ω (1.4w)
- Output Impedance
- 0.055Ω (short circuit protected)
- Operating voltage
- 90v AC – 250v AV auto switching 50Hz – 60Hz
- Power consumption
- Full power – 40 W Standby – 10 W
- Dimensions (including connectors)
- 7.8cm (H) 33.5cm (W) 15.2cm (D)
- Weight
- 5kg
Manufacturer's Description — Chord Electronics
DAVE is the most advanced DAC we have ever made. It features the very best conversion technology available, using proprietary techniques never seen before, making DAVE the most advanced DAC/preamp amplifier in the world. DAVE stands for ‘Digital to Analogue Veritas in Extremis’, a moniker that best reflects the product’s capability; a device so advanced and with so few compromises, that it is truthful in the extreme.
DAVE, which is also a reference-level headphone amplifier and digital preamp, distils over twenty years of Chord Electronics’ research, development and advanced engineering into one device. At its heart lies the advanced Spartan 6 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with 1,000x the processing power of a traditional mass-produced chip DAC. DAVE’s FPGA is loaded with over a million lines of code to confront complex timing issues head-on, with speed and precision.
The FPGA’s extraordinary capability enables a number of key sonic benefits, including significantly improved timing and the best noise-shaper performance of any known DAC. DAVE’s technology delivers music with unmatched reality and musicality, with an unrivalled timing response. The device’s lossless digital volume control outputs the signal direct to your power amplifier for the purest experience.
DAVE has a large LC display, showing input, sample frequency, volume and set-up configurations options, within our famous porthole design. On its fascia, DAVE also features a rotary encoder with a large stainless steel controller and ball buttons, enabling direct interactivity in addition to the supplied remote control.
‘Plays with Audirvāna’ hardware products are certified to play music from Audirvāna software over USB or network with the best level of integration and audio performance.
Other accessories & custom options
Precision machined from a solid block of aircraft grade aluminium, a work of art on its own, the Ensemble Stand is irrefutably the most satisfying way to display your Choral system components or stack.
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz flat within +/-0.1dB (HF filter off)
Tap length filter: 164,000
THD + N: 127.5dB (AWT)
Channel separation: >125dB @ 1KHz
Dynamic range: 127.5dB (AWT)
Sample frequencies: 44.1Khz – 768Khz (16 – 32bit) and DSD64 to DSD512 native DSD + DoP (input dependant)
Digital inputs:
4x 75Ω S/PDIF BNC Coax – 44.1kHz to 384kHz
1x AES XLR – 44.1kHz to 96kHz
2x Fibre Optic TOSLINK – 44.1kHz to 96kHz
1x USB Type B – 44.1kHz to 768kHz (16 – 32bit) – PCM and DSD
Analogue outputs:
1x Stereo Pair of Unbalanced RCA
1x Stereo Pair of Balanced XLR
1x ¼” TRS Jack Headphone Output
Key Features
164k tap FPGA DAC
768kHz Type B USB Input
4x 768kHz BNC Coax Inputs
2x 96kHz AES/EBU Inputs
2x 96kHz Optical Inputs
Expandable DXO Inputs
1x Unbalanced RCA Outputs
1x Balanced XLR Outputs
1x ¼" Headphone Output
Supports 800Ω Headphones
Configurable Crossfeed
Standalone Preamp Function
Galvanically Isolated USB
Supports up to 768kHz
Native DSD Supported
DSD 512 (8x) Capable
Solid Aluminium Chassis
Roon tested
Included Accessories
DAVE Quickstart guide
Safety instructions
10A Mains IEC cable
IR Remote control
Type-A USB to Type-B USB cable
Optical cable
2x AAA batteries
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Chord Electronics DAVE
- Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
- In Living Stereo — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- Accent On Music — in-store — Mount Kisco, New York, United States (website)
- Acoustic Designs Inc. — in-store — Scottsdale, Arizona, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Acoustic Streams — in-store — Lower Drift, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Acoustica — online and in-store — Chester, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Ajasom — online and in-store — Amadora, Lisboa, Portugal (website)
and 202 more verified dealers