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Chord Dave

It won't be for everyone. I'm not saying it's the best. I've owned several DACs and after owning the Dave for a couple of weeks all I can say is WOW! This is the closest to hearing a night and day difference between components that I've experienced. The Dave differentiates between recording venues better than anything I've owned. Detail, soundstage, air, vocals, attack and dynamics are truly outstanding. I'm saying all of this and I'm using the standard power cord. If you're looking for a new DAC, give the Dave a listen.  
ricred1

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auxinput
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I still absolutely love the Chord Dave, but I have yet to hear a DAC that I prefer directly into the amplifier. The Corus may not be the best preamplifier, but for now I’m keeping it. Ladies and gentleman I think I’m done for a while!

I have definitely noticed this with a lot of DACs.  It entirely depends on what the I/V and output stage of the DAC is.  If it's general solid state or op amp, you will definitely need some sort of preamp to help with waveform smoothing or attack.  I suspect that a DAC that uses a very nice Class A or tube output stage (with some sort of volume control) could potentially sound very good direct to an amp.

I noticed this with Oppo bluray players (both the 103 and 105).  As good as the audio is from these players (and it's VERY good for the money), it sound very dry and somewhat flat coming straight form the player.  It really starts to shine when you put a Class A preamp in the mix.

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