Chord Dave

" I actually was underwhelmed by the DAVE in my system ."

At present a reviewer friend is doing a review the new Chord Hugo, he has the top Total dac himself, passive preamp, Wilson Alexia and Gryphon Antilion Evo as his reference system.
He told me he is very impressed with the new Hugo up against his Total dac getting very close to it.
We found that it uses a discrete type of Delta Sigma conversion technique. He said it was the first DS dac that he has heard that he’s been impressed with up against the R2R ladder multibit Total Dac.

This is the sort of systems (even better than his) that he listens to on his reviewing journeys.
http://www.soundstageaustralia.com/index.php/features/61-hq-visit-dcs-cambridge-united-kingdom

Cheers George

I just sold my Chord Dave, I do miss it, I can not listen to music more than a few minutes without being bored with the DAC I currently have till I get a new one. The Dave worked great in my system (Wilson Audio Sasha’s and T +A amp, High Fidelity Reveal cables, Aurender MS). With the Chord Dave, I could listen for hours. Miss the big soundstage and the eerie vocals and the lifelike clarity of the Chord Dave. Would definitely buy it again. 

the dave is a killer dac. there is just so much resolution AND soul to the sound. i have the baby brother, the chord qbd76 hdsd...it's no slouch.

have you tried the pre in the chord? is it any good?

skanda,
I've tried the Dave direct and prefer the Dave with a preamp. In my system it's not close, but every system is different.

Yeah....much better with preamp. IMHO the best dac I have heard or owned.