DAVE -Reference DAC & Headphone Amplifier

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.

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

Digital Inputs

• 4 × 75 Ω S/PDIF BNC coaxial – 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz
• 1 × AES XLR – 44.1 kHz to 96 kHz
• 2 × Fibre Optic TOSLINK – 44.1 kHz to 96 kHz
• 1 × USB Type B – 44.1 kHz to 768 kHz (16–32 bit) – PCM & DSD

Analogue Outputs

• 1 × stereo pair of unbalanced RCA
• 1 × stereo pair of balanced XLR
• 1 × ¼” TRS headphone output