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Fifteen years? Has it really been 15 years since I reviewed what was then the flagship D/A processor from English company Chord Electronics? In the July 2002 issue, here's how I summed up my review of the Chord DAC64: "While the Chord Electronics DAC64 is undoubtedly expensive, it is eye-poppingly gorgeous. . . . many listeners should find its silky-smooth highs seductive, as well as its slightly larger-than-life lows." How times and prices change—the "undoubtedly expensive" DAC64 cost only $3040! I did make a couple of criticisms of the DAC64 in my review, but according to Wes Phillips, in…
Watts again: "Bob Cordell proposed nested feedback loops in the 1980s as a way of improving amplifier performance. . . . [W]hat he was proposing was equivalent to a second-order analog noise shaper [that] eliminates distortion. There is a huge amount of negative feedback available with a nested feedback stage, even at 20kHz. The benefit is that when you plug in a 33 ohm load, there is no increase in distortion at all. In all my DACs I've got a very simple analog structure. From Mojo right up to DAVE, it comes down to two resistors and two capacitors and a single amplification stage . . .…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: D/A processor with volume control. Digital inputs: 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 4 75 ohm coaxial (BNC), 2 TosLink, 1 USB (Type B). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 headphone. Digital formats supported: 32–768kHz PCM in 32-bit; DSD64/128/256/512. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB. THD+N: –127.5dB ref. 0dBFS. Dynamic range: 127.5dB. Output impedance: 0.0055 ohm (short-circuit–protected).
Dimensions: 13.2" (334mm) W by 2.8" (71mm) H by 6.1" (154mm) D. Weight: 15.4 lbs (7kg).
Finishes: Silver, Black.
Serial number…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Aurender N10 music server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Meridian Ultra DAC; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converter with Bridge II network adapter; AudioQuest JitterBug, UpTone Audio ReGen USB cleaner-uppers; Mac mini running Pure Music 3, Audirvana, Tidal HiFi, Vinyl Studio apps; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Power Amplifiers: MBL Corona C15, Pass Labs XA60.5 (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Aerial Acoustics 5T, Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3, Dynaudio Contour 20, Rockport Technologies Avior II.
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Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Chord DAVE with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"), using both the Audio Precision's optical and electrical digital outputs and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0 playing WAV and AIFF test-tone files. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the Chord as "Dave" from "Chord Electronics Ltd," with the serial number "413-001." The DAVE's USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that, via USB, the DAVE accepted 32-…
Was just listening to the deluxe edition of Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which is to be released tomorrow, May 19, when the news of Chris Cornell's unexpected death was announced. Very sad news and our sympathies go out to his family and all who loved his music in Soundgarden and Audioslave, and on the solo records.
Sappy as it is, Singles, Cameron Crowe's big, sloppy valentine to the Seattle music scene, is redeemed primarily by the soundtrack in which Cornell plays a prominent part, and Matt Dillon's hilarious portrayal of the almost famous dunderhead Cliff Poncier, lead…
If, like me, you're a dues-paying audiophile who's circumnavigated the upgrade block a few times, you've seen a lot of gear and set up many systems. I've carried 80-lb line conditioners up the six knee-crunching flights to my bachelor's penthouse, managed 50-lb loudspeakers downstairs to a waiting van, and made more trips to FedEx than I can count. I've owned dozens of audio products and reviewed dozens more.
In hopes that with perseverance comes wisdom, I of course practice what I consider to be the skills of precisely executed system setup, even—or especially—in the case of…
After kitty-cornering each speaker into my listening room, Roberts handled setup duties, aiming the Rivals at roughly the same listening position that John DeVore had carved out for his Orangutan O/93s. I wasn't satisfied. Placing the Rivals too deep in their corners cheated the sound of punch and definition; too close to my listening seat and the bass response diminished. After some trial and error, I lessened their degree of toe-in from 45° to where I could just see each inner side panel. In short, the Rivals ended up 66" from my listening chair, with the centers of their panels 32" from…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, front-ported, horn-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" compression tweeter mounted to elliptical Tractrix-flare horn, 3.5" phenolic-diaphragm midrange driver with neodymium magnet mounted to wooden midrange horn with 2" throat, 15" paper-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 400Hz, 6kHz. Frequency range: 32Hz–20kHz. Sensitivity: 100dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Recommended amplification: 3–100Wpc continuous.
Dimensions: 41.5" (1050mm) H by 19" (480mm) W by 16" 410mm) D. Weight: 125 lbs (56.7kg).
Finishes: Birch;…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Kuzma Stabi S turntable & Stogi S tonearm; Music Hall MMF-7.3 turntable; Denon DL-103, Goldring Elite MC, Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridges.
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook computer running Audirvana Plus; Halide DAC HD, PS Audio NuWave DACs; LG BD player; Western Digital T2 Mirror Drives (2).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Heed Audio Quasar phono stage, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion.
Integrated Amplifier: Heed Audio Elixir.
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