Chord Dave and lInear power supply

I had a similar experience when switching from a Voltikus feeding my Antelope Zodiac platinum + 10M clock to a Sean Jacobs Dc3/4 linear PSU driving both the modified clock, the Etherregen and the DAC. The increase in separation, decay and attack and soundstage localisation of individual musicians was nothing short of revelatory. Digital seems to be hugely dependent on clean power and accurate clocks. N.B. even then the power cable, in my case a Nordost Valhalla had a significant contribution to make.

@antigrunge2 

 

I agree with  your opinion that digital system is sensitive to power cable and supply.

Sean Jacobs DC4 also got favorable review, but I opeted for Farad and happy with improvement at modest cost.

 

Thomas

I am a big believer that the power supply can be extremely  important to quality musical component and always key in an amplifirer.

Some lower power equipment can have a quality on-board power supply.  

I was just talking to a friend today and he mentioned Dave as an example where many believe the on-board power supply is excellent while others disagree.

I have a Dave with M Scaler and have really worked to bring the rest of the components in my digital stream up to it's level.  

Now you've got me wondering if I should jump on the power supply.

Jerry

BTW, how warm does the Farad Super 3 power supply run?  Some of the small power supplies run warmer than I like to see. thanks.

I've owned a Chord Dave for a couple of years, but have been very hesitant to purchase an upgraded power supply. Although, I have technical experience, I don't want to disconnect the current power supply and install the new one. 

I preface this by saying that if you use an external power supply on your Chord products it will void any warranties you may have.  That said, I had a customer trade in a Dave, MScaler, and a Sean Jacobs DC4 for each item.  It did make a noticeable difference in the width of the soundstage.  The Sean Jacobs power supplies are large and they might have the worst packaging I have ever seen but they sound great and definitely don't run hot.  

@ricred1 

First I'll say that I'm not afraid to take on any project, am an "expert" with a solder iron, and am currently building upgraded crossovers on 6 separate boards.  

However, looking at the directions to upgrade on the Farad website, this looks about as simple as it gets.  Review the instructions and you may decide you can handle it.

Jerry 

 

carlsbad,

Years and years ago I repaired old vacuum tube televisions at my dad's store. I know replacing the Dave's power supply is rather simple to do, but for some reason I just don't want to. I'd rather change DACs than change the Dave's power supply.

@carlsbad

 

Hi Jerry

 

The improveemnt brough by Farad linear power supply is day and night.

 

The installation is not that difficult as most people feared.

 

No soldering is requied.

Just simple change of board after loosening some screws.

 

They are not warm at all  with little power compsumption less than 40 watts.

 

Good luck!

 

Thomas

Ok.  Signed up on their site.  Waiting for a coupon.  😁

@carlsbad 

 

Now is the best time with high USD/vs Euro.

 

If Euro recovers, then coupon may not be of help.

 

😁

@shkong78

Thanks for sharing and Congratulations on improving the performance of your DAC. Looks like one hell of a upgrade to a subpar stock power supply. And if I may say so at a bargain price of €3K.

One thing you didn’t report, are you using stock power cords or did you upgrade PC’s on Farad power supplies? If yes, did you hear further improvements?

Honestly, I am bit surprised to see the quality of stock power supply in a DAC of this stature. At $14K entry point, one would think you are getting a robust power supply. I hope folks at Chord are astute enough to improve the existing power supply in future models.

 

@lalitk 

Power supplies are a black art not easily mastered by digital engineers. 

Kinda makes the new Mano ULTRA mkIII Farad look like a giant slayer.

Ahead of reviews.

 

 

 

@lalitk As the owner of a chord Dave I’ve been looking and reading about power supplies for quite some time. I’m a big believer in a good power supply. Many have reported that the power supply in Dave though small in size, indeed performs well and changing it yields no improvement. That is what Chord’s John Franks says. I have to say that right now with the chord Dave powered by PS Audio PP10 and data suppplied by EitherRegen, upscaled by M-scaler; it is sounding damn good. Extremely open and smooth but with more detail than you can count.

I’ve been on the fence and chatting with a friend the other day I decided that I was probably good with the onboard power supply. Then @shkong78 posts this. Probably not if, but when, will I buy one. I actually tried to put the stuff in the shopping cart on the website today and it won’t let you put multiple items in the cart. Saved by the glitch.

Jerry

I recently replaced a Sbooster used for a Roon Nucleus with a JS-2 Linear Power Supply (w/Sapphire DC Cable) made by uptown audio. Another case of a real dynamic improvement from a PSU.

Teddy Pardo LPS addition to the NODE is a big improvement. LPS are proven upgrades.

“I’m a big believer in a good power supply”
@carlsbad

I share your beliefs 💯 . I am sure the stock power supply performs well but until you have compared a modified Dave with Farad PS side by side, you do not know what you’re missing out. That Farad PS upgrade looks impressive in every conceivable way. When I was shopping for my ultimate DAC, power supply and master clock implementation was right up there along with SQ. My DAC have both standard power supply and external power supply options, you can guess which option I end up with :-)

Even though you’re very satisfied with stock power supply, I highly recommend you consider the Farad upgrade.

@lalitk 

 

I had been using Synergistic blue cable which made large improvement over stock cable.

 

But Farad power supply made much more improvement than Synergistic blue cable

Thomas

I've had similar results buying a low noise LPS for my tiny tripath high-pass amplifier (in a tri-amped system). Much more natural, less grainy, less hash.

More surprising, swapping the iFi audio low noise wall-wart PSU that came with my iFi PDIF iPurifier 2 with a 30$ low noise 5V LPS from aliExpress also gave great improvement, which I didn't expect: more natural, again, less "stringent" upper treble, more depth. 

Many have reported that the power supply in Dave though small in size, indeed performs well and changing it yields no improvement. That is what Chord’s John Franks says.

Very cheap parts.  Very expensive PR.

I've owned a PS Audio Directstream, Bricasti M1, Jeff Rowland Aeris, and currently own a Chord Dave DAC. The Dave may have a cheap power supply, but I have yet to hear a DAC in it's price range that I prefer in my system. That being said, I would love to do a direct comparison between the Dave, MSB Premier and Playback Design Edelweiss. At one point I considered the Aries Cerat Helene DAC, but after listening to the Aeris Cerat Incito preamp in my system I'm no longer interested.

Shkong78,

Did you buy the upgraded furutech and SR fuse with the power supply?  Based on the 3k price you paid I would assume so.

I’ve been very happy with my chord DAVE over the years but your post has me considering an upgrade.

Thanks

I bought a regular package since I can upgrade fuse later.

 

I found shortcoming of Dave and Mscaler when I compared it with ideon Absolute side by side at home.

 

Dave gave some sibilance and less decay than Ideon.

 

I do not have Absolute Ideon right now.

 

But with linear power supply, it seema to approach 90% of Ideon Absolute.

 

Thomas

Thanks

I’ve been looking at the Ideon Absolute as well as the Playback Designs Dream DAC.  A lot of money for those, but if I can upgrade my DAVE for far less that may be a good option.

I recently installed the Farad power supplies on my Dave.

Really transformational. I will of course try the fuse upgrades next. I am on the hunt for and m scaler now.

The retrofit is very easy and completely reversible if need be.

 

 

@nkj 

 

Congratulation!

 

Please let me know how much improvement Syner Purple fuses have on Dave.

 

best

 

Thomas

nkj,

As an owner of a Dave, what does "Really transformational" mean? What exactly does the Farad improve...detail, dynamics, resolution, bass articulation, etc?

 

Everything Dave does well is better,

Space, depth, air around instruments- sometimes Dave could be strident or lean- gone.

Well worth the upgrade IMO if you want to keep the Dave. I just got mine used recently so for my all in price it is was worth it.

@nkj 

 

I fully agree with your impression.

 

By the way linear supplies are also sensitive to power cables.

 

Thomas

I have ordered purple fuses.. I will report back with the potentially controversial observations, lol.

When I have heard the Mscaler on lesser Chord Dacs I have been suitably impressed by the results. Others here say M-scaler was not positive for them.

I will try to borrow one and see what it is all about with the Dave. I will hear Aries Cerat Kassandra in the next while as well.

Cheers,

Well I took the plunge and ordered a Farad PS for my Chord DAVE.  Fingers crossed!!!

@rshad0000

 

You wont regret your decision.

 

I used to use Margules tube pre after Dave to tame slightly thin sound.

 

https://margules.com/en/sf-220-30th/

 

But after having Farad power supplies, I can do without tube pre although I still favor the sound through pre.to small degree.

 

Thomas

@shkong78 ​​​​and @nkj 

Your listening impressions with the LPS change makes plenty of sense to me. I’m hard pressed to think of a case when improving the power supply quality did not result in better sound quality. 
 

I don’t know why the Chord Dave would be an exception to this type of outcome. I suppose if it was believed that its stock power supply could not be further upgraded/improved. I don’t know what evidence is there to support that idea. Power supply quality is crucial for achieving higher sonic performance.

Charles 

If you decide to upgrade your DAC’s power supply do yourself a favour and also upgrade the 5V USB line on a separate rail. You’ll be pleasantly surprised

@rshad0000  I know you will be impressed.

It's not debatable and not a nuance- its obvious.

While isolating the 5V line is a good idea- too much surgery for this DAC I'm capable of doing it but not interested in attacking the board on a product of this level.

Many of my audio experiments over the years have been power supplies- when you get them correct - there is always a positive difference in my experience.

 

Good luck.

Thanks everyone!  I should receive the PSU the week after next.  I’m looking forward to trying it out.

After 4 weeks of burn in, Dave with Farad three power supplies, sounds more detailed and powerful but without slight sibilance which bothered me before.

 

I am happy with this mod and trying some power cables on three power supplies.

 

Although Dave with Farad will not reach level of Ideon Absolute yet, but it is close.

 

After attending Pacific Audio fest, I can not make decision what my next Dac upgrade will be.

 

Wadax sounds perfect but too expensive with 200k $ or more price tag.

 

Lampi Horizon and Ideon Absolute are pretty good for the money.

 

But after having been happy with modified Dave., I may not go for Horizon or Absolute since the improvement will be marginal.

 

Thomas

I am using Aurender N30 as source.

 

After happy home audition of N20, I pulled for N30 instead.

 

N20 is the best bang for the money.

 

But N30 give slightly better details and overall balance than N20.

 

Thomas

Purple fuse update for the Farad Supplies on the Dave,

To my ear , more body, better separation and sense of space. If you don't use or believe in fuses- I respect that. Just offering my impressions on my experience.

 

Now, looking for impressions for those that use a Dave and M scaler- what to expect and if you use any isolation products as well. 

 

 

Everything said here about upgrading an SMPS to LPS has been my exact experience. It gives a huge performance boost for comparatively little outlay.

If you have a component that accepts external SMPS input, then try out the Farad or something like the Uptone JS-2 (dual outputs which are voltage switchable).

If you have a favorite component with internal SMPS, get a LPS custom built to slot into the mounting holes of the SMPS.

@nkj 

 

I had tried isolation transformer on Dave.

 

It improved the sound significantly.

 

But with it, I hear some ground hum since they are not grounded in the same earth.

 

Thus  I stopped using isolation transformer on Dave.

 

best

 

Thomas

Had anyone installed Farad to your Dave?

 

If so, please chime in your impression.

 

As 5 weeks after initial installation, it is the best 3k$ spent on my digital system.

 

Dave + (with Farad) sounds fuller  with vivid sound.

 

Thomas

I installed mine last week and it’s been settling in.   Overall I agree with what everyone has said.   It improves everything the Dave does well- depth of soundstage as improved and I’ve noticed increased transparency.  Some lyrics that were smeared before are completely clear.  An excellent upgrade!

I did notice that it brightened my system a bit.  Not sure if that is because of the silver leads that Farad uses or the different powercords I’m using now.  I was using an Audioquest Dragon before but there is no way I can afford afford putting three of those on the DAVE.   

Given the Dave’s relatively high price point, I’m sure Chord had good reason to utilize the SMPS. It is interesting however that in various forum discussions, people do report improved sound quality with replacement LPS.

Charles

@rshad0000

Congrats on the PSU upgrade. I think the ‘brightness’ should whittle away once they are fully broken (settled) in your amazing system. It’s been a while, let’s catch up soon; perhaps over an audition at my place or yours.

PS: I have a PC that you may like without leaving a big hole in your pocket :-)

@rshad0000

 

It is good to hear your positive experience.

 

With three Farad power supplies, it is difficult to use expensive PCs.

 

But I found that even modestly priced PC make some improvement.

 

With more speed and clarity, the overall balance could sound slightly bright.

 

You may try more relaxed interconnect rather than super detailed one.

 

in my case I do use bi amping using acitve crossover( PapC1 and Accuphase F25 are taking turns)

 

Pap C1 give more lively sound while F25 give more relaxed sound.

 

Thus I lower the output of treble little bit.

 

But overalll Farad makes Dave much more dynamic and lively too.

 

Thus it sounds closer to Ideon Absolute which I had done home audition two months ago.

 

But I do not claim that Dave + is at the same level as Ideon Absolute yet.

 

Dave+ will be at the same level or slightly better in details than Ideon Ion.

 

Thomas

 

I recorded this music with Pap C1 active crossover last night.

 

It sounds very lively and transparent.

 

if I use Accuphase F25, it sounds relaxed with slight loss of transparency.

 

I am taking turns between two different crossovers depending on my mood and music.

shkong78,  Yes, I agree, much more lively and dynamic!  I’m using a Wireworld platinum AES/EBU digital cable right now from my N20 to my DAVE so I may try out a good copper cable and see how that sounds.

 

lalitk,  Absolutely!  Love your system and would love to hear about new cables.

update: I finally got my Farad power supplies through customs and got them installed. System is fantanstic. power supply is icing in the cake. thanks for the suggestion.

 

Jerry