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The new Chord Mscaler officially has a name.

karlsushi said:
Is that suggesting a 2 box device possibly? Maybe not.

Do we think an SMPS or is he finally going to bite the bullet with a proper linear PSU!?
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I wonder the same. I replaced my DAVE’s internal stock ($50) DIGIKEY SMPS with Sean Jacobs’ ($10k) DC4/ARC6 external LPS. (Sean’s brilliant US tech guy, Vassil Strachnikov lives just a few miles from me in the Chicago area which made the decision a bit easier.)

Suffice to say the Sean Jacobs LPS utterly transformed the DAVE in every respect - far beyond anything I could imagine. Deepened more immersive soundstage. Greater delineation of inner voices while removing any hint of DAVE’s sometimes clinical sound. The LPSU turned DAVE into a supremely musical yet finely detailed DAC (along with M Scaler and OPTO/DX), now fully compatible in quality and character with my Tannoy Kensingtons and Pathos InPol Heritage MK2 hybrid integrated based system. (So you know my preference in sound character.) It was an immediate and utterly transformative improvement to my system.

OTOH - I heard no discernible difference between the HMS SMPS and the Teddy Pardo LPS. My TP is currently being upgraded to the most recent iteration so that may have some effect.

All of which is to suggest there are multiple “upgrade paths” for DAVE, including and beyond the M Scaler (which BTW when disconnected from my system utterly collapses the sound stage and reduces clarity,transients, etc noticeably).

It’s heartening that CHORD now acknowledges linear power can bring substantial improvements over SMPS - at least on the M Scaler. I wonder if they might consider offering the current DAVE as a two box system by replacing the SMPS with their own LPS as with HMS. I understand that the new DAVE being contemplated is a cost no object unit approaching six figures. Seems there might a reasonable argument for an option somewhere between $15K and $100k. But I’m sure they know their market.

To be sure, my approach is not for everyone. While I now have close to $30K invested in my DAC stream, my personal circumstances would not have allowed a one time purchase at that level. So the “piecemeal” upgrade path” made sense in my case. As to the end result, of course it’s all about personal preference. But each time I return home from AXPONA and turn on my relatively modest system, I am both pleased and surprised with what I hear. YMMV

BTW, I’ve heard similar good reports about the FARAD LPS w/ DAVE at substantially less cost than the DC4/ARC6.
 
Maybe it's the effect of removing the smps and it not now bleeding noise into your other components, rather than the sound of the lps itself with the Dave?
 
I've never really understood people taking apart such well-made items as the DAVE and substituting DIY elements - invalidating the guarantee on the way. It's not as if the DAVE was a DIY invitation like the old olive era Naim pre amps were...

Frankly:

if it ain't broke, don't fit it

and

if you don't like the sound why did you buy it in the first place?

PS: I was impressed with the sound of the DAVE and first Mscaler iteration. Who imported and sold Chord products where I live were major factors in me buying dCS rather than Chord when I changed DAC.
 
The DAVE has been out for nearly ten years, so the warranty is long expired for most owners. I see no problem with people tinkering with their DACS if thats what floats their boat.
 
uncl_nigel said:
I've never really understood people taking apart such well-made items as the DAVE and substituting DIY elements - invalidating the guarantee on the way. It's not as if the DAVE was a DIY invitation like the old olive era Naim pre amps were...

Frankly:

if it ain't broke, don't fit it

and

if you don't like the sound why did you buy it in the first place?

PS: I was impressed with the sound of the DAVE and first Mscaler iteration. Who imported and sold Chord products where I live were major factors in me buying dCS rather than Chord when I changed DAC.
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I've listened to several modified flagship CD players (Akai, Pioneer, Rotel, Sony) and I can attest that their performance improved significantly in most cases. I still own a modded PD91.

To use a car analogy just look at how much extra performance Alpina (BMW), Brabus (Mercedes) or Ruf (Porsche) can extract from the cars they modified. Or you can compare a road car with it's rally or circuit version.
 
cantorgale said:
It’s heartening that CHORD now acknowledges linear power can bring substantial improvements over SMPS - at least on the M Scaler
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My recollection and understanding is that the RW designed new power supply for the Choral range scaler is SMPS, not LPS.
 
llatpoh said:
Perhaps it is the analog section of the DAC that benefits the most from the improved PSU.
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I don’t think that is the case.

When I was trying various power supply options for the Dave I did try using the factory SMPS for the digital circuits and just using a LPS for the analogue circuits. Using LPS for both was a much better sound.

Also I originally used a Sean Jacobs 3 rail DC3 to power my Dave and when the DC4 option became available I tried
the DC4 on the analogue circuits but kept the DC3 on the digital circuits. Unfortunately for my wallet using DC4 on the Dave digital circuits and the analogue circuits was much better.

It was the same story when the DC4 ARC6 power supply was designed by Sean Jacobs as an upgrade to the DC4. Using the ARC6 version for both the digital and analogue circuits was much better than trying to stay with the non ARC6 version of the DC4 on the digital circuits. ie using the DC4 ARC6 for both analogue and digital Dave circuits was the best sound.

cantorgale said:
BTW, I’ve heard similar good reports about the FARAD LPS w/ DAVE at substantially less cost than the DC4/ARC6
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Yes, I have also seen those reports and indeed the Farad LPS is good and is what I used on my Qutest.

What I do additionally know is that when I changed to a Sean Jacobs DC4 instead of the Farad to power the Qutest the sound quality was upped by quite a margin. And this was just the base version DC4, not the ARC6 version.
 
uncl_nigel said:
I've never really understood people taking apart such well-made items as the DAVE and substituting DIY elements - invalidating the guarantee on the way. It's not as if the DAVE was a DIY invitation like the old olive era Naim pre amps were...

Frankly:

if it ain't broke, don't fit it

and

if you don't like the sound why did you buy it in the first place?

PS: I was impressed with the sound of the DAVE and first Mscaler iteration. Who imported and sold Chord products where I live were major factors in me buying dCS rather than Chord when I changed DAC.
Click to expand...
I most certainly purchased the DAVE because I was impressed with it. It compared favorably to the MSB DAC I was also considering at the time. And it completely blew away the Modwright tube-modded OPPO Sonica DAC I had been using which ultimately sold me on the demo unit DAVE on offer. I added HMS later, and then the OPTO/DX. Finally the Sean Jacobs.

I should probably add that the idea of “modding” components was not entirely new to me. In addition to the excellent Modwright tube mod (with an external LPSU, come to think of it), my very first post-university purchase was a Hafler DH200 amp and DH110 line-stage purchased secondhand. The original owner had modded them by Musical Concepts, although I don’t to what degree. 30-some years later, I sent the Haflers back to MC (still in business, John Hillig had actually worked with David Hafler) for an upgraded PSU, caps, etc. When returned to me, the “re-modded” Haflers sounded far better in every respect far than they ever had. This was the first lesson in my audio journey that electronics are equal partners to speakers in creating a system.

So my “faith” that careful post-OEM modifications can add value to an already fine product is long-standing. And audibly verifiable - at least to my ears.
 
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