Chord Electronics DAVE Digital Analogue Converter - Black

DAVE is our flagship DAC, a reference-level device containing the latest-generation FPGA technology. Put simply, it is the most advanced DAC in the world.
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.
Not all DACs are created equal. Using proprietary technologies painstakingly developed by Robert Watts over the past twenty-years, DAVE is our most advanced FPGA DAC to date. Handling the conversion of your music with absolute precision, and exceptionally low noise, yields an organic performance that simply cannot be matched.
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: 20 Hz to 20 kHz ± 0.1 dB
THD +N: - 127.5 dB (AWT)
Channel Separation: > 125 dB @ 1 kHz
Dynamic Range: 127.5 dB (AWT)
Headphone Output: 1% THD 6.8 v RMS with 300 Ω (154 mW); 1% THD 6.8 v RMS with 33 Ω (1.4 w)
Output Impedance: 0.055 Ω (short circuit protected)
Operating voltage: 90 v AC - 250 v AV auto switching 50 Hz - 60 Hz
Dimensions: 335 (W) x 152 (D) x 78 (H) mm (including connectors)
Weight: 5.0 kg

Turnaround

Orders will usually dispatched within 2 working days of receiving cleared payment.

Shipping Rates

We calculate your shipping rate based on the total weight of your items and your delivery address. Standard shipping to the UK Mainland is free, except where specifically indicated. Don't worry, you'll always see the final shipping charge displayed before you reach the payment step (on the checkout page).

Carriers

We despatch the bulk of our UK mainland items on a 24 hour service.  Non-Mainland locations – Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, the Scilly Isles, the Scottish highlands and Islands, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland may take a day or so longer. Smaller items are delivered using Royal Mail 24 or special delivery. Larger items are delivered using a courier service such as UPS and occasionally by a Pallet service.

Order Tracking

If a tracking # is provided by the carrier, we will update your order with the tracking information. Please note that some orders will not have tracking numbers.