Really enjoyed this video and I discovered some great new tunes from the music listed in the description. Thanks!

Thank you for these beautiful snips. My jaw drops, salivating, drooling… I can only dream of getting this

Thank you for sharing your test music. I'm absolutely immerse in the Woodkit artist and The Golden Age album. Brilliant!

Great review! You only have 168 subscribers now but I know you're going to blow up

So this is what happens if you mix Zeos and James Hoffman. Very nice content btw. Keep it coming.

I appreciate channels like yours and Currawong's for no nonsense reviews and the chance to hear a reviews about marginally expensive to absolutely cost prohibitive products. I've always had reservations about purchasing an expensive DAC, being at least $2,500 USD and above, so I cannot thank you enough for being able to review something in the prohibitively expensive category. I love Steve Guttenberg's audiophiliac channel but he's more of a reviewer who has the chops of a salesman first and a reviewer second despite his nearly lifelong career with high end products and working in music studios. If possible, I would love to see a review or two on the range of DAC's offered by Denafrips. Anyway, thanks so much for the video, can't wait for the next one. Cheers! Edit: Just found the Ares 2 review, great stuff.

Thank you very much! I finally found the answer to my question in your video 🙌🏼

this also feels like Zeos but way more knowledgeable

Great video man keep it up

Great review. I have a Dave and M-Scaler and are very happy with this combination. When factoring in the cost, I think it's important to note that the Dave can be used as a preamplifier. I don't use the Dave ths way as I already had a high end preamp when I bought the Dave, in addiotiob to which I need a preamp for vinyl playback so I can't comment on how the Dave's preamp performs.

Awesome review. Excited to see the Holo spring review. Hopefully you'll be able to review a Rockna wavelight eventually too. Really enjoying the content.

This is an excellent review I own an m scaler and Dave, and agree the m scaler is pretty impressive I have compared hq player both sinc l and m as well as the newer mx, and the scaler still makes a difference in my system , but agree I don’t think they are worth the money , I got them half price, it’s interesting I am not sure enough has been said about the pulse array, they always talk about the taps, great presentation

Your reviews are phenomenal, your choice of music for the reviews has opened new dimensions in my audio journey. And I'm just a noob. Thank you kind sir.

@goldensound this is making me curious to hear opinions on native lower resolution, upscaled recordings vs natively higher-res recordings, to your ears and with your kit. I only have pro kit at my disposal, and default to the highest res by default, but I’ve never done a blind test against an upsampled, lower res on top end kit.

Nice review. Thanks for linking the tracks. Can you actually tell these DACs apart in a blind test?

So finally, what's better, this or Holo Audio DAC May?

Hi guys what happens if you just buy the M scaler and put it on a cheaper delta sigma DAC. Would that super open up the staging?

I walk away from any gear that uses Times New Roman on its display. It's like they're not even trying.

Any chance that you will benchmark a Chord Hugo TT2 / M Scaler Combo against the Holo Audio May KTE? I guess, this would be an interesting and fairer for the price point comparison.

This is one of the best channels on KZfaq. Where's your Holo May review mentioned in this video? Curious about the Holo May vs Denafrips Terminator II.

I did have the same combo Chord Dave+M-Scaler and interesting in improve the sound upgrading the BNC's cables. Which one are the RED ones you have in the video.? are a audible difference that worth to change them from the original ones that comes included in the Chord package.? Thanks a lot.

$11,000 on a DAC? I don't want to hear absolutely nothing bad about it.

I’m auditioning the Dave, TT2 and Mscaler tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

I very much like the Chord aesthetic, in a market full of bland black or grey boxes, an interesting design is an effective way to get attention and give your product a unique appeal. Even the best specs will get trumped by a cute screen that looks like a porthole.

Very interesting review. Actually I need to get a new dac and that is quite hard, without hearing the sound myself. I wouldn’t like a DAC to make a fantastic sound, I’d like a DAC to make the sound as truthful as possible, as I would need it for professional use. Normally I find the rendition of the sound of the piano particularly artificial, as if it missed some harmonics. I recently tried a RME ADI-2 and a Rupert Neve dac and I found them both not satisfactory. Do you think the DAVE could be suitable for my needs? Or should I go for a Hugo TT2? Or change manufacturer? Thanks for your opinion.

Wonderful content, but is there any way you can lose the headcam? Drives me crazy. YTube doesn't need another Zeos. :)

Does the Holo May Dac compete in sound with the Dave M Scaler Combo?

How does the RME ADI-2 FS DAC compare?

Super cool review. Can't justify that kind of expense (although I'd love to hear it). Thinking hard about something in the $2-3k price range though. Maybe Yggy or Spring2

Thumbs up!

When you review the Holo Audio May DAC can you try it with Hogo M Scaler as well? Would be interesting to see if you can improve on the May DAC.

What is the headphone connected to, I don’t see it’s connected to headphone socket of dave

Very nice vid. I think it would be of interest to discuss tt2 with mscaler. Believe this pairing is what god intended. Dave on its own is too hard to tame and tweak.

Should I use it with speakers or headphones

You said that all delta sigma DACs oversample but the RME ADI-2 does have a D-S DAC chip and also a NOS filter option. And you might want to give the Mola Mola Tambaqui a listen if you can. I still can't get over John Darko saying the dcs Bartok sounds veiled in comparison to the Mola Mola... despite being more expensive.

Nice channel !! Can u compare this with dcs Bartok ? Almost all reviewers say about that as much better than Dave.

Any chance of a review on the benchmark ahb2?

my unit also does that weird flashing on and off thing. Great to know I am not alone !

KZfaq needs more like you.

Hi Golden, nice review! Upsampling the file with lots of taps have the same effect as a Msampler? Is there any upsampler like HQP that can save the file as a high res FLAC?

so whats the best dac youve tested?

After extensive research, I was just about reconciled to purchase a Chord Dave with the Hogo M Scaler until I saw this video. Now I'm doing a deep dive into the Holo Audio KTE May DAC and Azure Headphone Amplifier/Pre-amp to drive office work station powered desktop monitors and cans. I haven't decided yet on the cans for long term listening. I'm really curious to know how or would the M Scaler improve the performance of the May DAC or my PS Audio DirectStream DAC. I'd like to know more about your equipment setup and excellent job on the lighting and image quality. I'm looking forward to seeing the success of your channel. Also, I noticed your comments over on the NRD channel.

Hey, could you please do a review on that Benchmark AHB2? A lot of other Stax and Hifiman fans use speaker amps in their setups and there is some interest in it.

My guy Hans B just dropped a review on this and a few other dacs... He agrees with your assessment.

Is it good

What CABLE are you using with your Susvara's?

how does dave compare with topping d90se + a90

14:05 - on the Sennheiser HDV 820 and HD 820 via XLR, I hear absolutely the same thing, only in addition I hear on 2.12 click and creak of a chair at 2.15 of the original recording. $4400 of german engineering brilliance. I understand that KZfaq spoils the overall sound, but the difference in the cost of the kit is catastrophic, there is essentially no difference in sound. The $15,000 placebo effect. And yes, need to checking the high-end equipment not on this type of music. The perfect benchmark is Blade Runner 2049: Sea Wall and Joi for my opinion. I am very interested in buying the Chord Hugo 2 + 2Go as a portable hi-end kit. It definitely makes sense to overpay for it, since there are still no competitors for it in terms of quality and mobility. Chord Dave and M-Scaler create the impression of a very beautiful in design but useless in the music for that money. I still hope, that there will be a huge difference in live listening, especially on electronic music...

have you try Mcintosh mcd85?

looks like an atomic bomb. i say chord Dave looks amazing

21:58 supersonic boom! unbelievable

Enjoyable review and I must admit to liking the Dave's industrial design aesthetic even if the porthole over a rectangle is a bit odd (it does match the rest of their Choral Range so I guess that's part of the thinking). One question you don't really touch on is diminishing marginal returns when it comes to these products and I say that as a DAVE owner. While you describe the DAVE as a big improvement over the Qutest what do you actually mean (and I know that's subjective). When I auditioned the Chord range the differences between the Hugo, TT and DAVE were there but they had no correlation to price and I'd say were low in percentage terms. So by being hesitant about spending $11k on a DAVE but recommending $15k on a DAVE + MScaler, how big an improvement is the MScaler?

Ahh the intro!!! Good ol times of Assassins Creed Revelations!

This is like a cybertruck if it was a dac/amp combo

0:53 now that's trippy, that's such a Zeos' opening I was confused for a second wondrringwl whether I press the wrong link 😂

Can you use the Holo May with a m-scaler?

The justification for the price is not really convincing. Sony users their own self design/developed/made technology in an FPGA too in their TA-ZH1ES but sell it for ~2000$ You do pay for the name, that is for sure and does change bias. If the TA-ZH1ES would sell for 15'000$ people would compare it to the Dave. But because it sells for 2000$, they don't. It's as simple as that.

Can you review the new THX Onyx please. Thanks

The aesthetics, particularly with the stand, is a major reason I was considering Chord in the first place honestly - apart from the square screen...

The thing is that you are much more likely to find an RME DAC in a recording studio, actually producing audiophile music, than you are to find a DAVE DAC. Except that the RME ADI-2 RRO version would be used, because the ADC would be used to record analogue signals. So many quality DACs, so few quality ADCs.

How can I afford that

I'm confused about that part at 21:56. Why does the 16-bit look like a square wave, and the 24 look like a sine wave? Is the 16 *supposed* to look like a sine wave?

wish I could hear what he's hearing for real

Great review and everything GoldenSound has said in this video review I agree with 100% after owning the Dave by itself NO M-Scaler. But I might try it out before moving to another DAC. I am running mine with the following HP's Utopia, HD800, Empyrean, Z1R, Susvara's and incoming 1266 Phi TC soon. I have had many AMPS but my favorite combo with the Dave was with these combo's Dave > Felix Euforia with 4 x GoldLion KT88's QUAD > Utopia's = outstanding , Dave > Violectric V281 > Empyreans = hard hitting fun, and my current favorite would be the Chord Dave > Woo Audio WA33 Elite > Susvara's is truly end game I am on the fence right now to move to a dCS Bartok with AMP. I had the Holo Spring LVL2 KTE DAC which was good but the Chord Dave is just so effortless on doing what it is suppose to do. The only thing I would say for the Dave now is with my new WA33 Elite it is getting a little hot on the treble side other than the Susvara's with my other headphones which is a shame but I have incoming new tubes we will see if it helps. Thank you for your review I am now subscribed.

Golden Ear’s taste in music is freakin awesome

The Dave is clearly built like a submarine because everyone needs to be able to scuba with their DAC! 😂 By the way I am about to pull the trigger on the Halo May Dac and would love to see a review and if possible a comparison with the dcS Bartok and or the Mola Mola Tambequi.

I hope that Dave is extension of first hugo TT and chord 2qute with spartan 6 chip. They are better sound devices relate to qutest and maybe tt2. I had 2qute and Qutest, and I think that ,with newer series, chord is back one step. Try 2qute and compare with Qutest and rest, and you will be surprised. Completely different animals.

anybody looking at the Dave I would also suggest yo shop: Aries Cerat Kassandra, Nagra HD dac (used), Berkeley Reference, Mola Mola Tambaqui, aqua la scalla or formula xhd. There are many high quality dacs that don't get nearly the attention that Holo, Chard, DCS get but perform at a higher level.

I just watched this one for the music. I mean who is going to buy this!?lol!

Oh look, a more sophisticated Zeos with a British accent who reviews more expensive gear. You deserve my subscription well done on the review!

Cosmetics? You have to see it in their rack. Gorgeous.

'It just does whatever you ask it to" Sorry but I just Had to quote you directly as my DAVE doesn't adhere to that simple principal because it will NOT turn ON. ! Now I can't find anything anywhere on the net that explains this phenomenal before sending it back to CHORD for their assessment I wondered is there anything I could do other than flick the rocker on/OFF switch , I am at a total loss so would welcome any pearls of wisdom you could throw at this problem . My other HI FI is a CHORD 2 BLU , and a CHORD ETUDE , many thanks .

I like the review, but completely disagree that the Holo May is better, in fact, I don't think it's even remotely close to the DAVE, that DAC sounds slow and lacks detail. Not for me, Rob Watts all the way!

What I'm missing on this channel (and similar) is some kind of info how this so called today's "hi-tech" sounds vs. some classy old stuff but still state of the art. For example Mark Levinson Reference DAC no. 30.5. It would be interesting match/comparision if REAL progress was made in digital audio ! ;-)

idk why i keep coming here. this shit so expensive i can't even afford any of it in my dreams.

The intro reminded me of Assassin's Creed Revelations. The trailer music is the same.

why am i watching zeos number 2

I suppose its 1,5% better than my Grace Design m920 DAC (":

Beaten by DACS 1/15 of the cost MSCALER is a toy does zilch for SQ.

For an all in one at this level, I'd much rather take the dCS Bartok.

Zeos vibe

Why is the Dave designed weird? I'm guessing so everyone knows exactly what it is and that you spent 11k+ on it.

Every Dave has this blinking screen thing. It's because Dave is saving settings into the memory and at the same time it cant read from memory that's why screen is blinking.

It's hard to explain but I preferred Dave by itself without m scaler , m scaler changed sound too much for my tastes, never tried holo may dac I think that's next for me to try , I also went with external triple linear power for Dave ( it needs 3 rails of power removing switched internal power) and that changed sound to even more smoother and removed last bit of harshness

For the price I would rather have holo may

For 15k I would be more inclined to get the DCS Bartok with the built in headphone amp.

Oh boy ! ASR......

. 9:03. 17:00 .

But when Rob Watts talks about low-level signals (21:30) he’s talking about -301db (not -90db) and still being able to detect a difference in depth perception. Can the May handle -301db accurately?

I’m trying not to sell my car right now.

better than the may?

Chord does not only (IMO) make the ugliest audio equipment, their design quirkiness introduces friction for the user. Current thinking whether in industrial design or software design is that the user should not have to struggle to understand how to use a device or app, the more intuitive it is the more desirable it is. Removing pain points of confusion for the user is what’s referred to as removing friction. Whether an airline is making it easier and faster to check in or a smartphone manufacturer is making it easier to upgrade your new device so that it replicates the settings of your old device, these are examples of removing friction. With Chord’s crazy coloured light schemes you are forever having to think for a split second where you are in the colours of the rainbow and what that corresponds to for the setting in question. Oh, the volume is green has more friction than oh, the volume is at 4 out of 10. The Dave at least minimises some of the coloured light friction of the MScaler, Hugo 2 and Qutest. Having said all that I just upgraded from my Hugo2 to a Dave which is back ordered. I think Rob Watts produces amazingly sounding products. I bought the Dave over what might be some other equally good high end competition because I have very limited space for audio equipment, I needed an all in one solution and Dave easily fit the bill better than any other product I found myself lusting after. Admittedly a practical non-audiophile issue which non the less had to be factored in. The other thing I have come to understand is that audiophile equipment in no way compares to live listening. It’s just an issue of physics. If one listens, as I do, to a lot of orchestral music, and one has the experience of hearing that music live in a concert hall, there is just no way high end audio equipment can compete though the one area which audio equipment improves on is not having to listen to people whispering during a performance or unwrapping a lozenge or having their phone ring or other unwanted distractions. At the higher end of audio gear there is also the issue of trade-offs; one device may have more detail at the expense of a smaller sound stage while another device with great sound staging may have a 5k peak of 6db which is annoying. There’s no point in chasing the perfect device, you can’t get there.Great review!

The aesthetics are not questionable. They're brilliant.

I don't know why'd you ever buy this over an Apple Dongle.

i saw the audioquest cable and i got an instant vomit

A great review. The M-Scaler is transformational - and frankly, I can't take anyone seriously if they say they prefer a "Bare Dave". M-Scaler is that good. With this in mind, it would be very instructive to compare M-Scaler + Dave vs M-Scaler + TT2. In my listening, Dave is clearly better than TT2, but throw M-Scaler into the mix and things become far more interesting. I felt that - when using high-quality stereo recordings - M-Scaler + TT2 was clearly better than a bare Dave. The question is how does M-Scaler + TT2 compare against M-Scaler + Dave? The differences now are very subtle indeed, and it would be great to hear your opinion…

Aluminum can be very expensive.

OMG! $11K for printed circuit board in a fancy chassis weird industrial design? I believe you are buying only a luxury item rather than better sound

The DAVE screen bothers me, it looks ridiculously cheap. Could live with rest IF they had a halfway decent screen. Even no screen would be better.

So you can "hear" bad things in tidal mqa, but you cant "hear" anything bad in chord dave?? Hmmmm......interesting.