The Bricasti M1 SE is excellent but I like the features of the Ayre QX5. Although the Bricasti is excellent I would choose the Chord Dave. With the Chord, I will have to still use USB from my MacBook to the DAC because of its price. I read this may still sound great. With the Ayre, I could use the MacBook as the Core with Roon which is what I want to do. With the Chord I would have to wait a year or two to be able to do that until I have more funds. Not sure if there is a reasonably priced streamer with Roon & Tidal that would be high quality.
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wardl, thank you for the information. If I purchase the Dave, I will be using a MacBook pro with an AudioQuest Diamond USB cable. I also have a USB Disruptor. I would also be using at times a Rega Apollo R CD as a transport. I would use balanced cables from the Dave to my integrated amp which is the T + A 2500R. In your opinion, would this sound good? Since the Dave costs more than the Ayre, I would not be able to buy anything else for a while. I do have a dedicated circuit with an isolated ground. |
ctsooner, thanks for the input on the Ayre QX5/20. The totaldac is out of my price range. I did see a used one for sale, but for me right now, I prefer to have new with warranty since it is such a huge investment for me. I really like the Ayre because it is one piece (saves on outlets and shelf space) and really does what I want to do, which is ditch the MacBook and use it as the core so I can use Roon. I worry about the Dave if it will sound as good on my system. At the audio store, OMG, it did sound amazing. Big decision for me, it is going to have to last me till the end. |
hgeifman, thanks for your input. I have heard the Ayre at one audio store and the Dave at another store. Of course each store prefers the one they sell. The Ayre had a smooth clean sound that I like but the Dave had the huge soundstage which I love and a little more detail. The Ayre also is Roon ready and will stream Tidal. I do not know which will sound better in my system. I am worried about the Dave with the equipment I have and I do not have a power conditioner or regenerator. |
Tough decision, I really liked the Ayre QX5/20, the T+A DAC 8 DSD and the T+A MP 2000R MKll but decided to go with the Chord Dave and an Aurender A10. There are better DAC's but this is my max price range. I will buy in about 10 days unless I hear something else that will work as well. |
ctsooner, thanks for all your input. The Sasha's have plenty of bass. I listen to many types of music, love amazing vocals, lots of jazz, some electronic, love chill music like Thievery Corporation, some 80's music--mostly on vinyl...I have heard the Ayre QX5 Twenty with the Ayre integrated AX5 (?) with smaller speakers than mine at an audio store. I also heard the Dave, but with electronics much more expensive than mine. I am not able to hear either in my system. I really liked both, the Ayre was smooth and natural w stellar vocals. Loved it. The Dave for me was more dynamic, eerie and dramatic. Loved it also. Will buy one of these two DACS in one week. If I get the Dave, I will also get the Aurender A10, which also has MQA and storage that I need. If I think my funds will be too tight, I will get the Ayre. |
Just found out the Ayre QX5 Twenty is releasing an update this week with full MQA decoding & I just bought the Dave and an Aurender. Oh well, I hope I am happy with that, could have saved money though. |
rshad000,
I bought the Dave over the Ayre and I am still happy I did. The Ayre is smooth and clean and you can listen for a long time with no fatigue. Excellent DAC for sure. I personally did not like the look of the Ayre and it just does not look as clean and classy as the rest of my equipment. The Dave gives you more of everything...more detail, bigger soundstage, often eerie vocals that I love. It is definitely more engaging. Still love my vinyl set up more, but when I listen to digital, the Dave is special & different than my other DAC's. Not better or worse than vinyl, different. My High Fidelity Reveal magnetic cables also seemed to take it to another level. I also preferred using the Aurender and Aurender App over Roon. Just seems to sound better. The Aurender works flawlessly. I was so tired of MacBook Pro and Amarra issues, especially with every update. |
Scott, with the Dave DAC, you can listen to it for hours, wide soundstage, amazing often eerie vocals & detail. When I try the Aurender, I have to go back to the Dave. The Dave is great with all resolutions of music. You do not need MQA with it. I changed the power cable on my amp to a HF Reveal and the Aurender DAC sounds much much better. I have another DAC / music player (more musical, more analog, less analytical, less detail than the Dave) which is more expensive than the Dave by almost double and the Aurender sounds very similar to it in A/B comparisons when using Tidal at low to mid volume levels. The Dave and the Aurender work flawlessly together. |
Scott, I tried a T+A PDP 3000 CD/DAC in my system. SACD’s and CD’s NEVER sounded better. It was alive, crazy, you would forget to breathe when listening to it. It was the sound I wanted. I had problems with using the Aurender with it. I had to power the Aurender down and restart it for the PDP 3000 to recognize it. It worked well with my MacBookPro. After it was gone, I missed that sound. I then changed the DAVE & my CD transport for T+A’s newest music player, the MP 3100hv to match my T+A amp. CD’s, especially SACD’s sound great, but not as great as the PDP 3000, but much better than my previous set up. The MP 3100 works well with the Aurender. With MQA on the Aurender the sound is very similar to the MP3100 with slightly less dynamics. There was a huge difference with the DAVE & I always switched back to the DAVE. DAVE sounded great with every level of resolution. The MP 3100hv has more dynamics, better bass & is more analog sounding than the DAVE. The DAVE has a bigger soundstage, has more detail, is clearer and has a darker background. Also, the Aurender iPad app is superior to T+A’s. I am very happy with my system now, however, I miss the big soundstage, massive detail and more than anything, the almost eerie like vocals of the DAVE (& the great headphone amp on the DAVE). My T+A amp has a headphone amp but the DAVE’s is FAR superior. If I had to do it all over again, I would of kept the DAVE, changed the Aurender to the N10 and tried some different cables.
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Scottr, I heard the BLU MK.2 Is really really good. I found out about this too late. I would already have one of them if I would of kept the DAVE.
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Hi czubero,
the PDP3000 to me sounded slightly better than the MP 3100 for SACD & CD playback. Aside from slightly better CD playback, using it as a DAC, they both sounded similar to me. I still prefer the MP 31000 and bought it instead. It is more versatile. Love it. The PDP did not work well with my Aurender A10. The MP 3100 works seamlessly with the Aurender. I sold the A10 and was going to upgrade to the Aurender N10 but Tidal sounds so good using only the MP3100 I do not think I will. My original goal was to have amazing sound from Tidal & I am very happy with the MP 3100HV in achieving this.
I am currently debating on whether or not to change my PA 3000HV for the PA 3100 (& one day get the PS 3100) - or - buy demos of the HV separate amp and pre amp. How do you like your PA 3100? Do you think the PS 3100 makes much of a difference adding it?
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Hi czubero
I use the PA 3000HV to power Wilson Audio Alexia’s. No problems here, sounds great. Can definitely put cracks in the walls if I wanted.
As far as Tidal playback, it is so dynamic & detailed. Really impressive. Excellent recoded SACD’s sound really really good, just different than Tidal. With the Alexia’s I prefer Tidal over most CD’s. With my Sasha’s, they both sounded really good. I believe the Alexia’s are just more revealing. |
Congratulations! I connect it through Ethernet. For me this sounds much better. Tidal sounds better through the MP3100HV than using Amarra with my MacBook with an AQ Diamond USB. It also sounded better through the MP3100HV than the Aurender A10, even when using MQA with the Aurender. I sold the Aurender. CD’s sound really really good with the MP3100HV. Have all High Fidelity cables and an HFC MC-6 hemisphere and my system sounds the best ever. Enjoy the MP31000HV. |
I will soon be using my MP3100HV with the new Antipodes CX. I decided on this for a change than getting an Aurender N10. Want to use Roon. T+A says an update will be available shortly to update the MP3100HV to be Roon Ready. Just updated Ethernet cables to the MP with Transparent high performance Ethernet cables and put the MP3100 on Rollerblocks 2+ on top of a Symposium Acoustics Svelte Plus platform. Really sounds good. |
