Cycleman

This is one of those rare non-rumor situations. Over on a long-standing thread on the Head-Fi forum, information starting somewhat before this page and after - Head-Fi Chord DAVE - has details about how Rob Watts has programmed two devices that up the DAVE's performance to 1 million taps from its standalone current 164,000 taps. But that information comes directly from Rob Watts (screen name Rob Watts), the digital designer of the DAVE and other Chord products, and John Franks (screen name Mojo ideas), Chord's founder and managing director. Directly, as in they both post on that thread and others, more posts from Mr. Watts than from Mr. Franks. The two devices are a soon-to-be-sold CD player (Blu 2), that has a passthrough to the DAVE to reach 1 million taps, and the later-coming Davina, an ADC (analog-to-digital converter) that will have the same type of passthrough. This capability is called the M-Scaler. And several people on the Head-Fi thread would love to also see a standalone M-Scaler unit, sans CD player and sans ADC. But nothing about that yet. Those few people who've heard the M-Scaler capabilities in action say the improvements over the standalone DAVE are very large and far from subtle.

+++++ In fact, the longer I've had the Chord DAVE, the more I love the music through my system. Over the past two years, I've tried various other DACs in my Aurender music server system. These include: Luxman DA-06 Burson Conductor Virtuoso (version 1 and 2) Berkeley DAC II Berkeley Reference DAC (version 1) Bricasti M-1 Schiit Yggy The multiple DACs don't necessarily mean I know any better. But I did have the Berkeley Ref, Bricasti, and Yggy in my system at the same time as the DAVE, so I was able to compare directly. And the wide soundstage, warmth, and details of the DAVE surpassed all the others. Yes, as Blake writes, sometimes only slightly. But definitely. Dave, who notes that Chord is coming out with add-ons to the DAVE that while expensive are supposed to increase its sound quality by bounds and leaps

Okay, Rick, that makes sense. But could you more clearly list the Unix commands, since when I copy-and-pasted, I got error messages. Such as this: Irving-Main:~ Dave$ $find . -name "._*" -bash: .: -n: invalid option

Hi Rick, Thanks for this detailed info. My question for you now is: WHY do you prefer to not have those files on the Aurender? I mean, I've been getting those "unrecognized files" report too as I use the scanner. However, those music files are, in reality, still there and still play fine. So, why might I want to play around with Terminal -- where if you make an error, there is the chance of some unwanted things happening -- when the reality of playing music with the Aurender has not been changed? Dave, who has been using Mac computers for over 30 years now and is comfortable enough with Terminal but is asking these questions with a more general perspective

Thanks. And yes, I've been scrolling the tab strip all along. But the N10 allows only 11 custom-named tabs, and the arrival of this STREAMING tab (all caps? so loud!) pushed off my last tab, last in alphabetical order, which I had named "World." I will write to Aurender with some simple suggestions for the next version of the system software: * Under Settings > Streaming, give us an option to show the tab or not. * And either make the tab say just "Streaming" (not obnoxious ALL CAPS) or give users the further option of case. * And perhaps one more option: the placement of the "Streaming" tab in the row. Dave, who is still delighted with the N10's sound going into a Chord DAVE so in the end this is a small annoyance but an annoyance nevertheless

I updated my N10's system software, and there's one change I don't like. That is, with the second line of tabs in the Conductor software, the ones each person can customize, there's now a new tab named, in all caps, STREAMING. That tab is immediately to the right of the "All" tab. Two problems with that, for me: (1) I don't stream. All my music is on the N10's internal drives. (2) That new tab has now pushed out my previous last alphabetical tab, which I had named "World". Now the actual music that was under the World tab is still there, but now it's under the Aurender-defined "Misc." tab. I see nothing in the Conductor app settings that allows me to change which tabs are shown. And that lack of control is the same in both the newest version of that app and in the previous version. Any suggestions for fixing this annoyance? Dave Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

For me, the fact that other Aurender products have been reviewed means I would have loved to hear some comments in this review about how the sound quality of the A10 compares to the two Aurender units above and below it in cost. That is, the N10 and the N100H. For example, the N10 has double the solid-state memory of the A10; and if memory serves, the N10 has more isolation for its outputs. While an all-in-one package like the A10 makes sense for a lot of people, the N10 made sense for me for two key reasons: I already owned an excellent, high-end DAC. That was the Berkeley Ref Series 1, and is now the Chord DAVE. The multiple digital outputs on the N10 - one each of the five main types - gives me many options, including using separate outputs to the DAVE and to other units, such as headphone amp/DACs. Other reasons why an included DAC, as with the A10, doesn't attract me is that DACs are ever evolving. It's the same reason why an amp with a built-in DAC could be shortsighted too. That said, I've found the Aurender servers to offer a great blend of sound quality, ease of use, and solid, no-need-to-tweek-or-regularly-reboot operation. Yes, the Aurender Conductor app can improve, and likely will. But for now, I've found it better, with more controls and logical structure, than other iOS apps, including the Lumin and iPeng and Audirvana Plus apps. Dave, who originally bought an Aurender N100H in late 2015 and sold it after one month because he loved it so much he bought the N10 instead and then went on to buy another N100H for his secondary system

To get the Aurender drive to show up on my computer desktop, the user name and password were both: aurender Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

I've used a fair amount of different iOS apps over the years to control various music servers. And from my POV, the Aurender Conductor app is clearly better in many ways than the following apps: * Apple Remote * Squeezebox * iPeng * Audirvana Plus * Lumin Better to me means clearer in usage, more functions (such as creating playlists), fast operation, and more. Here's one simple function that I've not seen implemented the same way in other apps: When you tap on "Clear" the resulting dialog box gives you the choice of clearing the entire queue (common) or everything but the track currently playing. That latter choice, not seen in other apps, is the one I often use. Yes, an improved Conductor would be great, more modern colors as well. But I'm another person who doesn't need Roon, especially since I've carefully cultivated the metadata in music library -- at least the metadata that matters to me -- over the course of many years. Dave

SOLD, and thanks!

Yes, still for sale, and I sent you a private message.

SOLD, and thanks!

This is the remote that comes with the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. And it also works with Berkeley's higher end Alpha DAC Reference (I know, because I personally tested it). The remote I'm selling is in pristine, new condition. Whether you need a second remote, a replacement remote, or simply want a just-in-case backup, here it is at just $62 total, with PayPal fees and Priority Mail shipping in the CONUS included. Two photos here, and questions quickly answered. Dave, who says that even a pair of the required AAA batteries are also included

If you're reading this, you most likely have read and heard a bunch of good stuff about the Yggdrasil DAC, aka Yggy. The particular Yggy I'm selling is in pristine condition, both for looks and sound. I've tested the Yggy against some other DACs, 5-figure DACs that cost 5-to-7 times more than the unit's $2300 price new. And to my ears, the clarity and rich detail and full soundstage of the Yggy offers about 95% of the same super-high quality as those far more costly DACs. But hey, I'm a crazy audiophile, so I'd rather lay out 5-figures for a DAC to eke out a bit better sound. But you are either not that crazy or your budget says, "By spending only $1800 for this guy's used Yggy, you can get really great sound for a really nice price." In original box, with original manual and power cord, some very slight scratches on right side that show in the last photo (otherwise would be 9/10 condition). Price = $1800 I'll cover the PayPal fees while buyer pays shipping. Several photos here, and questions quickly answered. Dave, who spent much audio time this year comparing various excellent DACs including this Yggy