Chord DAVE

[HiFiFan]

First did some cable tidy up and changed the seat position a bit - the new position (or maybe it was the old one and it just migrated over time) has really helped make the vocal fuller.

Now have everything optimally setup. Mac Mini, running Roon, direct ethernet connected to microRendu via Audioquest Cinnamon cable. microRendu connected by USB to the DAVE DAC via Wireworld Platinum 7 cable. I have ordered an Uptone Audio LPS-1 but they have had a backlog don't begin shipping again until today.

I don't know if it is just that the DAC has fully broken in or the combination of elements (I don’t have the enthusiasm to pull the microRendu out and go back to a mac mini direct test) but I am really happy with the sound. It is now way better than what I was getting the the mac mini -> Berkeley Alpha USB -> Berkeley DAC II. The level of detail is amazing with previously unheard chair scuffs, accidental touches and breathing and I am hearing layering that I never knew existed before. It has been great rediscovering stuff I haven’t listened to in ages. The addition of the LPS-1 could possibly even improve on this a little.

For those not interested in creating a custom audio PC the microRendu (and possibly the SOtM sMS 200) is well worth checking out. Not really cheap but significantly cheaper than an Aurender, MELCO or similar and from my limited exposure to those defiantly up there with them.