Chord Invents an ADC based on FPGA technology...

Lee · Oct 27, 2017

From a pro audio standpoint, I think this development is huge so I am including a link to a recent article I wrote for Part-Time Audiophile.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017/10/26/rmaf-2017-big-news-from-chord-electronics/

Ric Schultz · Oct 27, 2017

The "sound" of something is always determined by the distortions at every point. Even every brand of rca jack/xlr jack has a different sound. Most great A/D converters are still using op amps to do the analog processing. If the DAVINA does this then it is limited in transparency as there are no op amps that sound as good as great discrete circuits. Same with resistors, solder, caps, power supply bypass caps, damping, etc. etc. Anotherwords, if does not matter how low distortion the Davina's inherent processing is if the analog path before it is compromised.......and also the power supplies to every part of the thing. Hopefully, he got enough right that it will sound really great. But a huge development? We shall see. Look at what the Lampy guy did with the Tascam to make it sound really great......just one tube in the analog input before being sent into the processor to create DSD128 files. Now this guy is one tweaker! However, it is not PCM......and people want a great PCM A to D as well.

wisnon · Oct 27, 2017

Rick, are you sure?

He said:
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I have been long planning the ADC lampization. The best recorder seems to be TASCAM thats why I bought it. Then another one bought my friend from a recording studio so I could start sniffing around the circuits and holding one "virgin" tascam as a reference . I managed to find hundreds of parts in the input stage before conversion which are unnecessary silicon ****. I removed them all and still got music. Eventually I managed to remove ALL 100% parts from analog section and replace them all with a tube section consisting of truly fully balanced 6N16P triodes - 4 triodes per input. They are connected to ADC chip and then fresh clean data goes to CF memory card. As simple as that. I am still learning how to make reference sample recordings and as soon as I can find time to make them - we will present 3 samples recorded on stock TASCAM and 3 samples from lampizator Tascam - same songs - same DSD128x - for everybody to compare. I will make them available on the website for free. Having said that I love PCM 24/192 on that machine with tubes installed.

Furthermore, from Tascam's website:
Stereo Recording at High Sampling Frequencies Up to 192kHz PCM and 5.6MHz DSD
The DA-3000 is perfectly designed for stereo PCM/DSD recordings at high sampling frequencies suitable for archival masters. This magnificent unit is capable of recording analog and digital signals up to 192kHz PCM or 5.6MHz DSD. The unit records to both SDHC cards and UDMA supported CF cards.

Ric Schultz · Oct 27, 2017

I read about the DSD128 and thought maybe he had it only connected that way. Glad it will do PCM as well. Would be nice if it did 32/384.....he he.

wisnon · Oct 27, 2017

Lee · Oct 28, 2017

Watts is primarily a PCM designer. As for analog output implementation, Chord has a good reputation there as shown by their DAVE amp.

Ric Schultz said:
The "sound" of something is always determined by the distortions at every point. Even every brand of rca jack/xlr jack has a different sound. Most great A/D converters are still using op amps to do the analog processing. If the DAVINA does this then it is limited in transparency as there are no op amps that sound as good as great discrete circuits. Same with resistors, solder, caps, power supply bypass caps, damping, etc. etc. Anotherwords, if does not matter how low distortion the Davina's inherent processing is if the analog path before it is compromised.......and also the power supplies to every part of the thing. Hopefully, he got enough right that it will sound really great. But a huge development? We shall see. Look at what the Lampy guy did with the Tascam to make it sound really great......just one tube in the analog input before being sent into the processor to create DSD128 files. Now this guy is one tweaker! However, it is not PCM......and people want a great PCM A to D as well.

Lee · Oct 28, 2017

Also, I would add that what Watts is doing is pretty much refining the implementation of Nyquist so that its theoretical truths can be practically heard which has always been the trick. We saw this on the playback side with DAVE but the ADCs that I have experienced on my pro recordings have not been as refined. You gotta applaud Chord for taking a "whole chain" approach.

wisnon · Oct 28, 2017

Well, the more ADC choices out there the better.

I personally hated the Hugo, but I think the DAVE is much better. I still prefer the Lampi sound but could definitely live with Dave, and I also own a Qute EX.
Therefore, it will be interesting and welcome to have the Davina on the market.

Lee · Oct 29, 2017

Listen to the Hugo 2. It's a big step up over the Hugo.

wisnon said:
Well, the more ADC choices out there the better.

I personally hated the Hugo, but I think the DAVE is much better. I still prefer the Lampi sound but could definitely live with Dave, and I also own a Qute EX.
Therefore, it will be interesting and welcome to have the Davina on the market.

wisnon · Oct 30, 2017

Lee said:
Listen to the Hugo 2. It's a big step up over the Hugo.

No doubt, but back in the day all and sundry were extolling the Hugo1 and only a few of us attempted to "bell the cat". Now many of the same people who said HUGO was perfection are no saying how much greater the new Chord products are! One former champion advocate now admits that Hugo wasonly for headphone use How does one improve on perfection? LoL. Hyperbole alert.

Having said all that, DAVE was the first Chord Dac launch worthy of the hype accorded to Hugo.

Lee · Oct 30, 2017

wisnon said:
No doubt, but back in the day all and sundry were extolling the Hugo1 and only a few of us attempted to "bell the cat". Now man of the same people who said HUGO was perfection are no saying how much greater the new Chord products are! One former champion advocate now admits that Hugo wasonly for headphone use How does one improve on perfection? LoL. Hyperbole alert.

Having said all that, DAVE was the first Chord Dac launch worthy of the hype accorded to Hugo.

With the Watts approach, it's largely focused on the number of taps. As you move up the line more taps. What's nice about the Hugo 2 is that the number of taps has improved greatly as has the analog output. I'm getting one for review in November. For its time, though, I felt Hugo 1 was quite good.

Things are moving fast in digital!

wisnon · Oct 30, 2017

Yes, I know all about Chord and tap length and the WTA/pulse array Dac. I had an original Qute.
EVEN TEH qute EX i felt was better than Hugo and I was not alone in this.

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Chord Invents an ADC based on FPGA technology...

Lee

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