Description ⌄
Reference DAC and headphone amp — Chord's most critically acclaimed digital product. Dave is Chord's reference DAC, headphone amplifier and preamplifier. With a 164,000-tap WTA filter, 1,000,000-tap pulse array and fully discrete Class A amplifier stage, it consistently tops performance charts worldwide and has received more major reviews and awards than any other Chord product.
Technical background
Chord Electronics DACs are built around custom-coded FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) chips rather than off-the-shelf DAC silicon. Designer Rob Watts programs each FPGA with a proprietary WTA (Watts Transient Alignment) reconstruction filter of extreme tap length — far beyond anything possible in a conventional DAC chip. The result is a pulse-array output stage with vanishingly low noise-floor modulation, exceptional jitter rejection, and timing accuracy that resolves micro-detail other DACs obscure. Every product in the range shares this philosophy; higher models simply carry more processing power and longer filter tap counts.
Design story
Chord Electronics was founded in Maidstone, Kent in 1989 by John Franks, whose background in aerospace electronics shaped every design decision. Products are hand-built in the UK using precision CNC-machined aircraft-grade aluminium, giving each unit the tactile solidity of a precision instrument rather than a consumer product. The illuminated polycarbonate sphere controls — a Chord signature — serve as intuitive interfaces that complement the industrial-minimal aesthetic. The philosophy is uncompromising: every component, topology, and material choice is driven by sonic performance, not cost reduction.
Best for
Reference headphone and speaker listening; audiophiles who want the absolute best from a single DAC/amp unit Reference audiophile, professional recording/mastering engineer, serious hi-fi system builder Reference hi-fi system, studio monitoring, headphone reference listening, digital preamplifier
Awards & press
⭐ Stereophile Class A Recommended Component (2016–); What Hi-Fi? 5 Stars "Its measured performance is beyond reproach." — John Atkinson, Stereophile "DAVE remains, to my ears, the finest DAC I have heard at any price." — Jason Kennedy, Hi-Fi+ "A reference component — one of the finest digital sources in the world." — Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News
Features ⌄
- 164,000-tap WTA filter — the most accurate reconstruction of the original waveform
- Fully discrete Class A headphone amplifier stage
- Recognised as a world reference in digital audio
- XLR balanced + RCA unbalanced preamplifier outputs
- Lossless digital volume control — use DAVE directly into a power amplifier
- 164,000-tap WTA filter — ten times the tap length of the already-exceptional Qutest