My audio pal just got a Dave and in a short period of time, thoroughly prefers it to his fully upgraded Denafrips Terminator. Now that I am a pensioner, I think I will content myself with the performance of my Ayre Codex. My upgrade from 4 different ~$1K DACs to the Ayre QB-9 and then the Codex offered a huge improvement in SQ in my system. In fact, when I got the QB-9, I sold my SOTA Sapphire TT and never looked back.
Chord Dave
It won't be for everyone. I'm not saying it's the best. I've owned several DACs and after owning the Dave for a couple of weeks all I can say is WOW! This is the closest to hearing a night and day difference between components that I've experienced. The Dave differentiates between recording venues better than anything I've owned. Detail, soundstage, air, vocals, attack and dynamics are truly outstanding. I'm saying all of this and I'm using the standard power cord. If you're looking for a new DAC, give the Dave a listen.