seeteeyou said:

  Quoting Ted Brady's post below:

 
So i spent a nice time with Rob Watts and John Franks of Chord today. We talked about many things. Some highlights:

* the TT and the 2Qute both have USB inputs that are galvanically isolated, with 2 picofarads separating/cutting the grounds.

* because of this Rob now prefers the USB over the toslink as his favorite input (read: no more need to do things like use the Hugo sd USB input and the Olimex isolator)

* unlike the HD and EX in the Qute series, the 2Qute now uses the same drivers and same chip (UAC2) as the Hugo, that allows driverless lLinux and OSX implementations

* when I asked which of the new Hugo platforms would have better SQ John answered very Frankly (sorry, couldn't resist) that it depends on the setup....that those users like me who have little need for a headphone preamp or digital preamp function (i.e use their own preamp) that the SQ of the 2Qute will come very close to that of the TT. They are simply intended for two different audiences (TT adding a legit remote controlled-preamp amd headphone amp plus state of the art battery power using supercapacitors). Rob added that he worked some magic on the more robust ps in the 2Qute and doubted I would find better sound with an external linear like i did especially with the Qute HD.

 
Two announcements I am allowed to make:

1) Chord will have a Qute replacement/upgrade program for the 2Qute, but my feeling is that, like many upgrade programs, the Qute owner may rather find better dollars doing a sell, rebuy. Plus then one doesn't own a "hybrid" (new board, old case) a more difficult value prop for resale down the line.

2) Chord has moved the QBD announcement until the Munich Show, when they will be ready to deliver this new generation of Rob's WTA filter technology.

 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/you-buy-hugo%85-read-22946/

 

---

 
Holy Cow, just add an Uptone Audio or Paul Hynes Linear Power Supply to 2Qute and that's basically a killer combo for such an incredible price range. A smoking deal for those of us who don't need the extra features.

Click to expand...

omg this news jus got me more want to buy the 2 cute series i hope these news below is so good true no need to buy expensive linear power supply
 
"Rob added that he worked some magic on the more robust ps in the 2Qute and doubted I would find better sound with an external linear like i did especially with the Qute HD."

hugoboss said:

 
omg this news jus got me more want to buy the 2 cute series i hope these news below is so good true no need to buy expensive linear power supply
 
"Rob added that he worked some magic on the more robust ps in the 2Qute and doubted I would find better sound with an external linear like i did especially with the Qute HD."

Click to expand...

i just want to know if this DAC is as good or better than Hugo (not TT) 

but i guess the time will tell, since this unit will be out at April, guess we gonna hear about someone or two demoing it soon. 

 
A very proud Matt & Rob receiving the What-HiFi 'Star of CES' award
 

 
Colin of Chord, always a winner.

if iam not wrong these 2 cute will sound like hugo in the same league or lower quality than hugo. because hugo is still win from the clean power with battery

The 2Qute may very well be my next DAC. I just want a great, state-of-the-art DAC for home stereo use, no HP output, etc. The 2Qute fits the bill at $1795.
 
I wonder how the 2 will compare against say the NAIM nDAC, DAC V-1, and TeddyPardo DAC.

Question: where is the button on the 2Qute that adjusts inputs?

The Qute auto senses input and prioritizes based on a certain logic, I think its USB to Spdif to Toslink.
 
I bet with a Hynes SR3 L-PSU, the 2Qute will kick Hugo's butt!

schneller said:

  Question: where is the button on the 2Qute that adjusts inputs?

Click to expand...

Its on the connector side back panel, below the 2 on the 2 Qute engraving.
 
Rob

Wow,
 
This is a material (hardware) change to the Qute model then? How can an upgrade be done now? Chassis needs changing?

When will 2Qute hit the streets?

nick77 said:

  When will 2Qute hit the streets?

Click to expand...

 
I have an e-mail from the Chord US distributor.
 
Hugo TT: February, $4795 USD
2Qute: March, $1795 USD

schneller said:

   
I have an e-mail from the Chord US distributor.
 
Hugo TT: February, $4795 USD
2Qute: March, $1795 USD

Click to expand...

 
Who is the US distributor? Group buy??

Blue Bird Music...
http://www.bluebirdmusic.com/sections/dacs.html

So supposedly Chord responded to someone's email this week by telling them that, after much discussion, they found that a Qute to 2Qute upgrade program would be very expensive and not worth it.  I didn't read it as "no program" specifically, but it sounds that way.  John and company, at CES, said the upgrade program would likely exist but we all came to the same conclusion that real world market math says selling a Qute/buying a 2Qute was going to be the better path.  And we discussed the reality that resale value on an upgraded anything (hybrid case, new back panel, etc) was slightly less than buying the stock new unit.
 
I am still going to challenge Rob on his discussion with me that a Hynes won't improve the 2Qute (it clearly improved the HD and to a lesser extent the EX, but improved nonetheless). It would be nice if it didn't.  I hope to get my review unit before general distribution, but we'll see.

The initial 2 Qute listening tests revealed the mains powered 2 Qute sounded very similar to a battery powered Hugo.
 
Battery power has enormous advantages over mains operation, principally very low noise, both in band and more importantly RF noise - much lower than SMPS or linear PSU. RF noise is a hobby horse of mine, as it creates noise floor modulation when random RF noise inter-modulates with the audio signal in the analog electronics. The brain is extremely sensitive to noise floor modulation, as it interferes with it's ability to separate sounds out into individual entities with placement data.
 
I knew that Qute was sensitive to the power, as too many audiophiles had reported improvements when using better PSU's. This was in spite of Qute's extensive RF filtering and regulation. Part of Hugo's musicality was down to the battery, so I was determined that 2 Qute would have no SQ losses due to mains powering. This was not a simple design challenge, and involved a radical restructuring of the internal PSU arrangements.
 
So I was very pleased that the SQ tests had given me Hugo performance but with a mains powered 2 Qute. This was not the easy challenge that at first sight may appear.
 
But was it completely insensitive to the mains? Simply hooking up a linear PSU would not be a good enough test, as it needs RF isolation too. So I decided the ultimate PSU from an impedance, in-band noise, and RF noise isolation POV was a 300A car battery (I used a jump starter type - they are low cost and can be re-charged) and yesterday did the listening tests with 2 Qute using the car battery against the standard Chord mains unit.
 
I spent much of the afternoon doing my standard listening tests, and could not consistently find a preference - I was struggling to reliably hear a difference. When you are struggling to hear a difference, its usually because that there is no difference! There was no consistent difference in sound-stage, instrument separation and tonal balance. So as a sanity check, I thought I would test it against the original Qute - and immediately I could easily hear the difference - sound-stage was much deeper, instrument separation was better, and it was much smoother with the battery. All SQ hallmarks of reduced RF noise.
 
So don't bother connecting up "better" PSU's with 2 Qute, as at best it will sound the same, at worst you will damage 2 Qute - some of these units have too high an OP voltage, destroying the protection circuits of the DAC.
 
Rob