[SoupCampbell]

Is it still available? What are you asking?

 

[elviscaprice]

I could not afford a DAVE ... or rather, I could not rationalize that much money on a single device, no matter how good. So, on a whim, I purchased a 2Qute just to listen to a DAC with some of Rob Watts magic.  And with the basic power adapter it was probably the best of many DAC's ive heard ... not as amazing as the upper-mid level DACs (usual suspects) but there was something nice in the transients and good tonality.  So, yeah, not a DAVE but I'll keep it, I thought.

I had a Teddy Pardo 12v/2A PSU lying around from my old exaSound DAC but never considered putting it to use with the 2Qute since Rob Watts gave us all many proclamations about an external PSU being unneccesary ... or at least being a third order issue..  Such is my regard for this man that i chose to try to love the DAC with the factory PSU....rather than go against Rob's recommendations.

But in a fit of 'What the Heck', I rigged an adapter for the 2Qute 5.5mm/2.1mm power connector and gave the Teddy Pardo a go.

Well Lordy, OMG, Mother of All that is Good.  What an incredible difference.  All is better - everything is gorgeous, Details are just shining through ... and with more presence, more emotion. Snappier bass notes too!   I cant stop listening to my music.  Is this what a DAVE sounds like??  If so, I have the high end sound for 1/5 of the price !!

 
So ... sorry Rob, but at least for my 'reasonably' resolving system with a 2Qute, the benefits of a good external PSU are huge!  And now I am thinking, 'DARN' the DAVE has its PSU built in... with Rob Watts making the design decision likely based on the same notion of 2Qute quality.  So.. .how much better can the DAVE be with an external PSU design??

Dan

 
Bingo!!  I was reading thru some old threads since I picked up a 2Qute and I couldn't agree more with this observation.  This is what keeps me from buying into the Rob Watts design completely.  I love the sound signature of his work/DAC, but I wish Chord would allow a bit more versatility for external components to make the Chord DAC's shine.  Sometimes less in design is more.  Power supply being one of those.
Thus my moving from the Hugo 1 to the 2Qute.  I think the batteries in the Hugo have a negative effect on the sound signature over a very good LPS.   So I'm going to give the 2Qute a go with 2 - LPS-1's from Uptone audio in a series.  
I did consider the Hugo 2, which I'm sure will be a fantastic DAC, but due to the same limitations of battery power, I will decline at this time.  Hopefully we get a more component add on friendly 3 Qute with the same Hugo 2 internals.  To be seen, meanwhile 2Qute.

 

[Shure or bust]

The 2Qute blows away the es9018 dacs i've owned. Has anyone paired the 2qute with a chord toucan for amplification? I can't even get a hold of one. 

 

[Shure or bust]

I am on the fence with these setups:
 
CHord 2qute and meier classic /ff
 
Chord 2qute and ATH HA-5000
 
chord 2qute and chord toucan
 
Meier Daccord /ff and Ath Ha-5000
 
I can't decide honestly haha I don't need a lot of power at sub 100 ohm.
 
Anyone compare the chord to meier audio ?

 

[alota]

Honestly i don´t understand one thing. on a side, we have Mr @Rob Watts, mind and designer of Chord´s dacs saying the switching power supply for 2qute is good.
Jason Stoddard, in his blog last chapter, says that the switvhing power supply, if well engineered(and i think that in chord don´t play), is good like a normal or traditional power supply.
I´m a fan of switching power supply because it´s not affected by variations in domestic line so works equal with differente voltages.
In the other side we have some forumers that tried 2qute with traditional power supply that is, in most case, a toridal transfomer with filters etc. etc.
i respect all opinions but i believe more in electronic designers
So where is the truth?
i thank you your opinions

 

[AlexB73]

In addition to regular AC noise from outlet,  switching power supply generate hi-frequency noise by itself.
This noise is very difficult to filter. Despite Rob Watts did a very good job to filter power supply noise in 2Qute, this DAC sound much better with good external power supply.
Also original 2Qute power supply has long and flimsy cable that has it own height resistance that may cause losse bass and some lost of dynamic.
Look at different power supply noise graph in this artical:
https://www.teddypardo.com/powersupplies/underthehood.html

 

[OctavianH]

Well guys, think simple about this: what do you trust more - your ears of Robb Watts? For me there was no turning back after I switched the original AC plug with the MCRU Linear power supply. I do not care about measurements and stuff, as long as I hear the difference and it is an improvement at 20% of the price of the 2Qute.

 

[martyn73]

Please can anyone advise? I have a 2Qute connected to my PC and randomly hear crackling sounds like a dusty vinyl record, especially when changing tracks in Tidal Hi-Fi. This also happens when listening to study music on YouTube. The crackling sounds occur when the 2Qute is connected to either my Lake People G100 FE with Sennheiser HD650 headphones or Stax SRM-727II and SR-007A MK2 headphones (both systems sound very, very similar in fact).
 
I'm using Atlas Element Integra RCA cables and a Supra USB cable. Both look pretty but do not change the sound quality, but may add snap, crackle and pop. Or is the DAC misbehaving?
 
I've changed the USB socket used on my PC, but not the cables.

 

[sheldaze]

The 2Qute is the only USB DAC for which I have zero concerns about the USB input. So your symptoms definitely concern me.
 
Can you duplicate the issue with no other software running on your computer? Such as running only YouTube via just the web browser, with no other activity or other tabs open. Or run just Tidal, when no other applications are running. Also can you check CPU, memory usage, etc.

 

[elviscaprice]

Try driving headphones directly from the 2Qute and see if you can replicate the problem.  As mentioned, it's not the USB.  Can your headphone amps handle 3V input?

 

[sheldaze]

  Try driving headphones directly from the 2Qute and see if you can replicate the problem.

How are you suggesting the person connect their headphones to the 2Qute?

 

[elviscaprice]

  How are you suggesting the person connect their headphones to the 2Qute?

Use an adapter/chord, RCA to female 1/4 or 1/8.

 

[sheldaze]

I would still be concerned running a DAC, at full volume, without something like a SYS in the loop, directly into headphones.

 

[elviscaprice]

  I would still be concerned running a DAC, at full volume, without something like a SYS in the loop, directly into headphones.

3V is not an issue.  Can also control volume with a media player on your server.  This is just for testing, I've also used this direct method for headphone usage with no problems.  This way you can eliminate your headphone amps and chords as the possible culprits.

 

[martyn73]

  The 2Qute is the only USB DAC for which I have zero concerns about the USB input. So your symptoms definitely concern me.
 
Can you duplicate the issue with no other software running on your computer? Such as running only YouTube via just the web browser, with no other activity or other tabs open. Or run just Tidal, when no other applications are running. Also can you check CPU, memory usage, etc.

Thanks for the reply. The issue is random and minutes can go by without any crackle. I'll try again with either YouTube or Tidal. When crackling occurs it's never in the same place.
 
I'll also try my iPhone connected via CCK and USB, but my iPhone 7 doesn't work with my Starting Point Systems DAC 3 even with a powered hub.