Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread

[Zzt231gr]

sorry, moved to M Scaler thread

Was it related to Qutest??

 

[plinth]

Was it related to Qutest??

Qutest plus M Scaler so felt it best to pop it in the other thread.

 

[Zzt231gr]

Qutest plus M Scaler so felt it best to pop it in the other thread.

I think it would be best if we could see it here,too!
I am not subscribed in the M thread because I am hoping for a Qutest range scaler!

 

[plinth]

I installed my M Scaler yesterday into my main headphone system consisting of



Sonore Ultra Rendu powered by Uptone LPS 1.2 power supply into M Scaler, into Qutest into Mjöinir Audio KGSSHV Carbon into Stax SR007 Mk2 electrostats.

I had never heard the Blu2 nor the HMS so I was really buying blind but I was fairly certain that if I could not discern a meaningful improvement then I would chalk another win upto audio hype and start seeing other DACs.

I plugged my Blue Jean Cable BNCs into the HMS, chose USB input, set the green filter on the Qutest and selected a random track on Roon and stabbed the input selector on the Qutest as it was not clear how to select the double data rate inputs. The random artist was Mary Chapin Carpenter and as soon as I heard her vice I went cold as I felt I was intruding on something intensely personal, such was the sense of intimacy added by the HMS. After thirty years of car sized upgrades it felt like I had been listening to bands from outside the club door and suddenly the door has opened and I have been thrust onto the stage.

The HMS seems to be playing music as opposed to playing hifi sound. The relationship is like that between cheese and onions and cheese and onion crisps; both are easily recognisable but manifestly not the same thing. I did try and use pass through mode but quickly went back onto full upscaling and decided not to try that again.

The convincing sense of timing makes music so much more interesting and engaging and it sounds delightful no matter how far behind of in front of the beat the artists are playing it is just more coherent and accessible.



This device is an astonishing upgrade and I have never made an upgrade that has had such an uplift in enjoyment.



So much of audiophilia is tinkering around the margins and suddenly here is something that is profoundly different. The Qutest M Scaler is such a potent package and kills the argument that all DACs sound alike

 

[dawktah2]

I installed my M Scaler yesterday into my main headphone system consisting of



Sonore Ultra Rendu powered by Uptone LPS 1.2 power supply into M Scaler, into Qutest into Mjöinir Audio KGSSHV Carbon into Stax SR007 Mk2 electrostats.

I had never heard the Blu2 nor the HMS so I was really buying blind but I was fairly certain that if I could not discern a meaningful improvement then I would chalk another win upto audio hype and start seeing other DACs.

I plugged my Blue Jean Cable BNCs into the HMS, chose USB input, set the green filter on the Qutest and selected a random track on Roon and stabbed the input selector on the Qutest as it was not clear how to select the double data rate inputs. The random artist was Mary Chapin Carpenter and as soon as I heard her vice I went cold as I felt I was intruding on something intensely personal, such was the sense of intimacy added by the HMS. After thirty years of car sized upgrades it felt like I had been listening to bands from outside the club door and suddenly the door has opened and I have been thrust onto the stage.

The HMS seems to be playing music as opposed to playing hifi sound. The relationship is like that between cheese and onions and cheese and onion crisps; both are easily recognisable but manifestly not the same thing. I did try and use pass through mode but quickly went back onto full upscaling and decided not to try that again.

The convincing sense of timing makes music so much more interesting and engaging and it sounds delightful no matter how far behind of in front of the beat the artists are playing it is just more coherent and accessible.



This device is an astonishing upgrade and I have never made an upgrade that has had such an uplift in enjoyment.



So much of audiophilia is tinkering around the margins and suddenly here is something that is profoundly different. The Qutest M Scaler is such a potent package and kills the argument that all DACs sound alike

I think that settles it for me. I will probably sell my Qutest and get the TT 2. I had wanted to get a single ended headphone pre-amp to pair with my Qutest but now hearing about the sound through the STAX I am going to invest in a electrostat energizer and use the TT 2 for single ended. It will take me a few years since the next purchase after the TT 2 would be the mScaler.

Thanks for the review!

 

[plinth]

I think that settles it for me. I will probably sell my Qutest and get the TT 2. I had wanted to get a single ended headphone pre-amp to pair with my Qutest but now hearing about the sound through the STAX I am going to invest in a electrostat energizer and use the TT 2 for single ended. It will take me a few years since the next purchase after the TT 2 would be the mScaler.

Thanks for the review!

I wish that I could advise you but I have never heard the TT2 nor a DAVE for that matter. One of the principal distinguishing characteristics of the TT2 is the greatly increased power output allowing it to drive insensitive headphones or sensitive speakers without an amp. For electrostatics you are going to be using an energiser so the additional output power is not going to be a major factor. I would urge you to try the M scaler with your Qutest before you spend £4000 on a TT2. Where are you based, can you get to try these different combinations.

 

[dawktah2]

I wish that I could advise you but I have never heard the TT2 nor a DAVE for that matter. One of the principal distinguishing characteristics of the TT2 is the greatly increased power output allowing it to drive insensitive headphones or sensitive speakers without an amp. For electrostatics you are going to be using an energiser so the additional output power is not going to be a major factor. I would urge you to try the M scaler with your Qutest before you spend £4000 on a TT2. Where are you based, can you get to try these different combinations.

I guess that's one of my issues, no local dealer closest is 200 miles away.

 

[Ronsanut]

I installed my M Scaler yesterday into my main headphone system consisting of



Sonore Ultra Rendu powered by Uptone LPS 1.2 power supply into M Scaler, into Qutest into Mjöinir Audio KGSSHV Carbon into Stax SR007 Mk2 electrostats.

I had never heard the Blu2 nor the HMS so I was really buying blind but I was fairly certain that if I could not discern a meaningful improvement then I would chalk another win upto audio hype and start seeing other DACs.

I plugged my Blue Jean Cable BNCs into the HMS, chose USB input, set the green filter on the Qutest and selected a random track on Roon and stabbed the input selector on the Qutest as it was not clear how to select the double data rate inputs. The random artist was Mary Chapin Carpenter and as soon as I heard her vice I went cold as I felt I was intruding on something intensely personal, such was the sense of intimacy added by the HMS. After thirty years of car sized upgrades it felt like I had been listening to bands from outside the club door and suddenly the door has opened and I have been thrust onto the stage.

The HMS seems to be playing music as opposed to playing hifi sound. The relationship is like that between cheese and onions and cheese and onion crisps; both are easily recognisable but manifestly not the same thing. I did try and use pass through mode but quickly went back onto full upscaling and decided not to try that again.

The convincing sense of timing makes music so much more interesting and engaging and it sounds delightful no matter how far behind of in front of the beat the artists are playing it is just more coherent and accessible.



This device is an astonishing upgrade and I have never made an upgrade that has had such an uplift in enjoyment.



So much of audiophilia is tinkering around the margins and suddenly here is something that is profoundly different. The Qutest M Scaler is such a potent package and kills the argument that all DACs sound alike

Thank you for posting this review on your experience with the Qutest and MScaler. I have a Qutest feeding my Blue Hawaii SE for my SR-009 and L700. And also feeds my GS-X MKII for my dynamics and plannars. I have an arrangement with my DAC vendor to return the Qutest once the Hugo TT2 comes out. Then at a later date when I have the funds, I was going to buy the MScaler. But listening to you, it seems the MScaler will make a bigger impact on SQ than just the upgrade from QuTest to TT2. It would be great to hear from those now getting their TT2's to compare to the Qutest. I also was looking forward to use all of my headphones in balanced mode feeding my amps's with the TT2, but maybe that can wait.

Well I now have pre-orders on both and will have to make a decision. Hopefully soon!

 

[Nik74]

Hum. Read this closely: https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ents-of-chromecast-audio-digital-output.4544/

I also did notice a significant improvement streaming Roon on CCA. Also, it can cast up to 24/92 flawless.

Thank you for the advice and the link. I didn't understand much of the technical details of this review but I got enough to figure it probably would sound better via Roon. So I signed up to the 14 day free trial.
Phew it sounds heaps better than CCA alone! Much more vibrant and alive, still with no glare. It does drop out a bit at 24/92 but a lot less frequently than CCA alone.

So, relating what I hear to what I understood from the linked technical CCA review , the Qutest could be a bit more immune to the terrible jitter of the CCA alone, but still manages to do a better job with a lower jitter signal via Roon/CCA. Works great for me.

I've used Bluesound Node2, SOTM sms200, Lumin D1 and now Lumin U1 Mini as sources for my Qutest. Sound-wise the Lumin U1M transport is my favourite, it gives you the choice of coax rca/BNC, USB or optical and is a fabulous match with Qutest.

If budget is tighter and you're only interested in optical, a used Node2 is a good option. With that I found that Lifatec glass toslink sounded better than plastic ones like QED performance optical into the Qutest - I have no idea why this is, I wasn't really expecting any difference.

Budget right now is quite tight so all I will stretch to is a good optical cable to see how much I could max out the current set up. In a few months I ll have to decide between a good server/streamer that offers both USB and Toslink or an M-Scaler...

 

[maxh22]

Thank you for the advice and the link. I didn't understand much of the technical details of this review but I got enough to figure it probably would sound better via Roon. So I signed up to the 14 day free trial.
Phew it sounds heaps better than CCA alone! Much more vibrant and alive, still with no glare. It does drop out a bit at 24/92 but a lot less frequently than CCA alone.

So, relating what I hear to what I understood from the linked technical CCA review , the Qutest could be a bit more immune to the terrible jitter of the CCA alone, but still manages to do a better job with a lower jitter signal via Roon/CCA. Works great for me.



Budget right now is quite tight so all I will stretch to is a good optical cable to see how much I could max out the current set up. In a few months I ll have to decide between a good server/streamer that offers both USB and Toslink or an M-Scaler...

It’s true that CCA sounds better with Roon and my I have a suspicion that the Chroemcast protocol just like the Air Play Protocol isn’t entirely transparent in its audio path. I always got the feeling that the timber was a little bland or metallic sounding and although it sounded very clear the sound came across as a little light and lacking in mass; especially compared to the optical out from my MSI laptop.

You should get better sound and low end using a micro usb to Ethernet converter and also running the CCA on an portable power bank will increase refinement.

 

[maxh22]

PS: If you don’t have a close by router I recommend using or purchasing a wireless repeater which can serve as a WiFi to Ethernet converter and in my experience it sounds much better than streaming using an internal WiFi card or even a WiFi dongle.

 

[Sound Eq]

hi everyone, I hope to get some answers as I am not good in technical things

my setup is

alienware laptop 15 R3--- chord qutest---- usb---- ifi ican pro amp---- headphones ( Hifiman He1000 V2 )

1- I read some people talk about noisy usb signal , is there anything you guys recommend to buy within ( 300 - 500 usd ) to get the best signal form my laptop to the chord
2- do you advise I buy certain usb cables ( 200 usd -300 usd )
3- how bout interconnects form my dac to amp, I am using a cheap audioquest interconnect that costs only 30 usd , i can not remember its name
4- do you believe using a mac mini would be better to use than my alienware
5- finally in the media players, I see wasapi and asio options which one to use, and do u change any of the driver settings , please share

i know all these are noob questions, but i would like to know about how to get to a better level of signal transfer

 

[gad1]

Rob Watts,

Regarding USA Warranty:

Would you please state the terms of
the Chord Qutest 3 yr. warranty if
Qutest is purchased from authorized
USA distributor. If a warranty repair
is necessary is the repair actually
done in the USA by the distributor,
or does the distributor send it to
England, or is it a matter of the
distributors discretion? In the event
that a repair can not be satisfactorily
performed by the authorized dist.
is Chord responsible for resolving
the issue; eg. purchaser sends dac
directly to Chord England if auth.
dist. is out of business or lack
technical ability to perform repair?

Sorry to bother you with this but
warranty is part of the purchasing
decision and I am currently
evaluating a Qutest on a trial
basis.

regards,

gad-

 

[Arniesb]

hi everyone, I hope to get some answers as I am not good in technical things

my setup is

alienware laptop 15 R3--- chord qutest---- usb---- ifi ican pro amp---- headphones ( Hifiman He1000 V2 )

1- I read some people talk about noisy usb signal , is there anything you guys recommend to buy within ( 300 - 500 usd ) to get the best signal form my laptop to the chord
2- do you advise I buy certain usb cables ( 200 usd -300 usd )
3- how bout interconnects form my dac to amp, I am using a cheap audioquest interconnect that costs only 30 usd , i can not remember its name
4- do you believe using a mac mini would be better to use than my alienware
5- finally in the media players, I see wasapi and asio options which one to use, and do u change any of the driver settings , please share

i know all these are noob questions, but i would like to know about how to get to a better level of signal transfer

You should check Ifi Galvanic 3.0 with idefender + Ipower along with Curious Usb cable which is little over 300. If you combine these products im dead certain you get very analog, vivid and real sound.

 

[Sound Eq]

You should check Ifi Galvanic 3.0 with idefender + Ipower along with Curious Usb cable which is little over 300. If you combine these products im dead certain you get very analog, vivid and real sound.

wow thats lots of things, but i think I need to look into this so for the ipower shall buy one for the dac and amp as well