[beemarman]

In what direction does Sbooster change the sound from stock smps? Does Sbooster make sound...brighter/darker, denser/lighter, more forward/laid back, more/less bass, midrange more detailed/smoother, etc?

I would say darker compared to the original PS. Improved detail, more spacious and less fatigue as well. In fact, I sold my TT2 because I really couldn't tell the difference between using the Qutest with the Sbooster PS and the TT2. I'm going to use the money saved for other things.

 

[antdroid]

I only got the qutest more recently. I read through a good chunk of this thread, and was kinda skeptical about the power supply stuff.

I actually originally just used a usb cable with a phone charger connected to my Power Conditioner unit. It sounded pretty good. A few weeks later I finally dug out the included power cable which I just put away because it didnt really fit my power unit very well (takes up extra space because its a block). Immediately I noticed that the stock power supply was brighter sounding and, to me, not as enjoyable.

I then got a linear power supply unit (just a generic one on amazon), and have been using that now. I don't know if it sounds any different than my Samsung cable + samsung charger, but I am getting a little less white noise issues with it, though it still occurs when using upscaled 768KHz sampling.

 

[iFi audio]

I know that SBAF is a bit bias forum, but they will smash to the ground non schiit based dacs if they wont sound at least decent.

Naah, they're not that scary

 

[hakunamakaka]

I’ve done some reading and seems that chord qutest is easily impacted by ground loop noise using USB/SPDIF inputs. That would explain why people report better sound using linear power supplies/USB purifiers...As I've got lots of devices on my workstation, the best route would be to build an audio streamer with tosling port to connect with Qutest.

Even though Qutest was a big step up from my previous DAC, I do hear buzz sometimes. I really don't think my Macbooks USB output does enough justice for Qutest and can easily introduce RF noise. As my main source of music is laptop via USB, I've ordered Denafrips IRIS will report if it will make any difference.

 

[imightbewrong]

Hi DAC Experts. I had a Chord DAC64 many moons ago and looking to get back into having a Chord DAC again as part of a wide HiFi upgrade. Just wondering what the general thoughts were on going for something like the Qutest vs. spending similar ish money on a used TT? Very happy to go second hand but I don't know where current gen vs previous gen Chord DACs sit relative to each other. Thanks for any insight.

 

[mammal]

Hi DAC Experts. I had a Chord DAC64 many moons ago and looking to get back into having a Chord DAC again as part of a wide HiFi upgrade. Just wondering what the general thoughts were on going for something like the Qutest vs. spending similar ish money on a used TT? Very happy to go second hand but I don't know where current gen vs previous gen Chord DACs sit relative to each other. Thanks for any insight.

I used to own Hugo 2, which I believe has the same DAC as Qutest. There was a jump in quality when going to TT2, but for me, it would not matter as much. It was TT2’s power output that I needed. So, what is your overal budget and how much of it goes towards an amplifier? If you already have one, Qutest may be fine. If you are also trying to find an amplifier, consider TT2, fulfilling that need.

 

[The Jester]

Depends on usage and the other gear you already have,
main use headphones … go with the TT ,
opposite like me, speaker based system, ….basic Qutest DAC
I use headphones occasionally but already have a good valve headphone amp …

 

[imightbewrong]

I used to own Hugo 2, which I believe has the same DAC as Qutest. There was a jump in quality when going to TT2, but for me, it would not matter as much. It was TT2’s power output that I needed. So, what is your overal budget and how much of it goes towards an amplifier? If you already have one, Qutest may be fine. If you are also trying to find an amplifier, consider TT2, fulfilling that need.

Depends on usage and the other gear you already have,
main use headphones … go with the TT ,
opposite like me, speaker based system, ….basic Qutest DAC
I use headphones occasionally but already have a good valve headphone amp …

Thanks both - I will have a separate amplifier so headphone amp not needed though would be a small bonus. Main interest is in the DAC duty.

Budget - up to about £1.5K not a problem. If the TT2 was a huge step up at £3k-£3.5K used would consider it - but if all that money is really going into the headphone am/pre-amp and the DAC is not leaps and bounds better then I wouldn't bother.

 

[mammal]

Budget - up to about £1.5K not a problem. If the TT2 was a huge step up at £3k-£3.5K used would consider it - but if all that money is really going into the headphone am/pre-amp and the DAC is not leaps and bounds better then I wouldn't bother.

There is an improvement in DAC quality of course. But as you said, HTT2 is also a good AMP and if you do not need it (already have one) I think you will be happy with Qutest.

 

[RobertSM]

I had the TT2 for a few weeks on loan from a dealer to audition and really loved it. I think that audition sold me on the Chord brand and the style of DACs they produce.

However when it came time for me to upgrade my DAC I went with a Qutest. As much as I really liked the TT2, I didn't need the headphone amp/pre-amp features that the TT2 provided. I already owned a few very high quality headphone amps, both solid-state and tube designs. I think as a pure DAC the Qutest gets me nearly to the point of the TT2. Do I think the TT2 is better? Yes, no doubt. But the Qutest also saves me money and still allows me to enjoy the resolving sound that is common with the Chord DACs. So I think at the end of of day it's important to know what your needs are. Think about that components you already own and how you see yourself building your system.

 

[HumanMedia]

Hi DAC Experts. I had a Chord DAC64 many moons ago and looking to get back into having a Chord DAC again as part of a wide HiFi upgrade. Just wondering what the general thoughts were on going for something like the Qutest vs. spending similar ish money on a used TT? Very happy to go second hand but I don't know where current gen vs previous gen Chord DACs sit relative to each other. Thanks for any insight.

A TT or TT2?

 

[The Jester]

I had the TT2 for a few weeks on loan from a dealer to audition and really loved it. I think that audition sold me on the Chord brand and the style of DACs they produce.

However when it came time for me to upgrade my DAC I went with a Qutest. As much as I really liked the TT2, I didn't need the headphone amp/pre-amp features that the TT2 provided. I already owned a few very high quality headphone amps, both solid-state and tube designs. I think as a pure DAC the Qutest gets me nearly to the point of the TT2. Do I think the TT2 is better? Yes, no doubt. But the Qutest also saves me money and still allows me to enjoy the resolving sound that is common with the Chord DACs. So I think at the end of of day it's important to know what your needs are. Think about that components you already own and how you see yourself build your system.

Things could’ve been different with an unlimited budget but in the real world for most of us we have to make choices, I auditioned the Dave, TT2 and Qutest at my dealer, initially with both systems matching mine and systems approaching “Lottery win only” and the Dave stood out with an incremental gap to the TT2 and Qutest, second session was using only my Stax headphones, naturally with their own driver/amp and the gap between the 3 DAC’s narrowed, at my dealers suggestion I tried various quality headphones that were available on both the TT2 and Dave and while sounding really good nothing was an “improvement” on the Qutest/Stax to my ears …, so then added the MScaler into the equation and everything changed again, short version is I ended up with the Qutest/MScaler … sound quality I never expected from digital and hooks straight into my existing system …
with the imaginary unlimited budget I’d naturally have chosen the Dave/MScaler and added the Huei phono stage for my Vinyl collection, then added a Chord power amp and suitably exotic speakers to go into my specially constructed listening room ….. if only ..

 

[imightbewrong]

A TT or TT2?

A new Qutest and used TT are similar money, so I was interested in comparing them. The TT2 is another level up at about 3x the price

 

[antdroid]

A new Qutest and used TT are similar money, so I was interested in comparing them. The TT2 is another level up at about 3x the price

If you care about the Taps (which is the selling point of Chord), the Qutest has nearly double the amount over the original Hugo TT.

 

[BabetakCZE]

Is it safe for Qutest to use 5V 3A out from PSU (Allo Shanti) or is it better to use 5V 1A out?
Thanks.