I just upgraded to Windows 11, and planning to try the Chord drivers on it. I doubt it will change much, as the drivers were made for Windows 10 (and don't work properly on them).
Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread
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wirefriend
100+ Head-Fier
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SMSL SP400, THX-888. Very lineral / transparent. Doesn't colour Qutest's out as Hugo2's internal amp does.
I am looking for colourful / tonally rich amp for Qutest that doesn't loose the details.
Any advice?
IZONE
100+ Head-Fier
I'm not sure if this will help, but I had a similar experience with my Bifrost 2. I have a Qutest but this distortion issue only happened with my Bifrost 2 when using Foobar2000 and WASAPI Event Mode. When I switched to Push Mode the problem went away. I initially thought there was something wrong with the Bifrost 2 but it was the WASAPI plugin. To diagnose the problem try with different players and plugins even the standard Microsoft Windows Player. Try turning off WASAPI/ASIO and see if the problem persists
Can anyone comment on what kind of isolation from noise and jitter the Qutest needs, when the source is a laptop? I read that Chord's FPGA architecture is highly resistant to jitter, and also the USB input of the Qutest is galvanically isolated. This seems to address both noise and jitter without the use of an external streamer (e.g. Pi4) or DDC. Is it really sufficient to simply connect a Qutest to a laptop directly via USB?
Also, is it reasonable to keep the laptop plugged in to mains, or should be laptop be running off its battery, to potentially reduce noise? I have the Qutest itself running off a battery, since I don't have a LPS at the moment.
Also, is it reasonable to keep the laptop plugged in to mains, or should be laptop be running off its battery, to potentially reduce noise? I have the Qutest itself running off a battery, since I don't have a LPS at the moment.
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I soley run qutest off a laptop that's plugged in. I have had zero issues with any noise. You are correct with Rob Watts and his FPGA algorithm jitter and noise or timing errors are basically none existent.
I do recommend at some point you consider a linear power supply. I've also added a power conditioner into my system which I run both my tube amp and qutest off of. I kept my laptop battery charger and cell phone charger off the power conditioner to isolate further.
JoinDivision
New Head-Fier
I experienced a similar issue. My player is Foobar and I'm using a Lenovo Yoga C940 laptop as source out of the USB-C into the Qutest.
Any file up to FLAC 16/44 would play flawlessly. Any file above that (24/96 upwards) would randomly distort, for a second or two and it would happen approximately once every 60 seconds.
I spent a couple of days methodically troubleshooting trying the usual things; adjusting all the settings in Foobar, the buffer etc. I even installed Latency Mon but there were no latency issues. I also went into device manager to disable the USB controller as others have suggested, in case it was interfering with the output signal.
Eventually through a process of elimination I discovered it was the laptops Bluetooth controller that was causing the problem. I use a Logitech MX Anywhere 3 mouse and connect to the laptop using Bluetooth, presumably the interference was caused by the mouse periodically checking it's connection to the Bluetooth controller. By disabling the laptops Bluetooth receiver the incidents of distortion ceased. It's a bit annoying because I have to use a dongle with the mouse and you have to sacrifice Bluetooth, but it solved the issue.
Give turning off Bluetooth a try, if you're source device has it, maybe it will work for you as well.
Womaz
1000+ Head-Fier
Ok I am considering getting the Qutest to use with a new amp.
I also subscribe to Roon. The qutest is Roon Ready. What does this mean?
Its is not Roon tested so whats the difference. is it just that Roon will recognise it If I am using Roon?
I also subscribe to Roon. The qutest is Roon Ready. What does this mean?
Its is not Roon tested so whats the difference. is it just that Roon will recognise it If I am using Roon?
IZONE
100+ Head-Fier
Yeah before I got the Qutest I read a lot of official statements from Chord / Rob that Qutest only needs the stock power adapter and USB cable... but a lot of people reported differences so I got curious. I bought iFi's iPower adapter and it made a noticeable difference for me, so much so that I went out and bought the iPower X which is a much more expensive adapter and experienced another bump in quality. I'm also using the iFi Silencer+ on my USB port. Sorry, I don't mean to come off as an iFi whore but my dealer only carries iFi for power/jitter needs. I'm not affiliated with iFi at all. I'm using a Furutech USB cable which is just a small level up from a basic cable. Oh and I also got myself a heavy-duty power strip with thicker gauges and more isolation from noise. Honestly, I wish I didn't hear a difference so I could save some coin but I do, so I'm leaving this for my fellow Chord Qutest lovers in case they want it as a data point. Also, kind of strange for me to say this but burn the F-out of the Qutest... seems to improve over time for me. This is of course all subjective and in my experience only. I don't recommend it to anyone unless you are curious like me
I tried this, and it didn't work for me.
JoinDivision
New Head-Fier
I tried this, and it didn't work for me.
That's frustrating. In my situation the issue was caused by a conflict caused by how the windows OS operates the device hardware, in my case the Bluetooth controller. It was causing interference to be picked up by the USB port. Have you been able to access the device manager and disable USB controllers, or other devices, one by one to see if you can identify the culprit? Perhaps it would be useful if you could try feeding the Qutest from another source, if you have another laptop or computer you could use, to confirm if the issue is originating from your laptop.
briantrinh86
500+ Head-Fier
ihave the issue when playing music on qobuz with chord qutest. some track over 96khz there has some noise appear around 10 seconds and go back to normal . i use chord qutest stock power supply. does anybody have this issue and know how to fix that?? thanks
Are you freaking kidding me? All I had to do was turn off the Bluetooth? First of all, thank you so much! I can't believe what all I've gone through, including buying and returning two other Qutest DACS! (I was dangerously close to proving Einsten's definition of insanity...). Well, I'm one happy camper now. Thank you again.
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