[Christer]

Thanks Atirya. I'm looking at chord clearway rca interconnect.

I bought Chord Clearway rca cables in Singapore to be able to use my Qutest from day one with my Benchmark HGC2 headphone amp.
But in my system both via headphones and speakers at home I use a clearly more refined Chord Indigo Blue which lets my Qutest deliver more of what is actually on the recordings without hardening at climaxes, than Clearway allows.
Clearway is quite an ok, budget cable imho. But Qutest is definitely good enough to reveal a slight hardness when using budget cables like Clearway.
As far as cables are concerned Rca cables can make quite difference with well recorded complex acoustic music imho.
The differences being a bit similar and even more obvious to what many hear between the stock BNC with Mscaler and upgrade ones like Wave cables.
I personally clearly prefer Wave Storm over Stream with most recordings for similar reasons I also much prefer my Indigo Blue rca over both Clearway and three different Audioquest rca cables I still have lying around but only used during travels.
Fuller, warmer, darker and lets me play louder without hardening.
Unfortunately big extra costs involved in both cases.
But with RCA cables there are lots of second hand but very good ones out there to choose from.
I think I understand why cable build matters with RCA cables carrying an analogue signal.
But I am still a bit puzzled why copper in one and silver in the other but the same number of Ferrites in both BNCs can make such an easily audible difference as they do in my systems ?
I hope you haven´t lost too much hard earned cash from your "Dave only", adventure, but interesting to read that you missed the Mscaler too much in the long run.
For me the main reason owning a Chord dac ,is the Mscaler.
Cheers CC

 

[alxw0w]

Proper I meant by - High end. I will hit local audio shop to give it a try sometime. Cheers.

Yup that's the best what you can do.
But remember try to get demo @ your home.
Live with it for couple of days and compare to your current AQ.
Demos in a store are far from being perfect.

 

[musickid]

Hi Christer,

Silver is a better conductor than copper think electron flow i think. I replaced my pm1 copper cable with a silver artisan headphone cable and the soundstage opened up. I got an excellent deal trading my dave for a new anni, qutest and mscaler. Had i sold my dave privately and used the funds to purchase the 3 components i would have been in pocket by just a few hundred pounds. A price i'm willing to pay for the peace of mind of dealing with a reputable dealer. Totally agree about the mscaler without which there is little soul hence my move back towards it.

Why i didn't just add an mscaler to my dave is a long winded story of mixed personal needs and objectives fused with a carefully thought out series of logical deductions involving an even longer process of elimination the conclusion of which was anni, qutest, mscaler. Think Oppo PM1 the only hi end headphone i'm comfortable wearing after auditioning so many others over the years. After hearing anni and qutest....as time goes by...it had to be you.

 

[musickid]

 

[Triode User]

Hi Christer,

Silver is a better conductor than copper think electron flow i think. I replaced my pm1 copper cable with a silver artisan headphone cable and the soundstage opened up. I got an excellent deal trading my dave for a new anni, qutest and mscaler. Had i sold my dave privately and used the funds to purchase the 3 components i would have been in pocket by just a few hundred pounds. A price i'm willing to pay for the peace of mind of dealing with a reputable dealer. Totally agree about the mscaler without which there is little soul hence my move back towards it.

Why i didn't just add an mscaler to my dave is a long winded story of mixed personal needs and objectives fused with a carefully thought out series of logical deductions involving an even longer process of elimination the conclusion of which was anni, qutest, mscaler.

mk, You will be pleased with the Qutest. I absolutely loved the sound of my Qutest. I think it is a tremendous DAC.

But please keep your mind open to trying a third party power supply even though I know this is not your natural inclination to go in that direction.

 

[Atriya]

mk, You will be pleased with the Qutest. I absolutely loved the sound of my Qutest. I think it is a tremendous DAC.

But please keep your mind open to trying a third party power supply even though I know this is not your natural inclination to go in that direction.

Talking of third-party power supplies: what are some opinions on how a simple battery pack (the kind you get in airports to keep your phone charged during the flight, but has the right 5V and current ratings, of course) compares to (1) the stock PSU and (2) a good but inexpensive LPS like the Allo Shanti (not looking to spend more than $200 on an LPS).

 

[Triode User]

Talking of third-party power supplies: what are some opinions on how a simple battery pack (the kind you get in airports to keep your phone charged during the flight, but has the right 5V and current ratings, of course) compares to (1) the stock PSU and (2) a good but inexpensive LPS like the Allo Shanti (not looking to spend more than $200 on an LPS).

I tried various powering options with the Qutest and I did do a post on the Chord Electronics Owners Group on FaceBook at the time. I was not impressed with the sound using the sort of battery pack you mention. The sound using the Allo Shanti was very good value for money but when I got my soldering iron out and replaced the Allo Shanti captive DC leads the sound improved even more. I did not try it but it might be that it can similarly improved more simply just by shortening those factory installed DC leads. As well as not being great they are also ridiculously long. Shorten them to perhaps 60cm or 80cm will help But as I say I have not actually tried that because by then the whole of the Shanti DC lead was in the bin!

 

[Blackbriar0216]

But please keep your mind open to trying a third party power supply even though I know this is not your natural inclination to go in that direction.

I used IFI ipower X power supply for qutest and I couldnt notice any difference. I think Ipower x was bit brighter. Thats all.

 

[Triode User]

I used IFI ipower X power supply for qutest and I couldnt notice any difference. I think Ipower x was bit brighter. Thats all.

I have tried all sorts including cheap Chinese LPS, MCRU, battery pack, Allo Shanti, Sbooster, Farad Super3, Sean Jacobs DC3 and lately his DC4. I originally thought that the latter was a ridiculously expensive power supply (£4,000) to use with the Qutest but then on reflection and comparing the combination with other similar priced DACs (ie around £5,200) I kept finding myself preferring the Qutest + DC4. So maybe it is not such a silly idea but the reality is that I did not buy the DC4 specifically for the Qutest and only tried it because I had bought it for another DAC (the Dave).

 

[Blackbriar0216]

I have tried all sorts including cheap Chinese LPS, MCRU, battery pack, Allo Shanti, Sbooster, Farad Super3, Sean Jacobs DC3 and lately his DC4. I originally thought that the latter was a ridiculously expensive power supply (£4,000) to use with the Qutest but then on reflection and comparing the combination with other similar priced DACs (ie around £5,200) I kept finding myself preferring the Qutest + DC4. So maybe it is not such a silly idea but the reality is that I did not buy the DC4 specifically for the Qutest and only tried it because I had bought it for another DAC (the Dave).

Yeah I can only justify of using various psu for qutest so much to an extent. I said to myself. I am going to try ifi ipowerx and thats it as far as psu goes for Qutest. I might look into it when I upgrade my dac later down the path.

 

[Jon L]

Shorten them to perhaps 60cm or 80cm will help But as I say I have not actually tried that because by then the whole of the Shanti DC lead was in the bin!

After installing a DC jack and trying all kinds of exotic wire for Shanti, in order to preserve the stock tonality and sound signature while only improving the bass weight and overall density, I ended up using a short run of Shanti Stock DC wire doubled up. For DC application, (shorter) length and (larger) diameter should be maximized ime.

 

[al210]

Just ordered the Cutest. It will be replacing my 5 year old 2qute. Hope I’ll see a nice improvement.

I’ve been reading through the 100s of posts in this thread. Some good info!

There has been a lot of discussion about power supplies for the Cutest. I just ordered the linear PS from Small Green Computer.

 

[TheRH]

Does Windows 11 sound better? I will be using Roon and an SPL Phonitor SE with a pair of Audeze LCD-2C's.

 

[GreenBow]

I'll be using chord clearway 0.5m if that helps at £90 to connect qutest to anni. A system is only as strong as it's weakest link IMHO..

I have some Chord Clearway RCA, and I would say they are a touch on the bright side. Not a lot, but leaning bright.

 

[briantrinh86]

Does anyone have a chance to compare the Qutest with the benchmark dac3?