[tony wilson]

 

[Bulbsofpassion]

Have not noticed that at all with my speaker system and neither have any of my friends with theirs. Then again we all use power conditioners as well.

Pause the music and turn your amp up to full, and listen to what the tweeters are putting out. Then replace the iPower with a regular Apple iPhone charger and see if you get the same. I also tried this on some Mackie active speakers and got identical results to the Mojo/Naim set up.
Whilst I accept the Apple charger *may* put more noise into the DAC, it's completely undetectable to my ears, and it definitely doesn't put anywhere near as much (detectable) noise back into the mains (and into the amp) as the iFi, and fwiw is also better than the standard Anker 2-port charger.

 

[PHC1]

Can't say much about the Qutest yet but I can vouch for the Luxman L-509AX Mark II in that video since that is what I use for my speakers.

 

[agedbest]

I wasn't going to suggest it since many may find the price of this power supply a bit excessive but Keces builds quality products. They are a major supplier of toroidal transformers and other stuff for many much higher cost products. I use their power conditioner for my headphone listening gear and it is great. They also have the power supplies. Worth a look. http://keces-audio-usa.com/

Compatibility & DC output version

1. Directly power DC 24V based phono stage or for all audio device that run on DC 24V.
2. Directly power DC 20V based Laptop or for all audio device that run on DC 20V.
3. Directly power DC 19V based NUC, Thin ITX system and Laptop or for all audio device that run on DC 19V.
4. Directly power DC 18V based Pro-Ject products or for all audio device that run on DC 18V.
5. Directly power DC 15V based Alpha Design Labs products or for all audio device that run on DC 15V.
6. Directly power DC 12V based Mac Mini or for all audio device that run on DC 12V.
7. Directly power DC 9V based SOtM products or for all audio device that run on DC 9V.
8. Directly power DC 7V based SOtM products or for all audio device that run on DC 7V.
9. Directly power DC 5V based Squeezebox or for audio device that run on DC 5V.
10. USB Output provide DC 5V @1A. Directly power DC5V based USB DAC.

*All version included a USB output


Specs


DC Connector: 2.1mm Barrel
AC Input Voltage: 115V 60Hz / 230V 50Hz (User switchable)
Power Consumption: 210 Watts (Full Load Output)
Casing: Aluminum
Dimension: (WxDxH) 300x220x66mm
Weight: 6kg


seen the high price this LPS could be interesting for those who must power other components with different voltage, and use the USB output present in all versions to power the DAC

 

[PHC1]

Pause the music and turn your amp up to full, and listen to what the tweeters are putting out. Then replace the iPower with a regular Apple iPhone charger and see if you get the same. I also tried this on some Mackie active speakers and got identical results to the Mojo/Naim set up.
Whilst I accept the Apple charger *may* put more noise into the DAC, it's completely undetectable to my ears, and it definitely doesn't put anywhere near as much (detectable) noise back into the mains (and into the amp) as the iFi, and fwiw is also better than the standard Anker 2-port charger.

I'll give it a try since I am using an iFi power supply for my Wyred4Sound Recovery Module (usb re-reclocker/buffer) but again, everything is plugged into power conditioners in my systems so it is dead quiet even with tube gear.

 

[agedbest]

Pause the music and turn your amp up to full, and listen to what the tweeters are putting out.

like this..... is simple trick i made always in my sistem also......tell you if something are going wrong
but it is better you connect one unit a time to better identify which component is not functioning properly

 

[Triode User]

I'll give it a try since I am using an iFi power supply for my Wyred4Sound Recovery Module (usb re-reclocker/buffer) but again, everything is plugged into power conditioners in my systems so it is dead quiet even with tube gear.

It depends of course on what type of power conditioners you have. Some detract from the power supply available and not all are effective. If the HiFi kit is properly designed it should not benefit from a power conditioner anyway.

But it is right that many power supplies are very noisy and inject noise into the mains.

 

[PHC1]

It depends of course on what type of power conditioners you have. Some detract from the power supply available and not all are effective. If the HiFi kit is properly designed it should not benefit from a power conditioner anyway.

But it is right that many power supplies are very noisy and inject noise into the mains.

I've owned and tried so many power conditioners over the 30 years of being into high end audio that I am very familiar with what works and what doesn't Power conditioners, AC regenerators, regenerators with battery boost that protect from over and under voltage and give bursts of current for demanding dynamic transients, etc.. Richard Gray, PS Audio, Torus, PurePower, etc... Not going to find too many serious systems without a decent power conditioner on our side of the pond. (US)

 

[Deftone]

Interesting thing - there are so many manufacturers, who use "latest chips", but all the DAC-talk is usually about Chord and Schiit DACs. I think my next DAC would be from one of those companies. Mostly because both companies use their own tech instead of throwing in the standard DAC-chip. For me the competitor for Chord Qutest would be a Schiit Gungnir Multibit. Schiit has both balanced and single-ended outputs and it is a cheaper option. So I hope Qutest would perform clearly better to justify the lack of balanced connections and higher price. Looking forward for somebody to compare those two. Unfortunately, in my country there would be no chance to audition one or another.

Yes that would be the fair comparison that i made. UK prices are Chord Qutest £1,195 and Schiit Gungnir Multibit £1,100. Very close actually...

I dont know why anyone would compare the Qutest with the Yggdrasil on pricing because Yggrasil is £2,200 / $3,090

 

[mtmercer]

Is there a recommended method to convert the single ended qutest output to true balanced with the least reduction in quality or addition of noise for use with a balanced amp?

Assuming the amp cannot properly do it.

 

[PHC1]

Is there a recommended method to convert the single ended qutest output to true balanced with the least reduction in quality or addition of noise for use with a balanced amp?

Assuming the amp cannot properly do it.

Unless driving very long cables and need the common mode rejection of noise of balanced cables, don't always assume they sound better. They often don't, problem being the cheap quality op-amps in the signal path needed for balanced operation. Single Ended very often sounds much more relaxed and musical. Not to be confused with balanced drive in headphones. Balanced headphone jacks may well be more dynamic depending on the amp topology but... always try single ended as well and see which one is the more "musical" and "organic" sounding.

 

[JWahl]

Is there a recommended method to convert the single ended qutest output to true balanced with the least reduction in quality or addition of noise for use with a balanced amp?

Assuming the amp cannot properly do it.

If you absolutely must, I think the best method is a high quality passive transformer based rca to Xlr box. The downside is that quality ones are expensive (~$500) and transformers have their own tradeoffs. Though they also have the added benefit of isolating the source from the amp as well.

 

[agedbest]

Yes that would be the fair comparison that i made. UK prices are Chord Qutest £1,195 and Schiit Gungnir Multibit £1,100. Very close actually...

I dont know why anyone would compare the Qutest with the Yggdrasil on pricing because Yggrasil is £2,200 / $3,090

the Chord Qutest and the Schiit Gungnir Multibit are both in my sights
if to Chord Qutest i will must add also the cost of a LPS its competitor will certainly become the Schiit Yggdrasil
unfortunately for now the Chord Qutest is not yet available at the local store
and in any case it will not be possible to make a direct comparison because I do not find a store that sells them both for different commercial distribution lines
so I can only test them separately.

 

[plsvn]

I dont know why anyone would compare the Qutest with the Yggdrasil on pricing because Yggrasil is £2,200 / $3,090

well... these days last year a 2Qute I bought for my secondary system ended up replacing, in my main system, a €3000 Metrum Hex I was deeply in love with
it actually was a really close match with the Metrum still being a little bit more musical and having quite some better soundstage rendering than the 2Qute but the Metrum doesn't do DSD so in the end...

 

[mtmercer]

Unless driving very long cables and need the common mode rejection of noise of balanced cables, don't always assume they sound better. They often don't, problem being the cheap quality op-amps in the signal path needed for balanced operation. Single Ended very often sounds much more relaxed and musical. Not to be confused with balanced drive in headphones. Balanced headphone jacks may well be more dynamic depending on the amp topology but... always try single ended as well and see which one is the more "musical" and "organic" sounding.

Roger that. I guess a different way to approach the issue would be to ask "What would be end game single ended solid state amp recommendations to go with the Qutest?"