Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread

[hakunamakaka]

But can't you just EQ Mojo 2 to do all Mojo 1 did and then some? It is a lossless EQ, so it should be able to be "warmer" or whatever the Mojo 1 did.

You can slightly boost bass & add crossfeed only to get a small flavor of Mojo1. Changes in circuit design set Mojo2 further apart from its older brother than EQ tweaks could handle.

 

[axle_69]

For those that have an Ifi Power Elite as PSU, how does it compare with a battery? I tried the 5V output of a lithium battery pack and the background is quieter than the stock power supply (to put things in context it was already very quiet) but I prefer something that I don't have to charge.

 

[SONDEKNZ]

For those that have an ifi Power Elite as PSU, how does it compare with a battery?

 

[hakunamakaka]

For those that have an Ifi Power Elite as PSU, how does it compare with a battery? I tried the 5V output of a lithium battery pack and the background is quieter than the stock power supply (to put things in context it was already very quiet) but I prefer something that I don't have to charge.

Many will disagree but Qutest can be pushed much further in terms of SQ with good PSU and clean source. If you're running qutest via pc for the money I would firstly get DDC like IRIS or if budget allows holo red. Upsample via software and you will have cheap man's Mscaler

 

[SacredSoul]

Many will disagree but Qutest can be pushed much further in terms of SQ with good PSU and clean source. If you're running qutest via pc for the money I would firstly get DDC like IRIS or if budget allows holo red. Upsample via software and you will have cheap man's Mscaler

If I have a DDC, would I still need a LPS?

 

[axle_69]

If I have a DDC, would I still need a LPS?

Two different things. I was asking about the DAC power supply (in this case about the Ifi Elite), which can be a source of noise. The Qutest circuit should clean most of that noise but I still found a difference in my system using a battery (compared with the stock SMPS). I don't think LPS is inherently better than SMPS, depends on the implementation, both have pros and cons. The other thing is electric noise coming with the digital signal and the clock of the digital signal itself, DDCs are supposed to improve that (but the amount of improvement also depends on what the DAC does or not) and then one of the issues becomes the power supply of the DDC itself. I don't have a DDC in this system and don't plan to have one, this one is supposed to be a small and simple system and I stream from an iPad which is relatively quiet.

 

[hakunamakaka]

If I have a DDC, would I still need a LPS?

For PC/Laptop as source DDC gave me better leap in SQ compared to LPS. Chord's msclaser acts as DDC and upsampler which brings Qutest very close to TT with added quality LPS. This dude is quite spot on and is one of the better reviewers there:


Is it worth to bother ? For some yes for others no. If aim is a simplistic setup I would use Mojo2 instead which is batter powered and has a smart desktop mode

 

[SacredSoul]

Sadly msclaser is out of my budget. Wasn't even expecting to get a LPS so the added cost of DDC is definitely beyond. Think I'll just get the iPower Elite for my desktop setup.

 

[hakunamakaka]

Sadly msclaser is out of my budget. Wasn't even expecting to get a LPS so the added cost of DDC is definitely beyond. Think I'll just get the iPower Elite for my desktop setup.

I grabbed Denafrips Iris DDC new from aliexpress for 350$ with vouchers. This is nearly the same price as iPower Elite. Than USB to Iris and Optical to Qutest. Much more weight and thickness to the sound compared by going directly from my laptop. I tried cheap DDC as Douk Pro, but didn’t sound nowhere near as good as Iris.

If you are streaming from noisy source you’ll be surprised what it does to the Qutest

 

[Patlezinc]

Hello guys. A tough question : would a qutest beat the DAC of my Violectric v380 v2 (supposed to be a good one)? I just want to get the best of my new headphones and maybe I am already at 100% of what they can give, dont know

 

[Daorom]

Directly from Qutest! ATH-ADX5000.Cleanliness and punch! The amplifier is turned off and not needed)

 

[Reactcore]

Directly from Qutest! ATH-ADX5000.Cleanliness and punch! The amplifier is turned off and not needed)

When i had Qutest i also figured it was truly capable of direct drive HP's where high impedance ones did best.

i even added buffer caps on Qutest's power section to give it more juice to drive direct:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-qutest-dac-official-thread.869417/post-15399272

Later with Dave i discovered that attenuating volume with the player software deviate from bit perfect audiostream at the cost of SQ, but still not using an amp with Qutest weighted out.

 

[AnyDave]

Hello guys. A tough question : would a qutest beat the DAC of my Violectric v380 v2 (supposed to be a good one)? I just want to get the best of my new headphones and maybe I am already at 100% of what they can give, dont know

I haven't heard the DAC in the v380 v2, but I like the Qutest much better than the DAC in the v590.

 

[Patlezinc]

Thanks. It is probably the same

 

[jjazzy]

I haven't heard the DAC in the v380 v2, but I like the Qutest much better than the DAC in the v590.

Qutest sounds better, I had the v380 v2 and v590 (upgraded volume version). They are good amps, not so good dacs. Dac is average/good