[AlexB73]

I have 2qute. I like the sound of this DAC.
Did anybody compare Qutest vs 2qute directly.
Is it a big difference in sound?
Do they have the same tonal balance?
Does it worth an upgrade?

 

[dac64]

I have listened to the Qutest extensively with the stock power supply($0), ifi iPower 5v ($55) and the Uptone Audio UltraCap LPS-1.2. ($435)

iPower is the best, seconded by Stock and followed by UltraCap (waste of money

I will be graceful if you could make another comparison with a power bank.

I have the power bank but not qutest yet!

 

[AlexB73]

The Qutest actually has the same analogue stage as the Mojo so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some similarities. On the other hand it has an improved WTA filter and 10e vs 4e Pulse Array DAC, which may sound different to Mojo tonally but more precise.

I’m interested in a direct comparison as well with Qutest vs Mojo, for reference. The Hugo2 has the same WTA and 10e Pulse Array as the Qutest, but a different analogue stage. The Hugo2 is definitely more incisive and has much better transients compared to the Mojo, IMO, but Hugo2 sounds slightly brighter overall than the Mojo.

I don't have Qutest but I have 2Qute and Mojo.
I use both as DAC connected to my 300B integrated SET and speakers.
2Qute in significant more detailed and transparent. The sound is bigger and has more extended base and upper trebles.
Also, the sound of 2Qute is less grainy.
But on the other hand, Mojo can sound a little bit more lush and warmer.

 

[x RELIC x]

I don't have Qutest but I have 2Qute and Mojo.
I use both as DAC connected to my 300B integrated SET and speakers.
2Qute in significant more detailed and transparent. The sound is bigger and has more extended base and upper trebles.
Also, the sound of 2Qute is less grainy.
But on other hand, Mojo can sound a little bit more lush and warmer.

Yeah, I don’t expect the 2Qute to be anywhere near the Mojo in regard to tonality. I was referring exclusively to the Qutest with its OP stage based off of the Mojo. Just curious to know how close those two specifically sound in comparison - again, exclusively regarding tonality.

2Qute is based off of Hugo1 which is brighter than Mojo, Hugo2, DAVE so I wouldn’t expect many tonal similarities.

 

[AlexB73]

2Qute is not bright at all. Actually it is very close to Mojo in term of tonal balance.
I don't compare it to Hugo by myself, but all people who did it reported that 2Qute is not as bright as Hugo.

 

[azabu]

No it dosent. Stop saying other psu sound better when chord themselves said it dosent. Beside if chord qutest goes bad for whatevet reason while you have different psu plugged in it voids warranty the second you plug in that different psu. These cheap ass companies should stop trying to make money off chord. Its so direct then online shills come on these boards then make it sound like the other psu is what make chord qutest sound not even the DAC anymore. But their new custom psu they built is whats making the sound. Atleast ask fot permission before trying to make money off chord.

The other day i was looking for used amplofier then this guy pm me saying he is willing to sell it etc. It has 35 wpc SET amp 300B tubes so i was kinda intetested but ultimately decided not to then lo and behold after a few missed email he emails me from another account and turns out this amplifier is actually made by himself. The whilr time he playing it off as a 3rd person so much praise for the amp. Shills so many shills

The LPS 1.2 is much cleaner than my mains. I'm running LPS 1.2 -> Qutest -> BHSE -> Stax 007.

We all have different set-ups, we all hear things differently. YMMV.

 

[x RELIC x]

2Qute is not bright at all. Actually it is very close to Mojo in term of tonal balance.
I don't compare it to Hugo by myself, but all people who did it reported that 2Qute is not as bright as Hugo.

Ok.

Still, not what I was curious about.

Enjoy the music.

 

[kovacs]

I've got mine for a week now, really happy with it, CD's have never sounded so good before. After years on head-fi I've discovered that I enjoy music much more when it's on a physical medium ( CD, LP ) and played through loudspeakers, so I have no interest in connecting it to a PC or playing high resolution files, or connecting it to a headphone amp. From some initial reviews I've read I was afraid that the Qutest would sound cold and clinical with CD's, but luckily that's not the case at all. I liked the sound from the first song I've played on it, but after a couple of days of operation the sound has improved even further. Some initial hardness or edginess disappeared after the first day of burn-in, after that I didn't notice any significant change in sound anymore. The Qutest now sounds well balanced and warm with great high frequency resolution and extension, instruments are very well separated ( even on some rather Lo-fi recordings ). I've also never heard such a deep soundstage and great imaging in my current room with my current speakers ( B&W 705S2 ) before, with the Qutest I'm now getting close to what I was able to get in my previous room, very impressive. PRaT ( pace, rhythm and timing ) is excellent as well since I can't seem to keep my feet still. The incisive filter hasn't yet sounded too bright to me ( my PrimaLuna tube amp may have something to do with that as well ) and other filters seem to lose some of the high frequency detail and extension that makes this DAC so special. I've also tried both optical and BNC digital feeds from the same source ( Cambridge Audio CXC ) and I prefer the RCA to BNC connection. So far I've only tried the 2v and 3 Volt output and I think I prefer 3 Volt, but I will need to do more tests to be sure. Still using the stock power supply, I've got easy access to medical grade Linear Power Supplies, so a nice 5V 1amp one is on it's way, I'll report back if I can hear a difference. I've used a similar one for my phono preamp and it made a huge difference. Very happy with my purchase so far.

 

[Zzt231gr]

^^Great review as before!

 

[azabu]

I've got mine for a week now, really happy with it, CD's have never sounded so good before. After years on head-fi I've discovered that I enjoy music much more when it's on a physical medium ( CD, LP ) and played through loudspeakers, so I have no interest in connecting it to a PC or playing high resolution files, or connecting it to a headphone amp. From some initial reviews I've read I was afraid that the Qutest would sound cold and clinical with CD's, but luckily that's not the case at all. I liked the sound from the first song I've played on it, but after a couple of days of operation the sound has improved even further. Some initial hardness or edginess disappeared after the first day of burn-in, after that I didn't notice any significant change in sound anymore. The Qutest now sounds well balanced and warm with great high frequency resolution and extension, instruments are very well separated ( even on some rather Lo-fi recordings ). I've also never heard such a deep soundstage and great imaging in my current room with my current speakers ( B&W 705S2 ) before, with the Qutest I'm now getting close to what I was able to get in my previous room, very impressive. PRaT ( pace, rhythm and timing is excellent as well since I can't seem to keep my feet still. The incisive filter hasn't yet sounded too bright to me ( my PrimaLuna tube amp may have something to do with that as well ) and other filters seem to loose some of the high frequency detail and extension that makes this DAC so special. I've also tried both optical and BNC digital feeds from the same source ( Cambridge Audio CXC ) and I prefer the RCA to BNC connection. So far I've only tried 2v and 3 Volt output and I think I prefer 3 Volt, but I will need to do more tests to be sure. Still using the stock power supply, I've got easy access to medical grade Linear Power Supplies, so a nice 5V 1amp one is on it's way, I'll report back if I can hear a difference. I've used a similar one for my phono preamp and it made a huge difference. Very happy with my purchase so far.

Congrats! I feel the same way. The Uptone JS-2 LPS is incoming tomorrow.

I'd be interested if anyone has tested the Qutest and Hugo 2 side by side. I auditioned the Hugo 2 today just with iems, and it's like an out of body experience afterwards. Very very clean, though to me it sounds like it lacks the subtle refinement of the Qutest, but then again I'm comparing apples to oranges.

 

[andromeda1954]

I have listened to the Qutest extensively with the stock power supply($0), ifi iPower 5v ($55) and the Uptone Audio UltraCap LPS-1.2. ($435)

iPower is the best, seconded by Stock and followed by UltraCap (waste of money)

with ultracap the noise floor seems the worst, a lot less detail, everything dulled....how is that possible? so much for these boutique power supplies

Qutest>CMA600i>LCD-3

I used the iPower also and it sounded better than the stock supply. I also tried the Sbooster for a while with good results but not as good as the much cheaper IPower. The best results however I have with the use of the Ifi micro iUSB as power supply. This is not a cheap solution ,but it is in my constellation (Violectric V281, Qutest ,HD800S) the Golden Ratio and
retrieves everything from the Qutest
and let's hear what the Qutest is capable of

 

[soares]

Just arrived... I will report on my findings in 1 or 2 weeks time.
Meanwhile, I just discovered that the Qutest does not support native DSD at least with Linux (I am using a sonic transporter i5) and Mac. DSD over DoP goes up only to 256. However it acepts native 512 playback with specific windows drivers provided by Chord. My Oppo 205 does native 512 DSD. Any clues when and if we will get native DSD 512 with Linux and the Qutest? Thanks.

 

[Zzt231gr]

For you guys who had good results with ifi iPower;how does it compare sonically vs stock psu?Is it bigger and heavier physically?How did you connect it?

 

[soares]

Did not compare yet, but I got one. It's heavier and bigger (just a bit). You connect it with an adaptator, about 4$.

 

[plsvn]

You connect it with an adaptator, about 4$.

5v iPower (the one you need for the Qutest) already comes with a USB Mini adapter