[soares]

I still can't believe how much different the Chord Qutest sounds with the stock power supply compared to my Linear power supply, a medical grade low noise power supply from Vitec, made and designed in Germany. The difference is big and immediately noticeable. This tells me that the power does make a big difference ( maybe more than Chord would like to admit ). Maybe I chose the worst linear power supply in the world for this application, but I don't think so, this thing is build like a tank, is very heavy and wasn't cheap either. The Qutest with the stock power supply doesn't sound bright or sterile, not even a tiny bit. The first thing I notice with the LPS isn't even the brightness, it's the lack of bass and the reduced soundstage and instrument separation. I'm currently using the Qutest in my main loudspeaker based system and I literally can't believe how good the soundstage is, just wan't possible in this room before. I paid a lot of attention to speaker placement and room treatment but a big portion of my roof is glas and one of the speakers is next to a big metal radiator, hardly ideal and still the soundstage is now more than respectable. Right now I'm listening to Radiohead's latest album and it sounds amazing, it's very hard staying concentrated writing this. Earlier today I listened to Al Green's album Call Me, Illmatic by Nas, Crescent by John Coltrane and even some Daft Punk and I can't find any fault with the sound, this is exactly what I was looking for to upgrade my system. I'm trying to find an album that sounds compressed or messy but so far it has handled everything with easy, Verdi's Requiem or Igg Pop no problem. This DAC has an uncanny ability to unravel the most complex music and somehow make sense of it all. Music just flows, rythm is excellent and it's hard to keep my feet still. This is honestly one of the best purchases I've made in years and that LPS is already back on it's way to Germany.

If you've never listened to the Chord Qutest with the stock power supply definitely give it try, you may be surprised !

Will you share with us the reference of the LPS you are using. Tks.

 

[kovacs]

Will you share with us the reference of the LPS you are using. Tks.

Sorry they don’t sell to consumers, they only sell to medical labs and hospitals. Plus it was terrible, nobody will prefer this sound over the stock power supply.

 

[Zzt231gr]

I still can't believe how much different the Chord Qutest sounds with the stock power supply compared to my Linear power supply, a medical grade low noise power supply from Vitec, made and designed in Germany. The difference is big and immediately noticeable. This tells me that the power does affect the sound quality ( maybe more than Chord would like to admit ). Maybe I chose the worst linear power supply in the world for this application, but I don't think so, this thing is build like a tank, is very heavy and wasn't cheap either. The Qutest with the stock power supply doesn't sound bright or sterile, not even a tiny bit. The first thing I notice with the LPS isn't even the brightness, it's the lack of bass and the reduced soundstage and instrument separation. I'm currently using the Qutest in my main loudspeaker based system and I literally can't believe how good the soundstage is, just wan't possible in this room before. I paid a lot of attention to speaker placement and room treatment but a big portion of my roof is glas and one of the speakers is next to a big metal radiator, hardly ideal and still the soundstage is now more than respectable. Right now I'm listening to Radiohead's latest album and it sounds amazing, it's very hard staying concentrated writing this. Earlier today I listened to Al Green's album Call Me, Illmatic by Nas, Crescent by John Coltrane and even some Daft Punk and I can't find any fault with the sound, this is exactly what I was looking for to upgrade my system. I'm trying to find an album that sounds compressed or messy but so far it has handled everything with easy, Verdi's Requiem or Igg Pop no problem. This DAC has an uncanny ability to unravel the most complex music and somehow make sense of it all. Music just flows, rythm is excellent and it's hard to keep my feet still. This is honestly one of the best purchases I've made in years and that LPS is already back on it's way to Germany.

If you've never listened to the Chord Qutest with the stock power supply definitely give it try, you may be surprised !

IMHO medical equipment is way overpriced.They are built to last but that doesn't mean they are the best design topology.

BTW,do you find Crescent bass heavy?I own a 2007 CD version and it is heavier on bass than the plethora of my CDs.

 

[Zzt231gr]

review of the Qutest
https://downloads.artsexcellence.nl/reviews/chord.qutest.artsexcellence.english.pdf

So what the heck is going on with PSUs?Opinions differ and we don't have a clear answer.

Would it be wise to trust forum reviews and not reviewers?

 

[agedbest]

Sorry they don’t sell to consumers, they only sell to medical labs and hospitals. Plus it was terrible, nobody will prefer this sound over the stock power supply.

wrong direction........

if you want ....try this http://www.isoteksystems.com/products/performance/evo3-aquarius/

garantied you hear much more and well

Chord PSU is for lower the price of unit only...if they add a better PSU Qutest is out of price....
add the price of good LPS, IFI micro or better, and see the market.

 

[dolphy007]

PSU discussion = whipping a dead horse

The designer has stated that the provided PSU is the best to use End of story move on!

Third party PSU will also void your warranty.

 

[Light - Man]

PSU discussion = whipping a dead horse

The designer has stated that the provided PSU is the best to use End of story move on!

Third party PSU will also void your warranty.

Yes Guys, please move on, a bit like this?

Perhaps let's get back to talking about burn-in, etc.

 

[Leogaluc666]

Hello,

Something weird is happening with my qutest,
When powered on, when I rub my hands against it ( the metal body)I feel like there is some kind of electrical current, this sensation stops when I turn it off, is it normal ?

Ps : it doesn't happen with other dac and I tried in different location of my house.

 

[miketlse]

Hello,

Something weird is happening with my qutest,
When powered on, when I rub my hands against it ( the metal body)I feel like there is some kind of electrical current, this sensation stops when I turn it off, is it normal ?

Ps : it doesn't happen with other dac and I tried in different location of my house.

It looks like you have the same issue as this post.

 

[plsvn]

Third party PSU will also void your warranty.

would you please give us a link to where you have read this?
it was indeed written in 2Qute’s manual but I can’t find anything in Qutest’s manual nor Chord website

 

[dawktah2]

would you please give us a link to where you have read this?
it was indeed written in 2Qute’s manual but I can’t find anything in Qutest’s manual nor Chord website

I believe Mr. Watts stated earlier in this thread that only applied to 2Qute. Qutest has standard usb 5v.

Please lets end the PSU discussion.

 

[dbq5anlxj]

anyone compared this with rme adi-2 dac? My amp is v281 and hp is hd800s. I don't know which dac will be a better pair with v281 and hd800s.

 

[agedbest]

PSU discussion = whipping a dead horse

The designer has stated that the provided PSU is the best to use End of story move on!

Third party PSU will also void your warranty.

assuming that you already own a good amplification system and speakers ....note... better is system, and more you can hear difference.....no cable has so tangible improvement

there are two things only, that would bring about improvement of system

1) clean power source

2) good digital source


.... so I would not rule out having to talk about power source yet.


about the warranty ... it's the same manufacturer that recommends, as alternative choice, a powerbank for...., battery pack is not best choice, because the batteries inside have voltage of 3.7v, then by a switching DC / DC converting circuitry,
without any filter, it exit at 5V, but try it if you want. for this I would not worry about warranty...


I have not seen any online video review that used the Qutest with factory PSU.

therefore I am not the only one to think that it is not made for best performance, but it turn on the system anyway....


do not worry, you can always use it to turn on led lights of a small Christmas tree.


if you still do not believe it ...... take as reference the high end DAC of Chord or other firm, tell me you see something as Qutest PSU.

instead you can easily find DACs that use it under $ 400 / $ 500 range, over $ 700 nobody uses a few dollars PSU, but best power source for DAC price range.

 

[maxxevv]

@Rob Watts , the designer for the Qutest has already spoken on this.

You actually believe you know better than he does ?

 

[Currawong]

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.

[...]

Shills so many shills

A shill is someone who works for a company in underhanded way, promoting their products while pretending to have no connection. I usually see this accusation levelled against Head-Fi members by people jealous of the hard work that resulted in the site's continued success. I suggest if you think that the forums are "full of shills" as is often suggested that you log out and never return, even to read the site.

More usefully on topic: Rob suggested on the Hugo 2 thread that some power supplies would add more noise to the system on the power end which might be picked up by the amplifier. The other thing to consider is when someone says that a change makes the sound "better" is that they are not hearing a change for the better, but for the worse, such as distortion adding false detail.

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.

DSD512 requires quite serious bandwidth, among other factors.

I guess that in order to have a future proof Dac

There is no future with DSD512. The storage and bandwidth required are just insane, even now, for zero benefit. In 10 years, I'm SURE they will still be insane.