Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread
Mar 19, 2019 at 10:15 PM Post #3,376 of 6,705
yes,

i do like the tone of 650 and Aeon Flow,

better speed, clarity and detail would be a plus for 650

wywires is expensive compared to periapt

do u run your 660S balanced?

i shortlisted CMA400i since it's balanced and has a dac as well (v curious if mojo's dac is better than the one in CMA400i)

No i run 660S single ended straight from Mojo, no amp needed, plenty of power and the same goes for HD800S and Hugo2.

I owned the 650 running balanced out of CMATwelve, it did not come close to 660S and Mojo.
 
Mar 19, 2019 at 10:25 PM Post #3,378 of 6,705
so do u feel balanced adds little improvement if any at all?

To the 650? with the 400i and Twelve yes it did tighten the bass a bit and add some needed speed and precision but nothing close to how much faster the 660S is even single ended direct from Mojo. I wasnt prepared to spend thousands on the 650 even though i do enjoy it.
 
Mar 20, 2019 at 7:44 AM Post #3,379 of 6,705
Took stock of some new toys yesterday. A special run of Black Cat Mini Stargate interconnect by Chris and a set of Audio Replas quartz footers from my recent trip to Tokyo.

I was previously using Black Cat Lupo Mk II and was perfectly happy with it. But the moment I was offered an opportunity to get the Mini Stargate it was a no brainer.
Plugged in the Mini Stargate and quartz footers and allowed the setup to settle before listening. Long story short, I'm quite surprised how well the setup now sounds. Wider and deeper soundstage with lower noise floor. Organic sounding while retaining excellent details. It invites me deeper into the music.

Even more pleasantly surprised how well the Qutest is able to scale. It sounds perfectly good with affordable cabling and the stock power supply, but if you take the effort to match cabling and power supply it rewards you accordingly.
It is nice to still be surprised even after a year of ownership.

DSC01630.jpg


DSC01632.jpg
 
Mar 21, 2019 at 4:09 PM Post #3,380 of 6,705
Took stock of some new toys yesterday. A special run of Black Cat Mini Stargate interconnect by Chris and a set of Audio Replas quartz footers from my recent trip to Tokyo.

I was previously using Black Cat Lupo Mk II and was perfectly happy with it. But the moment I was offered an opportunity to get the Mini Stargate it was a no brainer.
Plugged in the Mini Stargate and quartz footers and allowed the setup to settle before listening. Long story short, I'm quite surprised how well the setup now sounds. Wider and deeper soundstage with lower noise floor. Organic sounding while retaining excellent details. It invites me deeper into the music.

Even more pleasantly surprised how well the Qutest is able to scale. It sounds perfectly good with affordable cabling and the stock power supply, but if you take the effort to match cabling and power supply it rewards you accordingly.
It is nice to still be surprised even after a year of ownership.

DSC01630.jpg


DSC01632.jpg
If this was car tuning, it would be the wildest one.
 
Mar 22, 2019 at 1:56 AM Post #3,382 of 6,705
If this was car tuning, it would be the wildest one.

I know it's quite mad to use interconnects of this price point on the Qutest, but I'm really surprised how much it improved the sound quality compared to the Lupo Mk II I was using earlier.
This just goes to show how much the Qutest have to give and what a gem it is a the current price.

Oh, and the Audio Replas quartz footers work marvelously. I had difficulty hunting for a set of footers since Qutest has such a tiny footprint.
 
Mar 22, 2019 at 6:23 PM Post #3,384 of 6,705

Follow-up. I did purchase a micro USB adapter so that I could use my LPS-1 to power my Qutest. The LPS-1 was only used in the 5V output position. After extensive listening and comparisons, I find that I prefer the Chord supplied wall wart. The LPS-1 does tighten up the bass but at the same time it appears more rolled off than with the supplied power supply. And the response lacks a measure of impact in the lower octaves which results in a less satisfying sound. The LPS-1 may have been a bit more transparent but I’m not even sure about that since it was so close between the two. This is, of course, with my headphone system and if I was doing this comparison on an in-room speaker system the results may be different. Maybe I’ll try the recommended battery power pack for an additional comparison. For those of you that are using one now, how would you compare the sound and impact in the lower octaves compared to the Chord PS? Are there differences in this regard between the available battery units when powering the Qutest? Thanks.
 
Mar 22, 2019 at 9:05 PM Post #3,385 of 6,705
What do they help with? I would have thought there s little need for vibration control in a headphone set up

The sound has become more planted. Bass goes a bit deeper. Treble is a bit more open. Background is a bit blacker.
Everything is improved ever so slightly, but they add up to be rather noticeable.
Not bad at all for a tweak that costs around $100.

Edit: I might have to add that I am mostly on a 2 channel speaker setup. I have an AKG K702 but I seldom use it with my Leben CS300XS.
 
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Mar 23, 2019 at 2:56 AM Post #3,386 of 6,705
Im wondering about getting a qutest for my moon 430had. It has both balanced and unbalanced inputs. Since qutest only have unbalanced, will i get balanced out of my amp when connecting my hp to the 4 pin xlr? Will i loose anything with going unbalanced from qutest compared to using for example balanced from an yggy?
 
Mar 23, 2019 at 5:01 AM Post #3,387 of 6,705
Im wondering about getting a qutest for my moon 430had. It has both balanced and unbalanced inputs. Since qutest only have unbalanced, will i get balanced out of my amp when connecting my hp to the 4 pin xlr? Will i loose anything with going unbalanced from qutest compared to using for example balanced from an yggy?

You amp will convert unbalanced input to balanced output.

My pre a true differentiated design and the qutest works fine.
 
Mar 23, 2019 at 5:09 AM Post #3,388 of 6,705
The sound has become more planted. Bass goes a bit deeper. Treble is a bit more open. Background is a bit blacker.
Everything is improved ever so slightly, but they add up to be rather noticeable.
Not bad at all for a tweak that costs around $100.

Edit: I might have to add that I am mostly on a 2 channel speaker setup. I have an AKG K702 but I seldom use it with my Leben CS300XS.
It makes perfect sense in a 2 channel speaker system for sure. Something to think about for when I go that way
At the moment my Qutest is perched on my Preamp. Did you say you got them in Japan or have I imagined that?
 
Mar 23, 2019 at 6:03 AM Post #3,389 of 6,705
It makes perfect sense in a 2 channel speaker system for sure. Something to think about for when I go that way
At the moment my Qutest is perched on my Preamp. Did you say you got them in Japan or have I imagined that?

Yup, I got 3 sets of footers while I was at Yobadashi Akihabara earlier this week.
Below is the link of the product from Rakuten. While they do not ship direct to UK, you can get Tenso to ship to you.

https://item.rakuten.co.jp/audiounion/opt1shr3/
 
Mar 23, 2019 at 7:33 AM Post #3,390 of 6,705

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