Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread

[Staxaphone]

I find your post a bit confusing.

I wasn't talking about 'other DACs' I was only talking about Mojo and Qutest.

Current mode design has nothing to do with the DAC. That's the amp section.

I also haven't found better DAC than the Qutest yet, hence my post.

I like the current mode 600i as an amp a lot.

First you say the 600i's DAC is not inferior to other DACs, than you say you haven't found better than Qutest. So first you disagree with me and then agree... [/QUOTE

I said “the Questyle is not equal to other DACs in performance”. Normally that means it is not as good as. You confusion is confusing.

 

[Staxaphone]

I stated “the Questyle is not equal to other DACs in performance”. This normally means it is not as good as. Your confusion is confusing.

 

[Staxaphone]

To rephrase for you:

The Questyle current mode amplification is great

The Questyle DAC is not very good

The Simaudio DAC DSD performance was about same as Qutest

Qutest PCM performance is best of all DACs I have used

 

[Jon L]

Speaking of cables and USB cables in particular, I wonder if anyone using a PC as a source tried to use a PCI-ex USB3.0 card instead of a normal USB3.0 port on the motherboard to connect the Qutest. I mean, all try to filter and reclock using different devices, but it would be good to know if a dedicated USB card makes a difference.

I own/use PCI-express USB3.0 cards from SOtM and JCAT, and yes they do sound different than Mobo's USB and from each other. PCI-ex cards do sound cleaner, denser, richer, even compared to my Mobo, which is purpose-built already powered by outboard linear PS, OS on M-SATA card, etc.

On a side note, for those who use Foobar and Qutest, and do not plan to splurge on M-scaler, do try the Foobar Resampler-V plugin for 44.1kHz material.
I usually do not like resamplers, having tried and compared PPHS, SSRC, SRC extensively. Resampler-V lets you customize SSRC and SoX with various adjustments to arrive at a sound "effect" to your tastes. I still do not like how high sample rates sound (192 kHz, etc), but at 96 kHz and settings to extend LPF frequency response and still keep impulse response around 1 ms, I am able to simulate a certain "wetness" (some report Qutest sound as "dry") and immediacy while sanding off a a trace of 44.1kHz "edge." The settings will depend on your system and tastes, but for my main speaker system, something like this works...

0416192016 by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[musickid]

Just popped in to see what was going on in this thread as a chord owner. It's really go go go here very lively to say the least.

 

[OctavianH]

I own/use PCI-express USB3.0 cards from SOtM and JCAT, and yes they do sound different than Mobo's USB and from each other. PCI-ex cards do sound cleaner, denser, richer, even compared to my Mobo, which is purpose-built already powered by outboard linear PS, OS on M-SATA card, etc.

Many thanks for your advice, the Foobar plugin is new to me and sounds very interesting. What about JCAT and SOtM PCI-USB cards: can you describe the difference? I guess you are powering them externally with the LPS you mention. Do you use also a filter at the "end" of the USB cable before the DAC?

 

[betula]

Apologies @Staxaphone it was late night and I misread your post. I am glad we are on the same page.

 

[Joe-Siow]

I don't have to listen to it to know it's crap.

Thanks for proving my point so beautifully. LOL

I heard a Yggy Raggy stack at a headphone meet last year and was unimpressed. Sounded horribly veiled and bloated.

I appreciate replies like this. At least an opinion is formed after you tried the equipment. I respect your opinion, as opposed to trolls who just know

 

[Ragnar-BY]

Yggy was one of options, when I was looking for a new DAC. I would not say it sounds worse or better than Qutest. My impression was that those two are comparable, although Chord sound signature is closer to my taste. But apart from this Qutest have support for DXD and DSD (I have both types in my library and love how it sounds), Qutest takes less space on my table and it was 1.000 EUR cheaper than Yggy. Considering all this, I can say that for me Chord Qutest is much better DAC than Schiit Yggy. And that`s why I bought it.

 

[jbarrentine]

Thanks for proving my point so beautifully. LOL

I appreciate replies like this. At least an opinion is formed after you tried the equipment. I respect your opinion, as opposed to trolls who just know

If I go looking to buy a ferrari I'm not going to fool myself into believing a gremlin is fine.

 

[supabayes]

Interesting to read opinion of Yggy vs Qutest. I own both. The Yggy is a very good dac and packed with both XLR and dual RCA outputs. The Qutest has only one set of RCA. I enjoyed using the Yggy to compare AB between two amps connected toYggy by RCA. I cannot do this even with my Dave.

 

[supabayes]

I heard a Yggy Raggy stack at a headphone meet last year and was unimpressed. Sounded horribly veiled and bloated.

I own the Yggy Rag stack, which headphone did you usewith the Schiit that you found to be veiled and bloated?

 

[odessamarin]

Interesting to read opinion of Yggy vs Qutest. I own both. The Yggy is a very good dac and packed with both XLR and dual RCA outputs. The Qutest has only one set of RCA. I enjoyed using the Yggy to compare AB between two amps connected toYggy by RCA. I cannot do this even with my Dave.

..why not Dave?! the same xlr and RCA there don't get you.

 

[supabayes]

Maybe you don’t because I am comparing 2 amps with RCA inputs. It is possible to use an interconnect with XLR at DAVE and RCA connectors at amp side. I don’t own such an interconnect. Even if I own one, I don’t like that the XLR output voltage is double that of RCA when DAVE is in DAC mode. Crazy set up for AB comparison of amps.

 

[odessamarin]

.. I see.. dual rca! from yggy.