Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread
May 10, 2019 at 3:37 AM Post #3,766 of 6,705
I second the streamer wish though.
It would be great to have Rob Watts’ implementation of a source that would feed the Qutest optimally. Preferably with Toslink that would support 192khz.
 
May 10, 2019 at 5:00 AM Post #3,768 of 6,705
Preamp I have is Exposure XXIII, but I prefer the sound of Qutest direct to poweramp and controlling volume on PC.
Same here. Ming Da 8 watt set monoblocs driving Audio Note AZ-2. Any pre-amp and associated cables have reduced transparency so just use Foobar for digital attenuation by 3db.
 
May 10, 2019 at 5:02 AM Post #3,770 of 6,705
Yes, it makes one wonder what it would plug into within the Chord range in terms of similar price and appearance amplifiers. I wonder if there is something in the pipeline. Perhaps an amplifier to come in the Qutest range?
Digital amplifier hopefully and stripped down m-scaler.
 
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May 10, 2019 at 5:29 AM Post #3,772 of 6,705
Digital amplifier hopefully and stripped down m-scaler.

The thing us though that the Huwei is an analogue device so it will need an analogue amplifier to plug into. I could see a Qutest format integrated amplifier that would take the analogue output from the Qutest and also the output from the Huwei and power speakers and headphones. At the right price there might be a big market for that.

Whether a cheaper Mscaler in Qutest format will ever happen might be doubtful because I'm guessing it is difficult to strip down the HMS even more than it is at the moment.
 
May 10, 2019 at 8:13 AM Post #3,775 of 6,705
I’m pretty sure a 1/2 million tap budget MScaler and an unattached separate Qutest style amp are in complete conflict with Rob’s design principals.
 
May 10, 2019 at 9:50 AM Post #3,777 of 6,705
Been trying the ifi ipower. And i feel that the sound gets a tad darker and smoother compared to stock power supply, but it kinda looses some of it crisp clarity with ipower, is that even possible? any one else tried ifi ipower? Its all connected to IsoTek evo 3 venus power center.

As far as I am aware, you can't take anything off the music with power supplies. Only RFI in power supplies can cause brightness in the music. If your music gets darker then surely that is how it must be. That's going by what I have been told.

RFI or noise in the circuit affects the analogue output parts and adds brightness, or so they say.

It may sound like you are losing detail by the darker signature. However you're gaining it in two ways.

  • Brightness makes us keep our volume lower.
  • With brightness gone, the mids and bass textures and details are more balance in the mix.

I used to use some Grado 225e which were bright. When I EQ'd them and took off the brightness, the music was much richer sounding.
 
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May 10, 2019 at 10:06 AM Post #3,778 of 6,705
I would only sell mine if buying a TT2! But, as I posted a few pages back the improvement between the two was I thought quite small, though definitely there, but price is the factor. However if folk are considering an expensive headamp with the Qutest, then the amp on TT2 is very good and there may not then be much in it cost wise.

TT2 is a solid buy.

(I made a few posts recently in the Hugo 2, TT2, and M-Scaler threads recently about TT2. I did mostly comparison with Hugo 2 posts. There weren't many posts doing that, up to press.)
 
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May 10, 2019 at 10:07 AM Post #3,779 of 6,705
As far as I am aware, you can't take anything off the music with power supplies. Only RFI in power supplies can cause brightness in the music. If your music gets darker then surely that is how it must be. That's going by what I have been told.

RFI or noise in the circuit affects the analogue output parts and adds brightness, or so they say.

It may sound like you are losing detail by the darker signature. However you're gaining it in two ways.

  • Brightness makes us keep our volume lower.
  • With brightness gone, the mids and bass textures and details are more balance in the mix.

I used to use some Grado 225e which were bright. When I EQ'd them and took off the brightness, the music was much richer sounding.
agree. better dacs and amps get less bright they sound. If it sounds annoyingly bright, then power supply must be the reason.
 
May 10, 2019 at 10:08 AM Post #3,780 of 6,705
agree. better dacs and amps get less bright they sound. If it sounds annoyingly bright, then power supply must be the reason.

You can pick RFI in cables too. That's why expensive cables are shielded. The Chord Company Sarum T uses shielding that NASA or the military, use in space technology. (Can't remember which; you'd have to check it out.)

Without shielding, cables simply act just like an antenna on a radio, picking up EM waves.
 
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