[danypel]

This is most interesting because 3V vs 2V is a 4dB difference so the SNR of the Qutest would not be dramatically reduced. So my personal speculation is this: Freya volume control is more transparent at a lower volume setting. By operating the Qutest at 3V, you’re letting the Freya volume to be set at 4dB lower and most preamplifiers have optimal volumes where you get the best linearity and lowest noise which results in most transparency. I suspect that’s the most likely reason why it’s easier for you now to hear the benefits of Qutest.
That said, I definitely have a couple of friends whose preamplifiers would clip if you feed a 3V input which is why the 2V and 1V options are there.

Very interesting your explanation and really very reasonable. The difference between Node 2 and Qutest is very clear when the Chord is set to 3v. Not so when it is in 2v where I find it difficult to find the differences, the sound is more anemic and congested. Now, the striking thing is that the output of Node 2 is 2v (or at least when the Qutest is set to 2v the volume seems level) and it could be that then that also makes the Bluesound not sound quite right with the Freya, and not so much the difference in quality of both dacs ... I hope you understand what I mean. Thank you.

 

[Richardhoos]

I have a new (well used but new to me) Lumin U1 Mini headed my way that I’m excited about.

For those use use Qutest fed by Lumin U1 mini, is USB the best way to go? I exclusively stream Qobuz at this point.

thanks for your input!
Rich

 

[plsvn]

For those use use Qutest fed by Lumin U1 mini, is USB the best way to go? I exclusively stream Qobuz at this point.

Lumin's advice is to always try AES first, but since the Qutest has no AES in...

 

[521994]

Hello to the chord qutest owners. I came across a very strange problem with my qutest and your assistance will be appreciated and @Rob Watts might be able to help. I just bought a chord qutest and I am impressed. Nevertheless I came across a very strange situation. I have the dac connected to my pc, tv and cd transport using Bnc 1 for the cd transport, optical for tv and usb for mac. I am using chord clearway cables and for the cd transport is clearway digital RCA to BNC. When I am using the BNC 1 for my cd transport every time I switch on or off any electrical device or lights at home the dac pauses for just a fraction of time (les than a second). With usb and optical works fine. I tried a battery I have to power the dac but still the same. Whenever I switch on or off any lights at home I get the pause. To make it even stranger I changed the digital coaxial cable to an audio quest digital RCA coaxial with a BNC adapter and works perfectly fine. No pauses no matter what input I use. Any idea what might be causing this problem when the selected input is BNC 1 or 2 and with chord clearway digital RCA/BNC cable?

 

[Rob Watts]

You are having SPDIF locking problems and it's down to the design of the cable, inducing noise into the SPDIF receiver when electrical transients are happening. So stick with the Audioquest cable...

 

[521994]

Thanks @Rob Watts I will stick with the audio quest and return the chord cable cause wasn’t cheap.

 

[danypel]

I ask: can there be so much difference in sound between the gain of 3v compared to that of 2v? with 2v I really notice it lifeless, anemic. With 3v the differences are very noticeable. I am using a Schiit Freya preamp and a Macintosh mc2205 power amp. I would appreciate Rob Watts if I could answer this question. Thanks a lot!

 

[snatex]

This is most interesting because 3V vs 2V is a 4dB difference so the SNR of the Qutest would not be dramatically reduced. So my personal speculation is this: Freya volume control is more transparent at a lower volume setting. By operating the Qutest at 3V, you’re letting the Freya volume to be set at 4dB lower and most preamplifiers have optimal volumes where you get the best linearity and lowest noise which results in most transparency. I suspect that’s the most likely reason why it’s easier for you now to hear the benefits of Qutest.
That said, I definitely have a couple of friends whose preamplifiers would clip if you feed a 3V input which is why the 2V and 1V options are there.

I find this discussion very interesting. In theory, an underpowered signal might sound less dynamic than one supported by more power.

I have the choice of 1,2 or 3V on the Qutest and 0, +6, +12 and +14db pre-gain on my power amp which further complicates the decision in choosing the optimal settings.

I’ve asked @robwatts his thoughts on increasing the power of the Qutest vs increasing the power of the amp and he basically said he didn’t think the Qutest had an optimal voltage setting so it really didn’t matter.

I also asked Fried Reim, the amp designer, and he thought increasing the pre-gain On the amp was preferable because it was effortless and that pushing the voltage on the Qutest was more likely to be an issue.

 

[Rob Watts]

There is no significant difference between 2v and 3v from Qutest POV as the 3v setting is still well below what the DAC could be capable of from the analogue side. So if you are hearing changes, it's down to the pre-amp or the power amp.

 

[danypel]

[QUOTE = "Rob Watts, publicación: 15450367, miembro: 394072"]
No hay una diferencia significativa entre 2v y 3v de Qutest POV ya que la configuración de 3v todavía está muy por debajo de lo que el DAC podría ser capaz de hacer desde el lado analógico. Entonces, si está escuchando cambios, se debe al preamplificador o al amplificador de potencia.
[/ CITAR]

Thank you very much Rob. Maybe the preamp needs at least 3v to be properly excited. What is strange to me is that in general the sources such as CD players, streamers, etc. have 2v outputs. But in the audio these strange things happen and difficult to understand. Regards!

 

[GreenBow]

I thought it would best to use the 3V output from the Qutest if you can. That way more of your signal in the transducer is clean with low noise floor from Chord. More Chord DAC and less amp, can only be a good thing. That is unless it means running the amp very low, because some amps can be a bit lifeless at low volumes. Or so I have read. I never had that problem myself, and often run an amp on whisper quiet volume.

In fact with my TT2 I use less power/volume driving speakers directly from it, than TT2 line-level out. Keeps the TT2 cooler too, which I totally love.

 

[sjt1970]

Up until last night I had my Qutest set to 2v going into an analogue input of my Naim 272 preamp. Prompted by the recent comments I tried setting the Qutest volume to 3v (blue) and I am sure it sounds better! It doesn't seem much louder but it seems to have more space, atmosphere and dynamics. Anyway it sounds great and I am happy about this!

 

[Reactcore]

Now had some listening time to my buffer capped Qutest.. see my earlier post for pics. i can report that the difference is noticable specially in the bass region as expected actually. It drives my HP directly with more authority like the TT. I have no regrets placing them

 

[GreenBow]

Up until last night I had my Qutest set to 2v going into an analogue input of my Naim 272 preamp. Prompted by the recent comments I tried setting the Qutest volume to 3v (blue) and I am sure it sounds better! It doesn't seem much louder but it seems to have more space, atmosphere and dynamics. Anyway it sounds great and I am happy about this!

I remember on reviews of the M-Scaler, both amateur and pro-reviews, some said even in bypass mode music sounded better. Meaning when the M-Scaler was off and just passing the sound through, people noted an improvement.

Anyway Rob Watts dispelled this notion by telling us what was happening. He said there is a small increase in volume with M-Scaler in bypass. Might have been something like 1 dB.

 

[David M H]

... if you pair it with a class D amplifier, a lot of the benefits from the Qutest would be lost.

Could you please explain why this is? Which class of power amp is required to reap most benefits from Qutest?

For years I've enjoyed my 2Qute (through an MFA passive preamp) with Ncore NC400 class D power amps. I listen to 95% classical music so enjoy the 'cleanliness' of the system. I'm not looking for euphonic distortion.

I've just ordered a Qutest, (looking forward to trying the 1V output option with my MFA to minimise attenuation) so I'm reading through this excellent thread for some education. Thanks in advance for your help.

JRiver->2Qute->MFA->Ncore->Audiovector