Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread
Oct 16, 2020 at 6:33 PM Post #5,146 of 6,707
Finaly, my Qutest bought.
offcourse in a local, 40kms from here, Headphone Specialist.
It is on for a day to break it in. We want the best, don’t we.
Now, I’ve read this entire topic but my memory is to bad so I’ll ask this (again).
How do you all coop with the bnc connections?
Chord thought about everything but why they used these difficult connections is not clear to me at all.
So how do you use your coax to the Qutest?
thank

The BNC are the correct connectors for coax as they match the characteristic impedance of the cable. The RCA connectors are the inferior ones and create reflections in the cable. If your source only has RCA then as others have suggested use an RCA to BNC cable, try and avoid adapters. And the cable needs to be proper 75ohm coax as well, but it doesn’t have to be pricey to be good quality, check out a Belden 1694 made to the right length with whatever connector you need from bluejeans cable, it may be all you ever need.

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/digital-audio/index.htm
 
Last edited:
Oct 16, 2020 at 10:57 PM Post #5,147 of 6,707
The BNC are the correct connectors for coax as they match the characteristic impedance of the cable. The RCA connectors are the inferior ones and create reflections in the cable. If your source only has RCA then as others have suggested use an RCA to BNC cable, try and avoid adapters. And the cable needs to be proper 75ohm coax

All that is true, but the thing is Chord Qutest, TT2, Mscaler all come with 50 Ohm BNC connectors, not the "proper" 75 Ohm connectors.
Chord Dave, on the other hand, comes with 75 Ohm BNC connectors. The connectors all cost the same, so why Chord did this is a total mystery...
BNC_50_75_Ohm.jpg
 
Oct 17, 2020 at 3:38 AM Post #5,150 of 6,707
Oct 17, 2020 at 2:07 PM Post #5,154 of 6,707
All that is true, but the thing is Chord Qutest, TT2, Mscaler all come with 50 Ohm BNC connectors, not the "proper" 75 Ohm connectors.
Chord Dave, on the other hand, comes with 75 Ohm BNC connectors. The connectors all cost the same, so why Chord did this is a total mystery...
BNC_50_75_Ohm.jpg

So if I understand well Chord used not the standard plugs?
Are there special coax cables for Chord or will the 75 ohm fit with the 50 ohm connectors?
 
Oct 17, 2020 at 2:42 PM Post #5,155 of 6,707
So if I understand well Chord used not the standard plugs?
Are there special coax cables for Chord or will the 75 ohm fit with the 50 ohm connectors?

The discussion of the various BNC sockets on the different Chord items is a slight and needless red herring in my opinion. All accept and work well with standard 75 ohm BNC plugs. So just buy good quality 75 ohm BNC plugs and cables and there will not be compatibility issues.
 
Oct 17, 2020 at 5:47 PM Post #5,156 of 6,707
The discussion of the various BNC sockets on the different Chord items is a slight and needless red herring in my opinion. All accept and work well with standard 75 ohm BNC plugs. So just buy good quality 75 ohm BNC plugs and cables and there will not be compatibility issues.

So why do "Chord Qutest, TT2, Mscaler all come with 50 Ohm BNC connectors, not the "proper" 75 Ohm connectors."?
 
Oct 18, 2020 at 4:33 AM Post #5,157 of 6,707
So why do "Chord Qutest, TT2, Mscaler all come with 50 Ohm BNC connectors, not the "proper" 75 Ohm connectors."?

You would have to pose your question to @Rob Watts but various answers might be that although they look like 50 ohm they are in reality 75 ohm or another answer might be that in real terms it makes no difference to the functioning of the connection on those DACs.

Either way, one can say with absolute certainty for anyone seeking to know which termination to use on cables they are buying they should use 75 ohm connectors and cables.

If you just want to pursue the theoretical question then Rob is the man to answer but from answers elsewhere he is super busy at the moment.
 
Oct 18, 2020 at 8:54 AM Post #5,159 of 6,707
Maybe it is a similar explanation to this.
It is important for the cable to be 75 Ohm, but the connector has no overall negative impact.

perfect.
 
Oct 18, 2020 at 11:51 AM Post #5,160 of 6,707
Just bought a new Chord Qutest DAC last week and I absolutely love it! It’s on the chain going from my MacBook Pro to my WOO Audio WA6 amp and then out to my Grado GS3000e headphones. The Audioquest Earth RCA interconnects and an Audioquest Diamond USB work perfectly in this setup.
 

Attachments

  • DE784E02-CDFF-48FC-96D6-DCEB7BE0B879.jpeg
    DE784E02-CDFF-48FC-96D6-DCEB7BE0B879.jpeg
    3.4 MB · Views: 0

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top