[IZONE]

Has anyone tried these cables:

https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...pper-gold-plated-rca-professional-audio-cable

This is what I'm using, with a Topping A90 amp.

Yeah I have that exact cable in the 25cm version. It's a good cable... well at least better than generic stuff that comes in the box with most products. I consider it kind of a "sane" cable without spending hundreds of dollars. I noticed a small bump in quality from Schiit's cables. Topping makes good stuff at good prices IMO

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Some serious feedback and comparisons soon.

Ani definitely more colourful that I thought it would be. Especially because of the colour on volume pot. Anyway, they look cool and quirky at the same time, which is kind of... nice actually.

 

[musickid]

The volume control colours indicate which analogue input 1 or 2 not the volume. This is chosen by pressing the volume dial and you get different colours depending which input is chosen.

 

[alekc]

A great day for me and now i'll move over and give space. Thanks to everyone for following my adventure.

And what a great adventure is was... and still is I suppose... at least from my end: big "thank you" for sharing it with us @musickid

 

[musickid]

With 1V vs 2V out from qutest into anni i find that it is not just a simple question of 2V being slightly louder but that with 2V the music sounds more complete and correct than with 1V out. It took just a couple of tracks and was immediately apparent. So anni plays perfectly with 2V out from qutest IMHO but important to note that in the anni manual it states that line level in should be no higher than 2V.

Can anyone help me and confirm qutest dual data mode with mscaler....that the input light colour is not pure blue but has a touch of cyan to it?

 

[Reactcore]

I find the colour of input button light-greenish next to the white selected filter button.

I use MQutest almost a year now.. and compared to combined with my Questyle Current mode amp.. direct out to my HP extracts just a bit more texture to the sound. Remember it has Mojo's OP stage.

As Rob stated: the less links in the chain.. the better clarity, without external amp its internal signal path is as short as TT.

Maybe you should try it once..

 

[musickid]

Anni was designed to be very transparent when combined with qutest with anni playing seamlessly with qutest. When i heard them both together all worries concerning transparency vanished. I don't have the courage nor the desire to use a non chord amp with qutest let alone go qutest direct to headphone. Thanks for confirming the colour looks right to me.

 

[reggiegasket]

I don't have an Anni, but my 2p is that 2V sounds better than 1V, into a Hegel H120.

Also, I've been testing the Qutest against the Hegel's inbuilt DAC this week, which has been interesting. The Qutest is better, as expected, but on well-recorded tracks it's quite close. The key difference is that the Hegel DAC is brighter, more forward, and with a flatter soundstage. The Qutest is smoother and, most importantly, less fatiguing.

 

[LevPush]

It's funny...I just got a Qutest hooked up with my speaker system(Exposure 3510+ATC 11) and was A/Bing with my Metrum Onyx dac by grouping them in roon and changing the inputs on my amp. I literally can't hear much of a difference between the two dac although the two are so different in architecture. I really did not expect that. Maybe the Qutest has a bit more focus sound and Onyx has a bit more mid-range? It was def very baffling. The difference comparing these two with the Mojo was clear as day.

 

[Triode User]

It's funny...I just got a Qutest hooked up with my speaker system(Exposure 3510+ATC 11) and was A/Bing with my Metrum Onyx dac by grouping them in roon and changing the inputs on my amp. I literally can't hear much of a difference between the two dac although the two are so different in architecture. I really did not expect that. Maybe the Qutest has a bit more focus sound and Onyx has a bit more mid-range? It was def very baffling. The difference comparing these two with the Mojo was clear as day.

I never find that method of A/B comparison much use apart from when there are glaring differences (The Holo May for instance only took 10 minutes to realise how much better the Qutest is!). I much prefer to listen just to one dac for say a couple of days and then change and do the same with the other.

 

[Semper HiFi]

Has anyone upgraded to the Qutest from a Multibit DAC such as the Bifrost or Gungnir? I'm hesitant to stray from the R2R\ladder\Multibit family of DACs but it sounds like the FPGA technology in the Chord makes it quite different than other delta sigma DACs.

 

[The Jester]

Can’t claim to have heard a lot of the DAC’s out there but from when CD first arrived I always thought there was “something missing” until after lots of auditioning over the years I heard and then bought the Qutest, followed shortly after by the MScaler, now for the first time in the last few years I’m looking at upgrading cartridges for my Vinyl collection.

 

[IZONE]

Has anyone upgraded to the Qutest from a Multibit DAC such as the Bifrost or Gungnir? I'm hesitant to stray from the R2R\ladder\Multibit family of DACs but it sounds like the FPGA technology in the Chord makes it quite different than other delta sigma DACs.

I own a Bifrost 2 and Qutest together. Qutest sounds like a delta sigma dac with more rounded edges in the transients, also better transient timing, removing the harshness of traditional Delta Sigma / general haziness + it digs out more details + clarity (traditional strengths of D/S). It doesn't sound like an R2R or D/S but somewhere in between with the benefits of both, but if I had to say it does sound closer to Delta Sigma (which it is). Bifrost 2 sounds thick / musical / analog but a bit veiled compared to the Qutest, still nice level of details/clarity of course. Also In My Humble Experience the Qutest really benefits from burn-in and upgrading the power adapter / power supply / USB cable. I also use a small USB dongle to mitigate jitter/noise. Before these small adjustment the Qutest sounded even more D/S but it is now closer to R2R sounding than before to my ears and a beautiful thing of art. I wish Schiit would license their Unison USB tech to Chord. That mating would sound amazing.

 

[LevPush]

Has anyone upgraded to the Qutest from a Multibit DAC such as the Bifrost or Gungnir? I'm hesitant to stray from the R2R\ladder\Multibit family of DACs but it sounds like the FPGA technology in the Chord makes it quite different than other delta sigma DACs.

Like what my previous post said, I really couldn’t hear much of a difference between Qutest and Metrum Onyx, which is supposedly a step up from Qutest, in my speaker system. Maybe I shouldn’t do quick A/B but that’s how I and another person demoing heard. I might need to test them on my headphone system though, but I really don’t find Qutest to be noticeably brighter than the NOS dac

 

[Hooster]

I never find that method of A/B comparison much use apart from when there are glaring differences (The Holo May for instance only took 10 minutes to realise how much better the Qutest is!). I much prefer to listen just to one dac for say a couple of days and then change and do the same with the other.

I think you are 100% right to do this. Fast A/B testing does not replicate real listening. If I want to compare component A and to component B I find the best way is simply to use component A for a few weeks and then replace it with component B and just listen normally. Differences, if there are any will reveal themselves.