A good linear power supply works miracles with Qutest. I'd say, it doubles the DAC's price/performance ratio. It'd be cool to have a separate thread with people sharing their LPS choices. LPS also allows us to use different fuses and power cables which greatly affects SQ and sound signature.
Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread
- Thread starter ChordElectronics
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ctrlm
100+ Head-Fier
SONDEKNZ
New Head-Fier
CHORD QUTEST Voltage Output (1V / 2V / 3V)
I guess the answer to this question MIGHT be buried somewhere in the previous 6,467 posts, but I'm hoping someone might be kind enough to save me the effort...
QUESTIONS: Can anyone confirm, does the QUTEST DAC circuit use attenuation (resistors) to bring the output voltage down from 3V, to either 2V or 1V? Or does the circuit add further Gain stages to increase the 1V output to either 2V or 3V?
I guess the answer to this question MIGHT be buried somewhere in the previous 6,467 posts, but I'm hoping someone might be kind enough to save me the effort...
QUESTIONS: Can anyone confirm, does the QUTEST DAC circuit use attenuation (resistors) to bring the output voltage down from 3V, to either 2V or 1V? Or does the circuit add further Gain stages to increase the 1V output to either 2V or 3V?
Rob Watts
Member of the Trade: Chord Electronics
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No changes in the analogue domain at all - adding resistors and switches audibly damages transparency. Doing it digitally is done completely transparently because of the unique ability to do it perfectly without changing amplitude or phase (to 0.001dB and 0.001 deg of phase) for my -301dB test signal against the reference 0dBFS. This means I can change the attenuation without any SQ degradation to detail resolution, timbre reproduction or soundstage depth perception.CHORD QUTEST Voltage Output (1V / 2V / 3V)
I guess the answer to this question MIGHT be buried somewhere in the previous 6,467 posts, but I'm hoping someone might be kind enough to save me the effort...
QUESTIONS: Can anyone confirm, does the QUTEST DAC circuit use attenuation (resistors) to bring the output voltage down from 3V, to either 2V or 1V? Or does the circuit add further Gain stages to increase the 1V output to either 2V or 3V?
SONDEKNZ
New Head-Fier
Rob,
I feel very privileged to have a prompt reply from the man himself. Thank you.
For the sake of clarity, am I to understand from your reply above then, that the CHORD QUTEST 3V output is digitally attenuated to either 2V or 1V?
Rob Watts
Member of the Trade: Chord Electronics
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2014
- Posts
- 3,154
- Likes
- 12,561
Correct - except that the 3v also has a level of attenuation. Part of the tweaking of the design is to ensure that 3v has best possible dynamic range but at the same time with the lowest OP distortion. So 2v and 1v has a bit more attenuation compared to the attenuation for 3v.
I'll try to keep it short, I don't want to intrude here as a non-Qutest user.
It's just a lack of super high quality 5V power solutions that I felt compelled to at least make known of alternative solutions. But I decided against writing a guide on how to build a 3000 - 3400 Farad Super Capacitor solution @5V because I don't want to be responsible if something goes awry. You can even add a nice Power Button of any size if it's more convenient. It's actually quite simple and straightforward to build. It's industrial 24/7 quality, but I'm worried about the human aspects not the product itself. It's akin to buying kids CIEMs. The product is solid, but kids are not responsible and not aware of their surroundings. I don't want to be responsible if they get hit by a car at the school crosswalk because the CIEMs isolate and do their job well. I don't want to be responsible if someone doesn't manage their power supplies responsibly, so I'm bypassing a Super Cap guide write-up. Humans.
But I'll just make aware, so here is my 3000 Farad 5V Super Capacitor solution for my Hugo₂. It's been running solid and cool for over a month 24/7. The Hugo₂ has a Active Intelligent Desktop mode that kicks in after 24 hours. So I use the Super Caps to power the Hugo₂ like how it would if it were connected to Mains. I do turn on/off the Hugo₂ like normal. Sir Rob Watts suggested >8 hours to just leave Hugo₂ on full time. Less <8 hours, just turn on/off like normal use. Since the Super Caps have multiple outputs, I also power my USB optical cable full-time. The 5V power is one-way. It's not dirty two-way power that goes into a device dirty then the dirty goes back into the Mains. It's one-way so you can share power without worries. It's like plugging your device into a Nuclear Power Plant. It' pure cleanness, don't have to worry about dirty 2-way.
The Super Caps is connected to the Mains for operation and charging, but it optically isolates so when it's turned on so it's 100% isolated from Mains internally. For charging, depending on use, it un-isolates from Mains for 3 minutes then after it is done charging it optically isolates again. All of this is automatic, no intervention required. Since I don't leave the Hugo₂ on full-time, it rarely charges during operation. If I was to leave the Hugo₂ on full-time, then the Super Caps would charge a handful of times over 24 hours.
The Output impedance is less than .60 mOhm, so it's clean robust power up to 1000A. Plenty of low and high on-demand power. This is the World's Best 5V Power Supply:
I only use solid core wiring, as I believe in solid core not only for performance but that it blocks out EMI/RFI due to it being a solid core. There's no where for Airbourne EMI/RFI to infiltrate, it bounces off instead of absorbing in between wires.
I tried to figure out what the USB input is on the Qutest, so I bought a Mini USB connector. But I believe now it uses the same microUSB as the Hugo2.
I'm really happy that my Summer Project worked out. Things could easily go wrong being at the forefront and dealing with passive power supplies. In theory, it should work but without practical IRL use, it's difficult to gauge. I really hate that the only option to charge the Hugo₂ 24/7 and my USB optical was to involve Mains. It's not only Ground Loops, but I'm allergic to Mains. I can feel the cringiness when I listen with anything involving Mains. It's like an anti-gravity field around me. The fatigue sets in after one hour. Now, it's all super clean. I finish my Video Games like I never had before and it makes USB Audio somewhat bearable. USB Audio still doesn't resonate even though it's super clean and I have a souped-up Audiophile OS low latency realtime kernel and USB optical cable as the foundation. I really tried with USB Audio, but I'm giving up again.
Now, I don't have to worry about that Mains anti-gravity field that surrounds you when you listen and I don't have to worry about when you plug/unplug electronics into a wall outlet seeping in noise into the listening experience. The Power Company does not control my listening experience now that I'm off-grid with convenience built-in.
I didn't want to talk about my Clocks / Oscillator Source and focus only on Super Caps, but since it's in the diagram...
After years of back and forth with our dear Sir Rob Watts since the Hugo₂ release, I decided to exclusively just focus on the Redbook standard over time. I usually agree with Sir Rob Watts 95% of the time, but I'm not a puppet or fanboy so I come to my own conclusions. So we mainly agree on passive power supplies (Car Battery and Batteries), redbook, optical, isolation, solid core wiring, DSD is soft, etc.
I have well-mastered physical media anyways, so it makes sense to focus on getting the most out of Redbook:
For I, Redbook is meant to be played from clocks / oscillators source. CD Players had these built-in to varying degrees of quality with the conception of CDs. It's authentic to the Redbook experience. True to the source, so the modern USB way doesn't resonate with I.
Accurate / Precision Source clocking @ 16-bit is needed for my use case. I run better clocks than dCS, hence why they measure State of the Art (SOTA). GIGO.
It is not natural for a CD Player without high quality clocks / oscillators.
The Chord DAC is not a miracle worker. They want whatever you feed it like an iDevice and somehow miracles will happen. Not in my experience, a great clock at the source makes a substantial difference or improving your source in general whether it be USB or S/PDIF.
I want a time machine that takes you back to the early 80s era. With the clocks, I can time travel. With USB, it's background noise, not a living experience.
95% of dCS users can't listen without precision, accurate Clocks / Oscillators at the source even though it doubles their budget. I can relate. It's really difficult to listen to just USB, although absolutely clean of any noise with USB optical. It doesn't make me feen to listen. It doesn't make me feel proud that I own this chain. It's like whatever, it's okay. USB leans more towards an iPhone Dongle experience than a Summit-Fi experience. I now get a Summit-Fi experience every listen without selling a kidney with SOTA Clocks.
I rather just use a iPhone dongle if it's just USB. Clocks / Oscillators at the source gets me to that next next level. I really don't want to say Summit-Fi, but that's my initial impressions. I don't know how else to describe it at this time.
It is just applying dCS's formula to a Chord Stack. dCS is overkill and would never make sense for a CIEM-only use case. Too much power? So precision / accurate clocks which places precise instruments and vocals into an expansive precise sound-stage. Precision Bass. All imputing into an FPGA DAC, so basically a dCS / Chord hybrid chain.
With USB:
With State of the Art Clocks (SOTA):
(A bit of exaggeration since in a studio, they are much closer together). Just an separation example.
But for Duets, it's fabulous as each Artist is in their own space and volume. Then when they sync the lyrics, it's Euphoric. USB doesn't do this, it's all in one space. USB is background noise.
Anyways, thanks for letting me intrude and having my say. I'll try to be back for the Hugo₃ or Qutest₂ release.
I've been physically collapsing too often, so I try to take it easy these days by just listening and not focus or chat on gear since listening doesn't require energy consumption.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63218943
https://sfist.com/2023/07/13/dr-bob-wachter-contracts-covid-collapses-and-suffers-nasty-head-wounds/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07...id-virus-he-had-guided-thousands-on-avoiding/
If a year goes by without a single physical collapse, I'll try to check in on the Chord on-goings sooner than later. All of this makes me love my Chord FPGA DAC and Sir Rob Watts more, not less. Even though I swap my SOTA source and Chord DAC 1A and 1B in order of importance at times...
It's just a lack of super high quality 5V power solutions that I felt compelled to at least make known of alternative solutions. But I decided against writing a guide on how to build a 3000 - 3400 Farad Super Capacitor solution @5V because I don't want to be responsible if something goes awry. You can even add a nice Power Button of any size if it's more convenient. It's actually quite simple and straightforward to build. It's industrial 24/7 quality, but I'm worried about the human aspects not the product itself. It's akin to buying kids CIEMs. The product is solid, but kids are not responsible and not aware of their surroundings. I don't want to be responsible if they get hit by a car at the school crosswalk because the CIEMs isolate and do their job well. I don't want to be responsible if someone doesn't manage their power supplies responsibly, so I'm bypassing a Super Cap guide write-up. Humans.
But I'll just make aware, so here is my 3000 Farad 5V Super Capacitor solution for my Hugo₂. It's been running solid and cool for over a month 24/7. The Hugo₂ has a Active Intelligent Desktop mode that kicks in after 24 hours. So I use the Super Caps to power the Hugo₂ like how it would if it were connected to Mains. I do turn on/off the Hugo₂ like normal. Sir Rob Watts suggested >8 hours to just leave Hugo₂ on full time. Less <8 hours, just turn on/off like normal use. Since the Super Caps have multiple outputs, I also power my USB optical cable full-time. The 5V power is one-way. It's not dirty two-way power that goes into a device dirty then the dirty goes back into the Mains. It's one-way so you can share power without worries. It's like plugging your device into a Nuclear Power Plant. It' pure cleanness, don't have to worry about dirty 2-way.
The Super Caps is connected to the Mains for operation and charging, but it optically isolates so when it's turned on so it's 100% isolated from Mains internally. For charging, depending on use, it un-isolates from Mains for 3 minutes then after it is done charging it optically isolates again. All of this is automatic, no intervention required. Since I don't leave the Hugo₂ on full-time, it rarely charges during operation. If I was to leave the Hugo₂ on full-time, then the Super Caps would charge a handful of times over 24 hours.
The Output impedance is less than .60 mOhm, so it's clean robust power up to 1000A. Plenty of low and high on-demand power. This is the World's Best 5V Power Supply:
I only use solid core wiring, as I believe in solid core not only for performance but that it blocks out EMI/RFI due to it being a solid core. There's no where for Airbourne EMI/RFI to infiltrate, it bounces off instead of absorbing in between wires.
I tried to figure out what the USB input is on the Qutest, so I bought a Mini USB connector. But I believe now it uses the same microUSB as the Hugo2.
I'm really happy that my Summer Project worked out. Things could easily go wrong being at the forefront and dealing with passive power supplies. In theory, it should work but without practical IRL use, it's difficult to gauge. I really hate that the only option to charge the Hugo₂ 24/7 and my USB optical was to involve Mains. It's not only Ground Loops, but I'm allergic to Mains. I can feel the cringiness when I listen with anything involving Mains. It's like an anti-gravity field around me. The fatigue sets in after one hour. Now, it's all super clean. I finish my Video Games like I never had before and it makes USB Audio somewhat bearable. USB Audio still doesn't resonate even though it's super clean and I have a souped-up Audiophile OS low latency realtime kernel and USB optical cable as the foundation. I really tried with USB Audio, but I'm giving up again.
Now, I don't have to worry about that Mains anti-gravity field that surrounds you when you listen and I don't have to worry about when you plug/unplug electronics into a wall outlet seeping in noise into the listening experience. The Power Company does not control my listening experience now that I'm off-grid with convenience built-in.
I didn't want to talk about my Clocks / Oscillator Source and focus only on Super Caps, but since it's in the diagram...
After years of back and forth with our dear Sir Rob Watts since the Hugo₂ release, I decided to exclusively just focus on the Redbook standard over time. I usually agree with Sir Rob Watts 95% of the time, but I'm not a puppet or fanboy so I come to my own conclusions. So we mainly agree on passive power supplies (Car Battery and Batteries), redbook, optical, isolation, solid core wiring, DSD is soft, etc.
I have well-mastered physical media anyways, so it makes sense to focus on getting the most out of Redbook:
For I, Redbook is meant to be played from clocks / oscillators source. CD Players had these built-in to varying degrees of quality with the conception of CDs. It's authentic to the Redbook experience. True to the source, so the modern USB way doesn't resonate with I.
Accurate / Precision Source clocking @ 16-bit is needed for my use case. I run better clocks than dCS, hence why they measure State of the Art (SOTA). GIGO.
It is not natural for a CD Player without high quality clocks / oscillators.
The Chord DAC is not a miracle worker. They want whatever you feed it like an iDevice and somehow miracles will happen. Not in my experience, a great clock at the source makes a substantial difference or improving your source in general whether it be USB or S/PDIF.
I want a time machine that takes you back to the early 80s era. With the clocks, I can time travel. With USB, it's background noise, not a living experience.
95% of dCS users can't listen without precision, accurate Clocks / Oscillators at the source even though it doubles their budget. I can relate. It's really difficult to listen to just USB, although absolutely clean of any noise with USB optical. It doesn't make me feen to listen. It doesn't make me feel proud that I own this chain. It's like whatever, it's okay. USB leans more towards an iPhone Dongle experience than a Summit-Fi experience. I now get a Summit-Fi experience every listen without selling a kidney with SOTA Clocks.
I rather just use a iPhone dongle if it's just USB. Clocks / Oscillators at the source gets me to that next next level. I really don't want to say Summit-Fi, but that's my initial impressions. I don't know how else to describe it at this time.
It is just applying dCS's formula to a Chord Stack. dCS is overkill and would never make sense for a CIEM-only use case. Too much power? So precision / accurate clocks which places precise instruments and vocals into an expansive precise sound-stage. Precision Bass. All imputing into an FPGA DAC, so basically a dCS / Chord hybrid chain.
With USB:
With State of the Art Clocks (SOTA):
(A bit of exaggeration since in a studio, they are much closer together). Just an separation example.
But for Duets, it's fabulous as each Artist is in their own space and volume. Then when they sync the lyrics, it's Euphoric. USB doesn't do this, it's all in one space. USB is background noise.
Anyways, thanks for letting me intrude and having my say. I'll try to be back for the Hugo₃ or Qutest₂ release.
I've been physically collapsing too often, so I try to take it easy these days by just listening and not focus or chat on gear since listening doesn't require energy consumption.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63218943
https://sfist.com/2023/07/13/dr-bob-wachter-contracts-covid-collapses-and-suffers-nasty-head-wounds/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07...id-virus-he-had-guided-thousands-on-avoiding/
If a year goes by without a single physical collapse, I'll try to check in on the Chord on-goings sooner than later. All of this makes me love my Chord FPGA DAC and Sir Rob Watts more, not less. Even though I swap my SOTA source and Chord DAC 1A and 1B in order of importance at times...
Our own Steve Hoffman is quoted twice in the testamonials down the page: " ... absence of hum or noise ... dead quiet ...."
I once used an array of car batteries to power up a large scale studio console as an emergency fix when it's main power supply failed during an expensive string date. Just about everybody involved agreed that the console never sounded better.
Granted, almost all audio gear is made to run of AC electrical power, but that's is just for convenience. It is almost always converted to DC to power the actual circuitry. Of course the voltage and current requirements will vary. It is my opinion that a battery is a perfect power supply other than the fact that it will run down over time. I believe an ideal power supply should have rock steady DC voltage, low noise, and a low impedance output. This sure does sounds like a battery to me.
I also believe that all an amplifier does is to basically modulate it's DC power supply. If you buy into this, it would stand to reason that the better the DC the better the output.
AC of course is what it available and of course is much more practical for power distribution. It is very easy to take AC voltage and convert it to whatever DC voltage you need. Converting DC voltages generally requires conversion to AC and then back to DC again.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...battery-power-to-run-gear.81562/#post-1805802
You may be nuts, but not for this reasoning.
I agree that every dc power supply in any audio amplifier strives to be a battery. A battery is a virtually perfect power supply except for one problem. They lose their charge.
I've mentioned this many times here, but once I was at a studio doing a string date and the power supply of our large Helios console went down. I sent somebody to Pep Boys for some car batteries and lashed them up to power the console. The session came off and the console never sounded better.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...ower-option-audio-systems.60275/#post-1256424
I believe Tom Port of dccblowout.com uses battery power for his system. I think he talks about it someplace on his website. It must be a hassle setting it up and constantly recharging, but there should be real sonic benefits.
Tom set me up with a 125 watt inverter to plug in my pre-amp and turntable (he recommends I get a second inverter to separate out the turntable). I already had the battery. It's a noticeable improvement IMHO. I recharge the battery after each listening session, not a big deal.
Curious as to what kind of noticeable improvements you are hearing? Or are the improvements things you are not hearing now?
More immediacy to the music (lack of stuff getting in the way?). Better soundstage, greater depth from front to back. More warmth.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...ower-option-audio-systems.60275/#post-1257366
I can also build Super Capacitors for < 15V Chord devices (HMS and TT₂).
Here is a Battery Solution @ 13.2V:
I can easily build a 12V Super Cap and scale as many as needed.
Here is a Battery Solution @ 13.2V:
I can easily build a 12V Super Cap and scale as many as needed.
Are you making the files available so we can make these ourselves? I was going to ask you via PM, but you have PMs turned off.I can also build Super Capacitors for < 15V Chord devices (HMS and TT₂).
Here is a Battery Solution @ 13.2V:
I can easily build a 12V Super Cap and scale as many as needed.
If I’m not mistaken he’s using Ian Canada stuff. https://github.com/iancanada/DocumentDownload
SONDEKNZ
New Head-Fier
Easily the best QUTEST review I've seen.
Looking forward to sitting through more of your reviews.
Well done mate! You're the real deal.
The INPUT button on my QUTEST has suddenly started sticking and I noticed this post from @THEYiftah as a possible solution.
Would opening the DAC up invalidate the warranty ?
Is this a relatively simple process to clean the button ?
TechnoJazz
New Head-Fier
Hi!
I had this issue once and I used a can of compressed air and the tip to spray on the side of the buttons without open the unit.
It worked for me.
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