Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread

[ChristoT]

I own both Mojo2 and qutest for long time already. Qutest actually been with me since it's release and is superior to Mojo2. Stage depth, detail and width is tier above than in Mojo2 on my 2ch setup. It's more elegant and nuanced presentation, while Mojo2 is more rounded and direct. I do have an itch for M Scaler, but it would be probably an overkill for both of these chord dacs.

For casual consumer who has active speakers and headphones Mojo 2 is no brainer though

How can you use Mojo with active speakers?

 

[jjazzy]

I own both Mojo2 and qutest for long time already. Qutest actually been with me since it's release and is superior to Mojo2. Stage depth, detail and width is tier above than in Mojo2 on my 2ch setup. It's more elegant and nuanced presentation, while Mojo2 is more rounded and direct. I do have an itch for M Scaler, but it would be probably an overkill for both of these chord dacs.

For casual consumer who has active speakers and headphones Mojo 2 is no brainer though

Absolutely a little overkill the mscaler for both.

I always noticed, the difference in dacs is best heard on hifi not on headphone's. steps from mojo2, to qutest to tt2 etc... are very VERY noticable. The tt2+mscaler is leagues above the qutest. With headphones there is a difference, but you really hear it on my sonus fabers flagship, in width, height, depth, bass, seperation, everything really. And the qutest sounds good, but not on that level.

 

[hakunamakaka]

How can you use Mojo with active speakers?

It's very easy actually. Get cable with "3.5mm to 2 RCA female" from aliexpress or amazon. I used it in one of the living rooms while source is TV which feeds Mojo2 via optical -> than to a headphone out I connect "3.5mm to 2 RCA female" cable which feeds active speakers via RCA

Absolutely a little overkill the mscaler for both.

I always noticed, the difference in dacs is best heard on hifi not on headphone's. steps from mojo2, to qutest to tt2 etc... are very VERY noticable. The tt2+mscaler is leagues above the qutest. With headphones there is a difference, but you really hear it on my sonus fabers flagship, in width, height, depth, bass, seperation, everything really. And the qutest sounds good, but not on that level.

That's why I'm holding with DAC upgrade. Once I'll move into permanent place and get a good 2 channel setup than TT2 + mscaler may come into picture. My only curiosity with Qutest is with power supplies as I heard a slight upgrade with LPS, but that was a cheap one from aliexpress. Maybe will test with a decent one in near future

 

[jjazzy]

It's very easy actually. Get cable with "3.5mm to 2 RCA female" from aliexpress or amazon. I used it in one of the living rooms while source is TV which feeds Mojo2 via optical -> than to a headphone out I connect "3.5mm to 2 RCA female" cable which feeds active speakers via RCA



That's why I'm holding with DAC upgrade. Once I'll move into permanent place and get a good 2 channel setup than TT2 + mscaler may come into picture. My only curiosity with Qutest is with power supplies as I heard a slight upgrade with LPS, but that was a cheap one from aliexpress. Maybe will test with a decent one in near future

try a sbooster, very decent and still in the affordable realm

 

[hakunamakaka]

try a sbooster, very decent and still in the affordable realm

I'm eyeing on plixirpower, especially ELITE BDC MK II...It's driven mainly by curiosity as I hear a difference with LPS on qutest through my speakers and Utopias. Will see, at worst I will sell it at some lost

 

[lostumpire]

Hi, any DAC recommendations in the same price range as Qutest? I was thinking of the Benchmark’s DAC but I heard it sounds pretty boring

 

[jjazzy]

Hi, any DAC recommendations in the same price range as Qutest? I was thinking of the Benchmark’s DAC but I heard it sounds pretty boring

For the price the qutest is very hard to beat to be honest

 

[knownothing2]

I own both Mojo2 and qutest for long time already. Qutest actually been with me since it's release and is superior to Mojo2. Stage depth, detail and width is tier above than in Mojo2 on my 2ch setup. It's more elegant and nuanced presentation, while Mojo2 is more rounded and direct. I do have an itch for M Scaler, but it would be probably an overkill for both of these chord dacs.

For casual consumer who has active speakers and headphones Mojo 2 is no brainer though

+1, but the Mojo 2 is the best sounding portable device under a grand I’ve heard yet in terms of PRaT, overall coherence and lack of listening fatigue, especially when used as a desktop DAC with speakers. When using to drive 250 ohm headphones, it is working fine for me as well. The Qutest is definitely next level in a full system with speakers, especially with a good power supply.

 

[GeoMurph]

It is ..but galvanic isolation still passes some noise through. Fiber isolates totally.

Well, I don't know if this helps but here is my opinion.

The Qutest is a smoother sound. I don't want to use the words "laid back" because it definitely isn't lacking in any way, but it is richer most of the time. I find the Mojo2 more aggressive and I don't want to call it bright but sometimes it sounds a bit tweaked that way compared to the Qutest. The worst part is that on some songs, I like the slightly more aggressive Mojo2 sound and then on other tracks the full detailed and smoother sound of the Qutest is way more appealing. To make matters worse, there are a few songs that are so aggressive on their own that both devices sound quite similar to each other.

Perhaps with aggressive music, you will like the Qutest if you ever feel the Mojo2 is too much. Or if you only like that energetic, slightly more forward sound, plus the EQ feature, the Mojo2 is a pretty darn good solution. I use each one in different locations and I keep the Qutest with my higher cost headphones at home. I listen to metal and hard rock music so I don't know how other genres will fair with these DACs. I'm very happy to keep both with my needs!

Thank you for the detailed comparison, much appreciated. I can hear the Mojo 2 exactly as you describe, a bit bright and treble-forward with some tracks that already have these attributes. I've been listening to the Cocteau Twins a lot recently, and at times have had lower the treble and high shelf using the M2's EQ to keep some of the distorted guitar notes from getting too harsh. Based on what you wrote, it seems like Qutest would probably smooth some of those edges a bit more and be more enjoyable.
I'll probably pick up a Qutest eventually, sounds like it would be a great compliment to the Mojo 2. Thanks again, cheers!

 

[hakunamakaka]

Thank you for the detailed comparison, much appreciated. I can hear the Mojo 2 exactly as you describe, a bit bright and treble-forward with some tracks that already have these attributes. I've been listening to the Cocteau Twins a lot recently, and at times have had lower the treble and high shelf using the M2's EQ to keep some of the distorted guitar notes from getting too harsh. Based on what you wrote, it seems like Qutest would probably smooth some of those edges a bit more and be more enjoyable.
I'll probably pick up a Qutest eventually, sounds like it would be a great compliment to the Mojo 2. Thanks again, cheers!

Have a peek at OG Mojo, I could listen to it forever without any fatigue. If OG mojo did have a smart charge capability I would not have looked for a new purchase. Still miss this dac/amp, it was special to me

 

[considermenewborn]

Hello everyone,

I own the Chord Qutest, which has been giving me complete satisfaction since 2020.

Reading the posts on this topic about the different voltages +1, +2 and +3 VRMS, I wanted to try switching to +3V (blue?) but listening to it, I don't have the impression that the sound is louder than before (green).

So here's what brings me to you: I've got two official Chord PDF user manuals for the Qutest. One on a black background and the second on a white background (it says “V2”).

The first says that the +3 VRMS lights up blue.
The second that the +3 VRMS lights up green.

Which one is right?

Here are some screenshots:

Any way to attach the two PDFs ?

Thanks!

 

[w3eonline]

Hello everyone,

I own the Chord Qutest, which has been giving me complete satisfaction since 2020.

Reading the posts on this topic about the different voltages +1, +2 and +3 VRMS, I wanted to try switching to +3V (blue?) but listening to it, I don't have the impression that the sound is louder than before (green).

So here's what brings me to you: I've got two official Chord PDF user manuals for the Qutest. One on a black background and the second on a white background (it says “V2”).

The first says that the +3 VRMS lights up blue.
The second that the +3 VRMS lights up green.

Which one is right?

Here are some screenshots:

Any way to attach the two PDFs ?

Thanks!

Both are right. If u read closely. Both 3v is blue color. Both greens are 2v. Both red are 1v

Only the placement , the one with black background are 1,2,3v

And the white 1,3,2v . They kinda misplaced not in order.
The colors are all same.

 

[considermenewborn]

Oops! I was blind!! It looks like you're right!

Thanks a lot.
qckslvr

 

[nerdward]

Oops! I was blind!! It looks like you're right!

Thanks a lot.
qckslvr

In your defence, it’s only logical to assume they’d be numbered sequentially. V2 is actually correct as it cycles- 1v 3v 2v, the manual should clarify this as it can lead to confusion.

 

[considermenewborn]

In your defence, it’s only logical to assume they’d be numbered sequentially. V2 is actually correct as it cycles- 1v 3v 2v, the manual should clarify this as it can lead to confusion.

Ah OK, interesting!
Does that mean there's a voltage to be favored, since it is 1-3-2 sequential?
(I hope I'm making myself clear).