FourT6and2
100+ Head-Fier
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- Apr 17, 2015
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Price point of the Qutest aside...ground loops can be resolved fairly easily. While I run balanced *everything* as a matter of choice, unbalanced signals are perfectly acceptable for short runs.
A few minor housekeeping steps will make for a happy listening experience:
1. Plug everything into the same outlet if at all possible. This keeps everything on a level playing field from the 'source power' side of things.
2. Try a different outlet. If everything is plugged into the same outlet, but that outlet creates buzz and another one does not.....the outlet needs to be checked.
3. If the outlet looks good (ground wise) but there is still hum... perhaps your circuit is getting interference from HVAC or another large appliance. Try again moving to another outlet NOT on the same circuit.
4. If none of this works or you cannot move your setup or afford an electrician to sort it.....buy an isolation transformer. Tripp Lite sells one on Amazon for around 120 bucks.
This will solve 99% of all ground issues. FWIW I have never had to resort to buying an isolation transformer. Dirty power is an issue that should be addressed regardless of if you are an audiophile or not.
Best of luck.
... or I can just get a product that has XLR jacks. The Grace SDAC is balanced and only $150. The SMSL SU-8 V2 DAC is only $219. Both tested well and seem to get the job done. In terms of similar price as the Qutest, there's the Benchmark DAC3-B, Matrix Audio X-SABRE Pro, and the Violectric V850. Also if the measurements on Audio Science Review are to be trusted, the Qutest has four filters, but two of them do absolutely nothing different from the other two and are redundant. That + lacking balanced connections = a no-go for me.
I live in an old building with bad wiring and all sorts of interference issues from power lines and WIFI and generators, etc. So balanced is a must.
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