[esauseesaw]

Well if you are looking for performances of the DAC and AMP to be on equal footing in a combo then you are probably settling for middle of the road performance anyways. In that case I would agree, save your money for something cheaper. A lot of high grade DACs have headphone outs as an after thought...people don't use them. This just happens to be the other way around. Questyles claim to fame is Current Mode Amplification (which happens to be quite amazing), not digital to analog conversion.

Yes, Chord are well respected for their DAC technology. Questyle do the same with amplification. At the price though the CMA400i and CMA600i still offer very good value all in one solutions, if you are unable to budget for a more expensive separate amp and DAC. Even if it is the case there are combo units with better DAC sections, you can't knock the current mode amp. I'd also add, in my experience, improving the amping seems to offer more improvement over similar investment in the DAC.

 

[esauseesaw]

Video demonstrating the issue of "popping" after approx 3 seconds of pausing/stopping audio playback.

I tested with my iPhone 8 to see if it was isolated to Windows 10, using a camera connection kit (lightning to usb) and the exact same thing happens.

Optical input to the 600i no issues. Only seems to affect usb.

In this video I was demonstrating audio being played back in Youtube using Firefox.

A crackle can be heard when starting playback, but this seems to affect other dac/amps too.

Recorded using an iPhone 8 and umik-1 mic.

Thanks for uploading the video to show the problem. As you are sending it back we will be able to test it and see if it was specific to your CMA600i. Hopefully that will help isolate the problem.

 

[up late]

Yes, Chord are well respected for their DAC technology. Questyle do the same with amplification. At the price though the CMA400i and CMA600i still offer very good value all in one solutions, if you are unable to budget for a more expensive separate amp and DAC. Even if it is the case there are combo units with better DAC sections, you can't knock the current mode amp. I'd also add, in my experience, improving the amping seems to offer more improvement over similar investment in the DAC.

let's not overlook form factor as a deciding factor in choosing an integrated component over separates. i already have a dac and head-amp but was looking for an integrated alternative that takes up less space on the desktop.

i could buy schitt separates for less than the price of the cma600i and other integrated alternatives, so affordability isn't always the primary consideration for choosing an integrated component over separates.

there are some expensive integrated components on the market. the chord dave and mytek manhattan are two examples that immediately come to mind. i doubt that signal processing or its amplification are "afterthoughts" in either of those.

 

[esauseesaw]

let's not overlook form factor as a deciding factor in choosing an integrated component over separates. i already have a dac and amp but was looking for an integrated alternative that takes up less space on the desktop.

i could buy schitt separates for less than the price of the cma600i and other integrated alternatives, so affordability isn't always the primary consideration for choosing an integrated component over separates. there are some expensive integrated components on the market. the chord dave and mytek manhattan are two examples that immediately come to mind.

Sure, there are other considerations other than just price. Sorry my comments weren't directed specifically at you. I just tend to agree it's hard to find an all in one that does both as well as separates, even higher priced combo options. I can't comment on the Mytek so much but I have heard very positive feedback several times for Questyle's CMA800R amps paired with the Dave as DAC - each playing to their strengths. Also we represent Benchmark. The DAC3 is an excellent product but again, you could argue the amp section is not as strong as the DAC implementation. I think that is sometimes the case, or perhaps it is just the current mode amp is something quite special/unique.

 

[up late]

i didn't think they were.

having auditioned the cma600i, i can't say with any certainty whether it was the dac implementation, the current drive amplification or the combination of the two that didn't win me over, as i couldn't listen to them in isolation.

 

[up late]

deleted - double post

 

[stevedlu]

Sure, there are other considerations other than just price. Sorry my comments weren't directed specifically at you. I just tend to agree it's hard to find an all in one that does both as well as separates, even higher priced combo options. I can't comment on the Mytek so much but I have heard very positive feedback several times for Questyle's CMA800R amps paired with the Dave as DAC - each playing to their strengths. Also we represent Benchmark. The DAC3 is an excellent product but again, you could argue the amp section is not as strong as the DAC implementation. I think that is sometimes the case, or perhaps it is just the current mode amp is something quite special/unique.

DAVE > CMA800Rx2 > LCD-4 is my cost no object setup that I have my sights on. Probably going to be a while before that happens.

Until then I am eagerly awaiting for my Chord Qutest to arrive and pair with the CMA600i. Taking a wild guess that it will be a match made in heaven. Super excited.

 

[hondavy]

DAVE > CMA800Rx2 > LCD-4 is my cost no object setup that I have my sights on. Probably going to be a while before that happens.

Until then I am eagerly awaiting for my Chord Qutest to arrive and pair with the CMA600i. Taking a wild guess that it will be a match made in heaven. Super excited.

Can you please please please share your impression when you get it? Thanks!!

 

[stevedlu]

Can you please please please share your impression when you get it? Thanks!!

Sure thing buddy! Hopefully that will be sooner than later. I've had the Qutest on order for over a month now...USA needs to get their shipment ASAP

 

[gcamblin]

I recieved my cma600i a week ago and I'm happy with the performance paired with a pair of Sennheiser HD800s. It is an ex demo model with a build date of March 2016. Using it connected to my mac laptop I noticed popping/clicking noises skipping between tracks on YouTube/Tidal etc. I was able to elimate those noises by setting the sample format to 24 bit/384 kHz in the MIDI setup application in OSX.

How do I verify the version of firmware I'm running? I checked the Questyle website but it doesn't list any information about firmwares for the 600.

 

[esauseesaw]

I recieved my cma600i a week ago and I'm happy with the performance paired with a pair of Sennheiser HD800s. It is an ex demo model with a build date of March 2016. Using it connected to my mac laptop I noticed popping/clicking noises skipping between tracks on YouTube/Tidal etc. I was able to elimate those noises by setting the sample format to 24 bit/384 kHz in the MIDI setup application in OSX.

How do I verify the version of firmware I'm running? I checked the Questyle website but it doesn't list any information about firmwares for the 600.

It sounds likely to be a pre-update model but it may already have been updated. Was it purchased from somewhere in the UK? If so, please let me know the serial number and I will check it on our system.

 

[gcamblin]

Thanks esauseeaw, I'll send you a private message with the details.

 

[esauseesaw]

In case anyone wants to check the firmware version on a Mac (Windows is mentioned previously in the thread).

Open 'System Information' program, normally in 'utilities folder'. Select 'USB' from the left hand list, then open up USB 2.0 BUS > HUB > xCORE USB Audio 2.0. Look at the info below. Next to Version: (third item down) it should say '6.f3', if it says 6.c5 then best to get it updated.

 

[gcamblin]

Thanks for the info esauseesaw. My unit is version 6.c5. How do I arrange updating the firmware? Unit is ex demo purchased from eBay store in Italy.

 

[esauseesaw]

Thanks for the info esauseesaw. My unit is version 6.c5. How do I arrange updating the firmware? Unit is ex demo purchased from eBay store in Italy.

Best to contact the seller first. I'll see what I can do to help out if that's a dead end.