[Blueshound24]

I wonder what DACs people use with their 600i. To be frank, the built in DAC is pretty weak in performance.

I have been using the Chord 2Qute for quite a while with great satisfaction but recently tried the iFi Pro iDSD which has a much better resolution, detail and awesome, much superior bass control. Really lifts the 600i to other levels.

Since I do not need 80% of the functionalities of the Pro iDSD and I can't afford to spend £2400 on a DAC I was wondering what upgrade I could find to improve the performance of my 2Qute.

The straightforward option is the Chord Qutest, but I am opened to any other suggestions around £1000.

I'm pretty happy with my PS audio Perfectwave II, that you can pick up used for maybe not much more than that. It seems to go well with my 600i.

 

[betula]

I'm pretty happy with my PS audio Perfectwave II, that you can pick up used for maybe not much more than that. It seems to go well with my 600i.

That must be a nice DAC but after a quick search the least expensive offer is £3000 even secondhand. The Qutest is £1195 new.

 

[Blueshound24]

That must be a nice DAC but after a quick search the least expensive offer is £3000 even secondhand. The Qutest is £1195 new.

That must be a nice DAC but after a quick search the least expensive offer is £3000 even secondhand. The Qutest is £1195 new.

You may have been looking at the PS Directstream which looks almost identical to the Perfectwave but costs a LOT more. Here is one I found on audiogon for $1528 USD. I paid a little less for mine used but this one has the bridge installed that mine doesn't have.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/l...-network-bridge-pwd-black-16080-da-converters

 

[stevedlu]

I can attest that Musical Paradise's Tube DACs with the right tubes are pure magic with the 600i. Does anybody know of any other good Tube DACs out there?

 

[lukeslens]

Hey all, I'm in the market for a good balanced amp to pair with my new Focal Clears and trying to decide between the CMA600i and the Monolith Liquid Platinum. I do like the ability to tune the sound to my preference on the LP with tube rolling. But there's a couple things making it difficult to decide. 1) I love that the 600i has a remote. I'm not embarrassed to say that it's one of my priorities. I do my listening in a big powered recliner in my listening room and I tend to do a lot of volume adjustments for different albums so having a remote has been something I've been wanting for my headphone listening for quite some time. The other thing is that I'm told the LP is pretty hot without a preamp, which I don't have on my DAC, so if I end up spending the $800 on the LP, it seems I'm going to really need to spend another $700 for a Schiit Freya to add the remote and pre-amp capabilites. Leaves me wondering if I go that route for the tube goodness or if I trust in the abilities of the 600i to give me everything I need.

How do the Clears sound with the 600i? I've read that the synergy is great with Focal headphones but wanting to get some kind of deeper confirmation on that specifically. And I'm also curious about the bass. I've got a cheap $90 Loxjie P20 amp I'm running the Clears into right now and they really deliver some incredible bass. I know the 600i is a pretty neutral amp but really wondering how well they do with the bass response in the Focal. I'm a little nervous considering I discovered that the Chord Mojo really held back the bass on these phones quite a bit and it showed me that while these headphones sound great on almost anything, you need a really good amp to open them up to their full potential.

So would love to hear any 600i users who've heard them with Focals and their experience. Would help out a lot on my ridiculous indecision. Thanks in advance!

 

[betula]

Hey all, I'm in the market for a good balanced amp to pair with my new Focal Clears and it appears I can get a 600i for around $900. I was previously looking at the Monolith Liquid Platinum as I do like the ability to tune the sound to my preference on that with tube rolling. But there's a couple things making it difficult to decide. 1) I love that the 600i has a remote. I'm not embarrassed to say that it's one of my priorities. I do my listening in a big powered recliner in my listening room and I tend to do a lot of volume adjustments for different albums so having a remote has been something I've been wanting for my headphone listening for quite some time. The other thing is that I'm told the LP is pretty hot without a preamp, which I don't have on my DAC, so if I end up spending the $800 on the LP, it seems I'm going to really need to spend another $700 for a Schiit Freya to add the remote and pre-amp capabilites. Leaves me wondering if I go that route for the tube goodness or if I trust in the abilities of the 600i to give me everything I need.

How do the Clears sound with the 600i? I've read that the synergy is great with Focal headphones but wanting to get some kind of deeper confirmation on that specifically. And I'm also curious about the bass. I've got a cheap $90 Loxjie P20 amp I'm running the Clears into right now and they really deliver some incredible bass. I know the 600i is a pretty neutral amp but really wondering how well they do with the bass response in the Focal. I'm a little nervous considering I discovered that the Chord Mojo really held back the bass on these phones quite a bit and it showed me that while these headphones sound great on almost anything, you need a really good amp to open them up to their full potential.

So would love to hear any 600i users who've heard them with Focals and their experience. Would help out a lot on my ridiculous indecision. Thanks in advance!

Hi. I owned the Clears at some point and the synergy is indeed great with the 600i. Compared to Mojo the texture is thicker, bass fills up and has better extension and body. While the 600i is balanced and relatively neutral, it has a very smooth and liquid, sweet sound. This complements the extreme clarity of the Clear very well.

I have recently bought and returned the Liquid Platinum. While it is a nice and refined sounding amp to my ears it was just lean compared to the 600i. To my taste bass was just not satisfying on the LP compared to 600i. Also while the LP is relatively nicely built, the 600i has a much higher overall feel of quality. And yes, that remote comes very handy.

To me the choice would be obvious. Especially now that 600i prices went down a bit.
There are two issues with the 600i though. The built in DAC while acceptable it is not the greatest. The 600i benefits a lot from an external DAC, even if it is just a Mojo. The other thing is that the SE output of the amp is not as clean and clear sounding as the balanced out. If you have got balanced cables and a good external DAC the 600i is a great choice for relatively not too much money.
Of course, with the built in DAC and SE output it sounds ok too, but the improvements are big with balanced mode and a better DAC.

 

[lukeslens]

Hi. I owned the Clears at some point and the synergy is indeed great with the 600i. Compared to Mojo the texture is thicker, bass fills up and has better extension and body. While the 600i is balanced and relatively neutral, it has a very smooth and liquid, sweet sound. This complements the extreme clarity of the Clear very well.

I have recently bought and returned the Liquid Platinum. While it is a nice and refined sounding amp to my ears it was just lean compared to the 600i. To my taste bass was just not satisfying on the LP compared to 600i. Also while the LP is relatively nicely built, the 600i has a much higher overall feel of quality. And yes, that remote comes very handy.

To me the choice would be obvious. Especially now that 600i prices went down a bit.
There are two issues with the 600i though. The built in DAC while acceptable it is not the greatest. The 600i benefits a lot from an external DAC, even if it is just a Mojo. The other thing is that the SE output of the amp is not as clean and clear sounding as the balanced out. If you have got balanced cables and a good external DAC the 600i is a great choice for relatively not too much money.
Of course, with the built in DAC and SE output it sounds ok too, but the improvements are big with balanced mode and a better DAC.

I definitely wouldn't be using the LP with the stock tubes. I've read enough about it to know that it *really* benefits highly from rolling. And thank goodness for the tube rolling thread, I can actually use other people's experiences to hone in on one or two sets that might appeal to my sound preference.

That being said, I think I'm still leaning towards the 600i. If it is as liquid as you say and despite the neutral quality, still retains a lot of musicality (which is my preference) and plenty of bass, it seems like the thing for me for sure. And synergy is a really big thing for me. I've never really had a strong upgraditis affliction with my amp/speaker setup (Rega Brio-r and Focal 706 V's) because their synergy is just spectacular. I love the sound they produce, even if I know there's much better out there. So that really has me always perking up anytime someone mentions synergy on anything, as I've experienced it first-hand.

And I definitely plan to use a different DAC with the 600i. Was thinking either the Mojo cause while I didn't love the amp with the clears, I still fell absolutely in love with the Chord sound signature. Or even my Teac UD-501 if need be. I also have an iFi Micro, so I'm in no real need for Dacs. I'm looking at the 600i purely as an Amp.

 

[vincent1]

Hi
I use Focal cans as well with my 600i and use the internal DAC.
I found upgrading the fuse made a noticeable difference which is why I don’t feel the need for a separate DAC.
Synergy with the Focals is very good.

Enjoy !

 

[lukeslens]

Hi
I use Focal cans as well with my 600i and use the internal DAC.
I found upgrading the fuse made a noticeable difference which is why I don’t feel the need for a separate DAC.
Synergy with the Focals is very good.

Enjoy !

Can you elaborate more on this? Curious what you mean you upgraded the fuse.

 

[vincent1]

Hi sure

I have a 600i and a Holo Cyan. Upgraded the fuses in both with Synergistic Research Black fuses. (Slot is on the back panel.) On the Cyan the difference was marginal and really not noticeable as it already had a better than basic fuse. On the 600i which only has a cheap fuse I found a really substantial improvement.

 

[lukeslens]

Hi sure

I have a 600i and a Holo Cyan. Upgraded the fuses in both with Synergistic Research Black fuses. (Slot is on the back panel.) On the Cyan the difference was marginal and really not noticeable as it already had a better than basic fuse. On the 600i which only has a cheap fuse I found a really substantial improvement.

Interesting. That seems like a pretty simple but worthwhile upgrade. Surprised I hadn’t read of anybody else doing this. Changing a fuse would not have been on my radar for upgrades but I am fairly new to this hobby

 

[betula]

Hi sure

I have a 600i and a Holo Cyan. Upgraded the fuses in both with Synergistic Research Black fuses. (Slot is on the back panel.) On the Cyan the difference was marginal and really not noticeable as it already had a better than basic fuse. On the 600i which only has a cheap fuse I found a really substantial improvement.

Could you post a picture of this? I have never heard anyone doing this. Regarding DAC upgrade the best DAC I have heard to date is the Chord Qutest. The 600i turns into an extension of the Qutest if I pair these two. A sweet and satisfying company. The 600i in balanced mode is quite a unique amp. But the built in DAC is a serious limitation. Same is true for the SE output which to my ears sound 50% less impressive than the balanced output.

 

[lukeslens]

So I pulled the trigger on a 600i. Super excited and it will arrive tomorrow. I actually got it used from another Head-fier on the site. I emailed Questyle support to see if it's still possible to purchase the acrylic top and they said it is, but I have to go through my dealer to order it. Considering I got it used, am I out of luck? Or does anybody know of a Questyle dealer I could get it through? Questyle doesn't really have a dealer directory on their site. Thanks!

 

[vincent1]

Betula - yes I should add I use balanced as well.

I have Senn 800 modded and Audeze and Focals - have got them all cabled now with balanced ends.

 

[vincent1]

Could you post a picture of this? I have never heard anyone doing this. Regarding DAC upgrade the best DAC I have heard to date is the Chord Qutest. The 600i turns into an extension of the Qutest if I pair these two. A sweet and satisfying company. The 600i in balanced mode is quite a unique amp. But the built in DAC is a serious limitation. Same is true for the SE output which to my ears sound 50% less impressive than the balanced output.

OK attached (hopefully) are pics of the fuse upgrade.

I have used the SR Black fuse which you can see on top of the 600i - and I have posted the pic this way so you can see the orientation of the fuse.The fuse holder normally sits in the bottom of the IEC housing - you can see the gap there now. Just remember to get the orientation of the fuse correct and to wipe off any fingerprints !

The factory fuse just has clear glass - but there is a slot to store it in the bottom of the fuse holder as a spare.

In my system the fuse upgrade along with audio grade footers made a remarkable difference.