Review and Measurements of CHORD Qutest DAC

[ahofer]

Could someone confirm that using a different power supply to feed the Qutest makes no difference to the measurements?

I tried using 4 AA batteries in series and a lab grade linear power supply to feed power into the Qutest and couldn't really hear any difference vs the stock SMPS that is provided with the unit itself.

Seems like Rob Watts was right about not having to mess around with external power supplies as the internal filtering really is sublime.

If a DAC is reasonably well-designed, you can just stop at “not having to mess around with external power supplies”.

 

[drummerdimitri]

Does anyone know if the DAC re-clocks the optical input?

Asking since the output is coming out of my gaming pc which I am sure has all types of jitter components so is the unit immune to it or would I need a DDC to get better optical performance?

 

[Veri]

Does anyone know if the DAC re-clocks the optical input?

Yes it is definitely not using incoming s/pdif signal in synchronous mode.

 

[drummerdimitri]

Yes it is definitely not using incoming s/pdif signal in synchronous mode.

Fantastic, that bit of info just saved me hundreds of $ thanks!

 

[Veri]

Fantastic, that bit of info just saved me hundreds of $ thanks!

You can be sure of it even, because the Chord M-Scaler actually has a bunch of jitter components and Watts himself explained that that 'wouldn't matter' because of the internal cleanup/reclocking in his DACs (a bit of a lousy excuse for such an expensive device, the scaler that is).

 

[drummerdimitri]

You can be sure of it even, because the Chord M-Scaler actually has a bunch of jitter components and Watts himself explained that that 'wouldn't matter' because of the internal cleanup/reclocking in his DACs (a bit of a lousy excuse for such an expensive device, the scaler that is).

I actually started using the optical out from my PC instead of USB and my previous comment about the bass being less punchy is totally incorrect.

Crazy how much our hearing can deceive us at times but it still seems like optical is slightly better as there appears to be more space between instruments and the music is more palpable with a bit less harshness which is probably caused by digital noise as even with galvanic isolation it doesn't seem to be totally immune to it.

 

[Purité Audio]

‘Crazy how much our hearing can deceive us at times’
Still this.
Keith

 

[drummerdimitri]

‘Crazy how much our hearing can deceive us at times’
Still this.
Keith

Without measurements of the output from both optical and USB to compare, will never know for certain.

 

[Jimbob54]

Without measurements of the output from both optical and USB to compare, will never know for certain.

Or you could shut your eyes and have someone pause the music,swap the PC outputs between optical and USB (and sometimes no swap) and see if you can discern the change.

 

[drummerdimitri]

Or you could shut your eyes and have someone pause the music,swap the PC outputs between optical and USB (and sometimes no swap) and see if you can discern the change.

That would work theoretically but the main issue is the amount of time it would take to switch between both inputs as it has to cycle multiple times before getting to the correct one.

If you cannot immediately switch between two difference sound sources, you would lose memory of what the other input sounded like and that's when the brain tricks start to happen.

 

[waveuk]

Has anyone sold the Qutest and moved to another DAC?

I have a Qutest since a few years. A month ago I bought a SMSL D4000ES with the hope of getting better connection options, eventually better sound and potentially get some money back as Qutest prices are still high.

However I was not very convinced with SQ and found some issues with filters.

Can someone recommend an alternative?

 

[drummerdimitri]

Has anyone sold the Qutest and moved to another DAC?

I have a Qutest since a few years. A month ago I bought a SMSL D4000ES with the hope of getting better connection options, eventually better sound and potentially get some money back as Qutest prices are still high.

However I was not very convinced with SQ and found some issues with filters.

Can someone recommend an alternative?

I just recently received my new Gustard A26 DAC to replace my Qutest since I wanted more connectivity from the DAC and the sound although was great, I found that the mids were a tad laid back for my liking and was looking for something with a bit more bite and with a more visceral bass impact and so far I'm happy to say the A26 seems to suit my musical tastes better.

I still find the Qutest to sound a bit more convincing with instruments so if your looking to go down the same path, I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

Subjectivity is alive and well on ASR. And especially in the ProAudio section. The Interface discussions are rife.

 

[Killingbeans]

I was about to write something earlier, but didn't have the energy...

You can try to make it clear to people that they are just imagining things from now till hell freezes over, but the only response you'll ever get back is just "That's just your opinion. leave us alone! Your are soooo close-minded"

Humans gonna human

 

[VintageFlanker]

Has anyone sold the Qutest and moved to another DAC?

Yes. Sold two Qutest back in 2018, in fact. Didn't bother since.

I was about to write something earlier, but didn't have the energy...

You can try to make it clear to people that they are just imagining things from now till hell freezes over, but the only response you'll ever get back is just "That's just your opinion. leave us alone! Your are soooo close-minded"

Humans gonna human

Thanks @Killingbeans, you just saved me the second part of my post...

 

[wav3form]

Yes. Sold two Qutest back in 2018, in fact. Didn't bother since.


Thanks @Killingbeans, you just saved me the second part of my post...

What DAC did you move on to after the Qutest? I have a Qutest and I think it's pretty good but I don't have much to compare it to.

 

[Leif]

That interface is so appalling... why do they insist on it? I guess this being a dac and not an amp it makes little difference. It does look a bit like a toy with the silly colored buttons.

If they released the next top of the line amp for $300 and it had this interface I wouldn't buy it.

It’s techno-bling, a key selling point to separate you from your money. I have a Chord Mojo and I loathe the user interface, it takes two seconds to turn it off, and the volume ball colours are unintelligible. And what is the point of making a device that performs far beyond what you can hear, and you pay handsomely for that privilege. Oh yes, techno-bling.

 

[Henry53]

Ares 2 is hyped like thx 789. I remember zeos made many advertisings a couple of years ago. Moreover, Amirms stamped it to be a good product. It was like a unicorn for all audiophiles or ones recently starting this hoppy. At the end, it is quite natural and clean amp. Got it and never used the 789 due to it's boring signature. TA-20 ( one of the worst measured amps here) is much better than 789 for ‘planars’. I will not sell TA-20. But DO NOT TRUST ME nor anyone claiming “better” products.

Ares 2, on the other hand, is stamped like an ordinary product here. All reviewers got golden samples, and many have been paid to review it through some ways like giving it for free. Danafrips made a lot of money from this product for sure.

I still think colouration should be done through not dacs but amps. If you have a well measured dac, you could have a chance to enjoy nature sound and coloured sound. However, having a coloured sounding dac( tube dac etc) means that You have no chance to hear a natural sound.

I am of the opinion that numbers are always better than someone ‘s claims and hearing ability. Ares 2 might so far be the most hyped one in Hifi.

Had both on trial for quite a while preferred the Denafrips, specifically via balanced outputs the Chord does not have.

 

[Henry53]

See my first sentence. You got the rest as a bonus follow up.

The features are important however as I prefer the Denafrips via balanced out that the Chord doesn't have.

 

[Egoist]

Is it possible to know what would be the SINAD of the Qutest DAC if we remove that distortion spike at 2kHz?