Chord Qutest

[OldBigEars]

I’m interested in the Qutest - love the stripped down spec.  I currently use a Hegel HD fed from a microrendu 1.4 through a Schiit Eitr , and then coax into the Hegel. Sounds very good.  The Eitr was a breakthrough addition - so much better than USB on the Hegel.  Hard to imagine how much better the Chord could sound.  With the Chord I’d probably go back to using the USB connection directly from the mR, cutting out the Eitr. 

 

The competition for the Chord no-ones mentioning on this thread is the newish Mytek Liberty.  Equally stripped down approach, except it has MQA.  Many people are delighted with it and it’s significantly cheaper than the Chord Qutest.  Has anyone had the opportunity to directly compare these two?  

[OldBigEars]

12 minutes ago, jos said:

If you look at the Darko DAC index you could see that even a better Mytex DAC than the Liberty is far below the Hugo 2, and the Qutest is even (slilghtly) better than the Hugo 2, as you can hear in his podcast on the same site from Darko.

 

https://darko.audio/the-darko-dac-index/

 

Yep I noticed that.  But if you watch the Hans Beekhuyzen review of Hugo2 he found it's not quite as good as the Mytek Brooklyn Plus - and many would say that the Liberty SQ is every bit as good as the Brooklyn Plus.

 

It seems we've got opposing opinions from pro reviewers...

[OldBigEars]

On 3/23/2018 at 3:05 PM, jos said:

 I am still using the MeanWell adapter with the ultrarendu, although it is running with the Sbooster for Regen ultra active adapter, and that makes a lot of difference. The ultrarendu is not running warm at all with the Regen ultra adapter in place. A relatively cheap but effective upgrade.

 

Some friendly advice.  Replace your MeanWell adapter and get a proper power supply for your ultrarendu.  I have a microrendu 1.4.  With an IFI iPower it was just ok.  Upgrading the power supply changed everything.  You haven't heard your ultrarendu yet . You gan get rid of the Regen and Jitterbugs.

[OldBigEars]

Has anyone compared Qutest directly to the RME DAC?  I read a review recently comparing the RME with the Chord Hugo 2 and it rather bettered it.  Given the RME costs around $1000 I'm not sure why I would choose the Qutest, which apparently benefits greatly from a supplementary power supply.

[OldBigEars]

9 hours ago, barrows said:

This would not be the result I would expect, having owned some RME gear in the past.  Link to the review, or source at least?

 

Here you go.... maybe the outcome would be different with testing through speakers?

 

https://headfonics.com/2018/04/rme-adi-2-dac-review/2

Chord Hugo 2

Compared to the Chord Hugo 2, I feel like the RME sounds more vivid in the midrange. But I guess it is because of Chord’s WTA filters that make the treble sound more extended. When using very power-hungry headphones, the RME provides a stronger ground while the sound can get grittier or brittle when nearing max power of the Chord.

With very sensitive IEMs, I feel like the Hugo 2 is even tighter in the bass despite having more audible hiss when compared to the Phones output of the RME. This changes, however, when I switch to RME’s IEM output which improves on clarity and precision.

All in all, the RME is more versatile and ultimately impresses more with both, headphones that need low volume precision and those that need power. Of course, the RME has the advantage of size and external PSU whereas the Hugo 2 is a fully portable device.

Our Verdict

I can’t think of any other desktop DAC/amp combo that would be easier to recommend in 2018. There is no magic involved in the RME ADI-2 DAC: no proprietary filters, no patented exclusive circuits, no unordinary connections and most importantly no voodoo buzz words. This is an extremely down-to-earth device that has just been given extreme thought, massive experience and great attention to detail. It’s not the supplier’s chip that makes a great device, it is how you use the tools.

The ADI-2 DAC is technically marvelous, regardless of whether you want to dive into the long feature list or not. I do recommend you do, though, because the equalizer with its many save slots, the customizable loudness function, the tight crossfeed, various DA filters and many controls to test your whole audio chain just keep on giving and giving. Despite the huge amount of functions, the software is extremely stable and hasn’t failed me once.

While the Phones output provides clean and linear amplification for even power hungry headphones, the new IEM output might just have reached a new reference level. Of course, the device will work just as well as a standalone DAC in case you want to connect some warm tubes with the line-out. The channel-specific dual EQ or quick bass/treble adjustments can work wonders for a speaker setup.

I praised the RME ADI-2 Pro before and it proved to be a massive success. At 1.599 € (or 1.999 € for the black Anniversary Edition) it challenged competitive high-end products and it seems almost unfair that we now can get the same performance for a lot less, e.g. 999 €. Friends of high-fidelity, what are you waiting for?

 

[OldBigEars]

On 7/15/2018 at 8:56 PM, rhern213 said:

 

I had an ADI-2 but sold it before I got my Qutest so I couldn't do a direct comparison. However... while I had my ADI-2 I also had a Schiit Bifrost Multibit and The ADI-2 as a DAC only and Bimby sounded identical to my ears. I ended up keeping the Bimby because it was half the price.

 

Then I got the Qutest to compare to the Bimby and it was in a complete other league to me. There was no aspect of the sound the Bimby was close in. So given the Bimby and ADI-2 were identical to me, I would safely say the Qutest is a good amount better than the ADI-2.

 

The Hugo2 and Qutest are supposed to be the same, except for the Qutest having GI USB. So IMO I would probably say the complete opposite of whatever review you read. How was this review you read done? Where both DAC's tested with their internal amps? separate amps? Through what inputs/outputs? There are tons of factors that will affect the outcome, which will sound completely different in whatever system you personally have.

 

If you're able to find the DAC's somewhere that you can test or maybe buy and return the one you don't want I would suggest that so you can see how they fit with your particular system. 

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  It's hard to triangulate tests from different times but you seem to have found a clear superiority for Qutest in your setup.  I'm intrigued and hope to be able to find one to test some day.

[OldBigEars]

On ‎7‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 8:56 PM, rhern213 said:

 

I had an ADI-2 but sold it before I got my Qutest so I couldn't do a direct comparison. However... while I had my ADI-2 I also had a Schiit Bifrost Multibit and The ADI-2 as a DAC only and Bimby sounded identical to my ears. I ended up keeping the Bimby because it was half the price.

 

Then I got the Qutest to compare to the Bimby and it was in a complete other league to me. There was no aspect of the sound the Bimby was close in. So given the Bimby and ADI-2 were identical to me, I would safely say the Qutest is a good amount better than the ADI-2.

 

The Hugo2 and Qutest are supposed to be the same, except for the Qutest having GI USB. So IMO I would probably say the complete opposite of whatever review you read. How was this review you read done? Where both DAC's tested with their internal amps? separate amps? Through what inputs/outputs? There are tons of factors that will affect the outcome, which will sound completely different in whatever system you personally have.

 

If you're able to find the DAC's somewhere that you can test or maybe buy and return the one you don't want I would suggest that so you can see how they fit with your particular system. 

 

 

Just out of interest - how long did you own your ADI-2 before selling it.  I was under the impression it's quite a new model.  Maybe it needed more break-in time?

[OldBigEars]

On 1/10/2018 at 1:32 AM, barrows said:

I suspect he Qutest all be the best DAC under $5K for those who do not need balanced output or volume control

 

 

 

Sweeping statement with negligible factual support.  The only takeaway here....Barrows really, really likes Chord.

[OldBigEars]

14 hours ago, barrows said:

 I am quite confident that the Qutest will easily outperform the usual suspects in the $2K-$5K range. 

 

As far as "factual" support, well, there is no such thing as a "fact" when it comes to which sounds better, 

 

@Barrows I get where you're coming from....and completely  agree that musical performance cannot be evaluated by metrics alone.  Which somewhat reduces your first statement above to an "interesting personal opinion".   No doubt, your view is somewhat validated by enormous industry and electrical engineering experience.  But your findings are far from universal and based on triangulation assumptions, that's all.

[OldBigEars]

3 hours ago, barrows said:

 

My point is, at the price of the Qutest, I just think it is a no brainer purchase for most.  Perhaps excluding those few who might be interested in DSD oversampling in software and a Holo Audio Cyan or Spring...  I just figure that the average audiophile is not doing DSD oversampling in software and has a library primarily made up of PCM files.

 

You clearly like it much better than, say....Schiit Yiggy, Metrum Onyx, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Border Patrol, Denafrips...to name just a few favorites out there.  To the extent it's a no-brainer.  Wow, that's a strong recommendation, for sure.

[OldBigEars]

Assuming for a moment that Rob Watts knows his product better than anyone, and that a battery pack is "the perfect PS" for this product - does it matter what kind of cord connects it to the day?  Or would an $8 Anker USB micro cord be as good as anything?

[OldBigEars]

41 minutes ago, kennyb123 said:

 

I just wanted to point out that it would be a fallacy to assume this.  

 

An Appeal to Authority is a fallacy with the following form:

• Person A is an authority on subject S.
• Person A makes claim C about subject S
• Therefore, C is true.

Claims aren’t proven true by who made the claim.  

 

Ummm, no but the probability is high if Person A happens to have designed that product.

Person B claims are probably BS  

[OldBigEars]

2 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

 

There is a higher likelihood off an opinion being true if the opinion is offered by an expert in a particular area. Per the dictionary, an expert is "a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field".  Just because someone is an expert at designing DACs doesn't automatically make them an expert at power supplies.  It also doesn't automatically make them an expert in music servers.  In fact, they could be novices in both those areas as they lack hands-on experience.

 

I think many you dismiss as "Person B" are folks I would consider to be experts as they've built their knowledge through doing experiments. 

 

Lastly, it should be pointed out that the power supplies in most Chord digital products weren't designed by Chord.  They were selected based on a set of measurements.  

 

Not to be confrontational...but the design process, when done properly, involves lots and lots of testing of each component, within the context of the total product.  The designing of a power supply does not assume any one dac that it will be used with.  The "expert" in terms of which power supply works best with this specific product is most likely it's designer, tester and project lead.

 

But thankfully it's still just about a free world and we are able to experiment and select to our heart's content if we want to ignore this advice. Watt's design made that easy.

[OldBigEars]

I still use my Qutest pretty much standard, except for the iPower X PS. I haven't compared it recently to the stock PS but when I first bought it I was satisfied it's slightly better. I choose to not send it back, after all. Aside from that, I'm feeding my Qutest through its USB drive via an OpticalRendu. The Qutest in turn feeds my Belles Aria, and then my Kudos Super 20's. It's a decent level of performance, but some recordings can occasionally sound slightly bright.

So I'm intrigued by the possibility of taking my Qutest to the next level with (a) an SBooster / Ultra PS and (b) Audiowise SRC DX Bridge, enabling double-BNC connection with my OpticalRendu. From all the various reports, this should be a nice upgrade for around $1000. But that begs the question....My Qutest becomes a $2700 DAC....should I sell and simply buy a new DAC such as a Denafrips Venus?

[OldBigEars]

1 hour ago, Gavin1977 said:

1 hour ago, ecwl said:

 

 

As for the stock switching power supply vs iPower X PS, I believe Rob Watts the designer specifically design the internal Qutest RF filters to match the RF issues of the stock switching power supply. So I'm slightly surprised you prefer iPower X PS.

 

.

But then, Watts has clearly stated that benchmark performance for Qutest is obtained with a battery pack - yet a great many owners have found they prefer a good LPS.  I must dig out and retry my stock Qutest PS just to see how it sounds to me, these days, compared to my iPower X.

 

[OldBigEars]

@ecwl I notice you use the Peachtree X1 USB --> Toslink converter to your Chord DAC and appear to be very happy?  Thanks for bringing this to my attention.  I'll think I'll try that before going dual BNC.

[OldBigEars]

Have just searched everywhere but sadly the Peachtree X1 converter was discontinued years ago.  I'll have to think about other Toslink options....

[OldBigEars]

2 hours ago, ecwl said:

X1 can’t do 192kHz toslink either. In fact, Rob Watts privately suggested that I get any cheap USB to Toslink converter that can do 192kHz Toslink. I presume he wants the USB converter to be computer USB powered so there is no extra PSU in the system but he actually never specified. I had an old Peachtree X1 lying around so I used that. In fact I’m still debating whether to get a cheap converter that supports 192kHz Toslink from Amazon, just to try. 

 

I just ordered this converter  https://www.doukaudio.com/products/mini-xmos-xu208-usb-to-coaxial-optical-12s-converter-digital-interface-dsd256

 

Not sure if it can do 192kHz over Toslink but Im interested to find out how it performs with my AQ Cinnamon optical cable.  I'll let you all know my findings once everything has settled in.

[OldBigEars]

22 hours ago, MarkusBarkus said:

...they shipped pretty quick, but customs was a little slow (based on my personal impatience). The USB to SPDIF is a smart little performer. Cheers...

 

 

Sounds good - looking forward to getting it.  Do you recommend using a separate power supply or just power from the USB? 

[OldBigEars]

On 7/24/2021 at 3:57 PM, MarkusBarkus said:

...you'll try both, I'm sure. A pal and I tested with a 5v Shanti he had which is competent, but not extraordinary. It was a good addition. It does a very good job in that system, which uses a single input path. 

 

Had the cheapie Douk Audio in my system for about 5 days, converting USB to optical, and I'm completely blown away by the improvement provided by this simple 50 buck device. What's more, I'm finding it works much better in my system using the USB power, rather than a 5v wall-wart (the only option I have in the house). I've never had a more sophisticated DDC in my chain so I can't provide a comparison, but I can clearly confirm that optical connection via the Douk Audio box is miles better than the USB directly into my Qutest.

[OldBigEars]

2 hours ago, MarkusBarkus said:

...depending on your conversion needs, there are a few options, but yes: DoukAudio. Here is what we tried around here...

 

Yup this is the same item I'm using.  Set up through my OticalRendu was perfect and instantaneous.  No issues whosoever. It plays up to 192 files faultlessly. It's a no-brainer if you've been thinking about trying optical or SPDIF with your Qutest, but find the Denefrips no-return situation a little bit of a barrier.

[OldBigEars]

"Here's one I made earlier....." (UK participants will know what I mean)

[OldBigEars]

New problem with my Qutest......out of the blue, one of the output channels has developed an intermittent fault, resulting in no sound coming from one speaker. If I fiddle around with the RCA interconnect, take it off, put it back on....it goes away and the DAC sounds normal with both channels working.  My Qutest is 18 months old. This is surprising and disappointing given the brick-like character of the DAC.  I'll be in touch with the retailer or Chord this week.  My interconnects are AQ Water - quite stiff and heavy. Anyone else out there experienced something like this with their Qutest? 

[OldBigEars]

4 hours ago, ecwl said:

I presume you think the problem is with Qutest because you have another source for your Belles Aria integrated amp and that works fine. Except sometimes, it could still be a problem with the Belles Aria input rather than Qutest. Hard to say.

 

I would say, if the problem recurs, try plugging the Qutest into a different input to the Belles Aria first. Unless you already tried it in which case, yeah, I guess it’s probably the Qutest if other sources are fine with the Belles Aria. Another test would be to reverse the left & right from Qutest to your Belles Aria (as in left Qutest feeds right Aria and vice versa).

 

I doubt the weight of the AQ Water cable would be the cause of the problem. That said, I am aware of somebody (not me) who had a Blu2 and uses very thick and heavy and inappropriately long dual BNC cables that seems to pull down on the BNC plugs of the Blu2 so putting a little bit of support under the cable seemed to help stabilize the connection.

 

Just reading about Belles Aria too… Too bad it doesn’t talk about gain/sensitivity. Would be nice to know if the optimal setting for Qutest is 1V/2V/3V. I’m guessing 2V but impossible to know. I guess you can figure it out by listening.

 

I'm pretty sure it's a good old-fashioned loose connection on the red input. Not an issue with the amp.   Wiggling the IC fixes it temporarily.  I need to get my Qutest back to Chord asap.

 

Concerning the gain/sensitivity with my Belles, I use my Chord at iV for best results, enabling less volume attenuation.  

[OldBigEars]

On 11/7/2021 at 11:17 PM, OldBigEars said:

 

I'm pretty sure it's a good old-fashioned loose connection on the red input. Not an issue with the amp.   Wiggling the IC fixes it temporarily.  I need to get my Qutest back to Chord asap.

 

Concerning the gain/sensitivity with my Belles, I use my Chord at iV for best results, enabling less volume attenuation.  

 

I owe you all a follow up....I didn't want to post until I'd concluded all my testing and really tracked down the source of the problem, which was...the speaker cable / connection.  It had nothing to do with my Qutest after all and all is now working normally.