Chord Qutest

[Calvin & Hobbes]

6 hours ago, feelingears said:

 

YMMV: In relative terms, the Qutest has distinctive qualities that present sound with a consistently propulsive drive and tonal detail without being lush or warm, per se. The Pontus II (and by extrapolation, the Venus and Terminator, based on Hans B's videos) presents sound with a more "human" musical pace, and with a less incisive, less-fast rising sonic attack that is more like natural sound, to my ears. Detail is also there but less in-your-face, calling attention to itself like it can with Qutest.

 

I concur with @feelingears. The sonic personality of the Pontus is very different than that of the Qutest. I don't believe that any level of spend on power supplies would change the personality of the Qutest's sound to any significant degree.

 

The Qutest has a somewhat synthetic sound to me while the Pontus sounds unfailingly organic and natural both in its pace as well as its tone quality. My perception is that resolution from the Pontus is better than that from the Qutest. The Qutest seems to emphasize the main parts of the music while other details tend to fade into the background. The Pontus provides all detail in a more balanced presentation.

[Calvin & Hobbes]

6 hours ago, Womaz said:

I have been sifting through this thread with interest.

I am not really a tweaker but some very interesting posts on here have me really intrigues.

My kit -ROON- Pi4 with Riopee feeding the Qutest DAC by USB (just ordered a TQ Ultra Black cable).

 

I use the standard PS to the Qutest to my amp solely for headphone use

 

What do you think could be the simplest way to make an improvement ton the current set up?

 

This is probably the simplest and cheapest way to improve the SQ from your Qutest DAC. To figure out if there could be any improvement over the standard switch mode power supply, I used a cell phone power bank to power the Qutest. Just a note. You MUST use a power bank that outputs the same voltage as the standard Qutest power supply. I think the standard power supply outputs 5 volts. Chord states that using another power supply voids the warranty on the Qutest so apparently people do fry their Qutest DACs pretty often by using other 3rd party power supplies.

 

This is an example of a power bank that I'm referring to: https://us.anker.com/collections/power-banks/products/a1229?variant=37438231806102

 

Amazingly, with even this small change there was a pretty noticeable improvement to my ears of the Qutest SQ.  These were the benefits that I heard:

• Smoother tones (less harshness)
• Better flow
• Better pace
• Same character as with the standard power pack, but more refined.

[Calvin & Hobbes]

6 hours ago, Womaz said:

 

 

This does interest me as sometimes I am sensitive to some harshness and treble peak.

I have never really been a cable swapper but a couple of weeks ago I replaced my cheap Audioquest USB cable into the Qutest with a Tellurium Q Blue USB cable and I was amazed when I heard a difference. It seemed to tame the treble a little and lost a touch of sibilance. I guess this is what has got me started on the tweaking. I have now ordered another TQ USB cable from further up the range to see if it makes any changes.

 

Forgive my ignorance , if I get the powerbank is the cable to attach to the Qutest included or would I need to get one?

 

Thanks for your post.

It's a standard micro USB connector for the cable.

 

I'm using a Stordiau Lush 1 USB cable which I found was both smoother in sound and more detailed than a Shunyata Venom USB cable (which was not bad itself)

 

Let me know what you hear!

[Calvin & Hobbes]

5 hours ago, Womaz said:

The powerbank simply replaces the Power Supply? Cable provided with the powerbank plugs into the back of the Qutest where the original PS would go?

 

Yes, you would connect the power bank just like you connect the standard power supply using the micro-USB connector. Turn the power bank on and the Qutest should power up as usual. A note again to make sure the voltage output on the power bank needs to  match that of the standard power supply or you will fry the Qutest.