Chord Qutest

[Music123]

A surprised Chord Qutest tweak!

(I am reposting from another thread for better relevancy.)

 

Sometimes we thought of tweaking the setup based on the common understanding of the HiFi wisdom and acted on it. In my case, the more weight you put on top of the DAC, the less micro-vibration. One of the oddities I love about the Chord Qutest DAC is that its metal case is built like a tank. "I could put a lot of weight on top of this thing!" is what I told myself when I received the Qutest. However, the convex centered glass posed a problem for putting substantial flat weight on top without cracking the glass window. 

 

"My sphere collection!" I shouted to myself. Hence, the glass sphere you saw in the photos I shared in my earlier post. The wood base fitted perfectly on the Qutest sizewise. Perfect!

 

But when I was looking at the glass sphere on top, I said to myself, "I could add a lot more weight than the glass sphere." Then I remember having a 3" solid steel bearing ball that weighed about 4 lbs in my sphere collection. So I dug it out and put it on top of the Qutest. Unfortunately, there was not much improvement in sound quality except that it looked cool. Frankly, the 4 lbs steel ball added only marginal weight over the 4" glass sphere.

 

"Let put a bigger sold steel ball on it," I told myself. The Qutest's 'built like a tank' box could handle a lot more weight. So I checked around and found a 4" solid steel ball that weighed about 10 lbs. But, wait! There is a 5" one that weighed 18 lbs!

 

But the thought of the 18 lbs solid steel ball breaking the wood base, crushing the Qutest's centered glass window, falling on my desk, cracking the glass top, and then damaging the granite floor next to my desk stopped my finger from pushing the buy button. "Better go with the 4" 10 lbs ball."

 

Little did I know. 10 lbs are heavier than I thought! I could barely lift the 4" solid steel ball with one hand without risking injury to my wrist. After I put the 10 lbs ball on the wood base, the fear of the crashing ball came back to my imagination. "The wood base three thin legs don't seem strong enough to hold the 10 lbs weight for long. I have to find a metal stand!"

 

Sidebar: With the 4" steel ball on the wood base, I also placed the 3" steel ball on the Opto-DX receiver. I noticed a slight improvement in sound—nothing worthy to write about it.

 

I found a tall steel stand in my collection, but the three legs spread more expansive than the Qutest size. "Darn! Wait! I could turn it upside down!" Luckily, the diameter of the ring where the ball sits matched the Qutest depth in length. Not only that, the "ring" avoided the centered convex window altogether! Perfect! Once I placed the upside-down steel stand on the Qutest, I was even more excited. The broader legs are even better to hold on to the 4" steel ball!

 

Here is my surprise! There is a significant improvement in sound quality using the iron stand than the wood base. Why is that? While I am no expert in the area, my logical conclusion is that the "ring" of the upside-down steel stand that sits directly on the Qutest placed a lot more stress on the Qutest than the three thin legs of the wood base. Furthermore, perhaps the added height of the steel ball above the Qutest contributed to the dynamic of the weight distribution. Finally, I feel the new configuration of the steel ball placement stamped out a lot more micro-vibration from the Chord Qutest!

 

The most significant improvement is in the bass department. The bass has more substance without being overwhelming. There is a certain solidity in the music that I find satisfying. The best way to describe my experience is by using a metaphor. Imagine feeling the music is like feeling the road in a sports car. The driver feels more confident handling the vehicle with a better feel for the road. In music, the listener enjoys the sensation of the "road" more directly. Am I making sense?

 

It is my logical conclusion that in our attempt to search for better sound quality, stamping out micro-vibration is as much fruitful as upgrading the gear itself. If you already have a decent gear setup, we can improve sound quality by finding ways to stamp out micro-vibration.

 

Thanks for reading, and happy holiday to all!

 

 

 

With the wood base and glass ball (below):

 

[Music123]

Gritty,

 

I assume you are referring to the BNC interconnect cables without knowing all the factors in your situation. If that is the case, ensure the Qutest's input selection is consistent every time you turn the Chord DAC back on after switching cables. Make sure the source is also the same when compared to other cables.

 

For BNC, there are three choices- Coax (BNC) 1, Coax (BNC) 2, and Dual Data Mode.

 

If you feed a high-resolution file with up to 768kHz mode but do not turn on dual data mode, you may get a single channel only when Coax 1 or Coax 2 is selected.

 

If the above doesn't solve your issue, then someone else with more knowledge will need to help you.

 

Cheers!

 

Edit: If you feed the Qutest's DAC with resolutions up to 384kHz, then Coax 1 or Coax 2 will play stereo on your system. But once you feed a high-resolution file with 768kHz, you must select dual data mode to play stereo.

.