Chord Qutest

[Narcissus]

On 7 March 2018 at 12:53 AM, pl_svn said:

btw... this is how I'm rolling my Qutest 

(details are in my signature)

 

Sweet, i wish it had xlr outs & volume control, I could drive my monoblocks directly. Any ideas if that can be achieved?

[barrows]

6 hours ago, Narcissus said:

 

Sweet, i wish it had xlr outs & volume control, I could drive my monoblocks directly. Any ideas if that can be achieved?

That would be the Hugo TT, I suspect Cord will introduce an updated TT-2 version at some point.  The Qutest is available at the price it is precisely because it eschews all of those features.

[Superdad]

On 4/2/2018 at 6:53 AM, barrows said:

The Qutest is available at the price it is precisely because it eschews all of those features.

 

I try to eschew a lot of features myself, but they get stuck in my teeth.  

[flummoxe]

The below is from the What Hi-Fi site and is tantalising!!

 

It may have only just launched its Qutest DAC, but Chord plans to go big this Munich by unveiling a number of new products - with each one covering a distinct area of the brand’s portfolio, and one of which is (according to Chord) set to be a landmark product in the company's history. The curtains will be opened on the first day of the show.

[Ron Scubadiver]

I bet it would pair nice with a Schitt Saga or Sys since the output is 3V.

[rickca]

1 hour ago, flummoxe said:

It may have only just launched its Qutest DAC, but Chord plans to go big this Munich by unveiling a number of new products - with each one covering a distinct area of the brand’s portfolio, and one of which is (according to Chord) set to be a landmark product in the company's history. The curtains will be opened on the first day of the show.

Geez I hope I don't feel compelled to buy one.

[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?  

[jos]

28 minutes ago, OldBigEars said:

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?  

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/

[beerandmusic]

3 hours ago, flummoxe said:

The below is from the What Hi-Fi site and is tantalising!!

 

It may have only just launched its Qutest DAC, but Chord plans to go big this Munich by unveiling a number of new products - with each one covering a distinct area of the brand’s portfolio, and one of which is (according to Chord) set to be a landmark product in the company's history. The curtains will be opened on the first day of the show.

 

I hope it has a network port, spdif, usb, sd card and under $2K...if not, it will just be another yawner.

[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...

[beerandmusic]

16 minutes ago, OldBigEars said:

 

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...

 

+1

Too much marketing bias out there....they need DBT to determine if ANYTHING is truly better. ..i don't trust any professional reviewers....and consumers follow their advice...this industry needs better way to weed through all the competition to make our own shortlist.

[jos]

30 minutes ago, OldBigEars said:

 

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...

That's true, but I prefer Darko's opinion (younger ears, more authority). It's also a question of taste, but in my opinion the Qutest is the better DAC for the money. Try to listen both. I do have the Qutest (with ultraRendu) and it was a major step forward.

[barrows]

45 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

I hope it has a network port, spdif, usb, sd card and under $2K...if not, it will just be another yawner.

Dream on my friend...

[mav52]

On 4/28/2018 at 2:53 PM, OldBigEars said:

 

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...

Was hoping Darko would have tested the Halo Spring LV 3.  I've been listening to the T&A DSD DAC 8 on loan, very nice and would like to try the Halo Spring LV3 and the Quest.  Not that trilled with the Brooklyn + , I enjoy my Ayre Codex a lot more. A comparison of the Quest vs the Halo LV3 would be nice to see.

[Ron Scubadiver]

On 4/28/2018 at 1:35 PM, 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/

I wouldn't put the fate of the audiophile world in the hands of a rating given by a single audio writer.

[jos]

17 minutes ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

I wouldn't put the fate of the audiophile world in the hands of a rating given by a single audio writer.

True, always take a broad approach to make a shortlist and be patient. I my case I just needed a pure DAC and was waiting and looking around for more then one year.

[beerandmusic]

On 4/28/2018 at 12:36 PM, jos said:

That's true, but I prefer Darko's opinion (younger ears, more authority). It's also a question of taste, but in my opinion the Qutest is the better DAC for the money. Try to listen both. I do have the Qutest (with ultraRendu) and it was a major step forward.

 

I would think DARKO would be more likely to be biased with vendor relations than HANS....but i do trust Darko more than most magazine reviewers.

 

[Ron Scubadiver]

On 4/28/2018 at 2:36 PM, jos said:

That's true, but I prefer Darko's opinion (younger ears, more authority). It's also a question of taste, but in my opinion the Qutest is the better DAC for the money. Try to listen both. I do have the Qutest (with ultraRendu) and it was a major step forward.

It's definitely a question of taste.  One would think there could be a single correct interpretation of how to go from D to A, but apparently there is not.  So we see the Sabre sound discussed or the AK sound, or whatever.  What's best, or is it someone's favorite flavor? 

[w1000i]

On 4/28/2018 at 9:35 PM, 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/

Unfortunately Darko is using active speaker with built in ADC which is a crime in my standard to evaluate a DAC performance with that speaker.

 

[barrows]

On 5/3/2018 at 8:41 AM, Ron Scubadiver said:

It's definitely a question of taste.  One would think there could be a single correct interpretation of how to go from D to A, but apparently there is not.  So we see the Sabre sound discussed or the AK sound, or whatever.  What's best, or is it someone's favorite flavor? 

And that still is a vast over-simplification.  There is no such thing as Sabre sound or AKM sound.  DACs incorporate a lot more than just a chip in a box!  The power supply design and I/V (in the case of Sabre) or analog output stage will have more influence on the sound than the conversion chip.

 

But, Chord does things quite differently.  I have listened to both Mojo and DAVE, and it is clear to me that Chord is onto something with their approach (wish I could afford DAVE here!).  As their DACs combine both super high resolution playback with a lack of artifacts which is quite stunning to me.  Often with DACs, when one hears very high resolution, it is accompanied by an electronic glaze, or some noticeable artifacts, with can be bothersome to listening.  I do not hear any of that with Chord DACs.  All I hear is real musical details, and a complete absence of artifacts or "digital sound".  Sometimes the level of detail being revealed is not even, at first glance, impressive, but over time of listening one realizes they are hearing more low level detail.

I have not heard the Qutest, as it does not have the right feature set for my system, but considering it uses the same conversion engine as Hugo 2, I would expect that it would be the best DAC under $7K or so, for those who are OK with single ended connections and are using a preamp or integrated amp.

[Ron Scubadiver]

24 minutes ago, barrows said:

And that still is a vast over-simplification.  There is no such thing as Sabre sound or AKM sound.  DACs incorporate a lot more than just a chip in a box!  The power supply design and I/V (in the case of Sabre) or analog output stage will have more influence on the sound than the conversion chip.

 

What's with the "vast oversimplification".  That's not polite.  Why is it that nobody around here can simply say they disagree, in so many words, instead of such exaggerated rhetoric?  I'm not running for office.  BTW, there are many who would agree with me.  I am of the view that a lot of things people say they are hearing like additional detail, are really something else.  Perhaps it's a result of the filter Chord uses.  Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing Chord.  Their products get rave reviews and have many happy owners.

[Ron Scubadiver]

4 hours ago, w1000i said:

Unfortunately Darko is using active speaker with built in ADC which is a crime in my standard to evaluate a DAC performance with that speaker.

 

Darko says his index also takes features into account, so it is not purely about SQ.  Is that a crime?  It sure muddies up the picture.  

[barrows]

6 minutes ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

I am of the view that a lot of things people say they are hearing like additional detail, are really something else.  Perhaps it's a result of the filter Chord uses

Have you listened to the Chord DACs?  I am really not interested in "views" based on what (other apparently) "people say they are hearing"!  It appears that you are speculating about sound quality issues based on hearsay?

 

The fact is that Chord's filter approaches are more accurate than many, and if any filter would create sounds that are not actually there in the original audio files it would be leaky, inaccurate filters such as those used by MQA and Ayre.  Chord's filter design approach is more about accuracy than creating false details as you seem to suppose.  I would suggest that you take a bit of time over at stereophile.com and look at the measurements of various DAC's digital filter responses vs. Chord DAVE.  What you will find is that the Chord approach produces less i the way of artifacts than many other DACs.

[Ron Scubadiver]

10 minutes ago, barrows said:

Have you listened to the Chord DACs?  I am really not interested in "views" based on what (other apparently) "people say they are hearing"!  It appears that you are speculating about sound quality issues based on hearsay?

 

That's a rather combative bunch of accusations.  It's about what you think about me rather than what I have to say.

[barrows]

1 minute ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

That's a rather combative bunch of accusations.  It's about what you think about me rather than what I have to say.

?  "appears", these are not accusations they are asking for additional clarity as to where your "view" is coming from.

 

I have no interest in attacking you, but at the same time if I am listening to speculation based on no direct experience then i would appreciate knowing that.  Especially considering that your "view" is actually opposed to my direct experience of listening to Chord DACs.  When you suggest that Chord DACs are presenting artifacts instead of actual musical details:

29 minutes ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

I am of the view that a lot of things people say they are hearing like additional detail, are really something else

I think it is appropriate to challenge that viewpoint, as that is not my experience.