Small box. Big sound. Chord Qutest
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- Thank you to the Patron who allowed me to borrow their Qutest.
Thank you also to NativeDSD for sponsoring this video. nativedsd.com
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00:00 Start
01:38 Technology overview
07:03 Design
11:09 Analog outputs
11:44 Sound
13:21 Music Quality and DSD
15:30 Resolution
17:18 Hugo 2 comparison
19:09 MScaler
20:06 Value & Conclusion - Наука та технологія
I've had the Qutest for 5 or more years. Very easy to live with this great sounding DAC. I've tried others but always come back to the Qutest. My only complaint is that it's sound quality is so far superior to other DACs that you must spend thousands more to get a reaal upgrade. And the next higher level Chord is over $5,000! So, this leaves you kind of stuck... in a good way, sure. But still stuck.
The older DAC 64 mkii is a good unit too. I have Bel Canto 2.7 which is better than the Qutest to my ears. I had a Qutest for around 2 years. The timing seems better. But the Bel Canto is more expensive. There are up and down sides. But agreed the Qutest is reasonable value for money.
I have the Chord Qutest too, but simply wait for the 2 version, without a hurry.
@@jos5067 Are version 2 about to be released?
No qutest v2 in production, at least not this year
@@mrt6349 Yeah I'd like to know this too.
I use to think ‘decades ago’ that getting my head around turntables and tonearm/cartridge matching was difficult, trying to figure out what external DAC would best suit my Bluesound Node is next to impossible. Wether $1,000 or $3,000 there’s no clear winner in this digital world. 😵💫
I have a gustard R26 which I am pretty happy with it but since you have both how would compare them to one another ?
I’ve been a Qutest owner since 2019 and I love this dac and the sound. It plays real nice with my LTA MZ2 tube headphone / pre / amp in to a pair of powered speakers and to headphones alike. It is just a joy to listen to. I’m a chord fan ever since I had the original mojo - my first incursion into more hifi sound in the last years. In my experience an ifi xpower supply made a noticeable difference that was worth- to me - the 100 $ price tag.
3 things one should know about the Qutest. 1- it can of course be upgraded with a power supply even though Mr. Watts denies it, but the best one i think is the ipower elite which beats linear ones up to around 1100$. I tried linear PS's and they all sounded good but a bit slower, more boring and noisier than the elite and don't have the punch or the detailed bass that only the elite seems to provide. You also get more soundstage with PS's. 2- theres a hidden party trick that you unlock when using the BNC inputs instead of the USB input . Youll hear about this from people who tried the "SRC DX" or a DDC with the BNC ouput or the Mscaler in bypass mode. They all sound better than the USB input, which is no slouch, but the BNC inputs seems like the way to go with Chord DAC'S to get the absolute best from them. 3- the Voltage output can be modified to fit with different preamps and amps and does change the sound making it more snappy and powerful in the 3V output mode. A nice bonus for me.
Ah good to hear about the USb INPUT, did you try this yourself too? I do have a great BNC cable of Wireworld (which exactly do you have?) as in input, wondered wether a USB top cable would perform better. So you don't think so. Curious after your experiences. Like to hear from you. Greetings from the Netherlands. 🙂
PS I did compare the 3 settings of 1,2,3 Volts output and after extensive tests I did find the 2 green Volt the best most balanced sound.
The blue 3 Volt indeed more aggressive but less fine, a bit distorted.
Currawong, Thanks Much !.......
I have a Qutest , bought after I was very impressed with my Mojo 2. Really enjoying both. Very nice through my tube Crack HP amp ..
Wonderful review as always, Amos. You echo my own experience with Chord's digital gear. Not euphonic in itself but utterly compelling nonetheless.
Very good review, lots of information presented very clearly. 😀
I have had a Qutest for 1 1/2 years. It has an SBOOSTER AC 5V power supply connected to it. There IS an improvement to the overall sound with the power supply. My headphone amp is the Dragon Inspire IHA-1 tube Amp. They are a lovely match together. Thanks for the review, Amos!
Thanks for sharing!
Excellent review, your comments pretty closely match my experience. FWIW, another nice device to use with the Qutest is the SRC-DX (USB to dual bnc converter). It's a nice way to use software like HQPlayer or PGGB with Qutest, and is a little more cost appropriate than an mscaler. I've become a fan of using PGGB via SRC-DX with my Qutest. Maybe not for everyone, but a great setup to try!
I really enjoy the "Forgotten Tales of a Forest" album from NativeDSD. Watt's WTA filtering benefits from the smaller voltage intervals of floating point PCM. FL32 at 96khz in AIFF format sounds the best to me in terms of saturation / lingering of sound.
Potplayer (asio renderer) or VUPlayer for supported playback.
Thanks for this Amos, the Qutest is a rather unique standalone DAC. It is small, it can be powered off a powerbank, it is built very well & now it is a great value proposition too compared to its rivals.
I have a Qutest paired with an MScaler. I have upgraded its power supply (a Teradak linear PSU) - gave it more punch and a little more body in the bass. But when I added an iFi dc Ipurifier 2 (to both the Qutest and the MSCALER) the last traces of digital sound totally disappeared. I am now enjoying the sound to a point where I don’t see how it could sound better. 😊 my preamp is a Valvet Soulshine Pure going to a Hegel H30 amplifier feeding a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 5 speakers.
Yes I second that, the dc ipurifier not only improves things after an smpsu, even after a lin psu (here s-booster plus ultra)
Great video! I'd really like to see a review of the RME DAC/amps as well as a guide for negotiating with dealers!
I always wanted one, but I do use both balanced and single-ended outputs instead of a pre-amp with those functions.
I have it since it came out.
Try it with Lifatec optical cable and Supercap power supply and it will blow your socks off!Amazing sound quality!
I had a Qutest, loved the Chord House sound so much, so purchased a HugoTT2 and a few months later added an M-scaler, a wonderful combo, but even through the HugoTT2 combo sound is totally awesome, I still miss my Qutest, on reflection I should have kept it for using on my computer or something !
i use the Qutest with an Ifi iusb3 , which i feel does improve over the stock psu. great dac!
Superb review I would only add that it feels like a brick, very solid and heavier than you expect.
Picked up my Qutest with external power supply second hand for $1,100. And I like the sound of it better than the PS Audio Directstream dac I owned previously.
I’ve owned a second hand Qutest for two months. Wonderfully detailed yet musical. I will enjoy it for many years.
The Qutest was the first stand alone DAC I purchased and after a few years still my favorite. I’ve compared it to a few R2R DACs and prefer the extra feeling of detail, though the comparison did reveal it could be a little shouty up top relative to the R2R DACs. Switching to the warm filter eliminated that though. I’ve used an Small Green Computer LPS from near the beginning so I really don’t remember if it was much different without it. It is nice to have a power switch though. Recently upgraded my streamer and noticed an improvement using the USB input, though it could be the streamer. It’s a keeper.
Hello, thank you for your comment. Do you mind sharing which streamer you got?
@@alexk1239 I went from a Node2i to an Aries G1.1
C, l have a lovely SMSL DO200, it is a good match for my system. Watching your videos is a lot of fun. #cables matter. Best, D.
I am very interested in listening to NativeDSD recordings on my MScaler Hugo TT2 combo. How do I go about getting DSD going through my setup? I use a Linn Majik DS as the streaming transport - is that the limiting factor here? Does it not play DSD?
Nice job, as always. 👍
Am I correct in thinking the output would be much closer to an analog wave vs other approaches? Where does one look for a used unit?
What if you plug the standard psu into a isotek Aquarius v5 powerfilter ? Would that be better than getting an ifi psu?
Have owned a Qutest for years & this is a great review. However you didn’t mention it’s ability to change input voltage from 1v, 2v or 3v which I find key for level matching given amp or preamp setup & can definitely effect dynamics & soundstage. That versatility is why I’ve kept it & of course bcuz it sounds dang good.
Which voltage do you use yourself?
Depends on amp & speakers. My SET amp likes 1v, push/pull 2v, and D-class 3v. With the SET & push/pull I use Zu speakers w/sensitivity on the high side. My Microzotl pre has plenty (maybe too much) gain too. Sure, more voltage is initially big bold bassy & dramatic, but I find I lose soundstage width & depth & the Qutest is great because u can change it easily to taste. i wish more dacs offered variable input voltage.
I'm not sure mine is set at 3 volts. They say to press and hold both buttons doing the initial setup. I see it's cycling through the 3 lights. But not sure if I'm set correctly. I believe blue is supposed to be three volts.
Technically it is actually the OUTPUT voltage! But that then obviously becomes the input voltage to the amplifier, so a forgivable mistake 😉
Usually not a problem for a modern integrated amp which could easily accept a 3V input, but take care if you are using an older pre-power amp combination that was designed primarily for use with a turntable, and that has an inbuilt phono pre-amp. On those the output from the internal phono board is usually around 0.15V, and the gain from pre-amp input to output can be x10-15 in order to hit the 1.5V ideal input into the power amp (with the volume control on full). Most power amps have a bit of headroom, so can usually accept up to 2V or so without clipping. However, this can really become an issue when you plug in modern CD players and streamers with 2-3V outputs into the pre-amp.
My 1992 vintage Naim NAC72 pre-amp gain is x13, so using 3V at the input would end up 39V at the output!!! Unmodified that would mean I could only use about 1/10th of the rotation of the volume control between silence and deafening / clipping, even with the Qutest output at 1V!
Luckily I found some third party plug-in circuit boards that modified the gain, giving you a choice of x1.3, x4 or x13. I found the best combination was to use 1V out from the Qutest and a x4 gain in the pre-amp. That means I can comfortably use about 50% of the rotation (gain) of the volume control (1V x 2 = 2V) with Qutest without the power amp clipping, and full rotation when using my turntable (0.15V x 4 = 0.6V). As I have sensitive speakers I rarely go beyond the '10 o'clock' position on the volume control with the Qutest, or 3 o'clock with the turntable.
Got one on a nice trade, no more chip based DACS for me, this and my Schiit Multibit 2 is my style.
Nice review. I wonder how the Qutest would compare to a Yggy with the latest upgrades (Yggy+/Unison USB).
Chord Qutest + Farad Super 3 =killer dac
Hi Amos. Great video man. I was wondering if you have a Hq player thorough overview video by any chance. You always do such a good job of explaining things. If you made one even if unedited walking us through your take on the different settings/filters/Noise shapers and your favorites perhaps relative to the M scaler it would be so amazing. Thanks have a good one and sorry if you already did and I missed it
I've thought of doing one, but figuring out how deep to get into it is a problem. It gets very complex, very fast.
@Currawong thanks so true! Thanks to one of your videos I splurged on a Utopia. Have a good one.
Review Request.. SHURE 840A... 150usd,euro. These are incredible analytical headphone class drivers that Shure have given fun bumps to , creating a blindingly affordable hi-fi headphone that can go portable (once you get around 3m cable only supplied). These exist in a kind of slight blind spot online. The ATs scoop up a lot the attention of this price area. Shures are well tuned.
I like the compact size. Really curious how it compares to something like the Ares 12th which is in a similar price ballpark now. I just don't want to allocate the space for a DAC that eats up more desktop space than an Ares 12th.
i have both qutest and (much bigger) gustard r26
they are both equally good, just different taste and use case for me
@@HercahyoAdiSaputro Thanks for sharing. How would you describe the differences and strengths between the two?
Great review with lots of insights and tech info. I'd love to know whether you compared it to the Gustard R26 I saw in the background. Also, correct me if I understood wrong but you did not compare Qutest against "itself" (i.e., with stock and with a high quality PSU). If you did that you would have noticed a significant difference, like I and many others have. Rob Watts maintained (until recently at least) that 2Qute and Qutest do not need a third party PSU as it will not offer any improvement over the provided stock PSU... and then he did some experimentation himself and changed his mind (Ref. Interview to Soundsnews or Passion for Sound, can't recall in which one he made these statements).
I did compare it with a PSU upgrade when I compared it to the Hugo 2 at the 17:18 minute mark. I didn't compare it directly to the R26 though. A few people have asked about that, so I might do it vs. the Hugo 2, which will be essentially equivalent.
Fabulous little thing. Had to go to the tt2 to better it, but the q still goes great guns in the other system. Wont ever sell it.
Interesting opinion about power for Qutest.
As we know battery with Hugo2 is probably the ideal power source as battery is mains disconnected. But somehow you found that ifi cheap SMPS power supply sounded better...
The iFi has filtering. Basically, SMPS PSUs have high-frequency noise issues, but you can filter them out.
@@Currawonghi which ifi psu did you use? There is the black 50€, the 100euro white X-version, and the silver 300euro version… I found the black one to bleed into the power grid, the white one too (perhaps different), but its dc output is way better. Of course, those who run devices all with SMpsus, including amps, they might not notice SMpsu hash at all.
I should add, my Qutest is powered by an S-booster with ultra module and an ifi dc purifier on top. The streamer is powered the same way, and jointly it’s actually quite good I found, despite overkill alarm. Seemingly sibilance may result from certain power supply combinations between streamer and Qutest.
I have a couple of different options: iUSB 3.0 with either an iFi iPower or linear PSU, or the Neo Stream, which is basically the same thing.
What is best way to connect this dac ?? Using optical or Bnc coaxial ?? Or what ?
Rob Watts recommends optical, as it wont carry electrical noise. The USB input is excellent though.
Can I use my Bluesound NODE with the DAC? My Bluesound only has coaxial out and usb.
Yes.
I used it with optical from the Node to the Qutest
For those who use Qutest with Node - is it (a big) upgrade compared to internal dac?
I’ve heard some say no change in sound quality where others say major difference.
I have a 3rd generation Node and looking to improve it with stand alone DAC.
Enleum review please!
Curious if Chord made any internal updates to this DAC since launch. Really dinky unit
If there were any, it would be due to parts availability. I do know that newer DAVEs are slightly different, but it doesn’t affect how they behave sonically.
Waiting for Hugo 3
really wish theyd make a bigger quetest or just another dedicated desktop non portable dac (not in the stratosphere like the dave)
That's the TT2.
@@Currawong I should have specified I mean between the tt2 and the qutest
Then Qutest + Anni. I don't think they'll do an integrated version of that combo.
I like the chord until I got the rega dac R then it’s far more musical
Owned a Qutest for a couple of years but ended up selling it when I got a Hegel H390 amp. The AKM4493 based dac in that is ‘equivalent’ if not better. They certainly sounded different, and you could argue the chord sound did bass more accurately. But sat on what was effectively duplicated components , selling the chord allowed me to invest in other stuff (2go for my portable hugo2)
It’s faff to plug the hugo2 into the Hegel but again it does sound different and debatably better than the Hegel but really splitting hairs and it’s only noticeable on back to back late night listening.
Was the Hugo same as the qutest ? Yeah pretty much
Overall, the qutest and hugo2 allow me to hear the “accent” of a singer. Like , how they really sound behind the music. It’s a great step up in detail worthy of the price point.
PSU…. I found when I had a linear psu the qutest was able to do a little more holography on vocals. But it was really not worth it tbh and that was also later sold.
Ok so the Chord DACs are better than the Hegel, that's all you had to say.
Wish Chord make Qutest level desktop dac only works headphone amp. Hugo pricier for me.
C, How? You compress the $Dollars to make it smaller. Love your vids. Best, D.
Buy a Chord MOJO😂
Buy a first generation Chord MOJO used.😊
I do own a qutest and I do think you are wrong about the 5V powersupplies: they really do differ a LOT. I have a Sbooster even with a very good powercord and a top fuse and with or without these the sound is very different. VERY. I do seem to find it strange nobody or nearly nobody knows this.
Could be system-dependent. Shifting and/or eliminating electrical noise in one way or another can be very noticeable.
This is an answer in the category of non answering, saying nothing. Of course in a system that is resolving enough to at all implement a good dac like the Qutest. There are so many reviewers who are just saying... something without the right context. Sorry, disapointing.@@Currawong
Actually, my answer was based on having a supporter who has been experimenting quite a bit with a Qutest, and some of his results are different to mine. The only thing we have left to conclude is some difference in the amount and type of noise in our respective systems being different. Yes, it's a fancy way of saying "I don't know." 😀
I put all my wall-warts on a power filter board so that they don't inject noise into the rest of my system. The "big" differences may well be not the Qutest, but the effect of noise generated by different power supplies on the amplification -- it picking up noise through the ground plane of the power. That was something we worked out with Rob Watts!
It's again no no no! 🙂 It differs a LOT. 🙂
But you have to have of course a revealing system.
But also that's what a qutest is made for. :-)
But (again) I also do like your: ' Yes, it's a fancy way of saying "I don't know." 😀'
🙂 Mostly that's understandable, it's all very expensive and you can't test all.
And a more professional answer also to say you couldn't test this or that.@@Currawong
Why 2 800s in Arsenal ?
One is a HD8XX. I was about to shoot a review when it went out of stock.
I respect the engineering part, but lets get a more basic model, without the BNC connectors, for around 500 USD and I might consider trying.
The connectors cost near nothing. You can find them as low as US$800 second-hand though, which is an insane price for 40 years of engineering research.
@@Currawong There is maximum 30 USD worth of components on that mainboard, excluding the FPGA chip, and it costs a little bit less then a RTX 4080 GPU card from Nvidia, that can output HD Video with audio on 4 screens at parallel, has 16 GB of RAM memory, supports AI processing and 3D graphics calculations, and needs 400 Watts of power to run 🙂
I'm getting mine in a year.
Shame they still use micro usb
"Up yours colourblind people" - Chord.
No. Even if you are not colour blind you might have forgotten the meaning of several colours. But in reality you just need to switch through until you get your channel and your sound. Sound? Yes: it is notably different, yet somewhat subtle. So the white mode can be found relatively easily (incisive and thats what it is: least blurred, just instantaneous), then there is the same algo with slightly rolled off response, followed by a warmer algorithm in flat characteristics followed by same algo with rolled off response, followed by white /incisive-flat mode again.
I suppose a display may cause hash, same does a iR remote..
I find it not a big issue, though a remote would be nice.
@@gioponti6359Mojo's volume indicator is even worse ;)
Qutest sounds average good with my rega elicit-r. Topping dx3pro+ and elicit-r is much more open and detailed, 5 times less in price. Differnet story with naim xs3, where qutest shines, and topping 👎👎👎.
Brightness is easy to mistake for detail.
@@Currawongvery well stated!
Micro USB powered… 😑
FIRST😂
Nice review. For me, this thing is a hard pass. I don't care for the footprint, it looks like a child's toy, and I really dislike that you must spend thousands of dollars to bring this device up to its "potential". And from what you and others have described, the sound is just not something I would enjoy. And that's OK. There are plenty of other options on the market.
Thanks for the comment I think at least two of your thoughts are gross mis-judgements. Allow me to address each point.
1. It looks like a child's toy.
It has 30+ years of research built into it. I guess they could have put it in a huge, mostly empty box, with a fancy front plate (or a large box full of unnecessary, power sucking linear power supplies) and sold it at twice the price to make it more attractive, but they don't do that.
2. If you feel you "need" to spend thousands of dollars to bring it up to its full potential, then the same is true of most *every* DAC out there. You could also use the SRC-DX hardware plus HQPlayer for a lot less to get close, if not the same results.
3. Definitely, if you prefer all your music to have a particular colouration, like the deliberate harmonic warmth of most R2R DACs, then it wont be for you.
@@Currawong Hello and thank you for the response. Gross mis-judgements? Come on, brother. I think you are taking my comment personally. Why is that? Let's go through it:
1. It is of no consequence to me how long it took to develop this device. I dislike the aesthetic of this thing. To me, it looks stupid. I don't care if it's solid billet etc. - The build might be nice, but to me it looks stupid, like something Fisher-Price would offer. A child's toy. Aesthetics are always subjective, and while some might love it, I dislike it. I am allowed to dislike something if I like. I don't berate you because you like the way it looks - that would be wrong. And on the subject of power supplies, if I am going to spend 2 grand on a DAC, it better come with something better than the crap they provide.
2. The argument I hear most often when someone says they don't like the sound of this thing is "Well the rest of your chain needs to be upgraded. You need better speakers, a better amp etc. otherwise you aren't getting the most out of it." Or, "get the mscaler". Yeah right, I am going to spend 5 grand more to improve a DAC I already spent 2 grand on? That math doesn't work for me. Or, I have to buy an uber-expensive amp, speakers, cables and so on to get the most out of it? Others might think that is reasonable, and that is fine. I don't. That said, the software option you mention shows great promise and is most likely a great alternative approach.
3. You are exactly right, here. This DAC isn't for me. And that's OK. My next DAC will most likely be of the R2R topology. Would I like to try this and see if maybe I was wrong? I would love to, but what are the chances of that happening? And anyway, I know what I like, and this isn't it. This is based off of what I have seen and read as well as your input in point 3.
Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I very much respect your work and look forward to seeing more of it. As I have discovered your channel fairly recently, I have a lot of catching up to do! Cheers.
Enjoy the R2R journey. It's far worse. People will say that, after you buy the DAC, you'll need a good USB to I2S converter, then an external clock (and only specific types with specific sockets and cables), then a network streamer, then optical isolation for the streamer, then better power supplies for each component. Then HQPlayer, which you have to configure specifically to get the best results, and so on. 😄
@@Currawong I'm laughing right now because you are right on point! I have heard all of those things. At the end of the day, you just have to make the best decision you can based off of the knowledge you have acquired, what sounds good to you and what you can actually spend on any one solution. Budget matters, brother! 😁And who knows, as I learn more, I may circle back to this FPGA topology in the future and see it (and hear it) in a different light.
May sound lovely but it's one of the most hideous looking things in audio! I like my gear to sound AND look good.
That’s your opinion
@@nk-gp1ml Exactly. I think it looks great.
Beauty is in the ear of the receiver, looks don’t count !