The Qutest’s sounds staging, tone, the way it etches the outline of instruments is astounding. I’ve been trying various new and vintage components for 30 years. This is the first time in a very long time that I can say that I am done with my main system. The Qutest was the missing piece of the puzzle.
Nice! Would you mind sharing what network streamer you’ve paired with the qutest? I’m looking at this plus a streamer to upgrade from my Allo Boss 1.2.
As an RME ADI-2 FS DAC owner, which I bought after seeing your review, I always remained curious after the sound of this Chord Qutest. So after seeing your review above, I decided to pull the trigger on a nice second hand model that came with an Sbooster power supply. Having hands-on experience with both now, I feel the Qutest is the nicer sounding one. As one of your colleagues in the audio review world stated: the RME has you on the edge of your seat listening for all the details in the music, the Qutest has you sitting back and relaxing to enjoy the music. One other thing I only realised after installing the Qutest: it keeps me from constantly wanting to tweak the sound. The RME is great in that it lets you tweak the sound, the Qutest is great in that it keeps you from wanting to tweak the sound. I love both, but I'm keeping the Qutest.
@@gautamsarin9993 I’m sure this DAC will not disappoint. 👍🏻 Note that I did not try the Qutest with the supplied power supply, so I cannot comment on that. My setup is really basic (but good!): a Bluesound Node 2i -> Chord Qutest -> Hegel H120 -> PMC Twenty.24 speakers. Enjoy your Qutest!
I don't know if this was an intended design feature. But the way the glass dome on the Qutest refracts the light from the LEDs, projects these vibrant, rainbow-coloured wings above it on my wall, when it's dark. Very cool.
John Darko is a guy I can really trust. He spends a lot of time with the stuff he reviews and he makes a lot of comparisons in the process. Great work.
New subscriber to channel loving your no bs explanations of audiophile gear and the way you present videos. Also musical taste, humanoid 👌 still have original 12". Keep up good work.
Thank you, very informative. I am going to get a Chord Qutest for Xmas. I am hoping that my CD's will now sound like what i hoped CD would sound like, when i purchased my first CD player back in 1983.
I totally agree to what you said. I compared Mojo with Qutest and found Qutest to have more air up top and it extends well across frequency. Since it extends better in HF hence we get more details out of it. Mojo I found to be warmer sounding of 2 and has thickness in lower midrange. Also the depth and width with headphone increases with Qutest and with a mojo it is more intimate since it doesn’t extend well in HF.
Thank you for the confirmation. I got also the Qutest from the beginning of its launch. Listening with this Qutest, it is just...amazing. Can't get enough of listening to music. You explain very well my experience. I'm from Amsterdam, so from the Netherlands. And in Holland we do have some very high level of Hifi-manufacrurers. Yes, we also have a typical dutch sound. The dutch sound is colorless and very spatial. My set is from the dutch JK-Acoustics (Google). A one-man developer Johan Ketelaar (JK) for about 40 years with a different angle of incidence of approaching technic. Just like Chord does, just like Harbeth does. Stubborn, so to say. But just so impressive right. The Qutest on my JK-Acoustic set....just perfect. Perfect!
9:28 “30303 EP” thanks for this tip - you’re the 1st reviewer to point me to a track that within seconds can show me the limitations of my Mojo compared to my ADI-2...wow what a difference. The ADI-2 is engaging while the Mojo is lifeless. I’ve never heard decent electronic music either so thx for that...subscribed!!
I have one coupled to a Roksan Oxygene, playing through PL300 ii speakers and fed from an Azure 851N. This is the best setup I’ve had thus far, I would say the Amp is my weak point now and seek a little more power, I’ve always liked the idea of a Mcintosh but would like to audition first as I suspect they can be a little brutal and wouldn’t like to lose delicacy. I can’t speak highly enough of the Qutest, it does really pull out the layers of electronic music, it puts space between each instrument like I’ve never heard before, worth every penny.
Thank you. I’m new to digital, listening to Pass Labs pre/power, B&W, Technics turntable for a long time. Wanted to add a MacBook/DAC to the mix. Qutest seems to be a good option.
I just bought a Chord Qutest. Its in a system with an Aurender N100H, PrimaLuna integrated tube amp and Focal Diablo Utopias. I was worried it may sound clinical/harsh, but it did not. Its a very musical and detailed DAC. I plan to try the iFi PS to see it hat helps. I know that Rob Watts doesn't believe in using a linear power supply with the Chord and there has been much debate about that in various forums.
First comment here. Just subscribed because your taste of music seems pretty close to mine. I think it's better to keep some close standards when we talk about audio and sound. Nice review!
It’s amazing the range of opinions that exist for reviews of a given component. Another UA-camr rates the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ above the 2 lower end Chord DACs (Hugo & Qutest) and has it in his very pricey reference system. Another one claims he can get Chord Dave levels of performance out of his Qutest through a few simple mods. Just goes to show there is a lot of subjectivity as to sound and he importance of component matching.
Ifi has a thing for the various colored lights also (Now if I can only remember were the little card that tells you which color indicates which resolution "migrated to" ~ as long as the color is Yellow, White or Darker Blue I normally don't get overly concerned about which rate I'm listening to )
Hi John, thank you very much for your review on this pricey DAC. Would you say that it sound alright with a laptop streamed Tidal music? I'm a noob in this area... Pls help, what cable would you recommend to connect a laptop USB to the Qutest? Thank you for making time.
Appreciate the review although it is outside my experience at this point. Still waiting for my Node 2i to arrive and then test WiFi vs Ethernet connection. At that point some listening can happen and evaluations begin. Your info is giving ground on which to build. Thank you. My system is evolving in a very good manner.
The FPGA coding method is probably the most accurate way of processing a digital signal into analogue so that your system can play it back to your ears. Both dCS and PS Audio use FPGAs in their DACs and those two companies also make some of the best DACs in the world. Because Chord DACs are very accurate they often highlight flaws in the rest of an audio system. A lot of reviews do mention that they often need careful pairing with other equipment. If I had an unlimited budget my fantasy system would be dCS Vivaldi stack, D’Agostino Momentum pre-amp, Relentless power amps and WAMM Chronosonic speakers.
What's that streaming device you are using with your tablet? That Qutest looks tempting but my Mojo is good enough for now. And I also like the Hegel amplifier. Nice gear John.
Great videos John, have recently bought a Qutest and planning to add Bluesound or innuos Zen mini as front end source. now looking for best pairing of modestly priced speakers. Any recommendations ? I listen to modern pop/rock
Hi @John Darko, I'm looking for an upgrade of my DAC which I will use with Naim Supernait2. I currently have Rega DAC-R but sometimes I found it a bit too warm in the vocals and midrange and that it smears some of the details. I loose some of the sparkle and energy in the music. I feed it from Innuos Zen Mini Mk3. How do you think Chord Qutest will compare to it? Will it extract significantly more details and is the soundstage will be even bigger? Anyone who compared them can share their opinion. Thanks.
Another great review! Thanks a lot! I would like to ask you something because I have not the kind of knowledge you have; If I connect my denon network player with the qutest and then with my cambridge audio cxa 80, would I see a difference on sound? Would the qutest bypass the wolfson dac of the cambridge? Thanks a lot in advance! Cheers!
@John at some point in the video you mention an HDMI into Toslink audio splitter you use for your Chromecast TV watching. Could you please share what do you use, or even a link to the particular product - I’d need the same thing and am quite confused with all these converters out there. Thank you!
John, great video as always. I'm between the Qutest and the Hugo 2. It's for my desk so I don't need it to be easily transportable like the Hugo 2 is. But I really don't know what Headphone amplifier use. I have the Beyerdynamic T5p headphones and Audioengine A5 power speakers. I'm thinking to pair the Qutest with the Beyerdynamic A20 or Schiit Valhalla. Any suggestions? Or definitely forget the amp and buy the Hugo 2? I really need some advice. Thanks.
After spending countless months researching amps, dacs, headphones and all the lovely in between. Here is what I understand about this high fidelity audio game. There is an endless array of DAC's and Amps and DAC/AMP combo's, headphones/speakers and of course high end audio cables. Let's not forget aftermarket ear pads for those headphones if they are on ear or over ears. Oh yeah, ears, we all have different ears, which hear different things, cause of course we are all unique individuals, with individual cochleas. Add to that the genre of music you listen to, and what is the recording quality of the music and source as well. Sprinkled with a little placebo effect and industry DSD marketing gimmicks. When I think about all this, I have to take a deep breath and collect myself because you can start to get a little crazy with all of this. Little crazy?! No full on head spinning exorcist crazy. You do realize, this is an exorbitant amount of possibilities and to be able to find the perfect setup is like finding..well I think you get the point I am trying to make. It's an endless game for the "end game" and worse of all, a giant money/time pit, sinking thousands upon thousands of dollars and research hours trying to find what they call the "end game" setup, except for there really is no "end game". It just keeps going on and on in perpetuity as audio technology advances every year. Let's also not forget that most of the time you will be watching videos or reading forums about this stuff, you can't actually listen to it and try it on before you buy it like you do with other really expensive things. So either be very rich and have the ability to spend $50,000-$100,000++ to have multiple variations of all these audio components so you can mix and match and try them all out or be an audio reviewer where gear is lent to listen and test until you find the perfect setup or multiple setups because it's like wine, you don't just drink one kind, you should have a wine cellar for all those bottles. Well then, I guess that sums it up for me, anyone else want to chime in please do. I am not an audiophile, just a guy that likes better audio quality than average. So I would say I fit somewhere in the middle? My current listening pleasure for the past 3 years or so is a pair of Sennheiser HD600's, bone stock with no customizations, with a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100, and a DarkVoice 336SE tube amp, using my Mac Pro and listening to mp3's ranging from 192 kbs to 320 kbs on iTunes, sometimes FLAC audio files through VOX, some Tidal/Spotify. The entire audio part of the setup cost me around $700 and believe me when I say that I am SO very satisfied with the sound quality, that I can't imagine spending hundreds or thousands more to get something else, but like I said, we are all different. This setup might be a joke for another audiophile. I see it as a tunnel without an ending. There is always something better, so if you seek it, it will find you..and your wallet. (Sorry for my long rant, but I had a lot to say!) Edit: I just realized I really AM an audiophile, I just don't want to spend the kind of money to BE an audiophile. I achieved a level of happiness with my current setup and I put a stop right there. Because I very quickly found myself looking up more headphones, and more amps/dacs. Becoming addicted to this is extraordinarily easy. You forget the whole reason you started was to just listen to your music in higher quality, but then it quickly becomes something else.
I am using my qutest with a naim xs2 and it sounds warm, very detailed, fast with plenty of bottom end. It absolutely blew away the naim dac v1 I had before and has more detail and space than my hugo 1st gen. I was curious on how the qutest compared to the hugo 2, so is it really better?
I am using my Audiolab 8000a as a pre-amp along with the 8200p feeding the treble and the 8000sx to the bass of my Castle Harlech loudspeakers. How would the Qutest blend in to my set up do you think? I will also be partnering with the Roksan Kandy CD player and a laptop and television?👍🏼
I like the sound of the Qutest with my Naim separates. I get bit more slam when powered by a 5V powerbank. I cannot hear any sound difference with any of the filters though.
Hello John Darko, first of all thank you very much for all your great tips and reviews ! Would you mind to tell us why you use the SPDIF output of the Allo Signature Player instead of the USB output of the Allo USBridge Signature ? (Do you prefer SPDIF over USB ?) Last question, could you tell us the brands of your RCA and SPDIF cables ? Thanks again for your help :)
Here I am with just a Massdrop LCX SDAC + Darkvoice for my headphones..... Really wish the Cutest had balanced out though. Looking forward to getting another DAC and amp. Chord is doing a good job at making me want to save up for a year or so to get the Hugo 2 or possibly Hugo 2 TT.
Loving the review John I purchased the Qutest based on the review and love the sound, purchased the Aries G1 at the same time, you are costing me a fortune :) just one question regarding power supply - is it worth investing in a Linear Power supply? Cheers Barry from Australia.
Great review. based on your review of the Yggdrasil, the schiit's strong points were tonality, dynamics and layer separation and the chord seems to top the schiit (in electronic music at least) in all of those categories while being half (a third?) of the size and using a "dirty" switch mode power supply. very very impressive.
What are your thoughts on Audioscience review's of Topping E50, and the Qutest. He ranks them pretty much on par according to measurements. He seems to think that his measurements show that people are wasting their money on many costlier dacs. Also, claims that upgrading power supplies barely has any benefits performance, or even none at all. It would be interesting if you touched on this topic in a video and did an shootout between the Topping E50 and Qutest. Also, adding psu's like iPower, Shanti...(or not at all)
Proud Hugo 2 owner here... When I saw you directly compare the MOJO to the Qutest in a specific way, I just knew you'd do the same for the Hugo 2. Sadly for me, that is not where your imagination took you--I absolutely respect that (as if you need my respect!). Brass tax: How much better would you say Qutest is than Hugo 2? What's better about it? Awesome review by the way.
Hello, John. As usual, it was a very straighforward review full of good insights. Well, I would like to know if you had the opportunity to listen to B.M.C PureDAC MK2. If you haven't heard it, I guess that you should give it a try because below 2000 Eur is one of the bests at the moment. I would appreciate a review from you. Merry Christmas!
Set mine at 3V RMS and that is what made the major difference when using the Qutest in my headphone sound chain. The real big improvement and what I feel will quash all theories where by all DACS sound the same is the Hugo M scaler. That is what I hope I can have one day soon. Gonna really break the wallet, but i know this is what it takes to have the very best sounding DAC tech in digital audio. :)
how would you compare it to Schiit DACs range? I auditioned TT2 with ATC SCM100 active and I wasn't amazed (could be due to cheap xlrs) - not enough clarity in the highs.
I'm thinking (or better saying dreaming) pair my Manley Jumbo Shrimp, Klout Linn amp & LS50 up with Qutest. I think It will be great value compared to with Topping d50s with p50 linear power supply that is my currently setup, do we?
John - u rushed quickly through the inputs and mentioned about chromecast. Can you explain the streaming input again? Are you using chromecast audio with an optical into the qutest and playing at 24/96? or can i use a regular hdmi chromecast? i have both. many thanks Adam
Beautiful DAC, use a modified Bluesound Node as the streamer. Presents a wide sound stage and great separation and detail in music. I added a iFi power Elite power supply to the Chord. This added an additional upgrade in audio.
Do I need a dac? I have a Yamaha RX-V683BL for my home receiver and svs ultra bookshelf speakers with some svs pb12+ and an svs pb13 ultra but I'm thinking the imaging could be a lot better and brighter... Or do I need an amp dsp?
At first listening, I was impressed by the Qutest. But... Two years ago, I looked to replace my Chord DAC 64 Vs2, and trying another Chord product makes sense. I have a Innuos Zen Mk2 and only listen to 16 or 24 bits from this source. The dac is connect to a combo of Conrad Johnson, ET2 (preamp) and Classic 60se (amp - 4 KT120 tubes) and then the speakers are Audio Physic Virgo 25 with good cabling from Shunyatha (power) and Audioquest (Redwood to the spekers) and Audiance (au24sx inteconnect). But, what's happenning after the listening of the Qutest, I came back with de Dac 64, and... I find it more musical, more natural and coherent... yes the Qutest had more details and legs (dynamics, bass and highs extensions) but something was not as musical as my old DAC 64. So I visited other dealers and one of them gave me a MHDT Labs Pagoda (R2R NOS ladder dac with a tube)... and wow!!! ... I retrieve the musicality, the coherence and the natural sound but a lot better than my old Dac 64, and clearly a lot bether than the Qutest. And with all the details, dynamics and extensions of the Qutest, but in a more nataurel way, more open, less edgy. So, Qutest is good, but, in my system, I choose the MHDT Labs Pagoda.
I tried the iFi iPower.... it made my qutest more muddy.... I thought it sounded better through wallwart and even better yet with a high end phone battery charger. Hope this helps!
Im running the ifi micro usb3.0 into the chord. It seems to make a positive difference in that 'grainy' sound that comes with digital sources. Or I could be just imagining everything in my head haha
Great review John. I have the Chord Mojo and Poly and think it sounds fabulous especially when using Quickplay on Gofigure in airplane mode. Have you tried that? I had to use Cantata to create my playlists, otherwise I couldn’t use airplane mode. It’s a lot of work to get there, but it’s the best sound I’ve been able to achieve so far. Thanks.
Didn't think a DAC made any real difference to sound quality .... until i was given a OPPO 95 au player ..It blew me away . Been studying up on DAC`s ever since ,with the help of you , Hi Def.Jeff & Hans Beekhuyzen . I bought myself a Project Pre Box external DAC Preamp Headphone amp . $540 well spent I think . The sound is more , dare I say it , analog or something , its hard to explain . Tidal sounds amazing . Exciting times ...A Raspberry Pie sounds like a good idea ..... Keep up the great work ...........Ian Morgan .
Hey JD, does this DAC still hold the $2K spot for you ? I wonder if Audiobyte Black Dragon beats it for $1500 ? Ill try and scare up a Qutest. Let me know if you'd like a Dragon to check out..
What is the difference between Chord Qutest and Geshelli Enog2 Pro ? And by the way, Toping D90 cost half the price and better measurement, fully balance !
Hi there. Don’t know if you will see this but I had a question as a newish audiophile Would you go with this chord or if you had the option the schitt YGGDRASIL. Being going back and forth. Any advice would be appreciated
I felt in love with the incredible RME adi dac2(price, quality and pro functions are amazing) . Should be nice if you could make a review and compare as I did before purchase, to other dac like the Qtest, and the mytec brooklyn for example. To be honest, I made the test on a NAD 375bee and Focal aria + REL(sub). Each performed well, and were close in quality, but RME came in front by pro functionality. he gives way way more than the others IMO. Crazy!
I bought Qutest about month ago. Have Node 2, Hegel Rost and Dynaudio Spesial 40. Very god system Qutest made to a dream. If you can afford it by it! Truly outstanding product. Made Spesial 40 sound fabulous. 2 remarks: Node 2 render MQA (decode it in the software) and send it to Qutest. So qutest play MQA 24/96. Bought Chord Showline Power cable for Rost. Get immidietly more bass, punch and easier jobb for Rost to drive Spesial 40. If you buy Qutest you can face one big problem: you will listen music for hours and hours and make your wife really angry!
John, Brilliant review. Thank you. Just acquired a Chord Qutest and I have to say that it is the largest jump in hi-fi quality that I've ever experienced in any system. The separation of the instruments and the three dimensional soundstage is just incredible. Other equipment is Musical Fidelity A3.2 separate pre and power into B&W 805's with cabling from Transparent. Mostly listening with TIDAL via USB from Mac Book Pro. Amazing product.
Hi John, you did a postive written review of the IFI Pro iDSD which is in the same price range and has more features (probably compares more to the Hugo 2)... How do you compare the IFI with them?
John - appreciate the advice about the ifi power supply but chord (in the past) has stated the warranty is void with non-chord power supplies - have they finally changed that policy for the qutest?
Thank you for the good work! I'm currently having Chord 2qute with a STAX SR-507 (which I adore) and SRM-323S. I'm thinking about upgrading my setup with SR-009 and a new DAC. Can you compare the Denafrips Terminator and Chord Qutest tonality? And a comment about Aurender A10 which is also on my radar
I like your presentation style and room decor! How much difference could it be from the Hugo 2? Do you think you could easily pick the difference in a blind A/B test? I thought the only difference that could affect sound was essentially with the Hugo 2 lacking galvanic isolation and that can be made inconsequential in certain setups
Would a Qutest benefit my system? Monitor Audio RX6. Advance Paris XP-500 preamp. Marantz Power amp 7025. Pioneer PD9 CD player. Xbox One X Sony UHP H1 blu ray player. Virgin V6 box.
If you would compare the Mojo and the Qutest in terms of the DAC, and how they sound different (because i guess you have tried both if them). whats the big difference between them in terms of sound quality, imaging and balance? if we only talk about the DAC itself and not the amplification is it also worth getting a qutest over the mojo, in that case why? because the mojo is pretty transportable. you can use it as a DAC with your main setup and also bring it with you as a headphone amplifier on the run im sitting on a Meridian Prime DAC/Amp atm, where the DAC isnt the device´s strongest part. so im thinking about getting a new DAC. Mojo is cheap enough for my wallet but the Qutest...is it actually worth? Respond when you see this
I do live now some time with the Qutest. Somehow, I'm not always convinced of its sound, but I started to believe that I was related to me. The Qutest sits on the back of my Auralic Altair, and yes, it does offer better performance. Now, out of curiosity, I have a second system in my office containing vintage equipment and some more affordable equipment, and I took the Qutest with me to see how it will improve my Yamaha CDX5000 (1988) and my Node 2i............. I was shocked. The Yamaha outperformed the Qutest. The Node offered the same level of details, soundstage, and air as the Qutest. I must admit that this was far from a pleasant surprise. I just decoupled it now and I have very odd feeling now. Why is the Qutest not better than a 1988 CD player (although the top of the range in 1988), or even better than a 3 times cheaper product. I really start to doubt about any upmarket DAC as I was soo disappointed...... Also, my Aurlic Altair of €1950 can really be considered as a piece of shit since it is less than the Qutest, which is on itself is only equal or less than a €600 streamer or 1988 CD player. Oh man.......
Am brand new to DACs. Am setting up a hifi system. My amp is a mark Levinson no27 speakers are la scalas AL5s pre amp Iso420 playing just Spotify at the minute through RCA to 3.5 jack from a iPhone. My question is how would I fit this into my system. Excuse my lack of knowledge
Today I use Chord Hugo 2 with lightning cable for micro usb but after hearing music for a few minutes it says it does not support my iPhone X, what can it be?
The Qutest’s sounds staging, tone, the way it etches the outline of instruments is astounding. I’ve been trying various new and vintage components for 30 years. This is the first time in a very long time that I can say that I am done with my main system. The Qutest was the missing piece of the puzzle.
Nice! Would you mind sharing what network streamer you’ve paired with the qutest? I’m looking at this plus a streamer to upgrade from my Allo Boss 1.2.
As an RME ADI-2 FS DAC owner, which I bought after seeing your review, I always remained curious after the sound of this Chord Qutest. So after seeing your review above, I decided to pull the trigger on a nice second hand model that came with an Sbooster power supply. Having hands-on experience with both now, I feel the Qutest is the nicer sounding one. As one of your colleagues in the audio review world stated: the RME has you on the edge of your seat listening for all the details in the music, the Qutest has you sitting back and relaxing to enjoy the music. One other thing I only realised after installing the Qutest: it keeps me from constantly wanting to tweak the sound. The RME is great in that it lets you tweak the sound, the Qutest is great in that it keeps you from wanting to tweak the sound. I love both, but I'm keeping the Qutest.
@@gautamsarin9993 I’m sure this DAC will not disappoint. 👍🏻 Note that I did not try the Qutest with the supplied power supply, so I cannot comment on that. My setup is really basic (but good!): a Bluesound Node 2i -> Chord Qutest -> Hegel H120 -> PMC Twenty.24 speakers. Enjoy your Qutest!
@@bashaenraets9156 great setup. I love the PMC speakers.
I don't know if this was an intended design feature. But the way the glass dome on the Qutest refracts the light from the LEDs, projects these vibrant, rainbow-coloured wings above it on my wall, when it's dark. Very cool.
I just discovered your channel. Really clear explanations, thank you. Now subscribed.
John Darko is a guy I can really trust. He spends a lot of time with the stuff he reviews and he makes a lot of comparisons in the process. Great work.
Raffie Quler fully agree
and most importantly he actually listens to music that people like to listen to, as opposed to music that audiophiles like to listen to.
@@circattle yeah, which is usually some weird Jazz stuff lol
I don’t mind coloring and character in amps, preamps, and speakers.... however I absolutely need my DAC to be neutral and accurate.
New subscriber to channel loving your no bs explanations of audiophile gear and the way you present videos. Also musical taste, humanoid 👌 still have original 12". Keep up good work.
Thank you, very informative. I am going to get a Chord Qutest for Xmas. I am hoping that my CD's will now sound like what i hoped CD would sound like, when i purchased my first CD player back in 1983.
Would love to hear your thoughts after having had it for a while!
Which amp did you use?
Congratulations, John, for beautiful apresentation.
I totally agree to what you said. I compared Mojo with Qutest and found Qutest to have more air up top and it extends well across frequency. Since it extends better in HF hence we get more details out of it. Mojo I found to be warmer sounding of 2 and has thickness in lower midrange. Also the depth and width with headphone increases with Qutest and with a mojo it is more intimate since it doesn’t extend well in HF.
As soon as I saw you had the same speakers I subscribed !
Thank you for the confirmation. I got also the Qutest from the beginning of its launch. Listening with this Qutest, it is just...amazing. Can't get enough of listening to music. You explain very well my experience. I'm from Amsterdam, so from the Netherlands. And in Holland we do have some very high level of Hifi-manufacrurers. Yes, we also have a typical dutch sound. The dutch sound is colorless and very spatial. My set is from the dutch JK-Acoustics (Google). A one-man developer Johan Ketelaar (JK) for about 40 years with a different angle of incidence of approaching technic. Just like Chord does, just like Harbeth does. Stubborn, so to say. But just so impressive right. The Qutest on my JK-Acoustic set....just perfect. Perfect!
Ben Hoog : I’m another owner in NL. Just awesome product!!!!
Like your reviews John. Keep up the good work.
9:28 “30303 EP” thanks for this tip - you’re the 1st reviewer to point me to a track that within seconds can show me the limitations of my Mojo compared to my ADI-2...wow what a difference. The ADI-2 is engaging while the Mojo is lifeless. I’ve never heard decent electronic music either so thx for that...subscribed!!
love mine in to a sugden a21, give the sugden some extra pep, great review very informative
I have one coupled to a Roksan Oxygene, playing through PL300 ii speakers and fed from an Azure 851N. This is the best setup I’ve had thus far, I would say the Amp is my weak point now and seek a little more power, I’ve always liked the idea of a Mcintosh but would like to audition first as I suspect they can be a little brutal and wouldn’t like to lose delicacy.
I can’t speak highly enough of the Qutest, it does really pull out the layers of electronic music, it puts space between each instrument like I’ve never heard before, worth every penny.
I am happy with Hugo 2. But if i had a good lush sounding tube preamp then i would pair it with this DAC.
Thank you. I’m new to digital, listening to Pass Labs pre/power, B&W, Technics turntable for a long time. Wanted to add a MacBook/DAC to the mix. Qutest seems to be a good option.
I bought one of these ifi plugs for my qutest following your video. Seems to make a good difference to my ears 👍 thanks for the tip.
Is the infi 5v one? I'm getting my qutest next week. Some say sound same as cheaper dacs like Topping!😔
I just bought a Chord Qutest. Its in a system with an Aurender N100H, PrimaLuna integrated tube amp and Focal Diablo Utopias. I was worried it may sound clinical/harsh, but it did not. Its a very musical and detailed DAC. I plan to try the iFi PS to see it hat helps. I know that Rob Watts doesn't believe in using a linear power supply with the Chord and there has been much debate about that in various forums.
I would take Rob's word over some random forum audiophiles any day.
First comment here. Just subscribed because your taste of music seems pretty close to mine. I think it's better to keep some close standards when we talk about audio and sound. Nice review!
Maybe exactly what I'm chasing. Thank you so much for your efforts and valid opinion.
beautifully made film. Either going to get this DAC or the Yggy once schiit's new usb generation comes out
It’s amazing the range of opinions that exist for reviews of a given component. Another UA-camr rates the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ above the 2 lower end Chord DACs (Hugo & Qutest) and has it in his very pricey reference system. Another one claims he can get Chord Dave levels of performance out of his Qutest through a few simple mods. Just goes to show there is a lot of subjectivity as to sound and he importance of component matching.
Ifi has a thing for the various colored lights also (Now if I can only remember were the little card that tells you which color indicates which resolution "migrated to" ~ as long as the color is Yellow, White or Darker Blue I normally don't get overly concerned about which rate I'm listening to )
Thanks for the review! Love it!
Question is what to connect with a Good DAC...e.g transport
Hi John, thank you very much for your review on this pricey DAC. Would you say that it sound alright with a laptop streamed Tidal music? I'm a noob in this area... Pls help, what cable would you recommend to connect a laptop USB to the Qutest? Thank you for making time.
I Use a Chord Qute HD and it sounds great, but may think about getting a Qutest in the future.
Appreciate the review although it is outside my experience at this point. Still waiting for my Node 2i to arrive and then test WiFi vs Ethernet connection. At that point some listening can happen and evaluations begin. Your info is giving ground on which to build. Thank you. My system is evolving in a very good manner.
The FPGA coding method is probably the most accurate way of processing a digital signal into analogue so that your system can play it back to your ears. Both dCS and PS Audio use FPGAs in their DACs and those two companies also make some of the best DACs in the world. Because Chord DACs are very accurate they often highlight flaws in the rest of an audio system. A lot of reviews do mention that they often need careful pairing with other equipment. If I had an unlimited budget my fantasy system would be dCS Vivaldi stack, D’Agostino Momentum pre-amp, Relentless power amps and WAMM Chronosonic speakers.
Cannot wait till you possibly do a review on Chord’s M-Scaler. I just bought one, you need to get your hands on one mate, in case you haven’t already.
What's that streaming device you are using with your tablet? That Qutest looks tempting but my Mojo is good enough for now. And I also like the Hegel amplifier. Nice gear John.
Great videos John, have recently bought a Qutest and planning to add Bluesound or innuos Zen mini as front end source. now looking for best pairing of modestly priced speakers. Any recommendations ? I listen to modern pop/rock
Hi @John Darko, I'm looking for an upgrade of my DAC which I will use with Naim Supernait2. I currently have Rega DAC-R but sometimes I found it a bit too warm in the vocals and midrange and that it smears some of the details. I loose some of the sparkle and energy in the music. I feed it from Innuos Zen Mini Mk3. How do you think Chord Qutest will compare to it? Will it extract significantly more details and is the soundstage will be even bigger? Anyone who compared them can share their opinion. Thanks.
Another great review! Thanks a lot!
I would like to ask you something because I have not the kind of knowledge you have; If I connect my denon network player with the qutest and then with my cambridge audio cxa 80, would I see a difference on sound? Would the qutest bypass the wolfson dac of the cambridge?
Thanks a lot in advance! Cheers!
@John at some point in the video you mention an HDMI into Toslink audio splitter you use for your Chromecast TV watching. Could you please share what do you use, or even a link to the particular product - I’d need the same thing and am quite confused with all these converters out there. Thank you!
John, great video as always. I'm between the Qutest and the Hugo 2. It's for my desk so I don't need it to be easily transportable like the Hugo 2 is. But I really don't know what Headphone amplifier use. I have the Beyerdynamic T5p headphones and Audioengine A5 power speakers. I'm thinking to pair the Qutest with the Beyerdynamic A20 or Schiit Valhalla. Any suggestions? Or definitely forget the amp and buy the Hugo 2? I really need some advice. Thanks.
Thinking of buying the cutest to hook up to my roksan caspian m2 balanced cd and amp,great vid ,thanks mate
Really loving your long analysis videos
Great review again. A comparision between Qutest and RME ADI 2DAC would be great and very appreciated. What do you think?
After spending countless months researching amps, dacs, headphones and all the lovely in between. Here is what I understand about this high fidelity audio game. There is an endless array of DAC's and Amps and DAC/AMP combo's, headphones/speakers and of course high end audio cables. Let's not forget aftermarket ear pads for those headphones if they are on ear or over ears. Oh yeah, ears, we all have different ears, which hear different things, cause of course we are all unique individuals, with individual cochleas. Add to that the genre of music you listen to, and what is the recording quality of the music and source as well. Sprinkled with a little placebo effect and industry DSD marketing gimmicks. When I think about all this, I have to take a deep breath and collect myself because you can start to get a little crazy with all of this. Little crazy?! No full on head spinning exorcist crazy. You do realize, this is an exorbitant amount of possibilities and to be able to find the perfect setup is like finding..well I think you get the point I am trying to make. It's an endless game for the "end game" and worse of all, a giant money/time pit, sinking thousands upon thousands of dollars and research hours trying to find what they call the "end game" setup, except for there really is no "end game". It just keeps going on and on in perpetuity as audio technology advances every year. Let's also not forget that most of the time you will be watching videos or reading forums about this stuff, you can't actually listen to it and try it on before you buy it like you do with other really expensive things. So either be very rich and have the ability to spend $50,000-$100,000++ to have multiple variations of all these audio components so you can mix and match and try them all out or be an audio reviewer where gear is lent to listen and test until you find the perfect setup or multiple setups because it's like wine, you don't just drink one kind, you should have a wine cellar for all those bottles. Well then, I guess that sums it up for me, anyone else want to chime in please do. I am not an audiophile, just a guy that likes better audio quality than average. So I would say I fit somewhere in the middle? My current listening pleasure for the past 3 years or so is a pair of Sennheiser HD600's, bone stock with no customizations, with a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100, and a DarkVoice 336SE tube amp, using my Mac Pro and listening to mp3's ranging from 192 kbs to 320 kbs on iTunes, sometimes FLAC audio files through VOX, some Tidal/Spotify. The entire audio part of the setup cost me around $700 and believe me when I say that I am SO very satisfied with the sound quality, that I can't imagine spending hundreds or thousands more to get something else, but like I said, we are all different. This setup might be a joke for another audiophile. I see it as a tunnel without an ending. There is always something better, so if you seek it, it will find you..and your wallet.
(Sorry for my long rant, but I had a lot to say!)
Edit: I just realized I really AM an audiophile, I just don't want to spend the kind of money to BE an audiophile. I achieved a level of happiness with my current setup and I put a stop right there. Because I very quickly found myself looking up more headphones, and more amps/dacs. Becoming addicted to this is extraordinarily easy. You forget the whole reason you started was to just listen to your music in higher quality, but then it quickly becomes something else.
Hifi is only an endless game of complex possibilities when one is terrified of making the 'wrong' decision.
Only months ?
Excellent videos but how about some short or longer sound bites of music to illustrate your observations on sound and system matching?
I am using my qutest with a naim xs2 and it sounds warm, very detailed, fast with plenty of bottom end. It absolutely blew away the naim dac v1 I had before and has more detail and space than my hugo 1st gen. I was curious on how the qutest compared to the hugo 2, so is it really better?
I am using my Audiolab 8000a as a pre-amp along with the 8200p feeding the treble and the 8000sx to the bass of my Castle Harlech loudspeakers. How would the Qutest blend in to my set up do you think? I will also be partnering with the Roksan Kandy CD player and a laptop and television?👍🏼
I like the sound of the Qutest with my Naim separates. I get bit more slam when powered by a 5V powerbank. I cannot hear any sound difference with any of the filters though.
Hello John Darko, first of all thank you very much for all your great tips and reviews ! Would you mind to tell us why you use the SPDIF output of the Allo Signature Player instead of the USB output of the Allo USBridge Signature ? (Do you prefer SPDIF over USB ?) Last question, could you tell us the brands of your RCA and SPDIF cables ? Thanks again for your help :)
Here I am with just a Massdrop LCX SDAC + Darkvoice for my headphones..... Really wish the Cutest had balanced out though. Looking forward to getting another DAC and amp. Chord is doing a good job at making me want to save up for a year or so to get the Hugo 2 or possibly Hugo 2 TT.
Save up for the TT2. It's got double the taps of Qutest and Hugo 2 and a much more powerful headphone amp than Hugo 2.
Can this be our end game dac for desktop ? Also, what amp is the best to compatible with Chord Qutest ?
Loving the review John I purchased the Qutest based on the review and love the sound, purchased the Aries G1 at the same time, you are costing me a fortune :) just one question regarding power supply - is it worth investing in a Linear Power supply? Cheers Barry from Australia.
Great review. based on your review of the Yggdrasil, the schiit's strong points were tonality, dynamics and layer separation and the chord seems to top the schiit (in electronic music at least) in all of those categories while being half (a third?) of the size and using a "dirty" switch mode power supply. very very impressive.
Careful: not all switch mode power supplies are dirty.
What are your thoughts on Audioscience review's of Topping E50, and the Qutest. He ranks them pretty much on par according to measurements. He seems to think that his measurements show that people are wasting their money on many costlier dacs. Also, claims that upgrading power supplies barely has any benefits performance, or even none at all. It would be interesting if you touched on this topic in a video and did an shootout between the Topping E50 and Qutest. Also, adding psu's like iPower, Shanti...(or not at all)
thank you John!!! from norway.so god sound no!!!!
Proud Hugo 2 owner here... When I saw you directly compare the MOJO to the Qutest in a specific way, I just knew you'd do the same for the Hugo 2. Sadly for me, that is not where your imagination took you--I absolutely respect that (as if you need my respect!). Brass tax: How much better would you say Qutest is than Hugo 2? What's better about it? Awesome review by the way.
Hello, John. As usual, it was a very straighforward review full of good insights. Well, I would like to know if you had the opportunity to listen to B.M.C PureDAC MK2. If you haven't heard it, I guess that you should give it a try because below 2000 Eur is one of the bests at the moment. I would appreciate a review from you. Merry Christmas!
Set mine at 3V RMS and that is what made the major difference when using the Qutest in my headphone sound chain. The real big improvement and what I feel will quash all theories where by all DACS sound the same is the Hugo M scaler. That is what I hope I can have one day soon. Gonna really break the wallet, but i know this is what it takes to have the very best sounding DAC tech in digital audio. :)
Thanks for the review! What is better Qutest or PS Audio NuWave DAC 3?
how would you compare it to Schiit DACs range? I auditioned TT2 with ATC SCM100 active and I wasn't amazed (could be due to cheap xlrs) - not enough clarity in the highs.
I'm thinking (or better saying dreaming) pair my Manley Jumbo Shrimp, Klout Linn amp & LS50 up with Qutest. I think It will be great value compared to with Topping d50s with p50 linear power supply that is my currently setup, do we?
John - u rushed quickly through the inputs and mentioned about chromecast. Can you explain the streaming input again? Are you using chromecast audio with an optical into the qutest and playing at 24/96? or can i use a regular hdmi chromecast? i have both. many thanks Adam
Which BNC to RCA adaptor you recommend for using a Coaxial cable with this dac? Thanks.
Beautiful DAC, use a modified Bluesound Node as the streamer. Presents a wide sound stage and great separation and detail in music. I added a iFi power Elite power supply to the Chord. This added an additional upgrade in audio.
I am fall in love with my Qutest and LS50
It makes no sense to spend as much on your Dac as on your speakers. Get a $3k pair of speakers and a $300 Dac instead
Its been a year since darko posted this.. whats better than Qutest for under 2k today. ?
Do I need a dac? I have a Yamaha RX-V683BL for my home receiver and svs ultra bookshelf speakers with some svs pb12+ and an svs pb13 ultra but I'm thinking the imaging could be a lot better and brighter... Or do I need an amp dsp?
New to the channel but i am absolutely loving these vids bro greetz from Amsterdam
At first listening, I was impressed by the Qutest. But... Two years ago, I looked to replace my Chord DAC 64 Vs2, and trying another Chord product makes sense. I have a Innuos Zen Mk2 and only listen to 16 or 24 bits from this source. The dac is connect to a combo of Conrad Johnson, ET2 (preamp) and Classic 60se (amp - 4 KT120 tubes) and then the speakers are Audio Physic Virgo 25 with good cabling from Shunyatha (power) and Audioquest (Redwood to the spekers) and Audiance (au24sx inteconnect). But, what's happenning after the listening of the Qutest, I came back with de Dac 64, and... I find it more musical, more natural and coherent... yes the Qutest had more details and legs (dynamics, bass and highs extensions) but something was not as musical as my old DAC 64. So I visited other dealers and one of them gave me a MHDT Labs Pagoda (R2R NOS ladder dac with a tube)... and wow!!! ... I retrieve the musicality, the coherence and the natural sound but a lot better than my old Dac 64, and clearly a lot bether than the Qutest. And with all the details, dynamics and extensions of the Qutest, but in a more nataurel way, more open, less edgy. So, Qutest is good, but, in my system, I choose the MHDT Labs Pagoda.
I am considering upgrading my Hugo to Hugo 2, can someone give some advice? Thanks
Excellent overview. Thinking of upgrading my Schiit modi multibit.
I tried the iFi iPower.... it made my qutest more muddy.... I thought it sounded better through wallwart and even better yet with a high end phone battery charger. Hope this helps!
Im running the ifi micro usb3.0 into the chord. It seems to make a positive difference in that 'grainy' sound that comes with digital sources. Or I could be just imagining everything in my head haha
Great review John. I have the Chord Mojo and Poly and think it sounds fabulous especially when using Quickplay on Gofigure in airplane mode. Have you tried that? I had to use Cantata to create my playlists, otherwise I couldn’t use airplane mode. It’s a lot of work to get there, but it’s the best sound I’ve been able to achieve so far. Thanks.
Sure have! ua-cam.com/video/Ht45Xbp283U/v-deo.html
Would this be a balanced combination with an Quad 34/405 II warmer system?
Didn't think a DAC made any real difference to sound quality .... until i was given a OPPO 95 au player ..It blew me away . Been studying up on DAC`s ever since ,with the help of you , Hi Def.Jeff & Hans Beekhuyzen . I bought myself a Project Pre Box external DAC Preamp Headphone amp . $540 well spent I think . The sound is more , dare I say it , analog or something , its hard to explain . Tidal sounds amazing . Exciting times ...A Raspberry Pie sounds like a good idea ..... Keep up the great work ...........Ian Morgan .
Recommendation's for dac/amp $1500 budget for the HD800s !!!!!
Hi Darko, Can I have some information about the streamer you used behind the Chord Quest ? Thanks in advance
Hervé
You'd think for what this costs, Chord would include a suitable power supply that would at least match the ifi. I hate penny pinching.
Hey JD, does this DAC still hold the $2K spot for you ? I wonder if Audiobyte Black Dragon beats it for $1500 ? Ill try and scare up a Qutest. Let me know if you'd like a Dragon to check out..
What is the difference between Chord Qutest and Geshelli Enog2 Pro ? And by the way, Toping D90 cost half the price and better measurement, fully balance !
Hi there. Don’t know if you will see this but I had a question as a newish audiophile
Would you go with this chord or if you had the option the schitt YGGDRASIL. Being going back and forth. Any advice would be appreciated
So what headphone amp would you need to compare with the Hugo2
I was under the impression (from your previous reviews) the Hegel internal DAC was the one to beat.
A stand alone dac would be better than an integrated one i would think . Especially at this price
I felt in love with the incredible RME adi dac2(price, quality and pro functions are amazing) . Should be nice if you could make a review and compare as I did before purchase, to other dac like the Qtest, and the mytec brooklyn for example. To be honest, I made the test on a NAD 375bee and Focal aria + REL(sub). Each performed well, and were close in quality, but RME came in front by pro functionality. he gives way way more than the others IMO. Crazy!
I bought Qutest about month ago. Have Node 2, Hegel Rost and Dynaudio Spesial 40. Very god system Qutest made to a dream. If you can afford it by it! Truly outstanding product. Made Spesial 40 sound fabulous. 2 remarks: Node 2 render MQA (decode it in the software) and send it to Qutest. So qutest play MQA 24/96. Bought Chord Showline Power cable for Rost. Get immidietly more bass, punch and easier jobb for Rost to drive Spesial 40. If you buy Qutest you can face one big problem: you will listen music for hours and hours and make your wife really angry!
John, Brilliant review. Thank you. Just acquired a Chord Qutest and I have to say that it is the largest jump in hi-fi quality that I've ever experienced in any system. The separation of the instruments and the three dimensional soundstage is just incredible. Other equipment is Musical Fidelity A3.2 separate pre and power into B&W 805's with cabling from Transparent. Mostly listening with TIDAL via USB from Mac Book Pro. Amazing product.
Ive heard good reports about using a linear power supply. What do you think? I know this kills the warranty, but apart from that.
Hi John, you did a postive written review of the IFI Pro iDSD which is in the same price range and has more features (probably compares more to the Hugo 2)... How do you compare the IFI with them?
The iFi review wasn't written by me but by John Grandberg:
darko.audio/2018/10/off-the-dial-flexibility-and-value-with-ifis-pro-idsd-dac/
@@DarkoAudio sorry hadn't noticed.. Would love to hear a comparison between the Ifi, Chord, Mytek, and Schitt products.
John - appreciate the advice about the ifi power supply but chord (in the past) has stated the warranty is void with non-chord power supplies - have they finally changed that policy for the qutest?
More so if you break one of their devices with a 3rd party PSU that they wont service it under warranty.
I have the Mojo...there is the point of deminishing returns!..how good is your hearing ?
Color blinds have a hard time with Chord products.
Thank you for the good work! I'm currently having Chord 2qute with a STAX SR-507 (which I adore) and SRM-323S. I'm thinking about upgrading my setup with SR-009 and a new DAC. Can you compare the Denafrips Terminator and Chord Qutest tonality? And a comment about Aurender A10 which is also on my radar
+1
How does the qutest sound comapred to the hugo2?
I like your presentation style and room decor! How much difference could it be from the Hugo 2? Do you think you could easily pick the difference in a blind A/B test? I thought the only difference that could affect sound was essentially with the Hugo 2 lacking galvanic isolation and that can be made inconsequential in certain setups
Nice Harbeth speakers in behind.
Great review as always! What no tube final stages in any of your test amps? Low is a great, albeit somewhat underrated, album.
Would a Qutest benefit my system?
Monitor Audio RX6. Advance Paris XP-500 preamp. Marantz Power amp 7025. Pioneer PD9 CD player. Xbox One X Sony UHP H1 blu ray player. Virgin V6 box.
If you would compare the Mojo and the Qutest in terms of the DAC, and how they sound different (because i guess you have tried both if them). whats the big difference between them in terms of sound quality, imaging and balance? if we only talk about the DAC itself and not the amplification
is it also worth getting a qutest over the mojo, in that case why? because the mojo is pretty transportable. you can use it as a DAC with your main setup and also bring it with you as a headphone amplifier on the run
im sitting on a Meridian Prime DAC/Amp atm, where the DAC isnt the device´s strongest part. so im thinking about getting a new DAC. Mojo is cheap enough for my wallet but the Qutest...is it actually worth?
Respond when you see this
I do live now some time with the Qutest. Somehow, I'm not always convinced of its sound, but I started to believe that I was related to me. The Qutest sits on the back of my Auralic Altair, and yes, it does offer better performance. Now, out of curiosity, I have a second system in my office containing vintage equipment and some more affordable equipment, and I took the Qutest with me to see how it will improve my Yamaha CDX5000 (1988) and my Node 2i............. I was shocked. The Yamaha outperformed the Qutest. The Node offered the same level of details, soundstage, and air as the Qutest. I must admit that this was far from a pleasant surprise. I just decoupled it now and I have very odd feeling now. Why is the Qutest not better than a 1988 CD player (although the top of the range in 1988), or even better than a 3 times cheaper product. I really start to doubt about any upmarket DAC as I was soo disappointed...... Also, my Aurlic Altair of €1950 can really be considered as a piece of shit since it is less than the Qutest, which is on itself is only equal or less than a €600 streamer or 1988 CD player. Oh man.......
Am brand new to DACs. Am setting up a hifi system. My amp is a mark Levinson no27 speakers are la scalas AL5s pre amp Iso420 playing just Spotify at the minute through RCA to 3.5 jack from a iPhone. My question is how would I fit this into my system. Excuse my lack of knowledge
My advice, add a streamer and a Qutest, night and day in comparison to a phone DAC.
Today I use Chord Hugo 2 with lightning cable for micro usb but after hearing music for a few minutes it says it does not support my iPhone X, what can it be?
Please, can Qutest decoding MQA?
Tnx
Man, I just bought a used 2qute, I should have spent a bit more for this
Is it that good you that you are able to tell he difference vs the modest modius?