[paul2qute]

What's the trade in price for the Chord 2qute against the Chord qutest?Mine is less than a year old

 

[dawktah2]

Let's get the thread back onto Qutest now please!

I had a question about the included power supply and whether using a third party will void warranty like the 2Qute. Just from a quick search the IFI iPower would that be acceptable?

 

[Rob Watts]

If the attached PSU meets USB specifications then you will not void the warranty - I just checked with Matt from Chord about this. I would add that it is designed to be power supply immune - as Hugo 2 is - so i don't expect any improvements from the PSU. But with USB it is easy to connect a portable battery powered USB charger to it - and that for sure would represent the ultimate PSU.

 

[jlbrach]

so i understand....I currently have a Mcintosh 452 amp in my loudspeaker system...if i was to in theory use the qutest in such a system how would i control the volume ?A separate pre-amp along with my laptop as a source?

 

[dawktah2]

If the attached PSU meets USB specifications then you will not void the warranty - I just checked with Matt from Chord about this. I would add that it is designed to be power supply immune - as Hugo 2 is - so i don't expect any improvements from the PSU. But with USB it is easy to connect a portable battery powered USB charger to it - and that for sure would represent the ultimate PSU.

Awesome thank you so much!

 

[SoundeScapes]

Having had, and enjoyed, the 2Qute for over 2 years now I'm tempted by the Qutest.
I really like what they have achieved here.
Input selector on the front. Selectable output voltage is a very nice feature.
Even though I like the Chordette design, Qutest is really good looking too.
The layout is clean and looks very smart imo.
And of course the updated Hugo 2 spec. I'm sure it is a fantastic DAC.

But, when thinking about what I have felt lacking with the 2Qute I'm not really sure.
The few negatives I have occasionally noticed is a slightly thin and maybe recessed sound stage.
In reviews and posts the TT is often said to have additional scale and authority.
Which is what I really want to add in my system. But with the updated spec

So, when I close my eyes and make a wish what I see is a QTT (Qutest Table Top) or TTQ (Table Top Qute) which would
be a TT2 without battery and HP amplification. In other words a 'DAC only' with super capacitors and the improved analogue output stage.
If that is what's making the difference(?). That's something I'd buy without thinking twice.
In fact I'll start saving up for it right away. Just in case..
If that will not happen though I'm pretty sure I will buy Qutest and be happy with that.
Great stuff coming from Chord. Really exciting.

 

[Bulbsofpassion]

I was under the impression the super capacitors on the HugoTT were essentially to help out the battery on power supply duty, not to beef up the analogue output stage, is this not the case? I can kind of understand how this would help re driving difficult headphones, but if you're just feeding an amp (the likely use for a Qutest) then would super caps be of any use?

 

[dcp10]

So, when I close my eyes and make a wish what I see is a QTT (Qutest Table Top) or TTQ (Table Top Qute) which would be a TT2 without battery and HP amplification. In other words a 'DAC only' with super capacitors and the improved analogue output stage.

That's exactly what I'm looking for - in my case I would like to be able to replace my separate headphone amp and just have one unit combining headphone amp + DAC. Yes, I could buy a Hugo 2, but I want the dual BNC input and more rack-friendly design of the TT - not to mention its more authoritative tone.

Rob - I'm sure you can't comment on future products, but many people would be interested in an updated Hugo TT...

 

[IamMathew]

Sure - to a greater or lesser extent. Hence my work on power pulse array - so then we shall all have our cakes and eat them...

So power pulse array allows the benefits of a single DAC amplifier, but instead of the 2W we get with Dave say, I can achieve hundreds of Watts with no loss at all in transparency and refinement - at least that is the intent....

Could you, please, rather think of..."Mojo" equivalent of power pulse array? For less than ten-thousands euros? Maybe under five thousand euro? Four thousand? Four thousand would be adequate! Then so much many more of us could have their cakes and eat them Thanks

 

[Rob Watts]

I was under the impression the super capacitors on the HugoTT were essentially to help out the battery on power supply duty, not to beef up the analogue output stage, is this not the case? I can kind of understand how this would help re driving difficult headphones, but if you're just feeding an amp (the likely use for a Qutest) then would super caps be of any use?

One benefit of super-caps is that it lowers the PSU impedance, and hence reduces the distortion crosstalk feed from the PSU. But this problem is eliminated with Hugo 2 and Qutest's PSU arrangement of regulating out from a boost voltage - so now the gain section is fed with clean power, eliminating the distortion that comes through the power rails. Of course, you have the benefit of huge current delivery from super caps - but that is not needed for a DAC.

 

[maxh22]

One benefit of super-caps is that it lowers the PSU impedance, and hence reduces the distortion crosstalk feed from the PSU. But this problem is eliminated with Hugo 2 and Qutest's PSU arrangement of regulating out from a boost voltage - so now the gain section is fed with clean power, eliminating the distortion that comes through the power rails. Of course, you have the benefit of huge current delivery from super caps - but that is not needed for a DAC.

Rob, so you're saying there wouldn't be any benefit if you put the Hugo 2 FPGA into the TT chassis using TT circuitry and super caps?

To my ears, the TT has a wider soundstage than either Hugo or Hugo 2 and a bigger more heftier sound overall.

 

[Music Alchemist]

so i understand....I currently have a Mcintosh 452 amp in my loudspeaker system...if i was to in theory use the qutest in such a system how would i control the volume ?A separate pre-amp along with my laptop as a source?

Yes, you would normally connect the DAC to a preamp and connect that to your power amp.

There are digital sources with bit-perfect volume control, so it's possible to get by without a preamp...but if I'm not mistaken, those are typically only available in pricey music servers and the like.

It's also possible to simply adjust the volume in your digital player from a basic computer, but that presents a number of potential issues, such as degradation of sound quality and the risk of inadvertently reaching dangerous SPL levels.

I use the $49 Schiit SYS passive preamp (It's what I used with the 2Qute as well.). Its main advantage for me is that it does not color the sound in the way that some active electronics can. However, passive preamps have high output impedance, which can interfere with the sound when paired with certain amps. And this particular one has a lower quality potentiometer that makes a soft scratching sound sometimes when adjusting the volume.

There are obviously much nicer preamps out there (some cost tens of thousands), but the topic of preamp selection deserves its own thread.

It was really fun to use the Mojo as a digital preamp with speakers. If you haven't already, you might want to try the same with your Hugo 2 and DAVE, if only for the heck of it.

 

[Rob Watts]

No - you need the power delivery that supercaps offer for current hungry headphones.

 

[maxh22]

No - you need the power delivery that supercaps offer for current hungry headphones.

But what about with IEM's or when used as a dac in a 2 channel system? I hear the same differences.

 

[Currawong]

I realise this thanks, and use Audirvana 3 and HQ Player which allow for Native DSD playback (on OS X), which I agree allows for both DoP & Native DSD transmission (Exasound for instance).
The problem, and many others confirm this, is that on a mac, using DoP with the Mojo (and other Chord Dacs), whereas DSD64 plays perfectly, DSD128 & 256 exhibit audio dropouts using this method. This is a significant drawback/flaw in the way the chord DACs receive DSD signals and is something Chord seems to want to ignore rather than focus on in any way.


Notes
a) I have used other DSD Dacs and they have not exhibited this audio drop out problem, so surely it's the way the Mojo or Qutest works with OS X, rather than "the source sending faulty data", which implies it's somehow a problem with my mac or software or files, rather than the Chord Electronics equipment...

b) Will the Qutest receive DSD on a mac natively or via DoP (assuming the DSD will be native DSD either way, rather than a PCM conversion)?
ANSWER - Windows Natively with ASIO driver / Mac DoP it seems ??

c) Exasound have implemented ASIO drivers with OS X (if not iOS), so native DSD transmission from a mac is possible
ANSWER - SILENCE....

Could be a hardware issue. I haven't had this problem at all. Some Macs seemed to have USB 3 chipsets that don't play nice with some USB audio receivers.

I had the impression that Chord DACs can receive both native DSD and DoP. I don't think it depends on drivers at all, but software on the computer. The software has to be able to read and send DSD files. If another brand requires a driver, then it means the USB receiver they are using doesn't follow the USB audio standard. I guess that native DSD transmission doesn't follow that anyway, but I'm not sure.

The way it was described, it seemed like the following to me:

I might have mis-read, but the impression I got was that the DAVE can output the digital signal it creates before D/A conversion, or at least some kind of post-processed (post WTA filter and volume control) to the digital amp. What is being bypassed is the output stage of the DAVE, instead using the output stage of the digital amp which will convert the output to a level more suitable for driving speakers.