Chord Electronics Qutest DAC - Official Thread
Jan 16, 2018 at 12:35 PM Post #256 of 6,705
Sorry I'm not an engineer but he said this: "Battery operation provides absolutely the lowest possible RF and LF noise - they are ideal." I just thought Chord was going all in and making a battery based supply." Since he said nothing would be better than the one supplied, I found this confusing and contradictory. Sorry...

He was talking about using an aftermarket external battery power supply that can be recharged.

This has nothing to do with wall warts, including the included one.

If you (like most people) want to plug in and use it continually without worrying about charging, you need something that plugs into the wall.

As for the "nothing better" thing, I think he just meant as far as what is audible to him in his tests.

Really sorry for Qutest didn't have XLR output... really want to try XLR version of Chord without battery issue, also I can't afford the Dave.
One DAC will cost more than half of my system... :cry:

As mentioned above, you're not missing out on anything with single-ended when it comes to Chord.

(Unless what you're connecting to isn't designed well and sounds better with balanced input, or only has balanced input. In those cases, you can at least use single-ended to balanced cables like the ones discussed earlier.)

What battery issue are you talking about? The Qutest does not have an internal battery and comes with an external power supply that you plug into the wall.

At least you didn't do what I did in the past: buy a DAC that costs more than four times as much as the speakers.

I think there's no point bothering with high-end electronics until you've found headphones/speakers you're very happy with and want to focus on building a system around.
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 1:26 PM Post #257 of 6,705
Generally with Chord DACs, and certainly with the Dave, the RCA outputs are better than XLR for quality of signal so don't feel too hard done by. The XLR output on the Dave goes through an extra amplifier stage and so is bound to be not quite as good.

Thank you for your advice, I just want to test with my ears via V281 that's said to have good XLR. Anyway now I use Dynaudio speaker more than headphone so I can tolerate my own need.


As mentioned above, you're not missing out on anything with single-ended when it comes to Chord.

(Unless what you're connecting to isn't designed well and sounds better with balanced input, or only has balanced input. In those cases, you can at least use single-ended to balanced cables like the ones discussed earlier.)

What battery issue are you talking about? The Qutest does not have an internal battery and comes with an external power supply that you plug into the wall.

At least you didn't do what I did in the past: buy a DAC that costs more than four times as much as the speakers.

I think there's no point bothering with high-end electronics until you've found headphones/speakers you're very happy with and want to focus on building a system around.

I once own Hugo till battery die (around 20 month use as desk top DAC) after that I buy 2Qute and use it till now.
I already encounter battery problem once via Hugo, I don't want same experience again with Hugo TT even I really want to test XLR of V281 so badly.

Sorry for my poor English & thank you for advice again.
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 1:42 PM Post #258 of 6,705
Regarding the 1V, 2V, 3V line level adjustment:

It is done digitally, using Hugo 2's volume control. This ensures complete transparency, as the truncation is aggressively noise shaped, ensuring -400 dB accuracy.

Rob - the published Qutest specs state 117dB SNR measured at 3V. If my downstream amp full volume input sensitivity is 1.2V, suggesting all i need is 1V of output, does this make the SNR go up or down? I guess I am asking: Is there a sweet spot for the Qutest output line level setting?
Thanks
Dan
 
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Jan 16, 2018 at 2:58 PM Post #259 of 6,705
Those in (or willing to travel to) the right areas should be able to audition the Qutest now. (At least at the first shop linked below.)

https://www.fanthorpes.co.uk/hi-fi-separates/dacs/chord-qutest-dac/
https://www.theaudiobarn.co.uk/product/chord-qutest-dac/
https://www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/chord-electronics-qutest-dac.html

It's ironic that the 2Qute price was lowered in the UK to £795 (~$1,100; at least with some dealers like this one) whereas it's reportedly going to be increased to ~$1,500 in the US.
 
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Jan 16, 2018 at 3:50 PM Post #260 of 6,705
More glamor shots.

26220032_1247178845382134_119311869113886457_n.jpg

26730627_1248815371885148_7143603657249135873_n.jpg
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 3:58 PM Post #262 of 6,705
He was talking about using an aftermarket external battery power supply that can be recharged.

This has nothing to do with wall warts, including the included one.

If you (like most people) want to plug in and use it continually without worrying about charging, you need something that plugs into the wall.

As for the "nothing better" thing, I think he just meant as far as what is audible to him in his tests.



As mentioned above, you're not missing out on anything with single-ended when it comes to Chord.

(Unless what you're connecting to isn't designed well and sounds better with balanced input, or only has balanced input. In those cases, you can at least use single-ended to balanced cables like the ones discussed earlier.)

What battery issue are you talking about? The Qutest does not have an internal battery and comes with an external power supply that you plug into the wall.

At least you didn't do what I did in the past: buy a DAC that costs more than four times as much as the speakers.

I think there's no point bothering with high-end electronics until you've found headphones/speakers you're very happy with and want to focus on building a system around.

Thanks for clearing that up. I have the Woo Audio WA8 which has in internal battery which the charging circuit is completely separate from the DAC. So this popped into my mind... I've never listened to my HA-2 to see if I hear any noise when it is plugged into the wall. I'd have to borrow an iPhone since android shares the micro USB with charging.

Thanks again
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 4:27 PM Post #263 of 6,705
I’m interested in getting a Qutest but I wonder if the issue with the first half second of tracks being muted exists, like on the Mojo.

I haven’t yet found a way to fix it on a Mac.

Yes, unfortunately, Chord DACs have a delay due to their complex digital processing, and this can cut off the beginning of tracks on some systems.

What I did to fix it was use the affix silence component in foobar2000 to insert a second of silence before a track begins. There should be similar solutions on Mac.
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 5:51 PM Post #264 of 6,705
Yes, unfortunately, Chord DACs have a delay due to their complex digital processing, and this can cut off the beginning of tracks on some systems.

What I did to fix it was use the affix silence component in foobar2000 to insert a second of silence before a track begins. There should be similar solutions on Mac.

Thanks for the reply, I never understood why Chord needs to implement such a drastic "fix", when so many other DACs don't. With the Mojo, the only time the mute doesn't occur is if I let a whole album play track-to-track. Otherwise:

- When I change albums it happens.
- When I change tracks on an album it happens.
- When I restart a track it happens.

One outcome is it's impossible to hear the first half second of any album.

I did see the hack of inserting a second of silence before each track, which some audio programs allow, but it locks the user into that program. I bounce around between Audirvana, Tidal, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Music (all on a Mac) and as far as I can tell, none of them support this hack. Has anyone else come up with a way to fix this problem on a Mac?

I was psyched to see the Qutest announced until I started listening to my Mojo again and was reminded of this problem. I'm surprised more people don't find this an issue; I guess there are a lot of people using Foobar on Windows or something similar who can overcome it.

P.S. Sorry for the venting; just wishing there was a fix.
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 5:57 PM Post #265 of 6,705
I never understood why Chord needs to implement such a drastic "fix", when so many other DACs don't.

Because if they did not have the advanced digital processing, they would not stand out from other DACs and would not have such vastly superior technical performance.

Someone in another thread asked why their Chord DAC sounds better than others. I answered (quoted below; click to expand it) and was accused of "shilling Chord stuff". LOL! I mean, he's the one who wanted to know.

Many things set Chord DACs apart, including:

  • Timing accuracy thousands of times more precise than all other DACs
  • Noise shaping trillions of times more advanced than all other DACs
  • Zero noise floor modulation (unlike all other DACs)
  • Immune to jitter (unlike all other DACs)
  • The amplification is in the DAC's analog output stage and is cleaner than even the line outs of conventional DACs, resulting in potentially higher transparency and enabling one to drive headphones and some sensitive passive speakers directly from it, as well as giving you the ability to use it as a digital preamp
  • Ultra-low distortion
  • Very low output impedance
  • High dynamic range

I'm sure there are other solutions I don't know about. I know some audiophiles use high-end network players and music servers with Chord DACs, and I suspect most of the music players they use with them do not have an affix silence feature.
 
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Jan 16, 2018 at 6:07 PM Post #266 of 6,705
Because if they did not have the advanced digital processing, they would not stand out from other DACs and would not have such vastly superior technical performance.

Someone in another thread asked why their Chord DAC sounds better than others. I answered (quoted below; click to expand it) and was accused of "shilling Chord stuff". LOL! I mean, he's the one who wanted to know.

I definitely respect the quality of their DACs. I'm also a fan of Schiit's multibit DACs, currently using a Bimby, but I thought the Qutest would be a good upgrade or sidegrade.
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 6:16 PM Post #267 of 6,705
I would have gladly paid the Hugo 2 pricing for the Qutest to have the same amp with digital control/remote as Hugo 2. Why can't Chord make a reasonable cost full featured desktop DAC (Not TT)? I don't want no stinking batteries (after Hugo 1 experience). They just don't have the same sound signature as a good LPS. I don't want no silly micro inputs, can't use standard audiophile chords, have to build special ones. possible with worse impedance. Now I buy neither. Chord we need more options!
 
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Jan 17, 2018 at 12:31 AM Post #268 of 6,705
I definitely respect the quality of their DACs. I'm also a fan of Schiit's multibit DACs, currently using a Bimby, but I thought the Qutest would be a good upgrade or sidegrade.

I think Qutest would be a good upgrade over Bimby if transparency is a high in your DAC criteria.
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 1:51 AM Post #269 of 6,705
Regarding the 1V, 2V, 3V line level adjustment:



Rob - the published Qutest specs state 117dB SNR measured at 3V. If my downstream amp full volume input sensitivity is 1.2V, suggesting all i need is 1V of output, does this make the SNR go up or down? I guess I am asking: Is there a sweet spot for the Qutest output line level setting?
Thanks
Dan

The SNR is actually constant - the degradation is due to distortion, so the 3v figure is distortion and noise. All the settings have exactly the same actual noise, and almost the same distortion as a % of the fundamental OP voltage. The real issue is what happens on the pre-amp inputs, and this is why I have the adjusted outputs - so if the amp is rated at 1.2v then the 1v setting should turn out sounding the best.
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 2:27 PM Post #270 of 6,705
I own a 2Qute since ... maybe one and a half year, don´t remember exactly. I really, really like this DAC and I think there are some comments which don´t meet my experience or differes from what I think. So my 2 cents.

Can´t remember cutting a song or track.

Regarding 3 volt output of the 2Qute, maybe you should ask the maker of your amplifier what is the max. voltage the input could accept. I was worried before buying and asked also. My amplifier accepts up to 10V.

I tried a 12V battery at some point and at my system there was a real difference to the supplied switching powersupply. But for safety reasons I disconnected the 2Qute when charging the battery, for preventing failure due to overvoltage. After repowering you have to reselect correct input. Have no really good LPS for 12V so never tried. I´m back now at the original PS but use a filtering transformator now which powers that PS. Also it does a galvanic isolation. Overall this is not as good as the battery but works much better than just the factory PS, at my system.
But during my own testing I found powersupply for the source makes much more of a difference than for the 2Qute.

Regarding the question if optical or coax sounds better, for me coax sounds much better. Well, in my system.

I never used the USB input but doesn´t use the 2Qute also a galvanic isolation, which was not used at the Hugo 1?

Regarding USB-Power for the new DAC. No USB-battery (powerbank) is really linear voltage. There is no 5V battery, all of those powerbanks use an internal 3.7 volt battery and a switching DC/DC converting circuitry. During my testing for the source powersupply (which uses 5 volts as well) I found a quality powerbank much better sounding than any switching powersupply I tried, but a really good LPS was night and day. Never went back to the powerbank.

BTW the 2Qute also uses very little power, I measured around 2 watts only which is a fraction of some other DACs. So I always leave connected to the mains.

The new Qutest may look very interesting but actually just the 2nd BNC input is something I´m really missing at the 2Qute. For the filters I would be interested to know which one sounds same or similar to the 2Qute. For the 5V now used for power I can see there are more options around and easier for a manufacturer but I´m not really big fan of the micro USB connector. You can find a lot of mobiles not being charged anymore because of damaged connector.
 

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