[headstef]

Does any one know if the Qutest can work safely with a voltage of 6+ Volts? I wonder if I could try 4x1,5 volt D-size batteries to listen initially for improvements over the stock supply. Then I could spend for a proper battery suplly.

Hey @Rob Watts, maybe you can comment on the useable voltages for the Qutest for testing with common batteries, say, D-size? I feel unsafe to try it with a 5V power-bank because most modern ones are able to convert to 9V fast charging and I wouldn't like that to happen to my precious Qutest (I don't know if it can happen)! I like the sound with the stock p.s. very much, though.
Have a nice weekend!

 

[Rob Watts]

Hey @Rob Watts, maybe you can comment on the useable voltages for the Qutest for testing with common batteries, say, D-size? I feel unsafe to try it with a 5V power-bank because most modern ones are able to convert to 9V fast charging and I wouldn't like that to happen to my precious Qutest (I don't know if it can happen)! I like the sound with the stock p.s. very much, though.
Have a nice weekend!

It needs to be 5v +/-0.25v - the USB standard.

It will be fine with a USB power bank, as to get the higher voltage for fast charge requires a comms response from the slave (Qutest) which it won't supply. So you would be safe. If you did put in more than 5v, you would blow the protection input diode. These are easy to replace - but I have had no reports from Chord about this kind of failure occurring. So don't worry is my advice.

 

[headstef]

It needs to be 5v +/-0.25v - the USB standard.

It will be fine with a USB power bank, as to get the higher voltage for fast charge requires a comms response from the slave (Qutest) which it won't supply. So you would be safe. If you did put in more than 5v, you would blow the protection input diode. These are easy to replace - but I have had no reports from Chord about this kind of failure occurring. So don't worry is my advice.

Thank you for your complete response!

 

[Reactcore]

I have a slightly off-topic question regarding the sample rate indicator light. I’m connecting a DAP via toslink to my Qutest and it works great, even with 192 kHz files. I noticed, however, that sometimes the indicator light glows in green for some 96 kHz albums, as it should, but then for other 96 kHz music files it’d be red. I wonder what might be the reason for that inconsistency. Since the DAP indicates the signal it sends out as 96 kHz, does Qutest sometimes read it as lower sample rate? As far as I could tell, it doesn’t cause any issues with the sound quality whatsoever, but I am wondering if it’s a problem that I should dress somehow, to avoid possible signal misreading or down sampling, etc.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Curiously i had to think of your post as yesterday i was at a friend who has a Qutest and a Yamaha WXC-50 streamer.. a really nice and simple source on which he connected a 4TB 3,5" drive to play local files losslessly. Going toslink out to the DAC and controlled with an app.

I had my Dave connected to it and noticed it showed 48k while the music file was 44.1k. And the sound was not crisp as im used to with my own server.

It appeared it uses resampling to 48k for volume control on its output. Then after some reading i found i could disable that by flipping a switch on the back. (Blue arrow)

After this the volume is fixed and gives bit perfect output. It sounded superb! A highly recommended unit with inbuilt internet radio, streaming services, toslink in, USB for a drive and bluetooth receiver/ streamer.

 

[ChristoT]

Curiously i had to think of your post as yesterday i was at a friend who has a Qutest and a Yamaha WXC-50 streamer.. a really nice and simple source on which he connected a 4TB 3,5" drive to play local files losslessly. Going toslink out to the DAC and controlled with an app.

I had my Dave connected to it and noticed it showed 48k while the music file was 44.1k. And the sound was not crisp as im used to with my own server.

It appeared it uses resampling to 48k for volume control on its output. Then after some reading i found i could disable that by flipping a switch on the back. (Blue arrow)



After this the volume is fixed and gives bit perfect output. It sounded superb! A highly recommended unit with inbuilt internet radio, streaming services, toslink in, USB for a drive and bluetooth receiver/ streamer.

Interesting findings. Although in my case I have a simple Astell &Kern Kann Max connected via toslink straight to the Qutest. I keep the Kann Max with all upsamplibg features off. I wonder if it’s rather a case of some files being provided as upsampled FLACs right from the start by the recording studio. I’ve never had such mismatch in the readings with files purchased from hdtracks, who are known to always double-check for such things, and only occasionally have this with files from Bandcamp where they’re supposedly provided personally by the recording artists. I dunno, that’s just me guessing. But again, I wouldn’t call this a problem exactly, as I’ve never noticed any SQ issues or lack of crispness as you report. I guess I’m just curious what’s going on and wish my devices always agreed with each other

 

[Fried dr]

Hi. I have Qutest and like my headphone amp. I’ve considered upgrading to a tt2 but I’ve seen a reviewer suggest that the maximum benefit from the tt2 comes from the synergy between the dac and the amp/preamp on the tt2. If one were to just use rca outs on a tt2 to an amplifier, is there still a significant quality improvement going from qutest to tt2. Anyone with personal experience on this?

 

[mchuckp]

Hi. I have Qutest and like my headphone amp. I’ve considered upgrading to a tt2 but I’ve seen a reviewer suggest that the maximum benefit from the tt2 comes from the synergy between the dac and the amp/preamp on the tt2. If one were to just use rca outs on a tt2 to an amplifier, is there still a significant quality improvement going from qutest to tt2. Anyone with personal experience on this?

I had a Qutest and upgraded to a TT2. Both are great DACs. I found the Qutest has a bit softer presentation overall and the TT2 is a bit sharper and more clarity (has more taps). I'm a big fan of the TT2. I pair it with a tube amp (Felks Audio Euforia 20th Ann Ed). What is great is that I can just use the DAC in the TT2 to my tube amp but if I want to do solid state or low impedance headphones, I can use the amp inside the TT2. So best of both worlds. I also use it time to time as a preamp on my main speaker set up where it acts as a DAC and Preamp into my amp. It is such a versatile piece of gear.

To answer your question though...I am willing to bet most people on here are using it as a DAC only into another amp like you are preferring to do. And you'll likely also find that most are pairing with a M-Scaler. Wish I had one but buying a used TT2 was enough of a stretch for me financially. New was out of the question and maybe someday I'll get an M-scaler on the used market.

All and all, I find both the Qutest and TT2 are wonderful and hard to beat. Qutest may come off a bit TOO soft on gear that already is laid back. But paired right, it is pretty magical. Hard to go wrong with a TT2 if the price is okay with your budget.

 

[Jon L]

Qutest may come off a bit TOO soft on gear that already is laid back. But paired right, it is pretty magical.

That's why Qutest synergizes so great with my compression driver/horn speakers and headphones like Raal SR1

 

[Charente]

That's why Qutest synergizes so great with my compression driver/horn speakers and headphones like Raal SR1

Yes, I agree ... matching is key to get the most out of the Qutest. I spent some time looking at that on my headphone rig. Finally settled on the Burson Soloist, Meze Empyrean with silver hybrid cable and Alcantara pads. The final piece was a different power supply for the Qutest, which made a significant improvement to the bass and perceived dynamic range. I don't feel any need to do more.

 

[Fried dr]

I added a used HMS to my Qutest. Increased ease, space, separation. Standard power supply for both units and standard dnc cables. I feel something light and lacking in bottom. Obvious upgrade options are power supplies for Q and/or HMS and better dnc cables. However if I do all three of those I may as well buy a used TT2 and sell the Qutest. Anyone been through this rabbit hole with words of wisdom? Will psu upgrade bring more significant impact in Qutest or M-Scaler?

 

[Charente]

I added a used HMS to my Qutest. Increased ease, space, separation. Standard power supply for both units and standard dnc cables. I feel something light and lacking in bottom. Obvious upgrade options are power supplies for Q and/or HMS and better dnc cables. However if I do all three of those I may as well buy a used TT2 and sell the Qutest. Anyone been through this rabbit hole with words of wisdom? Will psu upgrade bring more significant impact in Qutest or M-Scaler?

I'm not sure what HMS is, to which you refer. However, I can suggest that replacement of stock PS on the Qutest will improve the bass ... see my comment above yours. Some people swear by battery PS units ... I went with an ultra low noise linear PS that measures really well ... approx €80.

 

[dbull12]

Has anyone had experience with both the Qutest and any of the higher end Soekris DACs (1421, 1541, 2541)? I'd be curious to hear any comparisons, particularly whether the Soekris DACs manage to come close to the Qutest in imaging capabilities and holography

 

[cats4cans]

Has anyone had experience with both the Qutest and any of the higher end Soekris DACs (1421, 1541, 2541)? I'd be curious to hear any comparisons, particularly whether the Soekris DACs manage to come close to the Qutest in imaging capabilities and holography

I have the Qutest and dac1421 using both through S/pidf I don’t think I’ve ever critically listened for any real length of time. Anecdotally I think the Qutest thru USB wins hands down for SQ, but I have no problem using the Soekris for everything else. I have it through a switch box. So while the MZ3/Qutest combo is hands down best for music, there is rarely enough of a delta to reconfigure my system for other things. TV and most alternate HPA listening is done with the dac1421 as source. I need a second switch box for the Qutest. Or a 2 into 4. Details details details. As great as the dac1421 is and with all its features it still won’t ever replace my Qutest.

 

[slumberman]

Hello all,
Could the Qutest be considered a Hugo 2 without headphone amp and battery, in terms of sound, performance and filters?

Edit- I wrote Mojo2 but meant Hugo2!

 

[jjazzy]

Hello all,
Could the Qutest be considered a Mojo2 without headphone amp and battery, in terms of sound, performance and filters?

Nope, qutest really is in another league.

Mojo 2 sure is a very nice portable dac/amp though but no qutest.