That’s a good point. It is very difficult to get away from smps these days; just count up all the devices in our homes that use these - routers, switches, chargers etc etc. It soils be interesting to know if those swapping their Qutest power supply have culled all the other smps in their homes and whether it made any difference. Perhaps an important quality of modern equipment is that it should be resistant to such interference and should so called review sites run their suites of tests both with and without switch mode power supplies plugged in nearby?The other thing is you are getting a switch-mode power supply away from other kit that may be sensitive to it from an interference perspective, i.e. any improvement heard may actually be in the surrounding kit.
I'll start another thread next week. Too busy today and over the weekend.Not wanting to hijack the thread (cue a a slight hijacking) curious how you find those 3 DACs compare? Had them all on my radar for a while. Cheers
1) If it is secret how do you know that it is entirely orthodox? TAP length? The problem is that the iterations as you go up the model range only make a small difference and ime and imho aren’t really worth bothering with until you either go from bottom to top of range or add an m scaler.So, to recap, the great thing about Chord dacs is that they are designed by a designer who is right but also wrong about everything. His genius,/wrongness is particuarly exhibited by the following aspects which make it essential to buy one of his dacs and also bypass or replace his flawed design
1) the WTA filter which applies a secret and yet entirely orthodox filter. best bypassed in software by upsampling unbtil you can afford anothe rone of his dacs with this years iteration of the filter (the same but a bit longer). repeat.
2) his careful design and specification of switchmode power supplies which should be replaced by somethign a retured BT engineer makes in his shed, largely specified by weight of transformer
3) his preference for use of toslink (?), best ignored so you can then buy something else because galavanic isolation is irrelevant (but don't forget to buy lots of additonal components network/power/isolation devices becaue of possible mains inteference)
4) his unique and yet completely wrong 3v RCA output.
Do any of you people want a dac or hobby of dicking around with stuff aimlessly?
That’s a good point. It is very difficult to get away from smps these days; just count up all the devices in our homes that use these - routers, switches, chargers etc etc. It soils be interesting to know if those swapping their Qutest power supply have culled all the other smps in their homes and whether it made any difference. Perhaps an important quality of modern equipment is that it should be resistant to such interference and should so called review sites run their suites of tests both with and without switch mode power supplies plugged in nearby?
Interesting, but one thing I don’t understand is that for all these improvements to have an added discernible effect on the sound quality the sound must have been dire in the first place - was it? Perhaps you could say what your equipment is so that we can better understand where you are coming from.I have tried the isotek filters plugged next to a smps and it cleaned the sound. Ive tried oneby my fridge/freezer also and it improved again. However I could tell a difference/improvement without then, A clear difference in switiching the original smps with a Sbooster. Which i then bought the Ultra Add on, enjoyed it. Then changed the power cable in the Sbooster for improvement again , then I experimented with the fuse in the Sbooster for futher gains to my ears and anyone elses for that matter.
Life was much simpler when I had an all Quad system with 57 stats and before I even had a computer. The only thing I had to worry about was the occasional hum from a 303 and iirc that the inputs into the 33 weren’t ideal for connecting one of those new fangled CD players. A 606 amp solved the first and a 44 pre the second but it was a bit of a relief when things became standardised with the 66/67 series - well, at least until the 67 pre motherboard had to be replaced a couple of times (something to do with problems with pin through circuit boards iirc).As a really simple clear example my remote doorbell buzzes very loudly if close to the little switch-mode PSU for my Panasonic wireless phone. Move it to another area and it is silent. To a much lesser extent the Chord DSX does create some noise in my system, a very low level ‘whine’ audible regardless of input selected or volume setting, my guess is something in the valve preamp is picking up RF from it somewhere. I’ve no idea if the DSX has a switch-mode PSU (I’ve not pulled it to bits yet!), though I strongly suspect it has.
Go back to the 1980s when the BBC Micro came out and there was all manner of concerns regarding RF from the switch-mode supply. Even more so in the USA where home computers were required by law to be in fully screened within metal shielding. It is definitely a thing, though we have become relaxed to it with every home being full of cheap disposable switch-mode wall-warts for everything. I’m sure they have got quieter over the years, but my doorbell says far from quiet enough.
Well, there are no end of things to try, many at great expense, and if I spent my life trying out every claim I wouldn’t have time to sit down and be engrossed by music as opposed to listening to and worrying about sound.I can suggest trying it yourself before dismissing it.
Wow! Nice rant.That is just complete nonsense. Sounds like an engrained view that will never change and stuck in their ways. I find it hard to have a discussion with someone who has plenty of opinions but yet never tried things. I recently heard the newest Magico's with some Dan D'Agustino amps. Infact I heard dozens of top systems recently and head the demos and changes in power cables/ interconnects/ filters all sorts and if you cant hear it, you better go up the doctors I'm afraid. To suggest their equipment is not up to scratch is farcical but yet you can still hear it with your own ears. It speaks volumes as the saying goes.
Same here. The theory is that the M-Scalar makes the TT2 sound more realistic whilst it’s essential for the Dave. The detail and smoothness of the Dave is impressive but I’ve never found it that engaging. More hifi and less music. Goes very well with Chord amps, for which I have no taste i.e. further emphasises detail and smoothness but at the cost of the energy of live music which the TT2 and Qutest do have.When I was able to compare my TT2 with standard power supply against a Dave with expensive Jacobs power supply (both with m scaler) I found the Dave maybe a tad smooth and if anything I preferred the greater energy of the TT2.
OK, clearly no point in discussing anything with you, and that’s fine. Hope you find plenty of people here to engage with who you’ll enjoy conversing with.Its not a rant. You said you very much doubt fuses will make a difference. No point telling you otherwise by the sound of it then. Then as you said, it might be poor in the first place. Amazing systems and equipment all do the same. Im struggling to undertand how you fail to grasp any of that going by your questions. Its almost like you dont believe us or them or dont want to. I personally find it quite patronising when I read comments like ...
I very much doubt that a change of fuse would give any gain to “anyone else’s ears”, but if it works for you fair enough.
Id just shared my experience and you said that.
What does that even mean? Im imagining things or something? Its just me? What does it mean?
I just cant be bothered to get into it with folk that have blinkered opinions, its bores me. No rant there or Intended.
Incorrect on multiple fronts:So, to recap, the great thing about Chord dacs is that they are designed by a designer who is right but also wrong about everything. His genius,/wrongness is particuarly exhibited by the following aspects which make it essential to buy one of his dacs and also bypass or replace his flawed design
1) the WTA filter which applies a secret and yet entirely orthodox filter. best bypassed in software by upsampling until you can afford another one of his dacs with this years iteration of the filter (the same but a bit longer). repeat.
2) his careful design and specification of switchmode power supplies which should be replaced by somethign a retired BT engineer makes in his shed, largely specified by weight of transformer
3) his preference for use of toslink (?), best ignored so you can then buy something else because galavanic isolation is irrelevant (but don't forget to buy lots of additonal components network/power/isolation devices becaue of possible mains inteference)
4) his unique and yet completely wrong 3v RCA output.
Do any of you people want a dac or hobby of dicking around with stuff aimlessly?
Thanks, interesting. It has to be said that I do like detail as it is one of the things that connects me with the original, usually, acoustic performance. It might explain why I like electrostatic speakers and similar. However it has to be good detail and not over emphasised as one might get by turning up the sharpness setting on a TV; initially impressive but ultimately fatiguing and distracting. I guess we all perceive sound differently and what works well for one person might be a turn off for someone else.Same here. The theory is that the M-Scalar makes the TT2 sound more realistic whilst it’s essential for the Dave. The detail and smoothness of the Dave is impressive but I’ve never found it that engaging. More hifi and less music. Goes very well with Chord amps, for which I have no taste i.e. further emphasises detail and smoothness but at the cost of the energy of live music which the TT2 and Qutest do have.
That's a very exact recipe.Answer: Plixir Elite BDC Power supply with Statement DC Cable or Ghent JSSG360 Gotham GAC4/1 UltraPro DC Cable. Audiowise SRC-DX. Dual-BNC into the Qutest with the HF and LF filters from Thor Labs, MiniCircuits, or Audiowise.
HQP -> USB -> SRC-DX -> Dual BNC -> Qutest.
Upsample to 705k/768k to bypass the internal WTA1 filters.
About the Qutest, I've read somewhere that the 2V and 1V option is digitally attenuated. So in essence the 3V option would be for the purist!Anyone any idea where 3V as an acceptable line level came from?
I don’t understand why anyone would want this high a level. It is far higher than most power amps could handle (typically 1-2V) so no advantage when using a passive preamp even into amps at the upper end of the range. The now standard 2V for digital was viewed as too much for many preamps when it was introduced and arguably a key reason people didn’t subjectively like CD as it often subtly clipped their preamp stage leading to a perception of harshness and thinness. I don’t see why the figure seems to be creeping ever upwards. It basically means I can’t use the fixed outs on the DSX.
Into equipment that can take 3v I’ve never detected any difference once levels have been matched. In practice I just stick to the “standard” 2 volts and have enough trust in the make and designer not to worry that their implementation may be problematic.About the Qutest, I've read somewhere that the 2V and 1V option is digitally attenuated. So in essence the 3V option would be for the purest!
All interesting stuff.
Keith Howard published an article in HiFiCritic on the M Scaler which does reveal the Chord approach to audio reconstruction. The article is on the Chord site.1) If it is secret how do you know that it is entirely orthodox? TAP length? The problem is that the iterations as you go up the model range only make a small difference and ime and imho aren’t really worth bothering with until you either go from bottom to top of range or add an m scaler.
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2) as has been observed above, many who swap the wallwart out cannot evidence what has been impacted and many simply return to the original. Most owners have stuck with what Chord provided and remain happy. So, no, the majority do not think he‘s wrong.
Exactly. I find Chord DACs very natural too but observation of others' negative opinions of them reveals we are all different in what we perceive. It is only a problem when someone gets didactic and insists that what he/she perceives from listening to a DAC or from listening to a fuse is the only valid perception and that other must perceive that too.It’s fascinating how we all hear things differently as I find Chord DACs natural sounding whereas most others a bit synthetic. ...