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Chord Qutest question ...

beammeup

beammeup

pfm Member
I have recently purchased a used Qutest (from eBay) - to evaluate and then sell on for little loss if I don't get on with it.

I need to give it a chance by setting it up for best sound quality - I do have a high quality PSU (which I acquired from this forum) for starters.

I understand I am getting ahead of myself a little here because I haven't even listened to it yet in standard form - it arrived in the post yesterday. Right now I am messing around with a Squeezebox Touch so could use the digital out of the Touch to the Chord - this may not be the ultimate transport for the Chord though - the SBT just happens to be conveniently on the rack while I'm messing about with it.

There seems to be tips and tricks such as using HQPlayer which can up-sample - and even (somehow) be used to bypass the filters in the Qutest if the right sampling rate is selected from HQPlayer (making the Chord a filterless DAC in essence - I could be wrong).

I've never used HQPlayer before, but looking at this link here: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...oon-sotm-200-ultra-neo-is-this-even-possible/ there is a Qutest reference in the configuration.

I also have an Sotm 200 ultra which could be used as an NAA endpoint - because the NUC upstairs will run HQPlayer sending music to the NAA endpoint - assuming that you can only stream to an endpoint if it has NAA capabilities (you can't just stream from HQPlayer to DLNA for example).

I don't have nor intend to use Roon.
 
Yes sorry - how do I get the best sound quality from the Chord Qutest? One example seems to be by streaming from HQPlayer at a sampling rate that will bypass the Qutest digital filter.

Sorry I am getting ahead of myself - I should just use the Chord as it stands with the filter options given before I jump into deep water.
 
I've driven the Qutest with SBT using coax, and it works perfectly well providing native digital signals. If you're planning to use HQPlayer, then I suspect you're hoping to upsample to beyond 192KHz. In that case, you would need to use something that can send USB, as 192KHz is the maximum for S/PDIF.

And yes, a separate linear supply elevates the Qutest quite nicely. It's still a bit "polite" for my tastes, but definitely into the "good enough" range. :)
 
I shouldn’t read into these things but it seems that using HQPlayer remotely into an NAA endpoint keeps the RFI generating MScaler option away from the Qutest.

community.roonlabs.com

HQP and Chord Qutest

Yeah for years Rob recommended ferrites on BNC cables with the Blu2, saying they can not harm sound quality, they can only help with RFI. Now with latest M-Scaler model he says ferrites on BNC cables can harm sound quality. Confusing.
community.roonlabs.com community.roonlabs.com

Sorry again - getting ahead of myself.
 
Long-term, happy QUTEST user here.

Also note that there are three power outputs: 3V is the maximum and the lower output options are achieved through digital attenuation - according to Rob Watts.

So if you don’t trust the transparency of digital attenuation, 3V output is the purest form of output.

Three unadulterated Volts of goodness! 😂
 
Pointless overthinking at this stage. Insert Qutest with standard power supply and listen. Do you like the sound? If not, and no sound is for everybody, then you can improve certain elements of it but you likely won’t be able to change the fundamental nature of the beast and a lot of this is not about PSU or cables at all. It’s about synergy with a transport and your ears.

I audtioned a Qutest at length and found it either far too forward or not in tune with the needs of my ears nowadays. Take your pick. Many will be astonished by that and will say that for them, it’s an incredibly smooth and detailed listen. I won’t disagree but, for me, in my system, it absolutely was not. I ended up with a Hugo TT2 which the whole family loves. At first it sounds rather recessed and dull but then it becomes apparent that it’s the warmer of the two DACs and not lacking in detail.

If you decide that you like the fundamentals of the Qutest or specific characteristics then what follows is about whether you can get more of what you like. Chord are very clear that, whilst you can add a fancy PS, their DACs will sound different rather than better and there are potential deficits/detriments to the DAC itself too. Before you insert any other power supply “just to see” I would do some serious reading up online. There is plenty there to give you pause for thought and “pause” is very much what‘s needed here. I have heard 3 other people’s Qutest using different PSs and none of them were a “wow” moment. One was a “well I quite like that and can see why you chose it but now you’ve diminished this and I’m not sure I could live with that” and the other two I concluded that my friends were essentially hallucinating a difference that my non-golden ears heard as a recessing of the sound into something very smooth but full on clinical, dull and uninvolving. Music ceased to flow.

The interconnect decision is much more straightforward but, again, listen for some weeks then experiment.

Had to laugh when I read about using HQ Player. Way way ahead of the basics of what you need to be thinking about right now. Can it “improve” things? Well it can but it’s inserting something to fix a problem that as yet doesn’t exist.

I think we’re in “please go away and listen to your system with your new DAC” for a month or so and then make other decisions after that.
 
Turn it on and listen for a good week. If you're still not happy - try different inputs, cables and PSUs. They can all make a difference. I used BNC and the standard PSU.
 
I wouldn't bother too much about cables ... with the exception of qutest to preamp.

As mentioned above use your basic source (personally, I wouldn't worry about HQ player) with the standard PSU and see if you're happy with the sound. Next try the improved PSU, and if you must, swap a few cables in/out.
 
Good decision. Here’s a couple of points to note..

1) I (and others) have found the Qutest to perform better with coax in than usb.
I’m not suggesting everyone has found this or it’s definitive, but worthy bearing in mind and potentially experimenting with.

2) 2v out is definitely best for me. It drives my amp into producing magic! 1v and 3v sound ok but no magic. This is likely different depending on your amplification stages.

FWIW I *love* my Qutest with coax spdif input, 2v o/p and the supplied PSU.

Let us know how you get on.

P.S. I found it takes a good half a day’s usage to sound good after initial unboxing.
 
I thought the Qutest was brilliant. At first it sometimes seemed a bit too forensic with less well recorded stuff (say rock/indie), even coming from the 2Qute. But once you get used to the level and nature of detail, or inner detail, I missed it not being in anything else. So yes give it some time.

Did sound best on coax too.

Now have a Hugo2 which is very similar but a touch more body/drive which suits me.

Would also, personally, not recommended the Qutest for an already bright system. Feel it needs a bit of warmth injecting elsewhere as such. Depending on taste.

Never tried a separate PS.
 
I‘ve found the Qutest an excellent DAC and very close in sound to the TT2 although that does have pre and headphone sockets, but to my ears little if any difference in sound quality. I’ve found it fairly agnostic of source in that it does a pretty good job of handling what it is fed, assuming there isn’t bucket loads of noise and the signal hasn’t been buggered about with. It is a “detailed” DAC in a good way so amps and speakers need to be good. It won’t soften down the effect of an edgy sounding speaker, for example, in fact it might emphasise the speakers weakness.

I’ve never bothered with an LPSU; if the supplied one is good enough for the designer… which is not to say that it couldn’t be improved but life is too short sometimes.

It is important to choose the correct output voltage according to whatever you are outputting to, 3v can be too hot for some gear.

One thing that does help, ime, is using it with an m scaler, so there may be benefits of using HQ player, but in your position I would just settle down and enjoy some music for a while before tweaking - you might find you don’t need to.
 
The good thing is that the Qutest performs well no matter what, but it can be tweaked to your preference in so many different ways. Just start using it as it comes and take it from there. I've tried pretty much everything on mine, IME power supplies don't make a huge difference, but HQ Player can take it to new heights. The best outcome I've been able to obtain is with the SRC•DX.
 
Things Ive found to improve the Qutest were :-
Sbooster Power Supply.
Upgraded cable for the power supply.
Better Fuse in the Sbooster.
Trying better USB cables. Most recent that made a profound effect was a Curious USB Cable.
 
My findings with Akasa NUC as source are quite similar:
- DIY Salas L adapter LPS gives fundament and bolder tones
- FTA Callisto USB added 3D, more liquid and natural sound with far more background details.

All together - far away from bright, dull and thin presentation.
 
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