Chord 2Qute Dac

1. I've just had one on demo into 500 series amps, I have a dedicated radial supplying the Naim stuff but made sure I plugged the 2qute into the ringmain where the swps would do least damage. I didn't find it tinny but although it seemed to do everyting  in terms of rhythm that Naim is famous for and would rock out it managed to lose the emotion. This improved a bit when I changed the digital cable from a Chord  shawline (£180) to a Belkin SDI 12 cable from bluejeans cables ($20 plus  about the same in shipping) but as I'd be using it only temporarily in my main system before moving it to join a bunch of rega gear in my second system I decided a Rega DAC would do. A bit of cable swapping and care not to polute the mains where the Naim plugs in might get it to work for you but if your dealer will take it back that might save you a lot of mucking about.

musica posted:

A week ago I obtained a Chord 2 Qute to run on my system. NAS/SUPERNAIT 2/NDX/PROAC D30R. To say it has been disappointing is an understatement,the best way to describe the sound as Thin and Tinny. I have tried it with another source and through a high quality headphone system,all with the same result. Today I was joined with another pair of ears who agreed with my findings. I have decided to return it to the supplier to have it checked. One thing that did surprise me was that it never got warm even though it was on continuous for 5 days. I would be interested if any forum members can confirm that this is or is not normal. Thanks

My experience too (Using SPDIF).

G

Lots of us have chord products and some say they are marvellous others a bit less so.

My 2qute took a while to get right. It runs from a computer though not from a Naim streamer.

It does not get warm.

Attention to the earth is very important. May need an additional earth cable dependent on  the rest of the system. Remember Naim must have only one earth to signal connection at the source end of the system. 

It would not surprise me if the NDX was better without a 2qute acting as the DAC.

How is the 2 qute connected to the SN?

to hear it properly you need a RCA to DIN cable. 

I don't like  RCA to RCA interconnects with Naim amps.

As you already have an NDX (signal grounding switch should be on chassis), there is no earthing issue with 2qute to worry about, as it is a floating signal earth.

Hello,

The 2qute might benefit a lot from 12v lineair power supply instead of the sps.

 At least with mine first gen 2qute. 

Good luck

Although it has the benefit of galvanic isolation on its usb input,  2Qute is widely reported as being inferior in sound quality to Hugo - however I don't reall reading of any major criticisms like sounding thin and tinny, so a fault is a possibility.

Sometimes when coming to it after a long period idle but turned on the demo Dave I tried would start off all thin and tizzy, and clearly distorting, fixed by turning it off and on again, but that sounds like something quite different, and I gather it was sent for a service when I returned it.