Just picked up a Chord Qutest

Think they are still trying to sell off old unsold stock.....so probably depends on what and how much you are buying

analogmusic posted:

 

 

The Chord DAC can't create music that wasn't already there. It excels at avoiding all the mistakes that lesser digital sources make. The musical flow is the same as analogue Vinyl.... 

The older QBD76 was reviewed in these terms "it's all about fluidity, naturalness and the kind of cohesion that only the very best turntables can manage" and the DACs from Hugo onwards are better in this crucial area.

You were doing OK until you got to the last couple of paragraphs.

Says the man whom didn’t like Dave, had the audacity to tell Rob watts the older Qbd76 was better than Dave and then buys Dave despite posting all over the forums Dave wasn’t for him.

i think I did a bit better lol !!!!

Nope, didn't like the first DAVE I tried, the QBD76HDSD, which I don't believe you've heard in your system (maybe never at all?) bettered it, and bettered the Hugo, and the TT. Why? who knows, just the way these things happen in hi-fi. You'd need to point me at the bit where I posted Dave "wasn't for me", I've always accepted it should have sounded better than the QBD, which is why I tried it three times, using different arrangements, but I've learned to trust my own ears, and those belonging to a few friends, rather than the views of manufacturers.  So Mr Watts couldn't argue with my opinion, neither did he seek to do so.

Is DAVE hugely better than the QBD? No. Is DAVE as good as my vinyl source? No.

Fully accept that Dave isn’t as good as your vinyl source, otherwise there would be no reason for Blu2 to exist

with Blu2, Dave does really sound like it extracted every last bit of music there was recorded.

About trusting ears that’s fine but manufacturers are not stupid to release a product that doesn’t better the previous reference

in the end you bought the Dave.

I enjoy mine a lot, hope you’re enjoying yours too 

DC71 posted:

I've had my Qutest running in and playing for around 100 hours so far, and it feels like there has been some subtle changes as it's going along. For this period I have been mostly running it direct from the Node2 over optical, bypassing my Antimode2 DSP unit. Bass seems to have tightened up and gained more texture, timing feels like it's improved a little as well as placement of voices and instruments within the soundstage (lead vocal is now perceived as placed centrally rather than a bit diffuse). Compared to the DAC in the Antimode2 (and the one in my Hegel H160), the presentation is spatially deeper and wider, and also a little more forward of the speaker.

Overall balance is very nice and weighty, but without the DSP room correction I'm hearing vocals a little bit chesty (although still the room issues seem less pronounced than with my previous DACs, possibly due to what I hear as very well controlled lower frequencies). It generally does a very good job of presenting music naturally but I feel there's more to come.

I tried adding the Antimode2 back into the chain also outputting digital optical to Qutest (without any DSP or correction set), but felt this sounded a shade brighter and flatter than Node2>Qutest. This may simply be down to the fact that Antimode2 outputs only 16/48k compared to the Node2's higher resolution output when playing my local higher res FLAC files. I need to do some longer comparisons with 16/44k material to check.

Next steps over the coming days/weeks:

- Get my room sorted a bit more as we had some fairly large cushions out for cleaning.
- Longer comparisons with Antimode2 in/out of the chain
- Run the Antimode2 auto- bass correction with Qutest & compare corrected sound with direct Node2>Qutest
- Get a coax-AES cable and try Node2-Qutest with coax vs optical connection
- If I stick with optical, try adding in my ifi SPDIF Purifier, but I would need to free up an extra wall outlet for this which currently I don't have

Updates to come, but I'm pleased so far. 

I am playing with cables too. My default analogue interconnect is an Atlas Equator III  and I have tried a few others. Other cables have been tonally bright and I am not sure if that is some high freq roll off with the Atlas or the other cables sounding a little thin. Either way, the Atlas stays. Next for me is a new coax digital connect as my one is a cheapy and does not look up to the job. 

Of course, as well as my messing about with cables, the Qutest is burning in and so I might have to try it all again in a few weeks!  Hardly a chore though, just an excuse to listen to my favourite albums again. 

analogmusic posted:

About trusting ears that’s fine but manufacturers are not stupid to release a product that doesn’t better the previous reference 

Unfortunately, that's not always the case, which is the reason why it's important to listen in your own system, over an extended period. 

Well for a 8500 gbp Dac it’s very important

Ok, here’s a thought..I decided to try my oppo player and compare it to my 2qute. I think oppo use “of the shelf” AKM chip?

To be completely honest, and trust me, I tend to listen very critical and analytic when evaluating and I’m also of the opinion that mains and digital cables do matter. But there wasn’t that much of a difference and I think my Audiovector SR3 Avantgarde is considered somewhat high end.

Chord perhaps do sound a little punchier, some would say more dynamic, maybe because of its higher output level?

Either way, like people say in here, more money doesn’t necessarily equal that much better performance...

The Chord Dacs do 3 things differently  to off the shelf chips

1) the starting and ending of notes is much clearer, you can hear this with snare drums, more power more impact.

2) The instrument separation does not collapse when the music gets complex (unlike cheap off the shelf chips)

3) The emotional aspect of the music is preserved, and so is the rhythmic integrity

It's not a night and day difference, but a difference there is.

An update after running Qutest for around 200 hours, fed optical from the Bluesound Node2. More subtle improvements over the last week, vocals have opened up a little so I no longer hear the slight chestiness I had after 100hrs, sound is very open and floating clear of the speakers. Bass and instrument textures seem to have settled to a very nice and natural level, Timing and rhythm feels correct. 

My Antimode2.0 does not seem to play nicely in the chain with Qutest, even in bypass mode it sounds a few degrees more harsh and flat than Node2 direct to the Chord DAC. It seems to counteract the weightier, nicely balanced and natural presentation of Qutest.

Without the Antimode2 in chain, I can still hear the strong 50hz mode I have in my room, but it's excited less than with other DACs I've had in before, and it doesn't muddy up the midrange or cause the bass to become one-note. I will look at getting a couple of bass traps just to reduce the effect of the mode, otherwise a miniDSP 22D correction unit may be worth trying as its connections and higher resolution support may make it a better match for the DAC. But with no way to test, I feel like that would be more risky money than the room treatments.

As it is now, I'm really enjoying this DAC a lot. It has an ease to its presentation, while not being laid back. Dynamic and non-fatiguing. Overall, a natural quality and presentation that I haven't heard before in digital replay at this price level.

analogmusic posted:

  manufacturers are not stupid to release a product that doesn’t better the previous reference

 

Thats great information to learn, we no longer need to worry about them beeing stupid

Perol posted:

analogmusic posted:

  manufacturers are not stupid to release a product that doesn’t better the previous reference

 

Thats great information to learn, we no longer need to worry about them beeing stupid

 

 

i still do worry for some of them.....

Emre posted:

Perol posted:

analogmusic posted:

  manufacturers are not stupid to release a product that doesn’t better the previous reference

 

Thats great information to learn, we no longer need to worry about them beeing stupid

 

 

i still do worry for some of them.....

Forum Posters or manufacturers ?

A very impressive Dac :-) 

Can it also be used to watch movies? I remember reading that all the DSP taps used will introduce a long delay. Does this mean a lip-sync problem perhaps? 

Cheers

YiannisK posted:

Can it also be used to watch movies? I remember reading that all the DSP taps used will introduce a long delay. Does this mean a lip-sync problem perhaps? 

You may be able to adjust the lip-sync timing on your TV. 

YiannisK posted:

A very impressive Dac :-) 

Can it also be used to watch movies? I remember reading that all the DSP taps used will introduce a long delay. Does this mean a lip-sync problem perhaps? 

Cheers

Yes. There are no issues that I can detect, seems fine.