chord qutest

[Blacksabbath25]

Anyone thinking of buying one or got one I would like to no your thoughts on this product as I’ve nearly got the money together to buy one .

I am basically going to buy one to take over the Dac inside my Yamaha 2100 CD player so changing the CD player into a trainsport and using the chord qutest

But had some questions about the chord qutest about the connections and what would be the best way of connection to my Yamaha CD player which has quite a lot of connections on the back of the CD player to take advantage of what the chord Dac has to offer .

I have connections wise optical in and out Coaxial , RCA , type B connection which I do not no what that does and XLR which is in use between my amplifier but my amplifier does have a extra XLR connection .

The other question is can I also make the connection with the Yamaha wxc50 as well as that’s currently using my Yamaha CD player onboard Dac so basically I want to take over my Cd player Dac and also the Yamaha wxc50 streamer as well is that all possible ?

 

[paulkebab]

I tried the optical-vs-coax test and although there was a very small difference detectable using headphones, I found it dependant on the material. Over loudspeakers I couldn't tell any difference so I went for optical as it reduces the number of electrical connections, and is unlikely to introduce hum or other kinds of interference to the chain. It also eliminates the (alleged) sound differences between different interconnects, which is another topic and another drain on your wallet. Coax will handle higher bitrate material if that's your aim but it's not mine. If the Qutest has two optical inputs I'd use those but you could always use one optical and one coax or two coax.

 

[Gray]

Am I right to presume you haven't heard it BS?

If so, do you plan to buy without hearing it first?

 

[JamesMellor]

Anyone thinking of buying one or got one I would like to no your thoughts on this product as I’ve nearly got the money together to buy one .

I am basically going to buy one to take over the Dac inside my Yamaha 2100 CD player so changing the CD player into a trainsport and using the chord qutest

But had some questions about the chord qutest about the connections and what would be the best way of connection to my Yamaha CD player which has quite a lot of connections on the back of the CD player to take advantage of what the chord Dac has to offer .

I have connections wise optical in and out Coaxial , RCA , type B connection which I do not no what that does and XLR which is in use between my amplifier but my amplifier does have a extra XLR connection .

Nah, you're just wasting money you should be saving for those Epicons.

The other question is can I also make the connection with the Yamaha wxc50 as well as that’s currently using my Yamaha CD player onboard Dac so basically I want to take over my Cd player Dac and also the Yamaha wxc50 streamer as well is that all possible ?

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Am I right to presume you haven't heard it BS?

If so, do you plan to buy without hearing it first?

No haven’t heard one yet only on Elise’s YouTube channel but will go and demo one before buying one first why have you had a chance to hear one for your self .

I see richer sounds sells them so I would be able to get a demo with them

 

[ellisdj]

the qutest has usb 2 x bnc spdif and optical

only the usb does the full rate of dsd if that matters to you. the others support dsd just not the full rate

 

[Gazzip]

the qutest has usb 2 x bnc spdif and optical

only the usb does the full rate of dsd if that matters to you. the others support dsd just not the full rate

Have you bought one Ellis? P.S. Thanks for the Fidelizer heads up!

 

[Blacksabbath25]

the qutest has usb 2 x bnc spdif and optical

only the usb does the full rate of dsd if that matters to you. the others support dsd just not the full rate

I see you brought a stand-alone power supply for the chord Dac but doesn’t the cord Dac come with a power cord ? And why didn’t you use that as I never fully understood why you brought the bigger power supply .

what does that bigger power supply do for the chord Dac ?

And yes I would be looking for the best possible connection but do not fully understand about type B connection which my CD player has and it does DSD but again what’s DSD

 

[Gray]

Am I right to presume you haven't heard it BS?

If so, do you plan to buy without hearing it first?

No haven’t heard one yet only on Elise’s YouTube channel but will go and demo one before buying one first why have you had a chance to hear one for your self .

I see richer sounds sells them so I would be able to get a demo with them

No, I haven't heard any Chord DAC yet, but this looks interesting. Until now, I've heard only subtle differences between DACs. I'm sure this won't be bad....but, needless to say, it needs to be a lot better than 'not bad'.

 

[ellisdj]

yes mate buying it and your welcome.

My experience of smps power supplies you plug in the wall is not very positive.

I asked for the linear power supply to be sent to me to try and I will be buying it as well. simple as that really.

maybe see how you get on with the included.

today I watched a movie for the first time in ages. considering it's UHD so high def sound codec off the oppo 203 into the arcam avr850 and Luxman all I could hear is smear and noise.

The qutest with the jcat linear is so clean and clear just off CD shows how much better it is than other dacs are by comparison and just how much lower noise my pc source is compared to the oppo. No comparison at all I wasn't expecting that normally films sound as good don't they

 

[ellisdj]

have you heard any fpga dac??

 

[Infiniteloop]

I've been using a Chord Dac for a few years now. I recently had a problem when I upgraded the OS on my Macbook Pro, which I use as a source, whereby there wasn't a corresponding update to the Chord driver for the DAC and Chord aren't able to provide one because of some issue with Apple. Chord's response to this was to get around the problem by using an M2 Tech HiFace2 device which (I think) re-clocks the signal and negates the need for a driver. It just plugs directly into a USB socket and outputs to either BNC or RCA. Apparently, Chord use these in-house with their DAC's.

Oh my word. The SQ takes a sizeable leap, which I wasn't expecting. Much more analogue and natural sounding.

Just a thought, if you're going to buy a Qutest.

I got mine off Fleabay......

 

[Gray]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

 

[ellisdj]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

there are a few brands using that style of design but more boutique type companies.

PS Audio is another bigger name they have a different approach to chord. They are also very good Dacs

 

[Gray]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

 

[Andrewjvt]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

 

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

I'd audition some Avi dm10s or dm12s
Headphone like clarity
Much better than a chord dac

 

[Gray]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

I'd audition some Avi dm10s or dm12s Headphone like clarity Much better than a chord dac

I've noted that. None of us can hear everything, that's why others' suggestions are always welcome as pointers. Thanks.

 

[Craig M.]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

I'd audition some Avi dm10s or dm12s Headphone like clarity Much better than a chord dac

Unless they’re doing something very different now, I didn’t think there was anything particularly special about the QBD76 I owned. Apart from the build quality, that thing was built to a very high standard. I found Chord’s customer service to be non-existent though.

My favourite dac was a Benchmark dac1 hdr.

 

[Gray]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

I'd audition some Avi dm10s or dm12s Headphone like clarity Much better than a chord dac

Unless they’re doing something very different now, I didn’t think there was anything particularly special about the QBD76 I owned. Apart from the build quality, that thing was built to a very high standard. I found Chord’s customer service to be non-existent though.

My favourite dac was a Benchmark dac1 hdr.

It's AVI speakers for you I see Craig.

 

[Andrewjvt]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

 

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

I'd audition some Avi dm10s or dm12s Headphone like clarity Much better than a chord dac

Unless they’re doing something very different now, I didn’t think there was anything particularly special about the QBD76 I owned.  Apart from the build quality, that thing was built to a very high standard.  I found Chord’s customer service to be non-existent though.

My favourite dac was a Benchmark dac1 hdr.

I agree
Having the benchmark dac3 3
The details are in the low noise floor.
Nothing is enhanced.

 

[BigH]

have you heard any fpga dac??

No I haven't Ellis. So you're probably not at all surprised that the differences I've so far heard have been subtle, to say the least.

Are there any other brands using the technology?

the extra clarity of them is very obvious and very hard to come back from

Clarity I like, I can't get enough. Thanks for the info.

If you want clarity then you should try some decent active speakers, it's the first thing you will notice. Difference between DACs is much more subtle. DACs in that price range to consider are Young's and Metrum, on other forums there is much more information about DACs than on here.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

So are you people saying that the chord Dac is not going to be much different to the Dac inside my Yamaha CD player ? As the Yamaha uses a ES9016 Dac and I can change the DPLL bandwidth in 7 steps to lowest- highest .

 

[ellisdj]

There is a video where the differences between an FPGA dac and a Sabre dac is explained.

The FPGA has about half the components in comparison to the Sabre its a much shorter and simple signal path - according to that video anyway in that comparison.

I cant remember where I saw it but it was very interesting. It will be out there if you look for it.

 

[Andrewjvt]

So are you people saying that the chord Dac is not going to be much different to the Dac inside my Yamaha CD player ? As the Yamaha uses a ES9016 Dac and I can change the DPLL bandwidth in 7 steps to lowest- highest .

Yes

Do a blind test and you will struggle to notice as much.

If it's clarity your after look at Avi actives.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

So are you people saying that the chord Dac is not going to be much different to the Dac inside my Yamaha CD player ? As the Yamaha uses a ES9016 Dac and I can change the DPLL bandwidth in 7 steps to lowest- highest .

Yes

Do a blind test and you will struggle to notice as much.

If it's clarity your after look at Avi actives.

I like clarity and detail but not interested in active speakers Andrew