Chord Qutest

[DPD]

Evening, I am thinking of purchasing a Chord Qutest DAC. It will replace the Dac in my Rega Elex integrated. I will use it with an Audiolab CDT 6000. Will the Chord be a significant improvement on the Rega Dac and is the CDT 6000 a good enough source to justify the Chords price.
Evening and thanks.

 

[Noddy]

Search the internet for any measurements of the the Chord. There are several of other Chord DACs, which show that from a measurement perspective they underperform at the price point. However, some will argue that what counts is listening, not measurement, and some shops allow a demo at home so that your magnificant lugs can do the deciding,

My totally biased viewpoint is that Chord are expensive for what they are, and use looks as a selling point. Many will of course consider my views nonsense. FWIW I have a Chord Mojo.

Oh, and there is an online test of ability to distinguish high and medium quality audio, it’s worth doing! I got 3/6 first time, 4/6 second time i.e. about chance.

 

[Al ears]

Evening, I am thinking of purchasing a Chord Qutest DAC. It will replace the Dac in my Rega Elex integrated. I will use it with an Audiolab CDT 6000. Will the Chord be a significant improvement on the Rega Dac and is the CDT 6000 a good enough source to justify the Chords price.
Evening and thanks.

I wasn't aware that there was a dac in the Rega Elex, however it does appear certain versions do have one.
I would doubt the Chord will offer a notable improvement but you're going to have to audition for yourself.

 

[twinkletoes]

Evening, I am thinking of purchasing a Chord Qutest DAC. It will replace the Dac in my Rega Elex integrated. I will use it with an Audiolab CDT 6000. Will the Chord be a significant improvement on the Rega Dac and is the CDT 6000 a good enough source to justify the Chords price.
Evening and thanks.

I own a qutest and have owned a few dacs in and around that sort of price point . At this point the qutest is probably getting bit long in the tooth on the market, at the time was very forward thinking and in some ways still is.

Have others have caught up? Maybe! Are others cheaper? Certainly. Are others built as well? No where close in most cases. Are others made in England and assembled by hand? Probably not. Do you pay chord tax? Sure, but that’s the same of many high end brands.

Most importantly in the last 4-5 years that Ive owned it, it’s been on 24/7 and hasn’t put a foot wrong. I’ve been let down by many dac’s around this price point one or another.

I don’t know what measurements the guys are referring but it preforms very well in my system is all I can say.

Sound wise it’s a very propulsive listen and has this fluidity to it that you just don’t hear all that often. Most of that comes from the class A output stages. To use a cliché statement, It sounds more analogue than digital.

Will there be this night and day difference that you will hear? Well that difficult to answer and everyone is different . But I’d say this, is everything in your setup on point? For example are your speakers on stands? Are your speakers set up nicely in the room following hifi good practices and so on.

For me the chord was worth it.

 

[FMIB]

I just purchased an Audiolab CDT6000 with a SMSL D400EX to replace a Roksan Caspian M2 CD player which was giving problems and whilst I can't comment on the Chord, the CDT 6000 will be more than good enough for it going by my experience with the transport

 

[DPD]

Thanks as always for all your varying answers to my question. Yes, the Chord is expensive but continually gets such praise from so many reviewers etc. It is pricey coming out a bit more than what I paid for the Rega Elex mk 4 amp. The dac on the Rega sounds great with slower tracks and vocals but gets a bit " mixed up" with more fast paced rock type music. My speakers are Tannoy Revolution 6F so are quite respected ones and yes, I think they are set up well in my lounge being slightly toed in to form a listening triangle.
My other thoughts were Audiolab dac plus/ Cambridge audio/ I-Fi etc around that price bracket. There are so many makes and variables as usual to look at. My (fairly) local audio shop only stock limited makes. Anyway...
Thanks all for your comments.
Rgs

 

[nopiano]

Thanks as always for all your varying answers to my question. Yes, the Chord is expensive but continually gets such praise from so many reviewers etc. It is pricey coming out a bit more than what I paid for the Rega Elex mk 4 amp. The dac on the Rega sounds great with slower tracks and vocals but gets a bit " mixed up" with more fast paced rock type music. My speakers are Tannoy Revolution 6F so are quite respected ones and yes, I think they are set up well in my lounge being slightly toed in to form a listening triangle.
My other thoughts were Audiolab dac plus/ Cambridge audio/ I-Fi etc around that price bracket. There are so many makes and variables as usual to look at. My (fairly) local audio shop only stock limited makes. Anyway...
Thanks all for your comments.
Rgs

Do try before you buy, or buy on a returnable basis if you can.

Alternatively, DACs are probably the least risky used buy as some folks are forever swapping in search of the ‘holy grail’. Buy at the right price and you might even make a bit when selling on.

Various eBay dealers have Qutest regularly around£850 and accept 14 days returns.

 

[Al ears]

If anything DACs are the one piece of hifi kit that is evolving quickly and are rapidly improving.
This is all the reason you need to buy as a separate and not one included in something else.
Go audition is all I can say.