New DAC
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 1:17 pm
I have now had the Chord Qutest for a week and am a happy bunny. Digital accounts for 95% of my listening and after buying the NVA kit last year I thought the front end was in need of attention. I was using the Chord Mojo and as I liked the Chord sound I was reluctant to change brands. I think it is a good match for NVA, information retrieval being a strong point, and it performs well with rock. I wanted something which would not require charging, especially after reading some alarming reports about Chord battery life. The Mojo is being retained for domestic headphone use only.
I was initially a bit disappointed with the Qutest as it did not seem to offer much more than the Mojo, but that all changed from around five days after it was run in.
What is most striking is the improvement in imagery. Semi omni-directional designs have been criticised in this respect, but with the Qutest the image is as focussed from what I remember from the point & squirt speakers I used to have. This is combined with the many considerable benefits that knocked me out when the Cube 3s entered my system. The other main area of improvement is at the frequency extremes. My ageing years are picking up more high frequency detail. At the other end, bass is both better defined and more extended. I have been surprised by the depth of bass the Cube 3s can produce. There are filters which are a bonus on some (not many) recordings. I was using them a lot during the running in. There are three line level outputs and I find that the middle 2v one is optimum for the P50 SA.
I have TIS Mk2 on order which, based on my experience between the P50 SA and A80s, I think will bring about a worthwhile improvement. For the time being I have borrowed SSP Mk2 from the Phono 1. Opinions about the benefits of a separate power supply seem to be divided on Head-Fi and Chord say there is no need (they would). I am wondering if purchasing one of the £40 Chinese ones on Ebay woud be worthwhile. It is not much of an outlay. I understand the Doc swears by one. Opinions invited.
I was initially a bit disappointed with the Qutest as it did not seem to offer much more than the Mojo, but that all changed from around five days after it was run in.
What is most striking is the improvement in imagery. Semi omni-directional designs have been criticised in this respect, but with the Qutest the image is as focussed from what I remember from the point & squirt speakers I used to have. This is combined with the many considerable benefits that knocked me out when the Cube 3s entered my system. The other main area of improvement is at the frequency extremes. My ageing years are picking up more high frequency detail. At the other end, bass is both better defined and more extended. I have been surprised by the depth of bass the Cube 3s can produce. There are filters which are a bonus on some (not many) recordings. I was using them a lot during the running in. There are three line level outputs and I find that the middle 2v one is optimum for the P50 SA.
I have TIS Mk2 on order which, based on my experience between the P50 SA and A80s, I think will bring about a worthwhile improvement. For the time being I have borrowed SSP Mk2 from the Phono 1. Opinions about the benefits of a separate power supply seem to be divided on Head-Fi and Chord say there is no need (they would). I am wondering if purchasing one of the £40 Chinese ones on Ebay woud be worthwhile. It is not much of an outlay. I understand the Doc swears by one. Opinions invited.