Chord Qutest Review: Refined, Resolving, Lovely, but...... 

I thought this was zeos for a second. But this guy knows what he is talking about. Great channel thank you for introducing plini to me :)

I am satisfied with my Qutest. I don't feel like I need to continue upgrading.

You make a terrific point about the Qutest being pretty easy on poorly remastered/mastered recordings. Now recently, I just bought an AC regenerator from PS AUDIO and right now I feel I can actually listen to any crappy recording at a reasonable volume. The Qutest combined with refined and clean power is very good. :)

Oooh it's like Zeos without the swearing, cartoon porn and chatting bull💩 about pointless details for half an hour. And the better accent of course 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

I like the review thank you, please consider a camera that sits still I felt sick in the end!

Great review. I just purchased a Qutest based on your review and currawong review.

Nice review. But I think you should have used the standard power supply... I have read of instances of when other power supply had made the sound more "soft". This has made me hesitant to upgrade the power supply on my Qutest, because I also like to get the dynamics...

Watching these videos about $1500 DACs from my 15 year old laptop's built in tin can speakers lol

You have described what I have been hearing within a week better than I could after a year of use. Excellent review and probably the best Qutest review out there. Looking forward to more reviews.

On the topic of power supply, I was using an IFI iPower, as this reviewer. I also noticed some "dissociation" of voices, until I went back to the supplied SMPS and voices returned normal. Anybody noticed the same?

Looking forward to your AHB2 review mate!

By far may be the most detailed review on YT, the way you compare and describe among different tracks is phenomenal. Thank you!

Hi great reviews. Are you planning to review ares ii and d90?

I wonder when Chord will release a new version given that this model has been out since 2017/2018.

That description about the tweed tea sipping guy was spot on..thanks!

the dave looks like a submarine window thingy

I've got this and find it beats my integrated amp's DAC for every genre, and that's listening to electronic dreampop like Au Revoir Simone , Orchestral like John Williams, Mathrock like The Marmozets , and some real dark DnB from the likes of Ed Rush & Optical. And it likes beastie boys too and their stuff is sometimes really poorly recorded. For me it's a richness to the sound and how notes (especially bass) don't click on and click off but sound a little less 'reproduced'. Wife walked in one time I had the integrated doing the DAC work and she said it sounded like the hifi was broken. My amp is a Hegel H390.

Question, how would yo know if the synth that you mentioned at @16:10 mark suppose to be aggresive? Or how much aggression is not too much? I mean maybe Dave is overemphasizing it?

If you want more slam and speed plug an ifi ipower elite in it, you'll change your mind without braking the bank... it needs a good switching mode power supply in it which the ordinary ipower isn't...

I didnt like the wobbly camera…sorry it made me poorly /switch off🤮

Fantastic work describing the sound!

Back 1 year later, and this is less about the Qtest and more about the importance of PSU. Qtest not only it failed to impress me but sucked the enjoyment out of music, I was ready to give up, but in last attempt I invested in a Jcat PSU. For the record I pay for the PSU more then I pay for the Qtest (got it at a discount), but the difference is huge. Everything is more defined in it's space, more texture, more air in between note, and for the first time sound travel, I know it sounds like BS, but you can hear sound travel in space. Now the question is, does the new dac+psu worth double the price? I would say Yes. Even more, to make you understand the importance of good PSU, I use the same PSU with a NEO iDSD, and NEO+Jcat Initio 3 is exactly as much as a stock Qtest, and sounds better then a Qtest (obviously withg the same amp, tracks.. etc.). Just "a little bit better" is not nearly good enough, and I may say it is actually worse in this case. Before any Qtest owner give up their DAC, or spend money on 1000-2000 Euro PSU, there is a little test you can do and it may actually be free to try. Power the Qtest on your 10A power bank that we all have for our phone. That alone is an upgrade over iFI 50$ PSU, and it is an instant improvement. That test instantly convinced me to spend another 1k on PSU and was not disappointed. It is like using filters to keep impurities out oif your engine, but it will always work far better with a good gas then filters. Spend less on DACs and more on quality PSU.

Feild programmable Gatorade

Thanks for the review mate - though separation is nice to have, sometimes we just want versatility and in that sense it doesn’t seem worth the exorbitant cost (let alone the M scaler or the Dave; that’s just taking the piss). Also - thanks for getting me on to Bob Moses, have not heard it but it’s brilliant!

Hmmm.. interesting review. I found the qutest to be very detailed but anything but smooth... really quite a fatiguing and sharp sound after a while, something unnatural going on in the higher frequencies. Much preferred the voicing of my much older Chord DAC64.

Excellent review! Seeing the Cutest is a $1699 DAC in the US, curious how it would compete with the Schiit Gungnir Multibit as it's goes for $1299 US... any thoughts of a possible review of the Gungnir in the future?

I would agree with you that its sound is a little to academic or grimey or dirty sounding electronica however I wouldn't completely discount the Qutests ability to match well with all electronic music all together. For example early Plastikman sounds amazing on it. Richie Hawtin's pristine approach to his instrumentation and song structure are complemented by the Qutest. Also Aril Brikha's Departure in Time, while very rich and warm sounding, is somehow up-leveled to a, stop what you're doing and take notice, maturity level. That said I have yet to find any drum and bass that the Qutest does anything to that really makes me stop and take notice of. Great review ^_^

If I'm correct you were using an Audioquest Carbon as USB cable, did you also try it with the Supra that can be seen attached to the M-Scaler? I have a Qutest and both USB cables and the Supra is a much better match to the DAC, the Carbon slows down the sound and tame the dynamics in my case, as you also pointed out, maybe what you heard is at least in part due to the USB cable. Also coupling the DAC with spikes or similar improves by a not irrelevant margin the sound stage. If you're interested I have recorded the Qutest with various USB cables and with and without coupling feet.

SO, IS ZEOS YOUR HERO? YOU REVIEW BETTER GEAR THAN HIM AND ARE A HELLAVU LOT SMARTER. JUST WISH YOU’D LOSE THE ZEOS MANNERISMS - (CAN’T STAND THE GoPro SHOT FROM THE HEAD) CHEERS FROM A SCOUSER’S HUSBAND IN THE STATES. WISH I NEVER MET HER OR ZEOS!

Wow.. I'm not at this level but I'm loving that you've made it for folk. Blinding Stuff. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Solid review. Have had a Qutest a couple of months now and pretty much agree. The top end detail and refinement are quite staggering, as is separation. Even more than the preceding 2Qute. What's hard to determine is whether you 'should' be hearing that extra detail or not, but the main thing is it has yet to sound fatiguing or like it's getting in the way. Mainly rock, blues, classical, vocal stuff.

This is one of the best , if not the best review of the qutest I ever have seen so far. Thank You for great video , being so informative. I have onwed the qutest myself and consider this to be great little piece of electronic. I share your opinion about the specific genres : like acoustic music , classical ones where the qutest is shining but also sounds sometimes polite. Good luck with next reviews.

Yup, i find my new favorite audio reviewer

Hi and thanks for your great review of Chord Electronics Qutest one of which I own, like overall and it ‘definitely’ improved my system (listed below this message/query). I have a wide range of music, from AC/DC to ZZ Top, Anthrax to Voivod, a lot of Contemporary/Technical Prog’ Rock/Metal, a ‘bit’ of traditional Prog’, but also like a lot of many other genre's from Beth Hart to Tracy Chapmen, Kate Bush, some Blues, some (mostly) lighter Jazz Melanie De Biasio, Patricia Barber etc, Electronica such as Moby, Yello etc and more! Anyway!, my system without a DAC ‘is’ I would say on the warmer, richer side of sound; As per above I am ‘overall’ pleased with what the Qutest has added - in short, mostly the things you have described. With these things in mind and ‘many’ telling me the Chord Hugo TT2 is only a ‘very little bit’ better as 'just a DAC', is something like the Holo Audio Spring 3 (Level 2) worth trying? (That is about the price level I could save and get to, unless the Level 3 is ‘definitely’ proportionately worth the extra money?!). Any advice/ideas will be much appreciated. All the best, Simon. My system (taken me approx' 30yrs to get to via buying/selling, deals etc!: Naim HDX (2TB - This is truly SO good for me because I cannot physically use a standard remote control, but with environmental controls I can use it in virtually the same way; when I had it in 2013, it was the first time since 1989 that I could interact (myself) with my entire CD collection!). Naim XPS Power supply. Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 Amplifier (Tuned further by John Sampson - HIGHLY recommended, from an already great Amp’ to a superb Amp’ IMO!)... those three components are plugged into a Russ Andrews X4 Block (which was a ’big’ improvement) each using an Atlas EOS 4DD UK Mains Power Cable. Kef Reference 1 'speakers. Chord Electronics Qutest DAC (plugged into standard wall socket). Chord Company Signature Tuned Aray interconnects and ‘speaker cable.

You have an amazing setup. Thanks for the review, I really enjoyed it. A genuine suggestion - you have a lot of electronic equipment in close proximity. It might be worth investigating RFI suppression (ferrites on Mscaler BNCs) and optimisation (for reduced RFI) of your power supply. This has paid dividends for me.

Chord waste to much money on the case, Put it into the sound. The Chinese companies are killing them for sound quality.

Nice and interesting content! I don't like your continuous camera movement, so I mostly listened it.

I would love if you could take a look at the other Chord products like the Mojo and the Hugo if you ever get the chance

I purchased mine, with an ifi power supply in Dec 22. My source is a Aurilic Aries Mini. Before that I had a CA DACmagic 100. A friend bought around his Hugo2 before I got the Qutest and I was blown away, so I decided to upgrade. But I’m certain my Qutest isn’t sounding as good as it should. Any advice? I’ll also have a chat with Chord at Ascot on Sunday.

What was the power delivery? Included power supply? pc? I have owned one, and the power supply affects the punch and dynamic. I tried a sbooster (was the best option),, and also tried a power bank (was the softest/tamest)

I wanted to love Chord products having used/purchased the Mojo, Hugo 2, and Poly. But the sound was just too 'polite' for me; very detailed but I often want to relax to music and not worry about whether I can hear that third string violin in the left-hand corner of the chamber. I switched to R-R DACs and have not looked back - they sound natural and great for my ears (Metrum Acoustics Pavane and Xi Audio Sagra DACs).

Micro USB on any DAC is a big turn off.

Fot this $$$, I rather but a pair of Lintons with a $130 E30, SMSL Sanskrit, Zen, etc that would be far better addition to your system and would sound perfectly gud and "audiophile" quality! $$$ DACs are such BS and over-priced for wut "might" sound 1% better than a $130 DAC...

Great Video - which ist the mentioned video about how DAC s work (R2R, delta sigma etc.)?

Hi love your review, subscribed and notified! I got grado sr80e and a dragonfly black back then in my college years, now im working and could afford some toys, I recently got a Grado GH4(used like new in a very good price). I lurked around forums and found that warmer coloured dac and amps(chord and bifrost) works really well with grado sound signature. Is it a good jump to buy a chord qutest and a decent budget amp(grado doesn't need much power)? Or any other suggestions?

I found your videos a couple days ago and real like the technical explanations

Interesting and very helpful review The head cam violent movements are unsettling - I jumped to the conclusion because I couldn't take any more. Your channel would do better if you had a more sophisticated video setup - very few RU-vid channels use head cams

Most Chord gear is overrated ... Relying on reputation put out there by People's opinions ... And it's just that opinions ... just like mine ... Each to there own ...

Mr, where can I find that desk? It looks awesome

After owning it for one month, I sold it ... I did not like it for my set up

Proud owner of the Qutest and although the M Scaler is tempting, I do agree with your price point not being worth it to pair the two. Anyhow, very much appreciate your review and analysis. Terrific channel and thank you again for reviewing some privileged audio equipment.

Great review, thanks for posting this. I haven't heard this DAC but I really feel it hits the high points and the lesser points (mainly that it may be "too refined"). I feel that other reviews might have been so "wowed" by the sound that they missed that the DAC might be "prettying up" things a bit too much. It does seem that this is very much worth hearing, but the caveats you mentioned should be kept in mind.

Can you do a review of Chord Mojo 2 and compare it with the Qutest and ifi Dacs?

I've owned a Qutest for 18 months. I've always known but couldn't pin point what you've uncovered. I mostly listen to folk rock and orchestral, it's accurate full and detailed soundstage, with beautiful delicate vocals and solos. Then I put on Muse or Radio Head and it just doesn't like the raw aggression. Maybe a better power supply would help? Advise with the 1, 2 or 3v output option on start up would be appriciated.

The qutest, with a good power supply, is way greater. Another reviewer said it compares with the Dave. I suspect Chord to mostly upgrade the power supply on other units. I tried a small teradak power supply and my actual one with different results. The Teradak is leaner in the midrange enought to make the sound more upper midrange compliant. The new power supply give a fuller sound, more fast and meatier. I think Farad power supply has been tested to be the best (but too expensive for me...)

Thanks for a very good review.

Great review - as I have no interest in EDM at all, sounds like the perfect DAC for me!

Too bad the moving camera makes me nauseous. I’ve tried twice, third time was the charm, have to agree you do get into the weeds of this Chord. Usually listening to Jazz so this piece of kit should improve my Bluesound Node immensely. You turned me on to Bob Moses, Cheers for that. 🙏

great review

Cant you go from single ended to xlr with just a cable?, I know from xlr to rca no, but it shuld be ok from rca to xlr, and qutest does have variable output voltage

Anything spoken with a British accent sounds amazing... thats what a DAC is supposed to do....add refinement

Interesting DAC technology. For me most valuable is track list. I like to try new music. I am not ready pay so much for gear now.

at this point your reviews are as much about the gear as it is about discovering new music lol. thanks ! edit:typos

Here you mention how different DACs are suited for different types of genres and how it was recorded. Is there a DAC that is good for all types of music and recordings?

the man is like a scientific british z reviews and i like it.

I keep hearing from others that certain linear power supplies really enhance the staging, refinement, and resolution of the Qutest. I just received my Qutest today and my LPS in two weeks....

+ one for the esthetics, I mean I love it much better than those horible technical black boxes with kind of airplaine cockpit leds

Excellent review. I'll like to see your opinion of the Burson Composer 3X

What output voltage did you use by the way? I had the impression with my Qutest that the 1V output was tamer than the other two, maybe as you described as being too refined.

Awesome stuff! Question: do all high-end DACs have galvanic isolation on the USB port? I have a Matrix Audio Element X, and I'm curious if you recommend something like iFi Nano iGalvanic3.0 - USB Galvanic Isolation unit. I connect the DAC to my gaming PC. Subbed

Your reviews really help us to fully understand precisely how something actually sounds by avoiding generalities like "It sounds good.".

If I want a DAC that can make me jump when the drumps hit but I only have 2000€ and not 13000 .. what do I get? Also I realy dont want to sacrifice tonality. Was thinking something like the Shiit Gungnir. But hard to find reviews of reviewers whos understanding of sound I have figured out.

Have you direct compared this with say schiit biifrost r2r style? Would love some feedback!

Could you give your opinion about Soekris dacs (discrete R-2R sign magnitude) ? Would Soekris dac2541/dac1421 be comparable to Chord Qutest for classical, jazz or orchestral music? Thanks

I think that extra "politeness" is quite handy if you're speakers are already pretty forward, like my Klipsch heresy 3's. Its the Jing to there Jang. Its more than enough for me for many years to come. Very simple noting too much to go wrong and very future proof. I wish they bring out a streamer in its form factor and a mini M scaler would be good too.

I own a Qutest. Good review, your correct with the separation of instruments and vocals. I have it paired with a tube headphone amp and I think it tames some of the refinement. I prefer to listen to live recordings. Eric Clapton unplugged is very good. I subbed 👍

Great review! Thanks for that. The headcam though... 15 minutes in and I get nauseous.

Just goes to show that high-end audio is a combination of art and science. Once that's out of the way, all that remains is enjoyment - or not, according to gear choices beyond a certain price-point. The Chord Mojo 2, for example, now retailing at £395, breaks that price rule very obviously IMHO.

What about the M-scaler and the Hugo TT2? It has to be a better combo, but is it worth the money in your opinion?

Did you take the same sign-language / gesturing course as Zeos? It's uncanny! Anyway, very interesting piece of kit (especially with the FPGA). I also find your descriptions of sound characteristics very relatable. Great work!

Goldensound, you are brilliant. Thank you.

$4K M--Scaler running an $1800 DAC?

Another one of those head cameras with the head bobbing around many seem like a good idea to you but it quickly makes people nauseous.

Great review, I hit that bell. Wish I could hear some of that stuff on your desk (one day!)

You listen to some incredible music, can i get a playlist?

What is a good DAC for EDM or Dubstep?

Here where is my problem with this kind of review and product, the dac shouldn't smooth think up or else , if you spend 26:15 mns to describe the sound of this dac mean there is something wrong with it . You spend more time to describe the sound of the electronics instead talking about the music from the artists. I want to hear the artist not the electronics.

Any MIDI is also very separating. I think SMSL M400 that sold at $750 (now $850) competes well against this for almost half the dough.

Who do you believe ? Darko Audio said that this is great for EDM in his review "kicks harder with great slam & wallop"....

If I could give you more than one thumbs up I would! Great Review! Thank you,

I would pay to see him review any Swans speakers ;) Fantastic work, you got an easy sub...

Mirrors exactly my own experience with Qutest vs RME Adi-2. I love them both. Qutest gives that separation and a sort of excitement which works wonders on my more mojo, less neutral speakers bringing out more detail without making it over-etched. Whereas on already very analytical and detailed speakers Qutest can sound a bit forced and over-etched, and there the RME Adi-2 tames that a bit and brings a lovely slam instead. But it does cause some confusion for me as I end up with one more romanic sounding setup for prog, jazz, rock etc with Qutest and another one with more analytical speakers for electronic music with slam with the RME Adi-2. Its really two different flavours and I think it would cause me even more headscratching if I tried to unite these flavours into one system so ive given up that fight and I switch between the flavours romantic vs analytical when I grow tired of one or the other. I should mention that I do like electronic music on my romantic setup as well with the qutest, but I dont go there when I want it to be really analytical.

Not much at 1500? You have the RME ADI-2 DAC, what else could you possibly need? :P Nice explanation on how the chord works.

Wonderful review! Extremely helpful and enjoyable :) Thanks so much for all of the info! Do you reckon the Qutest would combine well (sound-wise) with the Graham Slee Solo Ultra-Linear DE Head Amp? Best wishes from Brighton ^_^

Nice Job Golden keep em coming.

Yea, if Chord was built in plain black boxes, I’d likely never have cared about them, if I’m entirely honest... I’d like to say the tech would be enough, but I doubt it - aesthetics are too important to me. To each their own, as you say.

You mention EDM and let’s be fair...that’s basically the anus of SQ in recording land...at least the colon. You can’t really compare it to a Dave either

I watched your review many times and decided to purchase a QuTest DAC and it is amazing as you mentioned however to found a weird issue if anybody experienced. I hooked QuTest DAC to Marantz 40n and Marantz SR6010 and it worked great. But when I hooked QuTest DAC to Musical Fidelity integrated amplifier A3.2, it only produced mono sound, not stereo. It doesn’t matter what I tried, tested all inputs from usb, optical, and BNC from different sources streaming, it still produces mono sound with Musical Fidelity integrated amplifier A3.2. Musical Fidelity integrated amplifier A3.2 is working great with other DAC and devices without the issue above except QuTest. I wonder what causes the issue

The screen is so dizzy that I can't see it properly. Your review is good.

Really enjoyed your review! I’ve been comparing the Qutest with an Apogee Element’s DAC - I’m using good spdif source for both but still find the Qutest a little tiring to listen to- it’s throwing too much detail, like a wall of details and I can’t easily discern the transient variations and volume differences (it’s like compression is applied making the levels similar of all the different instruments. I find the Element superior, it gives the same details but in a slightly more direct and natural way, where they are laid out in front and not fighting for attention. I also find the Element less grainy and more natural even if it’s mids are a touch forward. I missed a chance to buy a Holo Spring 2 for similar price so I’m kicking myself a bit now. I find the Qutest overpriced for the sound it offers, not bad just not the best value