The setup is quite simple, the HQPlayer runs on a computer with a fanless case and powered by a linear power supply. The conversion to dual coax is done by the AudioWise SRC•DX USB to Dual-Coax adapter. The HQPlayer is fed by a remote roon ROCK.
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Read lots of reviews and settled on demoing a Qutest in an attempt to move away from the very forward sound of my first generation CDX2 and XPS2.
Found that it was very clear and detailed but also very much as much in your face as the former. Attached to an NDX2 Mrs. H. described it as like having someone claw her face. A bit dramatic but I understood the gist. It was not a relaxing listen. Attached to an Innuos Zenith it was a tad better but not the change we/I were looking for. Settled on a Hugo TT2 and never looked back. Get all the detail and separation but also some warmth. Never thought about it much since until this past few weeks when the TT2 threw a wobbler; went back to the dealer and is now back with Chord.
Immensely bad timing given I was about to make a second attempt to demo an English Acoustics power amp at home. Dealer kindly loaned me a Qutest and it’s been interesting to hear it at home.
First task was to see if I could get it to sound anything like the the TT2 so that my other dem could still proceed. Clear “no” on that.
At this point I have settled on 2V and moved it to the Incisive Neutral and HF roll off filter. It takes it a tad closer to the TT2 and has made for an enjoyable experience but it remains like being in the front row rather than being a few rows back as my ageing ears now prefer. At its price point I suspect it remains untouchable but only if you like a full on PRaT loaded sound.
I have no need for a Mojo but I’ve recently had cause to listen to a Mojo 2 and compare to other Chord DACs. UI concerns aside it’s very good but not a Qutest. The latter really is a remarkably good little beast.
Power supplies and upscaling? Yes, you can get a different sound with a change of power supply but it’s not the sound of a Qutest you’re then listening to. If you want a different sounding DAC just buy that instead. Lots of talk about uplift but really it’s just a slightly blacker background with no real sense of grain removed and usually, as mentioned above, some HF smoothing.
In buying my TT2 my intent was to also reduce box count. I am unlikely to ever upscale. It’s more cost; more cables and more space taken. It will be worth it for someone with money burning a whole in their pocket but taking very very slow steps I’ve found a more significant gain, for example, simply switching to a better wi-fi repeater. It’s important to understand that the bare DAC here does not need a power supply, an upscaler etc. to “hear what it can do”. It’s all there in the bare box.
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Not sure if i could be doing with the extra cables and clutter - it would have to be really worth it!
My source is not a computer but an Auralic Aries G1.
You don’t know that to be true because you haven’t done it.
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Ok, Qutest is a good dac, it’s popular for a reason etc. However. Let’s face the truth - it’s nowhere the league of a true higher-fi dacs. You’ll need at least 3x budget for a used one but after listening you’ll immediately realise how compromised Qutest really is…
Have demoed both actually and so absolutely know it to be true for my ears in my system and at a couple of dealers.
To avoid having to make a further post I ought to have noted that the Qutest is only okay when it comes to soundstage compared to the TT2.
Did you audition HQPlayer with the Qutest?
I tried it on a few DACs. Impressive software on some levels but overkill for marginal gains to most ears. Just buy a different DAC if the sound you want is not the sound of the bare Qutest. Several similar options from the likes of Matrix which can produce that ultra clinical analytical clean sound some people crave.
Stuff like HQ Plsyer comes and goes. There’s an element of the cult about it and some seriously demented attempts to suggest there should be huge FOMO when there really ought not. The argument is always that you’ve really not heard what x can do until you’ve heard it with y. When you respond that you’ve heard it with y and it was different but not necessarily better then the next jump is to the “but what cables were you using and why didn’t you float them in mid air whilst standing on one leg facing the corner?”
If you hear huge differences then great. Most people hear “difference”. That’s not showing you what something can do. It’s showing you just… difference.
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I have the Qutest’s predecessor - the 2Qute, which I run between a Raspberry Pi running Volumio, and a SN2.
The 2Qute blew me away about 7 years ago, and so I still have it - superb detail and dynamics. Very rhythmic, weighty sound.
Wonder if there’s much of a step up to the Qutest. I’m sure there will be, things moved on pretty quickly, and I think the 2Qute was first released back in 2015.
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I found the qutest more refined after the 2qute but it kinda lost get up an go… the 2qute is more boisterous and fun for it , if you can accommodate the fixed 3v out … part of the reason I went to qutest.
Depending on the choice of filter, the presentation changes considerably. I’ve tested pretty much every option over the last two years, and can say there are at least three filters that sound considerably better than the bare Qutest, and none of them are million tap ones. The HQPlayer does take the Qutest to a whole different level, and for a very modest investment. The only element of cult that I see hear is one of denial.
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Not to be too blunt, but if any of you have not heard the Qutest with a Sean Jacobs or Plixir Elite BDC, you’ve never actually heard the Qutest at all.
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I’ve only tried a handful power supplies and I haven’t heard much difference, but I don’t doubt at all something like a Sean Jacobs could make a sizable improvement.
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With the SJ or Plixir, the Qutest overtook the TT2 in my system.
It matters that much.
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Which Sean Jacobs, DC3?
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such as ?
I just think of the time which most people would save by not spending years experimenting to find a mere three filters which make a difference to your ears in your system. It seems a remote possibility that another user would hear the same three filters making the same difference in their system and like all three. The Qutest comes with four filters. Many people find one they like. Many others can’t even hear a difference including professional reviewers.
Think I’m likely still on safe ground suggesting most users would simply get a different DAC and most users won’t feel they’re missing out on some potential performance leap in a great product. If you hear a difference then good for you but having tried various options I’m very clear that whether it’s power supplies, cables, shelving or software there is no clear cut “better”. There is just a “different that you like”.
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Just to say filters don’t need to to have taps to be effective, it totally depends on the filter technique adopted whether it be a finite impulse response filter or infinite impulse response (FIR or IIR). FIR use ‘taps’ and basically a tap is a sample position containing the required impulse response sample pattern (usually a sinc(x) response) which is then multiplied through a moving window with the sample stream. IIR filters don’t use taps and instead use recursively procedural filters applied to the sample stream. Naim use IIR filters as in listening tests in their product designs they are said to have sounded better. Chord Electronics instead use FIR with a customized windowing function using notably large kernel responses (taps) in their designs for example
IIR and FIR each have their pros and cons, both are necessarily a compromise in the real world. Downsides of FIR filters is that they get less effective at higher sample rates for a given kernel response window size and they can have a tendency of introducing noise into the conversion processing system. Downsides of IIR filters can include less performant phase responses.
We also need to remember in the digital domain there are usually two key filter functions, the reconstruction filter and the anti aliasing filter or digital low pass filter. It’s the latter that can be shaped like a precise tone control to adjust the balance or limit the band pass of a DAC. This can sometimes notably impact the sound of a DAC as well if there are distortions generated in the reconstruction and filtering processes.
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I have a Mscaler Dave in one room, and a 2qute in another room.
The 2qute is quite the dac, I never feel that something is missing, I enjoy it for many hours a day when watching concerts.
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That’s quite the endorsement for the 2qute - I bypassed that step to get to the Qutest, but I can at least say the Qutest is far better than the Mojo.