While I wait patiently for my ND5 XS2 (being delivered by Unicorn, apparently) I have bought a used Chord Qutest to boost my existing Cambridge CXN. I find that the Qutest has a variable Line Level Output of either 1V, 2V or 3V RMS. Is there a ‘better’ option to choose? Obviously my 250DR will have no problem boosting any choice, but is it better to provide a lower signal and have the amp work slightly harder, or vice versa?
Naim preamps will give you lots of gain in the first small range of adjustment of the volume pot, and this only gets worse with a higher input, so I would try 1V first, although any level will work.
With the Hugo, which has a variable output rather than 1, 2, or 3V fixed, it sounded better to me when it was dialled down a bit below max.
Many thanks
Someone will correct me but cd output standard was 2v, so I set the qutest to this initially. Playing around I then found the 1v output seems to give a more relaxed sound with both the 252/300dr, and the 82/250 non dr.
I use 2V on my Qutest which results in the same output level as my cd player (which i believe is also 2V)
Probably 2V is the standard, but you may want to adjust it to get the low volume listening that suits your preamp best.
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