Chord Electronics Qutest | Standalone DAC
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Our Take
The Qutest is the our top choice for a DAC under five grand. Until you reach the Hugo TT 2 level, you simply cannot find a better DAC. Pair this with a high quality headphone amp or use it in your 2-channel setup – we promise you will be absolutely floored by its performance. And if you really, really want to transcend to absolute digital audio nirvana, pair your Qutest with a Hugo M Scaler, and you may never leave your house ever again. |
From Chord Electronics
Qutest is our "pure" DAC (it does not contain headphone amplification or rechargeable batteries like some of its range stablemates) and is designed to improve sound quality in the home. It is the latest evolution of our most affordable standalone DAC, the multi-award-winning 2Qute, which it directly replaces.
Qutest is based on our award-winning proprietary FPGA technology developed for the class-leading Hugo 2 DAC/headphone amp, giving it proven class-leading technical and sonic performance. Perfectly equipped to bring the benefits our digital technology to a wide range of connected devices, it features a galvanically isolated USB-B, optical and coaxial digital input, giving an instant performance upgrade, plus the ability to modernize aging digital source components.
The Qutest chassis is all-new, too. It has significantly greater mass than its predecessor and has been precision-machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminum billet. The Qutest PCB nestles within a shallow cavity in the solid aluminum chassis, giving the circuit board greater protection within the casework and additional isolation from external vibration compared to previous designs.
Qutest offers Hugo 2’s proprietary user-selectable frequency-shaping filters and input selection controls, available via two fascia-mounted spheres, introducing useful flexibility. It also features RCA analogue outputs for connection to integrated amplifiers, preamps and headphone amps, plus high-resolution dual-data digital inputs for connection to future Chord Electronics products.
A further new feature is a user-selectable output voltage available in 1, 2 and 3V RMS outputs for flexible connectivity with a wide range of partnering devices.
Materials: Precision machined aluminum casing with polycarbonate buttons and glass viewing portal. Available only in Jett Black.
Device power supply: 5v 2amp Micro USB
Tap length filter: 49,152 – 10 element Pulse Array design
Connectivity (input): USB Type B (White): 44.1kHz to 768kHz – 16bit to 32bit
2x BNC Coax (Red): 44.1kHz – 384kHz – 16bit to 32bit
1x Dual data mode input (using both BNC coax inputs together): 44.1kHz to 768kHz – 16bit to 32bit
Optical (Green): 44.1kHz to 96kHz – 16bit to 24bit
Connectivity (output): 1x stereo pair of RCA (Left and Right)
PCM support: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 358.8kHz, 384kHz, 717.6kHz, and 768kHz.
DSD support: Native playback supported. DSD64 (Single) to DSD512 (Octa-DSD)
Variable output: Fixed, but selectable between 3v (blue), 2v (green), and 1v (red) via dual press of ‘Filter’ + ‘Input’ upon startup
Driver support: Driverless with Mac OS X and Linux, driver required for Windows OS
Digital designer: Rob Watts
Mechanical designer: John Franks
Country of manufacture: England
Specifications
- Chipset: Chord custom-coded Xilinx Artix 7 (XC7A15T) FPGA
- Tap-length: 49,152
- Pulse array: 10 element pulse array design
- Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 0.2dB
- Output stage: Class A
- THD: <0.0001% 1kHz 3v RMS 300Ω
- THD and noise at 3v RMS: 1117dB at 1kHz 300Ω ‘A’ weighted (reference 2.5v)
- Noise 2.6 uV ‘A’ weighted: No measurable noise floor modulation
- Channel separation: 138dB at 1kHz 300Ω
- Weight: 1.7 lbs
- Dimensions: 1.61” (H) x 6.3” (W) x 2.83” (D)
In the Box
- 1.5m 5v 2a Switching Micro USB Power Supply
- 2m USB-A to USB-B Cable
- Qutest Owners Manual
- Raw Silk Drawstring Bag