Chord Qutest DAC Reviews

4.8 Rating 31 Reviews

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Phone:

909.931.9686

Email:

joel.m@upscaleaudio.com

Location:

2058 Wright Avenue,
2058 Wright Avenue
California
91750

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Philip Anderson

Verified Reviewer

“A beguiling piece of technology, I am glad I chose the Chord Qutest.”

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Posted 2 weeks ago

Colin Gatwood

Verified Reviewer

Author didn't leave any comments.

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Posted 6 months ago

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Posted 6 months ago

“Beautiful blend of detail, clarity, range, and dynamics. Some say that DACs don’t matter much, but the Qutest has brought my system to another level, delivering the most complete, natural, and satisfying sound I have ever had in my home. I can’t compare it to other $1K plus DACs as this is first I have owned, but I am very happy with how it fits with my simple tube amp to horn speaker $10k system. Upscale audio service is absolutely first class.”

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Posted 7 months ago

“Perfect for my system, taste, and budget. The 3 volt output option gain matches beautifully with my SET “integrated” EL34 tube amp, that only has RCA inputs. This gives a richer tone than 2V inputs and fills out the bass enough so I could host a disco party. The incisive neutral filter gives me all the detail I want with none of the artificial “etched” sound that I have never heard live, but only from some DACs. Presentation is natural and balanced with no frequencies or instruments “popping out” as I have heard with other products. When I crank it up to “too loud” my Klipsch Forte IVs can sound a little harsh until I switch to the warm filter, which sands things off just enough without undo detail loss. Between tracks the system is dead silent. Chord chief designer Rob Watts claims that with the Qutest streaming source doesn’t matter and optical is the best input. My experience so far confirms this. The Qutest has given me exactly what I wanted and I am surprised and delighted with the improvement in my system. This spring I heard the $700,000 Focal/Naim system at Axpona, and for me that’s the mountain top. But for 1/70th the cost the Chord Qutest has brought my system satisfyingly close. And - Upscale Audio service is absolutely first rate. My purchase was pretty small for them but they still went above and beyond for me. Excellent experience. Thank you!”

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Posted 7 months ago

“I did the A/B test with the Chord Qutest versus the OPPO UDP-205 internal DAC. Both connected to my Marantz setup. Both tests were done with the same source CD playing. Test A: played the CD through the (OPPO DAC) to Marantz RCA analog connection. Test B: played the CD through the OPPO (Transport only) connected via optical to {Chord DAC) to Marantz RCA analog connection. Results were: OPPO DAC, more focused sound stage with good bass. Chord Qutest DAC, wider sound stage, more detail and ability to pick out instruments better. Smoother warm audio almost analog sound on my setup. Bass was a slight improvement.”

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Posted 11 months ago

Andrew Williams

Verified Reviewer

“Sounds great!”

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Posted 11 months ago

Oleg Ulyanitskiy

Verified Reviewer

Author didn't leave any comments.

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Posted 11 months ago