Qutest

The Qutest digital to analogue convertor

Qutest is a standalone DAC whose performance belies its compact dimensions. With DAC architecture based on the award-winning Hugo 2, Qutest offers class-leading digital conversion.

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, which is a What Hi-Fi? Star of CES 2018, 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 modernise ageing 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 aluminium billet. The Qutest PCB nestles within a shallow cavity in the solid aluminium 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.

Features

Materials: Precision machined aluminium 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, 352.8kHz, 384kHz, 717.6kHz, and 768kHz. 16 – 32bit

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

Key Features

• Chord Custom FPGA DAC
• 49,152 Taps
• 4x Selectable Filters
• Selectable Output Voltage
• 768kHz USB Type B Input
• 96kHz Optical Input
• USB Galvanic Isolation
• 2x 384kHz BNC Coax Input
• 1x 768kHz Dual Data Mode Input
• 1x Stereo RCA Outputs
• Supports up to 768kHz PCM
• Native DSD 512 (8x) Capable
• Solid Aluminium Chassis

Included Accessories

• Qutest user manual
• Safety instructions
• Drawstring bag
• 5V 2A Switching Micro USB power supply
• Type-A USB to Type-B USB cable

Awards

Compatible with

• Android
• Ios
• Windows
• Osx
• Linux

Chipset:

 Chord Electronics 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:

 117dB at 1kHz 300ohms ‘A’ weighted (reference 2.5v)

Noise 2.6 uV ‘A’ weighted: 

No measurable noise floor modulation

Channel separation:

 138dB at 1kHz 300Ω

Weight: 

770g

Dimensions:

 4.5cm (H) 16cm (W) 8.8cm (D)

Boxed Weight:

 1.5kg

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