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Chord QUTEST DAC
(Black) rrp £1395
***Image/s shown are of actual item*** (more to follow)Excellent condition.Original box and packing12 months warranty providedPlease contact us for more information
British digital engineering at its most acclaimed: a compact DAC that punches far above its size and price.
The Chord Qutest is one of the most award-winning digital-to-analogue converters ever made, and it earns that reputation with genuinely original engineering. Rather than a standard off-the-shelf DAC chip, it uses Chord's own custom-coded FPGA, designed by Rob Watts and carrying the same core technology as the far more expensive Hugo 2. At its heart is Chord's 49,152-tap filter, hundreds of times longer than the industry norm, which recovers the fine timing and spatial cues that give the Qutest its remarkable sense of depth, focus and natural flow. It is a pure DAC, with no headphone stage or battery to compromise it, built solely to convert digital to analogue as well as it can be done at the price.
For so small a unit it is beautifully made and genuinely flexible. The chassis is precision-machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminium billet, with the circuit board nestled inside for isolation, and the two illuminated spheres on the front let you choose between four filter characters and switch inputs at a touch. A galvanically isolated USB input keeps computer noise at bay, twin BNC and optical inputs handle everything else, and a selectable output voltage makes it easy to match to any amplifier. Should you ever wish to go further, the dual BNC inputs will accept Chord's own M Scaler for a substantial lift.
Endlessly capable, immaculately engineered and finished in black, the Qutest remains a benchmark at its level and a superb heart for any digital system.