It does not matter if it is a late review. I personally was waiting for you to review any Chord DAC. I am convinced that you are physically gifted with better hearing than most of us. Combined with mature listening skills, your observations and opinion have great value. Thanks for this review.

You have a great way of describing listening experience with words, mimic, and gestures. So easy to follow the little nuances you want to bring across. Thanks for your reviews.

Great review! You are truly becoming more and more professional in your reviews. Congratulations. BTW I agree with your disdain for MQA which has been a disaster for the industry. Keep up the excellent work! Thank you for your efforts

This is the second review of yours I have watched. Your reviews are impressive. I have found that you display a much more natural confidence in what you are saying than any of the reviewers I have viewed until now. Thanks for your work!

Great review! I bought Qutest 1.5 months ago. I was curious what you would say about its sound, because I have watched all your reviews of the DAC and I totally agree with you. Chord sounds as you say. Greetings!

For all the KZfaq reviewers that I follow, your's is the channel that drives some of my buying decisions. I have a Pontus II 12-1 and I love it. I was thinking about a Hugo TT2 because there are occasions when I miss the precise detail (usually found on Chifi). After watching this, I think I will keep my Denafrips. Although, I do wonder if the TT2 with its 100,000 taps vs the Qutest 50,000 taps improves on the lack of richness. Maybe if I have some kind of unexpected windfall of money, I'll buy the TT2 and have both. 🙂

Basses on Chord DACs are the most precise I've ever heard, no matter the price range. The definition on treble can be a little disturbing on some tracks but the general quality is very high. A good quality power supply definitely makes difference. On the other hand the Denafrips has a smoothness that's difficult to rival. Great review.

I want to thank you for this great work ! I really can hear on Chord Hugo 2 what you describe for Chord Qtest and that's why this video is so useful for me. Considering how hard it is to communicate what can be heard through audio gears, I strongly appreciate that you succeed so well in this aspect.

Though this is a 3 year old review, it is still relevant today. The reviewer is right on the money about the chord qutest. Since purchasing a slightly used cutest that came with an upgraded ifi elite power supply at a very good price, I feel that I made an excellent choice. There are so many choices in this price range. And, I have to admit that I am skeptical buying an expensive dac from China for the same reasons explained by the reviewer. But, if you find the cutest on the used market for around half the price, it can't be beat for all the accurate sonic reasons he described. A good dac requires a good system, and visa versa. The cutest may be long in the tooth, but it's still is an unbeatable dac for its accuracy. Thanks to this reviewer for helping me make the right choice.

iiWi, You have done it again. The major reviewers need to take a message out of your playbook. You have a way to convey and put sound into words with emotion, without all of the Word Salad!!!

This is the best comparison I have seen for these 2 DACs so far. I am considering these two and your explanation really clarifies which one I would prefer. Now the Qutest has increased its price to the US $1,945.00. So at this, price I would really like see your take on the Pontus II, which would still be cheaper at US $1810.00

I have one (Chord Qutest purchased in mint condition for a lot less than the retail price - owned for approx' 18 months) with an already great system and I can DEFINITELY recommend at LEAST trying one; Easy to set up / use. Changing to each of the 4 filter settings really does make it able to get the sound 'you' want (in my experience)... you can get detail AND warmth via the 3rd, or 4th filter setting) and most important of all... for an out of the box component it is (in my opinion) excellent and gets a coinsiderable amount more from your system... ultimately though and is often the way, a lot depends on 'your' system.

Odlično poređenje, potpisujem! Trenutno imam 3 različita DAC-a: Denafrips Ares II, Denafrips Terminator i Accuphase DAC-50 (modul u mom Accuphase E-480 pojačalu). Imam namjeru zadržati samo jednu DAC opciju, ali nakon višemjesečnog slušanja i komparacija, gotovo da je nemoguće odlučiti se koju, naročito ako se imaju i vidu različite cjenovne klase. Accuphase DAC-50 (duplo skuplji od Ares II) je najpraktičnija solucija, naginje Quest zvuku, ali mu nedostaje ono što je posebna Ares II zvučna signatura. Denafrips Terminator objedinjuje sve to na jedan fantastičan način (+ diže sve na kvadrat), doista jedan ultimativni high-end DAC! No, duplo je skuplji nego ova dva zajedno. Dakle, muka živa... Pozdrav iz Švedske!

Wonderful review!! I just ordered the Denafrips.

Great review, you are top of the game!

Love your reviews. So thorough and put in many perspectives. Thanks

I agree with your value/ratio thinking both for the reasons you mentioned and for one other reason. DACs are getting better and cheaper each year. I see no reason to overspend today when tomorrow you may well be trading up again.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍👍💪Congratulations you have described this component so accurately you really do have a way with words excellent I feel like I’ve heard it in person thanks to you best review so far congrats a big fan of yours stevecostello💪

This is a great review, the first one I've seen where I feel like I can actually conceptualize how it will sound properly. The comparison with the Ares II was very helpful and actually gave me insight on how both DACs sound. Thanks !

Amazing review and a precise clear description. Subscribed!

Thank You for this comparison. I'm thinking of buying one of this two boys. Thanks a lot to show me the diferences between Ares II and Qutest, now I'm little bit more confused :). Maybe it's not about DACs but I'm a happy owner od Dayens Menuetto amplifier which came to me directly from Serbia! Thanks and please, keep doing your reviews, I love them!

Actually, I think there is a certain wisdom behind the Chord color-based selection scheme. You hear audiophiles always talking about the problem of objectivity due to their impression of what sounds good being skewed by KNOWING what settings they are listening to. Well, with the color coding, if you never take a peek at the color-coding key, the only thing you have to tell you what sounds best is YOUR EARS! So actually, the color-coded selection are quite clever, in that respect.

I highly recommend trying Audio-gd R2R DACs. I have the Ares II and a discontinued DAC-19 that trounces it in everything (clarity, tone, timbre, soundstage) and at a slightly lesser price. The current Audio-gd R-1 is $900 and should be a good comparison.

Congratulations, you're very good at describing your feelings as they relate to the gear used. This is actually very difficult to accomplish and you aced it. I'm a fan of your reviewing style.

You wasn't joking about the improvement in sound with the Shanti power supply on the Qutest, I was lucky enough to grab one recently and was pleasantly surprised.

Thoroughly enjoyed the comparison , keep going

Very good review and comparison between the Quetest and theDenafrips Area II. TQ.

Thanks for your honest review!

denafrips has a re-seller in Germany, the guy has a youtube channel, very nice German guy.

I don't have much money, so I often use my Anker powerbank which is basically a battery, instead of a linear power supply. It's maximum output is 18 Watts and so I've used it with three different dac/amps. You can totally tell the difference it makes and it lasts up to 8 hours. The only downside is it takes hours to recharge. Anyway I paid £20 for it, if anyone is interested.

My subjective experience is different, FWIW here is my two cents. I owned the Denafrips for several months and listened to it daily. Emphasizing again this is my own subjective reaction to it, I found over a period of time a creeping dissatisfaction with the sound that was not part of my initial reaction to it. It simply annoyed me. Something about it was just not right. Eventually, I could not stand to listen to it at all. At that point I considered my options carefully and after a lot of research, decided to try the Chord Qutest. I liked it from the start and after many months I still like it. It’s not exactly a matter of detail but the sound is properly organized whereas my perception of the Ares’ sound is that it isn’t. I am using the cheap power supply that came with the Qutest, but I also have a high quality power conditioner and I have invested in good cables in the system. The most expensive cable is the digital coax (Audioquest Diamond), which contrary to much controversy, is the single upgrade that made the most startling difference with both DACs (Its retail cost is higher than the Denfrips). Of course it is unfair as you point out to compare the Denafrips directly to the Qutest given the price difference. My subjective evaluation is differs from yours however, in that I consider the Qutest using the switching supply that comes with it to be a very significant upgrade from the Ares. My own personal judgment is that the Qutest is the minimum acceptable level of performance acceptable for me. It is an accurate DAC that does not (for me) become fatiguing over time, whereas the Ares did not stand the test of time with respect to listening satisfaction. That is a very different perception, sad and unfair though it may be that the entry level to long-term listening satisfaction seems to begin at the Qutest’s price point. That power supply upgrade you reviewed sounds like a real find and an outstanding bargain given it can power both a DAC and streamer. Good job on that!

Wow what a review! Great job!

Nice review. And a very good last thoughts talking about the warranty. I also add another Qutest "advantage" that is the tremendous build quality.

Love your way to speak and communicate. Good and clear. Like you think exacly like most of us. about dacs, I’d like to try Denafrips but is not possible. So, buying something without this step, plus near 800€ without a local support.....it’s not my way to GO on. so, I’m look to Metrum dac like Amethyst....

Thank you. I do have the Qutest, and after your review I will stay with it. Also I because have a Sbooster behind it. When I connected the Sbooster, I was amazed of the growth of the soundstage. And you are right, very, very precise soundstage. And also very good to follow all the slashes of a drummer/ drumsolo...for example. Very quick sound.

Hi Srboljub, congrats for the 10K subs milestone! I like your takes on so many audio devices, nice reviews btw! Great job!

This review basically nailed down what i will get. I was on the fence between the ares and the Qutest but i could not get the Ares for a test drive but i could get the Qutest from MusicDirect. That said, this review basically answered my questions on the Ares. I have the same speakers you do (LS50) and I believe I have a quite a resolving system. I have SS amps and Tube Pre. I prefer resolving systems, able to hear distinct information on The recording. I use a MACBook Pro (2019) running Tidal + Roon and schitt Modius and I really feel that the modius is not resolving enough for me. I have a semi dedicated listening room with lots of treatments, thereby able to hear the nuances of the music. This is what i want and willing to go for. For the price, well i do know that’s its nearly double the price, but i tend to run them for a decade before i change things.

Good review. I'm looking at getting the Chord and price is an issue, albeit not the most important. I'm with you, I wouldn't pay full price, it would need to be part of a deal.

Great review. After watching the sound demo video. You can hear everything you explained in this review quite easily. Even through mobile phone with headphones. Keep up the great work. Cheers from Australia.

Great review as usual & really like your format. Hope in the future you could review multibit/R2R DAC from Schiit & Audio-GD around the same price of the Denafrips & Chord.

Great review… earned a new subscriber here! Looking forward to more videos.

Thank you. Love your reviewing style. Great video. I’ll be getting the Qutest.

I really like your work. Great reviews and good information.

At last! The comparison I was looking for! Great work 👍

Well articulated review sir, thank you

Great review - thanks! I'll be listening to the qutest and denafrips pontus 2 for the next few weeks

Thoughtful review that covers all the important bases. Regarding price performance, perhaps a better comparison would be with the Denafrips Pontus II which is around US$1700 at time of writing (July 2021) - it would give Cutest/Allo Shanti a run for their money.

The Qutest seems to fluctuate in price quite a bit. I picked mine up for $1400 USD. Three months later it jumped to $1900. I've seen it go up and down from $1700 to $2100. If you want the Qutest just keep an eye on it bc the price changes often and by quite a bit.

finally been waiting for this! bifrost 2 should be the middle ground between the 2 in terms of signature and for the same price of ares.

To be fair, a more interesting comparison for Qutest+PSU would be with the entry level Audiobyte Black Dragon. Both based on fpga (obviously different implementation), that one has class A output stage and linear PSU build in and is around 1900 Euros, vs 2000 for the Qutest+ For 1000 Euros you got ADI-2 FS. Produced in Germany so no taxes in Europe, not huge expenses if you need to send it back, general consent is it comes a little short in sound quality, but just a little, but with huge amount of options.

This was much awaited video. Cheers

Thanks a lot for this video. You have an amazing ear and are also very capable of concentrating on important information.

Nice review. Qutest+PSU is more in price range of Denafrips Pontus... UK have a denafrips dealer (willow tree) - whether that's open to EU customers I don't know...

Outstanding review. You shared the most critical information with great precision and articulated your perceptions masterfully. Thank you. Bravo!

Great description. I haven’t heard the Ares 2 but I have heard the Chord DACs up to Dave and have owned several R2R DACs including a NOS Goldmund and Schiit Yggdrasil A2. Currently running a Mola Mola Tambaqui which provides the detail, speed and space of the Dave and the tonality of the best R2R DACs I have heard.

Great review! Lovely KEF speakers too.

Great Comparison. Thanks for the video.

For 5v you don't need linear supply. It cam be got through 4xAA rechargeable batteries at much much lesser cost.

Excellent review! As a Chord and Ares II owner, I agree with your findings😃👍.

Good review again

I agree with your assessment. In the UK this would be a great value. It is an awesome product that deserves its accolades. Outside the uk- or in the United States, it has serious competition at lower prices.

Long decay bass timber with r2r /ares2 (large sound stage, orchestra acoustic instruments and vocal preferred). Chord fpga is pin point musical aka all arounder.

Really great review and details 👏 Would be really fun to see Pontus compare to same price chord and diff on the aries 🎷🎸🌪 To buy dac is so difficult when you cant test them and i think alot of people looking at these dacs and with your detail reviews we can make a better choice . Keep up great work well done 👏 Please let us know what powersupply you use :) extra i think as well some people have problems with a bit sharp and edgy treble how can a dac help and wich one in that case ...

Excellent. Very articulate comparison.

Try if you can and bring the Musician Pegasus R2R dac which is the sister company of Denafrips ...it s slightly more expensive than AresII but with better parts inside comparable with denafrips Pontus ... i would like to know your opinion about it .

Very informative. Thanks !

RCA is just a connector type, not a cable. The adapter works very well when you use the expensive coaxials you already own.

I had Qutest four years in my setup. I swapped it to Schiit Gungnir Multibit and never looked back and never will.

Great video,and very interesting points covered.

I bought mine new for 1200$ and loving it to bits!

Thanks for that! Exactly what I was looking for. Hope to see a comparison with Schiit Bifrost or Burson Composer dacs!

A really good review, thanks i enjoyed your opion

i got a demo of the Aries II and its a game changer. its obscenely good value. it sounds much better than my bryston bcd1 at a much higher price (and that is a brilliant cd player) its really lush and its definitely not a product that is level. buying it your engaging in system tuning so try to get a hands on before you buy. the chord dac on the other hand should work with most things and it has incredible levels of accuracy. violins sound like violins etc

With you 100% on MQA

I use a usb battery pack bought from Amazon. And I can use it to also charge my phone

Hi iiWi, just a comment about the BNC connectors. Chord use twin BNCs to suit the M-Scaler as an input to the Qutest (and TT2 / Dave). BNC is a superior connector as you said so better that they do this and then people can always buy a BNC to RCA converter if they have a coax source they want to use 🙂

Denafrips located Guangzhou, China. Chord designed & built in The UK. I know where my money is going. The Chord is available for less than £1k right now in The UK.

Great review as usual, now wondering about quttest vs RME.

Yes, i know it’s in a Much Lower Price Segment but, did you know there is now a Version ‘2’ of the iFi Zen DAC. Apparently it is MUCH Improved. How about a Review Video in the near future ? GR8 Channel. I am Sub’d. ATB

A bit late as it was a year ago...however I'm toying with either of these dacs. Many thanks

Certain DACS(and Amps) just have you picking out things in a song over just enjoying the music. Know your preference. In terms of the Chord sound, I suspect that this might be one of those instances of audiophiles using their music to listen to their gear rather than using their gear to listen to their music 🤷🏻‍♂

Good comparison. many thanks

Great review. Chord’s audio designer, R. Watts, maintains that using a LPS yields no benefits and what you’d think as an improvement it’d be actually artificial. Perhaps a low noise PSU like the switch-mode iFi iPower mk2 would be an inexpensive alternative.

Hi, thank you for your honest opinion. Regards, Max.

Not as good as the RME ADI-2 dac fs, a Qutest killer. The thing with the power supply is debatable .it depends on the patterning kit. On the rca socket. A bnc is 75ohms and chord may have had dual outputs in mind with m scaler. I would say MQA is liked for catalogue and good as cd / hi res. Bang on with the sound descriptions . You are very good with that. - I agree it outlines the details and soundstage and you’ve got that spot on. Room around instruments.really nice description. The Ares 2 is a tonally thick sound I found.

Impressive review, though I wish you'd thrown out some amps/headphones that pair well perhaps. Another thing that would help put it in perspective for viewers is "how much" the expensive dacs are better than the cheaper ones. As someone newer to this space it seems probable that some people blow the DAC differences out of proportion compared to amps/headphones, so it would help the whole community to try to keep it in context

Great review!.. Also, would be great if you could review the Pecan Pie DAC/Streamer.

Change speakers for magnepans and you hear 👂 real music with Hegel and qutest …🎉

Hey man. I really love your videos! - You are very very good at explaining all the different aspects of sound quality. You don't dwell on specs and features. You discuss the end result. I think most of us are interested in this approach... "Just give me how does it sounds" - And "How it compares" - By the way, where are you from?

Nice review.

Great review. Are u thinking about getting a topping pre90 to review? I'm curious to know how a dedicated pre amp for a dac would act...especially with the denafrips ares ii.

What power supply upgrade was used for testing the Qutest? Thanks and I enjoy your reviews!

Good review. You forgot the filters but I guess direct is best. I haven't heard any of the two but I have been interested in the qutest as I'm using the mojo. I have read that some people prefer the mojo over the qutest soundwise. Maybe due to the battery? For me the mojo is warm sounding but at the same time very detailed, good soundstage and "moist" textures. It's like you can taste the sounds almost. The denafrips might be a killer in that regard though. However if you use the mojo as a stationary dac the battery will die in maybe 2 years. Replacement batteries have apparently been expensive but I found a seller on Ali express. It's also possible to bypass the battery altogether but then I suspect that you lose the filter from the battery and will need a high end power supply.

i'M WANDERING how this device will reproduce the outi (modern eastern loute) of "Rabi Abou Khalil" or the guitar of Yamandu Kosta or the Citar of Anouska Shankar . There is the detail and the focus and the temper I like to feel.

Great video - thanks!

Second hand Qutest + gan charger + usb c to micro usb cable. Best value for money.

Insane good for me, I heard a lot of dac previous to this, and always some sounds muddy others sound a bit bright and made in some cases good and very good sound... but the Qutest made Music.

Nearly 1 year later... got my Qtest for about 1000€. And my only negative is that I would like the sound to be fuller... more meat on the bone. I really do hope a good PSU will fix that problem becasue as it stands now with a 50$ ifi PSU it literally made me not want to ply my music no more. The way I would describe Qtest so far, would be ... upgradeable. You can turn it in to 2000€ dac, or 3000€ dac. want to beat a 5k dac? Add an 4000€ M scaller, ad a 7000€ PSU . What you get is an extremely well made first piece of a puzzle you build as you go. Ares 2 may be a better deal for the price but you are also stuck with gear that you will soon look to replace. With Qtest I have an upgrade path up my end game system, with Qtest being replaced last, with no other component needing to replaced AND not holding back a 2-3000 euro amp. 1 year later: I got a JCat Initio 3 PSU, and I can say, I was right. The jump in performance was incredible. It had texture, more low end and better defined, more space between instruments, and the sound was actually moving. That PSU with extra cables is around 1000 Euros. and yes It is a significant upgrade over stock Qtest, and from what I heard more, better PSU will have an even better sound, but right now, for the first time, I see no reason to upgrade. This is totally a sound that I could live with for ever, and just invest in music, and occasionally a headphone.

@iiWiReviews. Hi there.Came across Your old Review. What I understood from it is that You thought the sound of the Chord Qutest with a linear power supply was excellent, but it was not worth 2000 dollars. My Question is in 2024 the Chord Qutest with an External power supply is available for just around a 1000 dollars and at that price it is cheaper than the Gustard R26, A26 and denafrips ares 12 - 1. At the present prices of the qutest Would You prefer the Qutest with LPS over Gustard R26, Gustard A26 and the Denafrips ares 12-1 only on sound Quality alone for a Neutral to Warm Stereo setup and Why?

I have a Hugo 2 ..and despite ..recessed ..input/ output connection issues .. with an Ifi power supply for $99 … it is amazing … add a 2Go .. even with … Software issues .. and DAC’s 2 or 3 times it’s price .. can be bested .. ..and you get a Headphone Amp …. Roon Endpoint .. local music storage .. .. have NOT used a Qutest .. in my system .. NimitraS, Modright KWH225i Integrated Hybrid Amp , Boenicke W8se+ …I do have a bias to Musicality vs Tweeter Ear bleeding