Chord Qutest

The Qutest DAC is designed to improve system sound quality^ instantly. It is the latest evolution of our most affordable standalone DAC^ in other words^ one that does not contain a built-in headphone amplifier^ like the Mojo 2 and Hugo 2. The Qutest is What Hi-Fi?s Best DAC 2023 1^000+ and a What Hi-Fi? Best DAC winner every year its inception (2018-2022). It is a proven class-leader and is based on our award-winning proprietary FPGA technology giving it unrivalled 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 2s 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. The What Hi-Fi? Best DAC 2023/24 Qutest is the definitive small audiophile DA convertor.

FPGA chipset:
Based on a proprietary technology programmable chipset^ uniquely custom-coded for unrivalled performance (49^152 tap length)

Four-stage filter:
User-configurable filters to fine tune Qutests output to taste

USB Galvanic isolation:
Prevents noise from source components entering the DAC

Up to 768 kHz*and DSD 512:
Decodes sample rates up to 768 kHz/DSD 512

Dual BNC input:
Can connect to a Hugo M Scaler for ultra-high-resolution upscaled playback (up to 768 kHz) - hi-res audio from your music files

High-quality metalwork with a compact footprint:
Ideal isolation of the main PCB board^ plus Qutests small footprint makes it easy to place in a wide range of systems

Selectable line-level output:
1-3 V output. Simple output-matching with all pre-amplification system components