I would not gamble on the Rose to deliver the best sound, especially if you don’t care about the bling factor that comes with it. I have not heard the Qutest, but there are plenty of well reviewed DAC’s in that price range, read carefully to find one that will deliver “the sound” you are looking for. Sticking with separates is a good plan at this point if you are seeking the best sound, eventually you will want to step up to a better streamer too.
Add Chord Cutest (DAC) to Bluesound Node or purchase HiFi Rose RS150BDAC
Hi, I just purchased a new Bluesound Node a week ago and I do not like the sound quality So I thought I would purchase a Chord Cutest DAC since I can bypass the DAC in the Node. I only like using the Node for its user friendly Blusound software to access Tidal HiDef music using my cell phone. So my question is if I'm just looking for the best audio quality imaging etc. would I have a superior sound quality using the Node with the Chord Cutest or would the HiFi Rose Model RS150B audio sound quality be even better? I could live without the video screen on the Rose and the YouTube video music stuff Rose has built in that ports out to my large screen TV using the HDMI Earc connection. I am just wanting to have the best audiophile sound period. So would the Rose be better sounding than what I'm thinking would be best sounding? If the Rose would sound better I would buy the Rose and look into using its other features that I may like however I just want the highest quality sound period above all else without spending over 5K and stay on a budget under 2K IF I can surpass the Rose sound quality. I am asking this question because I am hoping to save money and my research points to just adding a Chord Cutest to my Node because of all the vast awards the Chord Cutest keeps getting and forget the Rose. In my system I have a Modified Musical Fidelity A5 integrated Amp with just RCA inputs and I have Texton Electron Impact speakers.