Anybody here upgrade from Chord Qutest DAC"

@hayas Thanks but I Canceled the M-scaler purchase. I’m still considering a R2R DAC such as the Sonnet Morpheus or Pasithea or the Audio Mirror Troubadour IV.  

I had the Qutest a few years ago and changed it for the Denafrips Pontus II, a more natural sound dac. Although I didn’t do a side-by-side comparison, I remember to have a inconsistent enjoyment from the Chord: great with some recordings and so so much with others, making the sound too sharp to my liking.

But I would love to try one again :)

Qutest with M-Scaler gets close to the Hugo TT2 plus M-Scaler filter length  1,064,960 divided by 1,114,112 =95%.  If you don't need a headphone amp, bluetooth, and balanced outlets go with the Qutest and save a few thousand dollars.

You don't have to understand taps and filter length.  What is important is to know that the M-Scaler fills in the spaces between the samples making the music smoother, more dynamic, more like analog etc. The gap between music recorded at 44.1khz sample rate is greater than the space between 176.4khz and so on.  You can read about Rob Watts theory on a white paper available on the Chord M-Scaler website.  

My digital front end upsamples everything to 705.6 or 768khz.  Digital System components: Roon Nucleus via ethernet to Lumin U1 via USB to M-Scaler and Dual Silver Dragon BNC cables to the Qutest.  I use the Incisive neutral filter on the Qutest for ultra linear frequency response.  I'm very happy with the sound quality.

Qutest with M-Scaler gets close to the Hugo TT2 plus M-Scaler filter length 1,064,960 divided by 1,114,112 =95%.

that is definitely one way to think about it, but it would be rather incomplete... the hugo tt2 has a significantly better output stage (leaving aside driving headphones) and power supply -- i had the qutest and hugo tt2 simultaneously (along with the m scaler), and the sonic advantage afforded by the hugo tt2 over the qutest was substantial in my system, mostly in a more relaxed yet resolving nature of the sound, added midrange warmth and bass weight, and imaging size and most notably, depth

I’ve had a Qutest for a number of years now. I keep almost buying some other DAC but keep being blown away with the soundstage and separation I get from the Qutest.

I search around, read reviews and get ready to pull the trigger... but then I play something from Qobuz or from my CXC CD transport and BOOM. I’m sold on the Qutest all over again. I do have an Sbooster PS powering the Qutest.

Someday, I know I’ll make the leap.

PS. When I got my Qutest they were $1,800 and I noticed the other day that they’ve gone up to $2,100!