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My longtime friend of 65 years just turned 70. He currently has  a Classe Amp CAP-151, Magneplanar MG3.6/R, Bluesound Node X anniversary edition. He primarily streams from his phone with Bluetooth using Tidal. I was thinking of getting him a Chord Qutest as a 70th birthday present. I'd appreciate opinions on whether or not this will noticeably enhance his listening experience. He's not a tech savvy person and prefers keeping things simple. Thanks in advance for any meaningful suggestions.

beijinglarry
soix
10,188 posts
 

That’s a very nice thought, but DACs (like all audio equipment) are a very personal choice so without knowing what your friend’s tastes are it’s not really possible to say if it would be an improvement for him or not.  That said, if I was him I would be looking for a better DAC given the rest of his system.  One thing you might consider that would likely make a nice improvement would be to get an external linear power supply for the Node from LHY, SBooster, or Teddy Pardo that would cost anywhere from around $250 - $400 depending on the model.  Hope this helps. 

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beijinglarry OP
10 posts
 

I appreciate your point and suggestion. Thank you. I have a Chord Qutest. Maybe it's better to bring it over to his house to see what he thinks

zlone
897 posts
 

Are you sure he is streaming to the Node over Bluetooth from Tidal running on his phone? If so, the best gift you could give him is to teach him how to use the Node app to stream Tidal over his network to the Node. Switching from Bluetooth to network streaming will up his sound quality significantly. 

mahler123
3,586 posts
 

If it is a step from Bluetooth then he should note an improvement.  Whether he cares may be an issue to resolve before your well intended gift is purchased 

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