Those who are familiar with TDA 1541 chip and its use in many popular CD players 30 years ago made by Philips, Marantz, Rotel, Sony, Naim, Arcam, Sudgen and Cambridge probably know the SQ of this DAC chip better than I am. As with all DACs, the SQ is mainly determined by design and implementation but the quality of DAC chip matters too. TDA 1543 used in SE-I is the relatively lesser quality chip to its much more popular brother 1541 especially the double crown version. I had Rotel RCD 855 for a while that uses 1541. It sounds very musical, rich, laid back and has no digital glare and hence no listening fatique. I really enjoy it. But just like Steve mention, the modern DAC like Denafrips Ares (even being a R2R) will sound "definintely" more clear, transparent and vivid but less soulful and solid as one listens to the live music. My experience with Rotel 855 confirms that. So, how one likes the TDA 1541/1543 based DAC really depends on your taste and preference. Techinically, SEi only supports 24 bits PCM up to 96 khz and no DSD that limits its practicality. To me it is a deal breaker but YMMV.
DAC contest: Border Patrol Sei or Chord Qutest?
I had a thread about CD transports hijacked by a member who insisted that I had to ditch the Border Patrol before doing anything else in my system. No idea how he landed on the Chord, but he did.
So, here you are... a place to stomp some more on the Border Patrol and praise the Chord... lol.