I owned the Qutest and RME they were both nice Qutest had better sound stage. I have the Pontus. Iris was eye opening for $350 used, I think it’s a must. The big shocker was adding the fairly cheap Wire World silver sphere hdmi over a $25 hdmi. It totally changed the Pontus Iris combo. I would have to spend $2000 plus on a pair of rca interconnects to hear that big of a improvement but WW did it for $130 used, I’m a big hdmi fan now. $1200 used Pontus, Iris and a cable would run under $1700. RME and Qutest could not compete with that combo.
DAC upgrade
Let me start by saying I am a vinyl guy, but digital streaming, particularly if I can achieve the right sound has many advantages. My 2 channel equipment is as follows:
Rogue RP-1 w/ NOS Brimar CV4003, LSA Warp 1, KEF R11’s, Rhythmic F12SE, Pro-ject 1Xpression w/Hana ML, Rega Aria, Bluesound Node, Marantz CD6007, Schiit Modi Multibit 2. Good to very good power, speaker, interconnect cables.
My weakest link (I believe) is my DAC.
My desire is the best sounding DAC below $2,500, but certainly don’t mind spending less. i want the DAC to be as good as my best current component. I don’t need a DAC with preampliflication, don’t need balanced, don’t need headphones, however I would not eliminate a DAC with superior sound with those features. I do prefer a small form factor.
My current top contenders are:
Chord Qutest, Schiit Yggy, RME ADI-2, Topping D90 III.
The Chord checks all my boxes… reviews, sound, form factor, no unneeded features, etc and don’t mind its quirky lights… but, looking your thoughts/ recommendations. Thanks!