IS THE WEISS 204 A SUBSTANIAL UPGRADE FRON THE CHORD QUTEST

Weiss 501 on USAM

I have not dealt with this seller personally so looking at feedback, having an actual phone conversation, etc. is advisable when making a purchase like this. 
 

When it comes to 204 although I never heard it, the use of switch mode power supply is an immediate deal breaker for me. Having had the Qutest and the TT2 I am familiar witj how sensitive these DACs are to power. Yes you can get the upgraded Weiss linear power supply but why the need for two boxes?
Your $5,000 budget is good enough to get an excellent DAC. The 501 uses linear power supply and is a single box. Other DACs to consider in this price range - Bricasti, Meitner, Denafrips Terminator, Holo Audio May KTE, etc 

Looks like you’re in NY so this 501 may be a local pick up for you. 

@panzrwagn you’re mostly correct. Weiss cannot have better resolution than the Chord Qutest. If we’re talking about the bitrate. Now…better power supply, better clock, isolated USB, better analog stage, etc. that’s what matters. You get lower noise floor that results in better resolution of detail, not better resolution in bitrate terms.

Can you make a recommendation or do all DACs sound the same?

@panzrwagn got it. Thanks for the system compliments if they were directed to me. 
We have a difference of opinion. Mine’s based on experience with different DACs at different price points. None of them were defective. All sounded different.
I wish a $50 DAC was as good as.my current DAC but we live in a real and not theoretical world so that’s just not the case.

Happy Holidays to you!

@kjl1065 I owned the following DACs after the Qutest:

Bryston BDA3, Benchmark DAC3 HGC, PS Audio DSD MkI, Marantz SA10 SACD Player/DAC, Chord Hugo TT2, Bricasti M3. 
 

All except Marantz (not my cup of tea at all) and Bryston (different but not better) are an improvement over the Qutest. My favorite is the Bricasti and it can be had used way under your price range if you are patient and keep an eye on the used market. I’d say my second favorite would be PS Audio (slightly noisy though but very engaging sound) and Hugo TT2. As I stated earlier the TT2 like the Qutest uses SMPS and the variation in sound quality depends on how clean your power is throughout the day. Benchmark is a good DAC as well but to me it sounds slightly cooler and dryer than the rest - you can do better within your budget. 

@knownothing excellent post