UPGRADE PATH FROM CHORD QUTEST

First thing I wonder if,exactly what is wrong or lacking with the sound?
 I would start by looking at the tubes in the PreAmp..It's possible a simple tube roll would open up detail...I also wonder about the cabling of the system..IMO,copper cables smooth over detail compared to silver plated or pure silver...
 If a tube change didn't address the issues I would look to a Chord dealer & the more advance choices up the line since you are familiar with the Chord house sound...

OP poor recordings will not be corrected by a more expensive DAC.Why play poor recordings then? Stick on what you have.

Thank you for your responses. I understand that the best DAC in the world cannot fix a bad recording. But impossible  to know if the lack of detail is from a poor recording or not. Perhaps many of the recordings I listen to are good recordings, but a better DAC that is more musical and better at retrieving detail would make all the difference in the world.  Thank you. 

I find most rock recordings to be subpar, so if you’re happy with the sound with other genres it’s probably the recordings and making them sound more palatable may come at the price of making good recordings sound worse — not a good trade IMHO.  That said, if there are improvements you’d like to achieve in general (and who among us don’t have those?) it would seem to me either your DAC or preamp would be areas where there’s significant upside potential, and maybe one thing to consider is the new LTA Audio Aero DAC that member @teajay just reviewed and offers a 14-day trial.  Personally I’d seriously consider doing that just to see what it could bring, and my guess it’d be a lot and that you wouldn’t return it.  Just my $0.02 FWIW.

Your Martin-Logan's are excellent coherent speakers, however they would not be my first choice for rock music.

I really doubt that upgrading from your Qutest would yield the results you're hoping for.

If you're otherwise completely content with the ML's, perhaps a secondary system that focuses on rock and roll music could be a solution.

Best of luck for an answer.

      LP

Sorry if I was not clear in stating the types of music I listen to. Many recordings that I stream sound thin, whether classical, opera, rock, or ballads sung by Sinatra, Diana Krall. etc. For example I streamed Rachmaninovs 2nd Piano concerto using the Qtest DAC and the Lumin U2 mini and the sound was unlistenable. The music itself is as good as it gets.  I was just thinking about getting more detail from my DAC. I like the Chord Qtest Dac, It was a great leap from the DAC I previously listened with. I was just thinking whether I can replace my DAC with the budget that I mentioned and take another leap. Thank you.

I don’t believe the DAC is the problem here..I have NEVER heard or read about any modern Chord product not passing enough detail...I go back to my very first thought..What kind of tubes are in the PreAmp?Modern production Chinese & cheaper Russian tubes are notorious for sounding thin or bright compared to good NOS or the better modern production tubes from Genelex & Mullard...
I also wonder about your cabling?

I may be replacing my preamp with the Bryston BP-19. Not planning to replace the stock tubes in the Rogue Audio RP-1.  Never said that the Chord Qtest is a problem. I believe that better sound quality can be achieved with a higher quality Dac. So far the Aero Dac has been mentioned. Was looking for advice from fellow music lovers as to their experience with Dacs.  Many members of this site has listened to numerous DACS. As far as cables go I use Cardas Cygnus all around from speaker cables to interconnects.

My path: Qutest to DAVE to Lampizator GG3.

I suggest you go a different route, along with freediver`s suggestion.

Replace your preamp with the Rogue RH-5 headphone/preamp. Go the headphone route. The Rogue does this, while maintaining the tube pre part, on your main system.

I have found that many old rock recordings sound better over a headphone system.

Then, replace the stock tubes in the Rogue. I think they`re JJ`s. Get the reissues of Tung-Sols or Gold Lions. Then, eventually, do old stock tubes to your liking.

@kjl1065  I upgraded from my Qutest by adding a Chord Hugo Master Scaler (HMS).  The upgrade was subtle at first but I could definitely hear it and as the HMS and the two new Nordost digital interconnect cables burned in I became much more wowed.  You need to output from the HMS into the Qutest with TWO digital interconnects into the Qutest to take advantage of Chord’s double date rate upscaling. I’m using Nordost Silver Shadow but Nordost Blue Heaven would be fine.  By the way, the Qutest needs hundreds of hours of playtime to fully burn in and definitely leave it powered on 24x7.  
==> Improvements included a deeper soundstage, much better imaging and I finally experienced what audio “plankton” is!  

I've owned all of the Chord DACs, Qutest is by far the best price / performance ratio, I didn't think the TT2 was a significant improvement upon it.

After market power supply and really good music server, usb cable and interconnects are a very good thing to do to a qutest.

I currently run PS Audio Directstream - I feel it's slightly better than the qutest as it is more natural sounding (yet still has the dynamics/PRaR).

Schitt More is Better (avoid Less is More, too dark sounding), Lampizator, Laiv Harmony or the new LTA DAC is where I'd also look.  

What’s your budget ? For $2 k. The New Denafrips Pontus  15 

is a big upgrade .

I agree with the suggestion about tubes or even the preamp. I felt the same issues in one of my systems compared to others. I swapped speakers. Then I upgraded DACs. Finally I swapped my tube amp to a ss (all of this from stuff I had in other systems or lying around) The ss made a difference. So I went back to the tube amp and put nos Mullards in. That made me happiest of all the swaps. Eventually I "upgraded" the amp to one that cost less with less power but maybe cleaner signal path, and kept the nos tubes and now have been happy with that for several years. So I would try tube or pre amp swap before DAC.

I own a Qutest and the RP-1, so this is an interesting thread to me. I found the stock J&J tubes to be VERY poor… unresolving, muddy bass etc. I bought 3 sets of NOS tubes. Brimar CV4003, Siemens nickel plates & Tele red tips. All significantly better sound than the stock tubes & each with their own unique sound. Upgraded tubes is my recommendation. 
Also, your Lumin streamer was one of my target streamers & I was talked out of it in an Audiogon forum discussion and went with an Aurender N150. 

@lpretiring: I agree with you! The OP should spend the $5K on a pair of the new JBL Century 100’s. They will satisfy his desire to listen to Rock at appropriate sound levels - something the Martin Logan’s aren’t good at. Buying a different DAC is a waste of money!

To add to my post (no longer editable), while not all of my Qobuz streaming sources sound wonderful, Diana Kroll always does, as do many others (virtually anything 24/192). Very happy.
BTW, the Chord Hugo Master Scaler sounds intriguing. That plus tubes could be your solution & within your budget. But start with tubes IMHO.

When I bought my NOS tubes, I thought I would sell my stock JJ tubes on eBay. They are going for $25 a pair… not worth the effort & demonstrates what people think of them. Food for thought.

Oh the problem is Diana krall. It’s the main problem for most audiophiles and all audio shows. Just stop listening to her and you’ll be fine. 

Even if you decide to try a different dac,I agree that that the stock tubes in the RP1 are known for a clean modern sound and will continue to hold you back from the presentation you're looking for.I like RCA Cleartops in mine, a touch of tube warmth with a more organic sound.Think about trying different tubes before changing equipment.

I have not owned a Chord DAC, but from what I have heard, they are pretty detailed. It may be that you don’t like the sound of tubes on the front end. Trying out some SS preamps might be the ticket. The BP-19 is certainly a good candidate. 
 

When I asked Rogue for their recommend tube upgrade, the RCA clear tops were on their list.
Another data point, I brought my RP-1 based upon another Audiogon recommendation. He stated: “So after switching out the two stock J&J tubes that the RP-1 comes with (to Mullards) I was completely sold on the RP-1 and it is a keeper.”

Just out of curiosity, what is your reluctance to change out your tubes? I guarantee you will significantly improve your sound for a (relatively) small investment.

I have had more than one rock CD's that I always thought sounded dark and unlively. The 1st one that comes to mind is Living in the past by Tull.  When I subscribed to Qobuz,  I was thinking it would sound better streaming it.  Wrong.  It sounds the same.  Others have proven out to be the same.  I doubt that throwing money at better equipment will help.  Perhaps a new remastering would.

A tubed Audio Mirror Toubadour IV would give you a Fuller, Thicker sound. Great DAC 4K.

@kjl1065, I had a Qutest before I upgraded to a Chord TT2/m scaler combo. The Qutest is a great little DAC that I wish I still owned because it’s such a neat little piece of audio kit. Have you tried using an aftermarket power supply for your Qutest like an iFi Elite X or an Sbooster? I found that it made a discernible difference in sound quality over using the stock Chord wall wart because it gave the music a feeling of less digital glare and a more analog sounding presentation. 

I like trying small tweaks first in my setup as opposed to looking for a several thousand dollar electrical box to solve all of my sound quality issues. 

Let me add a voice to the chorus on replacing the stock tubes in the RP1. I have the RP7, and a swap to RCA blackplates resulted in a world of difference in clarity, extension, and soundstage. 

LAIV HARMONY DAC.......Crazy Good Reviews.

One more pitch on tubes. Eliminating the J&J’s was the most sonically positive impact I ever made to my system. Much more than electronics, phono cartridge/stage, DAC, steamer, cables, power cords etc. Each of my new tube sets provide an excellent, strong & unique sonic signature. 

As others have said, your planned DAC change may improve your sonics, but with diminishing returns, the improvements will more than likely be subtle & not address your issue.

The J&J’s are like bottom of the line Shiit. They may be the best $12.50 tubes that money can buy, but IMHO do not belong in any quality system.

+1 in trying a better power supply with the qutest.

however, try to do this in terms of priority. My educated guess is that you’ll see much greater improvements by changing your tubes than with the LPS or another new dac.

+1 on the Audio Mirror Tubadour iV ...takes a bad recording to another level...still a level down from good recordings...noticed this last night listening to an old Cream recording...dense texture and a really large sound stage.

First - This is an old, but interesting read/review on DACs. Please read it through to the end.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/borderpatrol-digital-analogue-converter-se

Two considerations for rocking:

Get a second set of speakers that are more suited to rocking (someone mentioned JBLs) to swap with your MLs when you have the itch. (I have Maggies and ProAcs to swap). 

and/or

Get a serious sub or 2 (I have a Rythmic 15 in sealed sub) and high pass the amp to your mains at say 50Hz.

@g2the2nd   Thanks for the link.  I find it interesting comparing the different deliveries of the dacs.

I would have to agree with a number of the recommendations  above, as a Qutest and Hugo TT2/MScaler owner- upgrade Qutest power supply and get rid of the JJ's, they sound as bad as in audio equipment as they do guitar amps. Poor recordings just exist and there is little you can do to remedy that.  

Nine times out of ten, if you’re disappointed with how a specific genre performs on your system, the speakers, the room, or both are the main culprit. Following those, the likely problem is your amplification and its synergy with your speakers.

Regarding the Qutest DAC, I found it produced a very mediocre, unremarkable sound. It was respectably resolving but didn’t circumvent any of the “glare” that’s typically encountered with mid-fi digital sources. To my ears it might as well have been a $200 Chinese DAC. In fact, there are budget Chinese DACs like the Topping E70 Velvet that sound far superior in my system.

@kjl1065 I used to have the Qutest with Rogue RP1, Rogue ST100’driving Martin Logan Montis. Streamer was Lumin U1 Mini. Very close to your setup. 
Qutest is amazing for the money, but…I eventually ended up moving to Benchmark DAC 3 HGC which was slightly better than the cutest in some regards but it was a bit cold and sterile in comparison. I sold the DAC 3 and got a Bricasti M3, which is a significant step up. I highly recommend the Bricasti. There are few available used now on USAM. 

I’ll add that the Brimar CV4003 tubes from Upscale Audio were very nice in the RP1. But they are not a substitute for a dac upgrade. 

You have an audio setup that will benefit greatly from good cables.
You don’t list your cables. if they are mundane cables I would upgrade cables.

You have a decent dac for your setup.

try thecableco.com for cables. They will consult and let you borrow multiple different cables to experiment for a small fee (which is applied to any purchase).