@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!
UPGRADE PATH FROM CHORD QUTEST
My system currently consists of the following:
1. Martin Logan 11A impression hybrid electrostatic speakers.
2. Bryston 4B3 cubed power amplifier
3. Rogue Audio RP-1 preamp
4. Lumin U2 mini transport streamer
5. Chord Qutest Dac
Happy with the sound, but on many tracks on Qoboz the sound especially on rock leaves a lot to be desired. This could be the function of the source itself (the recording) is poor. Would a better DAC yield more detail and better sound? My price limit is about $5000.00. Not looking to buy used. Wish to work with a dealer because I have found them to be incredibly helpful. Also looking for a company that provides phone customer support. There is nothing like a conversation or a discussion to solve an issue. I understand that my view is a minority view out there. As we are in a self-service world. But I am used to a person picking up the phone and asking how can I help you? Any thoughts would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you.