Anybody here upgrade from Chord Qutest DAC"

@ryder I bought the Aurender N150.  You’ve identified many of your issues. I’d recommend a good power cable as well as a good power strip. And give it lots of listening time burn-in.  I could clearly hear changes to 100 hours and more subtle changes far past that.

 I use a Shunyata Taipan power cable that I had available. I have it plugged directly into my Shunyata Hydra power conditioner. If you need a good power strip I highly recommend the Furutech TP-66 gold or rhodium versions. Any high quality power strip will be an improvement.  

@ryder Also if you decide to buy a new power cable or strip, they are the worst for requiring long burn-in times.  Best of patience to you!

Thanks txp1. That’s it. The Furutech will be the one. I’ve actually shortlisted the e-TP609 NCF earlier but am not sure about spending the money. Looks like it is about time to get one into the system since it’s not wise to skimp on the power strip/conditioner that may hamper performance.

I already have the Furutech GTX-D NCF(R) power outlet and this one truly brings a huge difference when combined with Acrolink cords on my main components, amps and DAC. And yes, long break-in for the GTX-D NCF receptable, for me it's 300+ hours before I start to hear the magic!

@ryder  “ for me it’s 300+ hours before I start to hear the magic!”.
So true! I didn’t want to say this because most people don’t believe it. Power components are the worst for long burn-in times, cables, strips, conditioners, etc. If you’re fortunate you’ll hear improvements immediately. That just means you were already in power quality crap audio land. Burn-in will improve audio over time. I didn’t believe it until I experienced it decades ago.

After borrowing my friend's Cutest for a week, I bought DAVE and never looked back.  Very happy.  Added M-scaler.  even happier.

Good luck,

Jerry