Chord - Qutest
Chord - Qutest
Chord - Qutest
Chord - Qutest
Chord - Qutest
Chord - Qutest
Chord Electronics

Chord - Qutest

Desktop DAC
Sale price₹ 119,990 Regular priceMRP: ₹ 139,990
4.7
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Free Chord Qutest System Stand with this purchase

Chord Qutest System Stand

Modular Stacking Stand

FREE! ₹ 23,999


DELIVERY
Ships in 24 Hours
7 Day Replacement Guarantee

In case you receive the Chord - Qutest with a manufacturing defect, please raise a return request within 7 days of delivery.

However, if you receive an incorrect / damaged / different product or one with missing accessories, please raise a return request within 24 hours of delivery. In case you receive a product with a missing, incorrect, or faulty accessory, you will be given a replacement accessory instead of the entire product.

Please make sure that the product is in the original packaging with all the accessories it came with. We'll also need an unboxing video and images of the parcel to investigate about the discrepancy. You may be asked to share images of the product and the packaging received for us to determine the damage or defect prior to approving the return request. The free replacement will be shipped only once the original order is returned.

A replacement will be issued only if:

- It is found to be defective
- It is determined that the product was not damaged while in your possession
- The product is not different from what was shipped to you
- The product is returned in original condition (with brand’s/manufacturer's box, MRP tag intact, user manual, warranty card and all the accessories therein)

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Warranty & Services

Don't sweat it, this Chord - Qutest comes with a 3 Year warranty from Chord Electronics that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Chord Electronics's warranty in India.

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3 Months
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₹ 29,998

₹ 29,998

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6 Months
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₹ 29,998

₹ 15,659

₹ 4,020

9 Months
(Low Cost EMI)

₹ 29,998

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Payment Gateway: Please choose Razorpay at checkout

Tenure Interest% Installment Interest

3 Months

No Cost EMI

₹ 39,997

₹ 0

6 Months

No Cost EMI

₹ 19,998

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Tenure available: 3 Months
Eligibility: All Zestmoney users
Transaction value: Depends on your credit limit
Payment Gateway: Please choose Cashfree at checkout

Tenure Interest% Installment Interest

3 Months

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3

No Cost EMI

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Designed in the
UK

3 Years of
Warranty

Ideal for Audiophiles

These DAC & Amps are designed for discerning music lovers. If audio quality is important to you, a set of DAC & Amps like these would be ideal.


You can expect these DAC & Amps to present you with a refined listening experience. The audio quality exhibited by these DAC & Amps is a beautiful mix of musicality, technical brilliance and high precision.


These DAC & Amps deliver a spacious & open soundstage that makes you feel you are sitting at a live concert. Experience the magic and delve into pure sonic tranquility!

Ideal for
Desktop Use

Metal
Build

FPGA
DAC Chip

Connect With USB,
BNC Coaxial & Optical

UPGRADE YOUR HOME SET-UP'S SOUND

Unlike other DACs by Chord Electronics, the Qutest does not have headphone amplification or rechargeable batteries. It is a pure DAC made to improve your home listening set-up. With its FPGA DAC, you get superior technical and sonic performance. With 49,152 taps, this DAC is able to support even Native DSD 512 (Octa-DSD).

Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest

MULTIPLE CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS

Connect to a wide variety of devices with the Qutest’s optical, 2 BNC Coax and USB Type-B digital inputs. These are galvanically isolated to give an instant performance upgrade as well as to modernise ageing digital source components. Connect to future Chord Electronics devices with Hi-Res dual-data digital inputs. RCA analogue outputs let you connect to headphone amps, preamps and integrated amps.

Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest
Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest

SUPPORTS ALL YOUR CHOICES

The Qutest lets you select from its four frequency-shaping filters and input selection controls. This can be done via the two fascia-mounted spheres. You can also choose whether you want the output voltage to be 1, 2 or 3 RMS for connecting to a range of devices. It supports a wide range of frequencies like 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 358.8kHz, 384kHz, 717.6kHz and 768kHz.

Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest
Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest
Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest

HIGH-QUALITY, DURABLE ALUMINIUM CASING

The Qutest sports a show-off-worthy chassis. This all-new chassis has been precision-machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminium for better durability. The PCB has been kept in a shallow cavity in the casing for additional isolation and protection from external vibration.

Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest
Headphone-Zone-Chord-Qutest
3 Year Warranty

Don't sweat it, this Chord - Qutest comes with a 3 Year warranty from Chord Electronics that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Chord Electronics's warranty in India.

What Hi-Fi? Awards

Best DAC £500 - £1200

What Hi-Fi? Awards
Nov, 2019

What Hi-Fi? Awards

Best DAC £500 - £1200

What Hi-Fi? Awards
Nov, 2018

EISA - Best Product Award

Best Product Award

EISA Award
Sep, 2019

AVForums - Best Buy Winner

Best Buy
Winner

AVForums
July, 2018

What Hi-FI? - Stars of CES 2018

Stars of CES Winner

What Hi-Fi?
Jan, 2018

Hi-Fi Choice - Editor's Choice Winner

Editor's Choice Winner

Hi-Fi Choice
Feb, 2018

What Hi-Fi? Awards

Best DAC £500 - £1200

What Hi-Fi? Awards
Oct, 2020

What Hi-Fi? Awards

Best DAC £500-£1,500

What Hi-Fi? Awards
Oct, 2022

Headfonics

"What Hi-Fi? Awards 2019 winner. Chord has managed to do it again. The Qutest sets a new benchmark at this price. Clear, precise and subtle performer with stylish build."

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Techradar

"The Chord Qutest is a perfect fusion of science and art.Capable of astounding clarity, Chord’s Qutest DAC cuts the cost of audiophile grade digital decoding."

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Headfonics

"Gosh, what is there not to like about the Qutest as a pure DAC? It gives resolutely detailed and fantastically natural sounding with just about any amp I can throw at it."

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Inner Fidelity

"The Qutest was detailed, natural, very atmospheric with great 3D imaging. The Qutest is a cuddly, small aluminium box which is machined from a solid billet of aluminium and then black anodised."

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Customer Reviews

Based on 18 reviews
89%
(16)
0%
(0)
6%
(1)
0%
(0)
6%
(1)
S
Sujit Chakraborty (Mumbai)
Heavenly sound!

This is the best and only DAC that you'll ever need. The sound is extremely clean. Soundstage is huge and it looks beautiful. It is built like a tank and is quite heavy over 700 gms. It has no ventilation holes and is dust proof. So maintenance is easy. When I first opened the box, my first reaction was wow. The box looks so awesome and the qutest looks even better!

I pair the Qutest with Schiit Magni 3 for listening through headphones (Hifiman Ananda, HD 800, HD 598SE, ATH M50x). This combo sounds awesome. You can clearly hear the difference between high quality flac and mp3 which is expected from a good DAC. I earlier would use dragonfly black and now I never seem to use it after listening to the Qutest. Of course dragonfly black is better for portable listening on the go.

I also paired the Qutest with my studio monitors Yamaha HS8 through a hardware volume controller and the sound can just blow your mind. Extremely clear sound.

Be aware that there can be pops and crackles if you listen to flac 192 khz and above on windows 10. This is not a problem of Qutest, but an issue in the way Windows processes USB audio. You can use Foobar2000 with ASIO driver to reduce the pops and crackles. However, with high bit rates like 24 bit 192 khz and above, there may still be ocassional pops. I prefer using Ubuntu linux with Audacious audio player where there is no such issue of pops or crackling. You need to make sure you select USB in the audio output option of Audacious for best sound quality.

Definitely recommended if you are willing to spend for stunning audio quality.

Hey Sujit,
Thank you for the detailed review & for sharing your setup details. We hope you had a comfortable shopping experience. Cheers!

S
Sidney Gomindes (Bengaluru)
Chord qutest

Thanks to headphonezone received the within 24hrs of placing the order. Its been a week with the DAC 3 days with me and 4 days with a friend (so that I could get an unbiased review). Initially I was skeptical of the purchase as the price is 1.2L (which was way above my budget) and the combined price of my speaker + amp is 60K . This DAC has replaced my current CA Azur Dacmagic. Look wise awesome (specially the lights), sonically terrific. The sound is very smooth and non-fatiguing. Could clearly spot the difference with the previous DAC. My friend also noticed the same difference with a higher end amplifier+speaker combo.
Definitely a recommended buy.

Hey Sidney,
Thank you for the great review. Happy to know you had a comfortable shopping experience. Cheers!

R
Rahuul Ramachandrran (Bengaluru)
Chord Qutest (absolutely spectacular)

I have been using the Qutest for a few months now and it has definitely had enough time to burn in properly. A few quick thoughts on the packaging - it is excellent and you definitely know it is a premium product from the moment you start to open the box. The DAC itself is small but weighty. It is beautifully built with smooth edges, everything feels solid and this is something that will last for years. First impressions are positive even before you plug it in and switch it on.

About the sound - this DAC has been reviewed by many publications and reading the reviews (all exceedingly positive) gives one confidence to buy the product without a prior audition. Switching it on and it has a bit of a hard edge to the sound. The burn in takes ages so you need to be patient for it to reach full performance. And it is worth it! In my collection I have CDs I have owned for nearly 15 years and I heard details that I had never heard before. These are subtle things that greatly increase your appreciation and enjoyment of a piece of music and the reason to be an audiophile. It becomes much easier to understand the lyrics being sung (something that is not always the case with other DACs). All this resolution does not mean a hard or fatiguing upper midrange or treble. Contrary to this - with the best recordings the sound is smooth and sweet yet highly resolving! On the other hand - if your music is not well recorded you will instantly know it. There are filter options that allow you to tune the sound to taste but the difference is still subtle. The other point worth highlighting is that this DAC sounds excellent with standard resolution files / streams and does not need high resolution files or streams to sound it's best. Provided the rest of your system is well balanced and you are not looking at an overtly warm or euphonic sound this is absolutely perfect.

Highly recommend this to anyone looking at an excellent DAC at this budget. It handles all the formats you need except for MQA (not an issue for me). I hope to add the M Scaler in the future once my funds allow it.

Hi Rahuul, We appreciate your feedback and the time that you took the time out to leave us this note. It is very important to us that each customer of ours gets the best deal on the headphone they buy.

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