with due respect to other responders - there are clear and salient alternatives to the chord qutest, as good as a dac as it is
at $1500 used, the other terrific alternatives are, based on my travels through dac land... prime examples
- denafrips pontus
- soekris 1541 or newer model 2541
- mdht orchid or istanbul (for less money, about a grand), but doing a tube upgrade, perhaps with a tube adapter closes the cost gap some
qutest is excellent, on the clear and clean, slightly lean side of the spectrum... excellent spatial capabilities, filters are nice but barely perceptible, fixed output
denafrips and soekris provide the spatial excellence but more midrange midbass warmth and fullness many appreciate, xlr outputs, additionally the soekris adds remote volume capability and headphone out, big plusses for some
mhdt tube dacs are yang to the chord’s ying -- warm, flowing, slightly softer focus, more natural less robotic sound, more coherent top to bottom, more analog in presentation overall, a more rose colored glasses view of the world... many systems can benefit from this front end
just my 2 cents