Is a Chord Qutest Dac my best option

I agree with siox statement which type of sound reproduction your looking for. I tried the Qutest and liked it very much but the RME adi-2 version 2 worked better in my system. I found the Qutest had a slightly better soundstage but the RME had better bass and was more natural, very transparent without being bright and more enjoyable. I did buy a Teddy Pardo outboard power supply which improved the soundstage. There are so many features you can do a lot with the RME. I did buy a Orchid but mostly listen to the RME. 

I am also a relative newcomer to the streaming world. About a year ago I dipped my toe in with a Bluesound Vault which was simple and relatively inexpensive. A couple of months ago I was able to demo a Qutest from a dealer I’ve done business with. I spent the weekend listening to it in the system and wrote the check. The Qutest was a big improvement to the Vault’s presentation. I’ve been very satisfied. 

The Qutest is a super value and delivers amazing sound.  I think people would zero in on the Qutest because it offers only single ended outputs and is superb for its price.

there are better DACs from Chord and from other brands.  The Qutest is phenomenal at its price point.  If less than $2K is your budget, that is what I would go with.  If less than $6K was your budget I would look at a TT2.  

I have previously owned the Qutest and found it to be an incredible DAC.  It is really amazing for the price, I definitely recommend a listen to compare to others in the under $3K price category.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone, I really appreciate it. I would point out though #Rego that at $10k for my pre and over 20k for my monoblocks, all connected with Kimber cables I have a system that has the slight warmth of tubes but the PRaT of a solid state and being fully class A it sounds superb playing CD or Vinyl. It has taken me many years to be able to afford a system of this ability and Pure Audio (designed by the guy who gave the world Perreaux and Plinius and has been involved in design with B&W) is one of New Zealands best kept secret. I only asked about the chord becuase it was recommended to me by a local hifi store that does not do free trials (what has gone wrong with the hifi industry?). My TT is a Well-Tempered Versalex with an Ortofon Cadenza Black. A very musical cartridge to say the least. I downsized from Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 (a superb British speaker) to the MA Golds and the sound difference in my smaller room was negligible. As for the Antipodes range of streamers and add-ons, these are very musical and well built devices and would be New Zealands second best kept secret. I have been to their factory and they take hifi and music very seriously indeed. There will be no reason for me to evaluate my system because of a $1700 DAC, chord or not.I am thankful for having Audiogon for advice, and for some rather odd and interesting topics. It is all good fun, just never take anyone too seriously with those unusual posts. Enjoy them for what they are or maybe. One exception is Kenjiit, I am still waiting on his Worlds best speakers. They will not be forthcoming!!