Add Chord Cutest (DAC) to Bluesound Node or purchase HiFi Rose RS150BDAC

Sonically, the Chord Qutest was one of the most disappointing DACs I’ve owned. Value-wise, it easily ranks as the worst.

Don’t fall victim to the hype surrounding their proprietary FPGA and filter tapping. It doesn’t result in any better objective performance than a mid-grade OEM DS chip and independent measurements confirm that.

Subjectively (in level-matched A/B comparisons I conducted), the Marantz HD-DAC1, Denafrips Ares II, and Electrocompaniet ECD-2 are all considerably superior, especially in bass performance. If you want to get the same experience the Qutest offers, you can get the Pro-Ject Pre BoxS2 Digital, which sounds indistinguishable for half the price of a used Qutest.

The most likely reason others are recommending the Qutest over the Rose’s internal DAC is the pervasive and flawed notion around here that separate components that result in higher total cost always result in better performance.

There’s good reason you’ll never encounter a shortage of pre-owned Qutest DACs floating around the market. I believe one time I counted as many as 10 available simultaneously on the “other” site. It’s as overpriced and overhyped a product as I’ve encountered in all my years in this hobby. Lean bass, relatively grainy highs, and a very 2-dimensional soundstage with none of the layering you get from a good R2R DAC. It is the epitome of stereotypical delta-sigma sound. Even the original AKM Topping D90 sounds more organic.

I don’t have experience with HiFi Rose products, but I’d honestly be amazed if the Qutest sounds any better than their onboard DACs. When it comes to streaming, your best bet is to get the product with the most reliable and logical operating interface. Get the streamer that fits those needs first and foremost, then worry about the DAC quality. If the streamer is frequently crashing or suffering other obnoxious glitches, it doesn’t matter how good the internal DAC is, nor will it matter of you have a great DAC downstream…it will ruin the experience. 
 

IMO. Often audiophiles go looking at what is fresh and pretty, new with glowing reviews. Many of those reviews are paid for. I was curious about the HiFi Rose and bought one. The integration was awful, the GUI was not intuitive and the sound did not impress me over a Bluesound and separate DAC. The biggest overlooked factor is that BluOs and Bluesound customer service has been very reliable. Forget hype and audition if you can for a week or so.

+1 regarding the Cutest being overpriced and over rated. Have you considered the Eversolo DMP-A8? I recently ordered one (expecting it Friday) as an upgrade from the DMP-A6. I am very impressed with the Eversolo and going all in. The UI on the Eversolo’s is excellent as good as the Blue OS and the dac was very good.Pairing is key YMMV, but as a streamer alone it is truly outstanding. Folks are parting with their Rose’s because they cannot live with the UI chashes; it is really bad according to folks that own them on this forum and selling at big discounts. My one and only issue with the Eversolo UI was the inability to create cross platform playlist in the Eversolo app but now that has been addressed with a recent update. Before you go down the rabbit hole adding power supplies,multiple boxes etc. check out the Eversolo offerings they are priced fairly and the A6 I owned was far superior to the Node.

I would not gamble on the Rose to deliver the best sound, especially if you don’t care about the bling factor that comes with it. I have not heard the Qutest, but there are plenty of well reviewed DAC’s in that price range, read carefully to find one that will deliver “the sound” you are looking for. Sticking with separates is a good plan at this point if you are seeking the best sound, eventually you will want to step up to a better streamer too. 

After owning and trying several streamers—I found I prefer Lumin. You can find used ones on sale for great prices right now. I picked up a T2 (new model T3 is out) on TMR online store and absolutely love it. I’m a lifetime Roon user so have never tried Aurender.