IS THE WEISS 204 A SUBSTANIAL UPGRADE FRON THE CHORD QUTEST


My system is as follows:

  1. Martin Logan 11A Impressions loudspeakers
  2. SVS SB-4000 pair of subwoofers 
  3. Chord Qutest Dac
  4. Lumin U2 mini streamer
  5. Bryston 4B3 cubed power amp-500/ channel into 4 ohms.
  6. Rogue Audio RP-1 preamp, Bryston BP-19 preamp on order.
  7. Seeking a DAC with higher resolution than my Chord Qutest. maximum budget is $5000.00
  8. Question: Would the Weiss 204 be a substantial upgrade over the Qutest? The Weiss would come in at $3500.00 plus $1000 for
  9. Modright Linear Power supply addition.  Not looking to go sideways or only receive a small improvement. The Weiss all in is three times the price of the Chord.
  10. Thank you  in advance for any guidance you can offer. 

 

 

 

128x128kjl1065
Post removed 

I recently traded in my Qutest for a fairly inexpensive streamer ($4K Moon 280D). I loved the Qutest until I compared it to the Moon. Perhaps the DAC in the Qutest is better on paper, but the dealer said that USB was not a good way to connect to a DAC. Too much jitter in the interface.

The Moon 280D sounded cleaner with more air which gave the soundstage more complexity, at least to my ear. The Qutest sounded dark and a bit smeared. Again jitter? I compared the Moon 280D to another streamer that was probably way better on paper, but my hear could not discern the difference. 

I have been reading a number of audio forums in which people talk about how difficult it is to tell the difference between streamers. I usually don't buy a new piece of equipment until my ear tells me to. I have never heard a piece of digital equipment whose presence comes close to my turntable, but I have a fairly expensive analogue system. VPI Prime Signature, EMT HD 006 cartridge, ARC PH-7 phono preamp. When digital resolution rises to 192 sampling, it comes close, but analogue has more air and less smear.

My advice is to forget what's on paper and listen to different options. I would suggest the Moon if you have a local dealer that sells them. Or try other streamers. Since the source feed and the DAC are both in the same box think there is less jitter.

A streamer also makes life a lot easier. The Moon has a Mind2 inteface that runs on a phone or iPad. I use Qobuz and can look up an artist by name and see all the album covers under various artists (could be Van Morrison or Beethoven or Simon Rattle). Touch on the album cover and play it. Much easier than Qobuz on the computer. Since many others say it is difficult to hear the difference between streamers, again I would suggest using your ears and don't feel intimidated if you can't tell the difference between a DAC with a $12,000 atomic clock and one without. 

Have fun shopping. I always do.

@audio-b-dog I have no doubt that the Moon sounds wonderful, but I am wondering what the source was for the Qutest and what cable you used to connect it?  I have a Qutest and it matches or surpasses my vinyl rig, but I have done a lot of optimization upstream of the DAC.

Also @seanheis1 I find Chord DACs do something special with timing that helps music make sense and reduces fatigue.

kn

knownothing  I purchased an Audioquest USB cable. Probably not a very expensive one. I did not do anyhing else to optimize the DAC. I loved the sound until I compared it to the Moon 280 D. I didn't try playing with more expensive cables.