20 Best Dac For Pc Gaming (2023 Updated)

I know these are meant to primarily be gaming headphones, so maybe my experiences with them have been different than others as I don’t do a lot of online gaming. While I have tried these out, my 13 year old son (who always has headphones attached to his head) has mostly used them.

The only real complaint I had with these was getting them connected to devices. He had difficulty at first getting them to connect to devices even when following the instructions. He tried using them on the Nintendo Switch and couldn’t ever really get them connected.

Now that he has them connected to his laptop, he wears them all the time. He likes that they have a sound cancelling button that you can turn on or off. When it’s on (which is most of the time), he rarely hears me.

It does have a microphone that pulls out if he wants to use them as a gaming headset. He mostly plays Roblox with friends or his brother and sister, so it doesn’t get used much, but it works well when he does use it.

The sound quality of the headphones is excellent. He tells me that they are way better than the previous wireless headphones he was using. They are very comfortable over the ears and don’t cause pain after extended use.

They are comfortable enough that he falls asleep with them on sometimes. When they run down, he is good about plugging them in. They seem to last forever without needing to be charged as I know he has used them all day for multiple days before needing to be plugged in.

While these may be more expensive than other brands, they are much more durable and better quality than the cheaper brands. Even with my son wearing them all the time (including while he sleeps sometimes) they are sturdy and should last for a long time while I’ve had to replace his other ones about every 3 months with how tough he is on them.

I would highly recommend them to gamers, teenagers who wear them all the time, or anyone who wants comfortable headphones that help drown out the background noises.

I am diggin’ these Arctis Nova headphones! I am able to clearly hear even the slightest sounds in my game but not hear the other gamers’ outside noises at all. The setup was fast and easy – all I had to do was plug in the dongle and the cord and the pairing was done almost instantly.

The fit comfortably on my head without the pressure headache I have gotten from other headphones and the earmuffs fit completely over my ears without sliding off. The hideable microphone is awesome because when I need it I lightly pull it from it’s hidden spot and the voice quality is crisp and not garbled.

I also like that it is flush when not in use so I don’t worry about damaging it. The versatility between using Arctis headphones is a great bonus. I used them on my PS4, my iPod, my stereo and with my smart tv all with no loss of quality.

The fast charge rocks! Literally 10 minutes of charging and I used the for over 5 hours! Watching the light level changes is a really nice feature. I can tell roughtly where the charge is just by the color.

So impressed with these headphones that I’m thinking that they’ll be a gift to the hubby in the future!.

Not only is this Arctis Nova 7P headset comfortable and stylish, the sound quality and background noise controls are excellent. The weight of this headset feels like a premium product right out of the box, heavier than most.

I own a different SteelSeries headset and while it also is high performing, it doesn’t come close to the Arctis Nova 7P! This headset works well for my work meetings, but after work it transfers seamlessly to work with my PS5 gaming system! Another upgrade from my other headset is that it charges with high speed USB-C rather than USB mini which is a welcome change! Even opening the box was exciting with lots of pieces, including a cute folding little cardboard character that I enjoyed quite a bit.

The head strap is fully adjustable and fits well and the ear cushions don’t get uncomfortable after several hours of use. The battery stays charged for a long time and charges quickly which is useful for both work and play! Love this headset and will continue to use SteelSeries quality product line.

I normally don’t write reviews but this interface’s drivers and mix software is so bad I thought I might save someone else from having to deal with it. I used it in windows 10. As of 11/21 in order to get the adat inputs to work properly and monitor through the mixer you need to change the sample rate to another rate and back to the one you’re using after powering up (every time).

I learned this after doing some research and apparently this has been a know bug for years. To add insult to injury the real-time mix/monitoring SW is terrible. Its divided into mixes per output pairs, which is fine/workable, but the solo is global and mutes all other busses.

So, if for example, you want only mic one on Adat 3/4 you’d have to mute or turn down every other channel instead of just soloing the channel you want and all faders are up by default. Maybe there’s a shortcut but I had to much to do to find it.

Also there’s no way to save monitor mixes. Also if the mixer is active I think you have to route the HW channels to the logical Adat channels going to the DAW rather through the mix SW then access them directly from the driver unless you bypass the mix software all together loosing no latency input monitoring which makes the solo implementation all the more worse.

I’m not sure I’m describing this properly but it was arcane and annoying. Also, there’s plenty of zipper noise pulling down the bus output faders. It’s pure frustration. The pres and build quality are fine and it comes with some nice bundled sw that I had no use for but would come in handy if you’re starting from zero.

I’d stay away from this box until presonus redesigns the SW. There are decades older options with better functionality and whatever money you’re saving isn’t worth it. Something like: “Presonus is our day job.

Designed by musicians” is proclaimed under the stock photos on the the box. It might be good for them to hire some engineers to work the bugs out.

The fantastic Richer Sounds team helped me buy a great system system about four years ago, when a purchased a Yamaha AS301 amplifier, Dali Zensor 3 speakers and a Cambridge Audio CXC CD transport. The sound has always been really good, but decided it was time to upgrade.

After researching the Cambridge Audio amplifier range, I started reading about DACs and at just over £100 decided the DAC Magic gave me a piece of the Cambridge kit with solid reviews on the sound. I’m pleased to say that this little box has transformed my system.

The sound from the CD player definitely has more character and depth, so very happy there. I was astounded by the sound quality when I ran Tidal (Hifi and Masters) through the USB input. All I was after was a good sound stage and instrument separation, but I’m hearing things I have not heard in music that has been played over and over again for years.

In all honesty, my research led me towards the Schiit Modi 3, but these are difficult to find in the UK. If you are looking for your first DAC or are thinking about giving your sound system a boost, this is a great place to start.

You won’t be disappointed! A word of caution: I got bogged down in the complex discussions about sound quality while researching DACs – all I’ll say about that is the production quality of the music plays a major role in hearing any difference.

I personally find some Tidal Hifi tracks sound better or the same as Masters, but there are some Masters tracks that sound exceptional. My advice – get a good setup and trust your ears with the music that you love.

The DAC Magic really lets me enjoy my music in all formats.

Functionally, this unit works fine. Distortion and dynamic range seem crystal clear. But, unfortunately, there is a very high residual clock-subharmonic / AC-line noise leaking into the audio. This noise appears no better than 50dB down from peak output.

My NAD preamp is dead-silent compared to this DAC when the DAC is powered on, but with no USB signal connected ( or connected and quiescent ). White Noise performance seems okay, but is not up to the NAD SNR performance.

The unit seems sensitive to power supply noise levels, and the accompanying switching power supply is not clean. Replacing this supply with a clean linear supply helped. Thus, overall, I am saying that the 113dBr SNR specification is misleading.

I understand the pressures of keeping unit cost down, but this seems to be a design flaw.

I bought this to act as a DAC for my laptop. Setup for Windows 10 is a little fiddly with Audio 2. 0 driver and messing about with settings to get ASIO output. However! The benefits are real. The sound is amazing.

I am playing FLAC files through the DACMagic into my Denon amp with Mission speakers. I’m not an audiophile, but the sound is definitely better than even CD quality. Don’t be put off by it’s diminutive size.

This little pocket rocket is the business. My only (very petty) gripe is that the supplied USB cable is quite short (about 40cm). But longer versions are readily available. Well done CA for another great product.

And thanks again Richer sounds for speedy service and great value. I couldn’t find this DAC cheaper anywhere else. Even second hand ones were selling for higher than you were charging.

The Dragonfly Cobalt is the third AudioQuest USB DAC/headphone amplifier I have bought in the past five (5) years, starting with BLACK v1. 0, then to BLACK v1. 5, then to RED, now to COBALT. I am thankful I have taken this “progressive” route over time as I have exhaustive first-hand experience with each Dragonfly “color” version, earned through rewarding use.

If you appreciate the very best reproduction of recorded music typically delivered via a personal computer (PC) or leading-edge smartphone/portable music player to In-Ear-Monitors (IEMs) and headphones, the COBALT is a worthy 2021 “journey’s end”.

I have spent six (6) weeks listening to the COBALT using my latest favorite IEMs (a lifelong search this is) and TIDAL Highest Fidelity subscription service. Here is the “skinny”: COBALT versus RED: roughly DOUBLE the potential audio output capability for COBALT versus RED – this is not just great for ‘PUNCH’ – it means greater ease of delivery over a greater overall dynamic range – it is BREATHTAKING; NOTE that TIDAL software limits the COBALT’s maximum audio output level to help prevent possible hearing loss; NOISE LEVEL – COBALT has no audible background noise, EVER – music arrives out of total BLACKNESS – sort of like the vacuum of space – I have been an audiophile for 45years and have never experienced this before – a drawback to RED is it produces audible background noise – I believe still it is worth it as RED has fantastic dynamic range and you hear EVERYTHING in the recording in detail – COBALT took some getting used to as COBALT does this too but WITHOUT ANY BACKGROUND NOISE.

At first I thought I was missing some detail using COBALT versus RED but my ears/brain just needed to get used to the total absence of noise and the launch of ONLY music in perfect detail in space. I am just amazed at this technology.

I am experiencing hundreds of songs as if I have never heard them before. The only way I can experience “better” (approaching live music) reproduced music is to park myself in the best place to listen to a 11-channel, 11-speaker, 10,000-Audio Watt output surround sound system that cost more than 100 times as much as a COBALT to put in place.

It is rarely more convenient to get the surround sound system cranked up versus using a COBALT with great IEMs. Plus, I can work at one of my PCs while listening to PERFECT SOUND. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!.

I have had it about a month (birthday present to myself) and been using it with an android phone through paid for USB Audio Player Pro App (£6) to play MP3 and the like. It connects through the Cobalt ‘Dragontail’ USB-A to USB-C connector (supplied with Cobalt) and produces a really noticeable improvement in the audio clarity/timing to my headphones; despite the not high data rate source.

Have also been using it attached to my windows laptop and ipad (via iPad USB adapter) to listen to streamed music services. At present this has been at standard quality (spotify free app), but even at these data rates the improvement of audio sound into wired Sony XM3 headphones has been significant.

Can’t wait to upgrade to higher data rates on subscription services like Tidal. Appreciate to get the Cobalt and use it at these levels is overkill; however intent was to note the change in audio and then self justify the man-maths of upping to higher audio quality streaming subscriptions (or not)? Also a degree of future proofing, hoping streaming may move to higher data rates at some point more standardly and/or Cobalt will be better set for any technology improvements? Of note, I/you cannot stream from free Spotify through a USB DAC on an android phone at present.

There is a v. small petition pressing Spotify for this online, but may be worth knowing if that is your intent in purchasing this or another of Audioquests offerings (Black or Red Dragonfly).

So this for me, is the best DAC when portability is of paramount importance. It is the cleanest & most revealing of the AQ line up and as far as small form factor DACs are concerned this for me is the best out there.

Feels better made than the other 2 AQs (red & black). Has enough juice for fairly demanding IEMs & HPs. I ‘believe’ this is the least battery sucking out of the 3 – haven’t measured it really, but devices last longer – (maybe cause higher volume is achieved at lesser output level – regardless kinder on the battery).

NOTE – Everywhere this being better than the other 2 AQs – except bass, I feel and enjoy the bass on AQ Red a lot more. AQ Red bass is kind of unreal for portable devices (provided your HP/IEMs can do great bass).

I am a pro music producer and own a range of headphones already I had been using the Audio Tehnica ATH-m50x for a long time but I really hate the comfort of those, they are hard as rocks and very tight too, not good for long mixing sessions, and the sound stage is also very colored and even after 3 years of learning the frequency curve of those, you just cant make good mixing decisions, but they are OK for tracking and recording.

My fav headphones so far are the ATH-M35 even tho they are way cheaper, a bit softer on the ears, they have such good frequency response and such a forward but clear midrange, totally opposite to most studio headphones out there.

Enough about those guys, I got the Beyerdynamic DT990 PROs for mainly long extended mixing sessions and these are actually my favorite now for everything! The comfort is like having two pillows on your head, and I’ve read that some find the clamping force too much? Not at all guys! Its so soft that you wont even notice you’re wearing headphones! The soundstage is a bit opposite to the ATH-M35s, but I prefer that and I use a mix of both during mixing and mastering.

The M35s can show me the overall balance of a song, I make tonal mixing decisions with those. But the Beyerdynamics have a bit of a harsh high-end which is totally perfect for identifying problems in a mix and due to the awesome stereo imaging (cause it’s open-back) I can place instruments very easily in the stereo space.

Its hands-down wayyy better than the M50x for anything besides recording, which is the only use for those rn. If you’re mixing mainly on headphones then I’d say (1) use any good closed-back for recording, something with a lot of color and hype so that u enjoy the music and get a good take.

(2) Then use the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro for production, making synths, recording MIDI drums or even electric guitars and stuff, basically the bulk of messing around with sounds, doing sound design and stuff.

(3) Check the mix every once in a while with a flat response headphone, something that’s not from Beyerdynamic and which doesn’t have the awesome highs like the DT990 pro (for example, ATH-M35) (4) Basically continue your whole mix in these (DT 990 Pro) (5) Check on consumer devices like very cheap bluetooth speakers and Samsung earplugs and you will get a very good production which translates well everywhere! Really loving these headphones, do listen to movie soundtracks from Netflix (Squid Game sounds really awesome!) and also Anime soundtracks like Kimi No Nawa and stuff on these There’s a link somewhere of the music I mixed with these, do check that out! Thanks a ton! Stay safe and keep makin music! : ).

This is my brothers view, after gifting him who is an architect by profession and also plays bass guitar for the prog/djent band RONIN, In and he uses these cans mostly for demo mixing and critical listening (at-least that was his intention.

) Now based on his experience I’ve listed down the Pros and Cons, Pros: 1. Extremely bright sounding. Sometimes too bright for your liking if you are coming from common consumer friendly headphones. Give it some times to burn, it will shine.

2. The bass is there, and its about just the right amount. Its not muddy or do not bleed into the mids. 3. Mids are hyper detailed. Also, the frequency separation is mesmerizing. The soundscape is fairly wide since is an open-back system.

4. The earpads are out of this world comfortable, even the headband itself is nicely padded. 5. The build quality pretty good (as expected from in this price point. ) Cons: 1. These are some power-hungry cans (250 Ohms.

which is technically not a con) since its target use case is mostly to be used with professional studio equipment. If you are planning to use it in your home setup like me, it will work fine if you hook it up to some decent soundcard.

2. Casual music listening might be challenging if you are planning to drive them from your PC or Mobile only. It will run, but not in its full potential. Which might lead you to hate these. A cheap but good DAC like IFI Zen Air DAC can help a lot if you are not planning to spend a fortune.

Some might say “It will lack power or you should go for something more powerful like FiiO – K5 Pro ESS. ” But trust me, you do not need that. If you are not convinced go to any online headphone power calculator and see for yourself, its science.

Do not fall for the audiophile myth crap. 3. Though the classic tracks and modern pop tracks sounds fabulous, some modern metal tracks might not sound that nice, especially the low tuned guitars (tuned in Drop G, F or E0) are sometimes very difficult to be handled by it.

4. Last but not the least, it should have a replaceable cable system. Don’t think the existing cable is bad. They are sturdy and thick, but it will break at some point of time. Also it’s not always very comfortable to have a coiled cable dangling from your left earcup.

The coiled cables are heavy and they have their specific purpose, which you might not need all the time.

dt990 pro good for its price. but. These phones are well made and comfortable, the plastic headband though cheap actually does a good adjustable job, keeps it firmly on the head without ever being too hot or ‘clampy’ – even after wearing for several hours.

[and this in the hot weather!] The foam around your ears is comfortable, too. Sound: everything is ok, the base is never boomy, its quite tight, but it does not extend down much, bassheads would be unimpressed, the midrange is a bit ‘cloggy’ a little muddled, but it is pretty okay, the tremble is a bit suppressed , although transients can be heard – like a cymbal for instance – its steep ‘up’ in sound and then its diminishing down is rather lost.

The stereo separation is not great, trying to listen to individual instruments in any track is quite hard. and there is little feeling of a soundstage. The idea that the music is spread “around you” rather just pointing at your ears.

Still. The build quality is great – impressive at the price. Here it is, i’m listening to a bad recoding but thru Sennheiser hd560s’s at the moment – the 560s are worse in built quality to the dt990pro in almost every regard, but do sound better.

Most of my problems are gone with the HD560s. But. the dt990pro is £100, the HD560s is £140. AND THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPROTANT: the beyer dt900 prox is £210, the Grado 325e is £280 [?] i haven’t heard the dt900 pro x, but i have heard the grado 325.

it was massively superior in every way: no exception. How much do you want to spend? If your limit is £100. the Dt990 pro would be a good comfortable well mad friend for your ears. And as for money? gosh, i shouldn’t talk about it these days.

But i guess there are even better headphones at insane prices. Set your budget. Stick to it.

This is a high-end DAC/headphone amp/pre-amp with a comprehensive feature set. I think the only words of caution I’d offer are that there’s quite a steep learning curve, and for the vast majority of people, its capabilities will wildly exceed their requirements.

If you just want decent quality sound at home or even in your studio, then it could be argued that this is overkill. Still, relative to competing products it’s not THAT expensive, and you have the peace of mind that it can do pretty much anything.

It can be optimised for virtually any headphones on the market with masses of power, all selectable via different power settings and outputs (there’s an IEM output for a better SNR with high sensitivity in ear monitors or indeed most headphones) and there’s parametric EQ if you need it plus some other useful features.

I might add that in addition to its comprehensive feature set and state of the art specs, it’s very well made, compact and attractive. All in all, it gets a top recommendation. I’d just say that you should have a think about whether you really need that sort of power and capability.

If you just want a DAC/headphone amp for a bit of decent quality music at home then honestly this is massive overkill. If you want the best and you can afford to buy it without doing anything silly then go ahead, it’s fantastic!.

This is not a comprehensive review covering every aspect, just a subjective opinion and some notes on the usability. First off, it appears very small and light when you first unpack it. The included remote is small and neat but nicely weighted and pleasant to hold.

It is powered by a CR2025 coin cell. Secondly, the user manual is impressive. Properly bound and printed on quality paper. It is also very comprehensive and somewhat daunting. You will need to study it closely.

Before using you will need to download the USB driver to your computer or laptop. While you are doing that check for firmware updates. It would be nice if there were more than three inputs (say two optical), but only a few DACs have more than three.

The visual display is amazingly good. You need to look from a close distance to see all the information. The equalisation functions are staggering. Not only bass and treble but a five band equaliser with variable turnover frequencies and slope.

You may never need this but it is there should you so wish I only have Sennheiser HD600 to evaluate the headphone output. No problem with output power. Sound quality is as good if not better than the other separate headphone amplifiers I have.

No complaints at all here. I was concerned that the two output levels were too wide apart. At +7 and +22 db would you be between not having enough volume or far too much. The DAC automatically senses which level to choose and this works very well.

In practice +7 is all you need even with the HD600 unless high volume is required. I retired my existing preamp (I have a separate power amplifier) as the quality was simply better using the RME. It is very easy to adjust volume, there being no big jumps in level.

There is plenty of power to drive any power amplifier, but I chose to limit the output level in the software as I never play music very loud. The RME is better than the other DACs I own in just about every aspect of sound quality.

Very detailed and very natural. Lastly, do not judge the DAC after the first few minutes of listening. When new it sounds detailed but very clinical and dry. This was in direct comparison to the other equipment I own.

I let it play overnight through headphones and it sounded noticeably better. This is just my observation, I don’t normally agree with terms such as “burn-in” of new components so this aspect surprised me.

I like this external SSD a lot. It’s really small and light – the size of a credit card but about half a cm deep. If you can get one of these for under £80 that’s a great bargain, but probably worth the regular price of about £120.

It works much better than I expected. The Samsung T7 is an ideal way for Mac Mini owners to add lots of fast storage very economically. It’s only about half the speed of the Mac’s insanely fast internal SSD, but the t7 is still seriously fast, and better performance than you really need even for very demanding tasks.

I thought that video editing might require a much more expensive Thunderbolt 3 external SSD, but the T7’s USB C / USB 3. 2 seems fine. To get the fastest performance of 1 GB per second, be sure to plug the T7 drive into a USB C port on the Mac Mini using the usb C to usb C cable (small plug both ends), rather than the larger USB A socket with the cable which has a bigger plug on one end.

If you use the usb A port it will only run at usb 3. 1 speed of 500MB per second, which is also very fast but you’ll appreciate going twice the speed when copying large video files etc. To be honest, 500mb per second is pretty amazing, so if your computer only has usb 3.

1 don’t worry about that too much, it’s still really fast, but you’d get the same performance with the older, cheaper Samsung T5 SSD.

This was a replacement purchase before my old drive (non-Samsung) completely crashed on me. I love the convenient size; not bulky. The download speed is awesome. A little pricey but I got in on a decent sale to try it out and I’m glad I did.

Very sleek look. Made me realize I need to step up my laptop game to match its performance and connections. I originally was using with my older laptop and it did not support USB 3. 2 so I was not seeing the potential until my updated laptop arrived and the combo is unstoppable.

I’m weary of some of the reviews complaining about the performance and it not working properly after awhile if at all. So far it has been a great experience for me and I would recommend. You might not be as pleased with performance if using an older laptop that does not have any USB-C ports, but it will still get the job done with an older USD connection to USB-C cable; just a tad slower when importing/exporting.

I’ve had this for about 2 weeks now, the sound is natural, bright, addictive, increadibly clear and detailed, the highs and lows are exceptionally well balanced, it makes me excited to listen to music again, old and new.

If I had one minor gripe about the sound it’s that the soundstage isn’t particularly wide, this gives music an exciting albeit packed in sound. It powers the Sennheiser HD660s well but I really thought the open backed headphones would sound much more, well, open.

The ability to play up to 32/768 and DSD 256 is useful, I’ve particularly enjoyed listening to well produced new albums in DSD (The Weeknd’s After Hours is one highlight). It comes with numerous inputs (although so far I have only used the micro USB).

The ability to run two headphones out of it is a nice option although I haven’t used this feature yet and honestly I would prefer something like an optical out so it could run as a standalone DAC but I mainly need it for headphones so it’s fine.

It would even be helpful to have a balanced 4. 4m output as my headphones have this wire as well. I don’t really see the point in having two identical 3. 5mm outputs. There are a few things I would change, out of the box it comes with very few instructions so it took me a good few hours to get it working properly (you need to download and enable the DSD ASIO drivers to make it bit-perfect in Foobar).

It also needs to be charged over two USB wires, it won’t charge with the one USB wire supplied (i. e. it has a micro USB input and a micro USB charging port) which is slightly annoying and leads to needless amounts of clutter (also modern laptops have very few USB ports which requires dongles etc, it’s just annoying).

I have also so far been unable to connect it to my phone even though I have tried everything which is equally annoying (the instructions are basically ‘plug in and it will work’ which is. wow, super helpful thanks).

I’ve also had it crash a few times while listening to music which, while sitting in bed ready to get to sleep, is frustrating to say the least. All in all, I like it, I like the sound which is the most important thing.

But there are a number of problems with it you should be aware of. I would recommend it and most listeners probably won’t have the same problems I did.

The Chord Mojo DAC makes my CD and Hi Res quality music files sound better than I’ve ever heard the music in my life. I use it as my main desktop DAC connecting into my stereo preamplifier/amp and speaker system.

The Chord Mojo DAC was a huge upgrade over the Schiit Modius DAC I was previously using in every possible way–clarity of instruments/vocals, sound stage, dynamic range, layering of sounds. I think this is the best value (e.

g. very high quality at lowest cost) DAC from the Chord Electronics lineup. One thing I highly recommend for users like me that want to keep the Chord Mojo perpetually plugged in to a power source is to disconnect the internal battery so it is not continually charging.

It is easy to do, you just unscrew the 8 micro hex screws, carefully open up the case, disconnect the battery plug connector from the circuit board and then close everything back up. There are several Youtube videos demonstrating how to do this.

My other recommendation is to make sure you learn how to set the output of the Chord Mojo to true “Line Out” voltage (light blue lights). I had to correspond with support personnel from Chord Electronics to get clear and easy instructions on how to do this.

I ordered the Chord Mojo portable DAC / headphone amp. on 30th March and it duly arrived on 2nd April as promised. Great service from Richer Sound. The Mojo makes a very significant difference to all music files via my iPad – even from MP3 files, but it really excels with streamed music from Tidal and files that are of CD quality or higher.

I’ve always doubted being able to hear the difference above CD quality, (e. g. 24bit 96kHz or 192kHaz) but I really can – that really surprised me a lot. I have used the product with Shure SE535 IEM headphone and with a higher end Oppo PM1 planar magnetic headphone.

Both sound great and you can really hear details in the music that you just miss listening to the iPad directly – the artists and recording teams handiwork is really brought out and the music is very absorbing / involving and most importantly, a joy to listen to.

I’m not a HiFi buff so I won’t talk about sound stage and treble, mid and bass responses etc. but I can see why this product is so highly regarded – it sounds great. I found the Shure headphones better when listening to the Mojo directly from it’s headphone jack.

I also used the Mojo as a DAC only and fed the line signal to an Oppo HA1 headphone amplifier with the PM1 headphones and the sound was at just another level – incredibly good. So the Mojo is great as a portable DAC/amp but clearly the amplifier can be improved (not surprising in something the size of a pack of cigarettes).

Use it as a desk top DAC and a good headphone amplifier and headphones and it is amazing. I’d love to see if a much more expensive DAC could sound better. I haven’t tried to use it as a DAC on my full HiFi system yet – that will be an interesting test.

The only criticism I have is the familiar one of Chord products – sparse instructions and online support / FAQ that could do with improvement – Naim do this so well, perhaps Chord could take this as an example as they are real geniuses at the technical stuff.

But overall, a very good product, amazing value and I am delighted I bought it.

I am technically illiterate but love the sound of good music, but barely knew what a DAC was. However, having read some rave reviews I decided, on a whim and unheard, to buy the Chord Qutest from Richersounds in Maidstone.

Must be crazy huh? What a revelation. I have connected it by optical cable via NAD CD player into Linn Majik amp through Linn Majik 109 speakers and I am completely blown away by the tremendous sounds coming out of the system, the improvement is astronomic.

I’m even into streaming via the thingy cable. Every good word you can summon up about harmonic excellence applies to the Qutest. I think that this is a great product and it is giving me immeasurable pleasure.

If in doubt please don’t hesitate to arrange a demo, I am sure that the excellent Richer Sounds in Maidstone would happily oblige, but be warned, once heard you will want to buy. I can’t praise the Chord Qutest or Richer Sounds, Maidstone too highly.

Both the product and their service is excellent.

Before I decided on the Chord Qutest DAC, I was shopping for a pure DAC with no amp. My eyes were on the Schiit Yggdrasil. Then I came upon PSA DirectStream, which cost twice as much as the Schiit. I heard about the Chord Hugo 2, but its strange way of using the color button for selection initially turned me off.

“What? You want me to pay over two thousand dollars for something that looked like a toy?” But after reading and watching the reviews in the articles and YouTube, I came upon the DAC only called Qutest offered by Chord Electronics.

I decided to go with the Chord Qutest because of the smaller size and lower price tag than the Schiit Yggdrasil. The DAC is for my desktop to accept the music output from my Windows 10 PC. Lo and behold after I received the Chord Qutest.

The reviews were not wrong! There is more dynamic and soundstages in the music. Naturally, I supplemented the Chord Qutest with Moon-audio Silver Dragon USB cable, and the Qutest shines some more. The arrival of 64 Audio’s Tia Fourte completed my setup with the Moon-audio’s Silver Dragon IEM cable purchase.

In a nutshell, the purchase of Chord Qutest and Moon-audio’s Silver Dragon cables saved me a ton of money and yet provided me with the ultimate listening experience. In case you are interested, my headphone amplifier in the chain is the SPL Phonitor 2.

I love the ability to adjust the crossfeed circuitry to simulate listening to the speakers in front of me instead of a direct left and right channel to my ears. As to the strange-looking color buttons in the Qutest, they don’t bother me anymore when I realized that Chord built the Qutest like a tank.

It’s relatively heavy for its size.

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.