Chord Qutest DAC, GoFigure app – Bristol Show 2018

Chord Electronics has chosen the UK’s largest audio show, Sound and Vision 2018, for the European debut of two new products; namely the Qutest DAC and GoFigure app for the Poly music streamer.

We were very excited when news landed about the launch of Chord’s new DAC at CES earlier in the year.

Now we will get the chance to go hands on with the most advanced compact DAC on the planet. The Chord Electronics Qutest is having its European launch at the Bristol show. Naturally, GadgetyNews will be there getting up close and personal with plenty much Hi-Fi.

European launch of Qutest and GoFigure

The Qutest DAC is based on the latest proprietary Rob Watts’ FPGA technology. This is the same as that developed for the class-leading Hugo 2 DAC/headphone amp. Qutest will be undertaking all D/A conversion duties in Chord Electronics’ main room (SS Great Britain 1 Suite) on the Ground Floor, throughout the three-day event. I shall definitely be dropping by.

Chord Electronics will also have the first European demonstrations of GoFigure. This is the much anticipated configuration app for the Poly streamer. The app, along with Poly and Mojo, will be shown by the Chord Electronics team in the company’s second show location, Stand Bristol 6 on the Ground Floor.

Factory staff will be on hand to answer questions about Poly and GoFigure, and advise on how the new app transforms the Poly user experience.

GoFigure

Now, I do enjoy using the Poly and Mojo pairing. But, even those who absolutely adore the wireless Poly unit will agree that things get a little fiddly with pairing. Also, there’s the reliance on a random array of third-party apps to stream music.

Read our Chord Poly review

I actually did a little Snoopy happy dance when I saw this Tweet from Chord Electronics

Go Figure Update: We’re aware of some frustrations with the delayed release. Latest update is that Apple has requested a hardware compatibility review. We understand that waiting on Apple is tough, but we are assisting them with this and look forward to binning the pin.
— Chord Electronics (@ChordAudio) February 12, 2018

Hopefully, the GoFigue app will quieten some of the feedback given regarding Poly. I love it, but some reader’s have commented here, as well as on forums.

Qutest DAC

As a swift reminder, the Qutest uses the same award-winning internal DAC architecture and proprietary software coding as the Hugo 2. So, you get proven class-leading technical and sonic performance.

The new DAC benefits from 5V Micro USB powering which offers improved flexibility over its predecessor. Furthermore, it offers support for up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512 via its galvanically isolated USB-B input. It will also handle 24-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD128 via coaxial (BNC) and 24-bit/192kHz data on Optical TOSLink.