Chord Chordette 2QUTE DAC - Silver

2Qute DAC

"What happens when you combine two Award-winning products into one? You get the brand new Chord 2Qute – a standalone DAC that’s the latest in Chord Electronics’ hugely successful Chordette range." - Read the full review, here.

"For audiophiles craving sonic perfection...

Late last year I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing the Chord Hugo portable headphone amp/digital converter, it was the best on-the-go rig I've ever heard. The 2Qute lets you hear deeper into the music; it lifts veils from the sound. The music is more immediate, more present, and more alive. If you have never heard recorded music like this you literally don't know what you're missing."

- Steve Guttenberg, CNET, July 2015. Read the full review, here.

The new 2Qute is a compact, affordable standalone DAC which combines two award-winning products in one: the revolutionary Hugo DAC/headphone amp and the class-leading Qute EX standalone DAC.

The new 2Qute takes the technology from What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision's 2014 Best DAC - (Hugo) and adds it to What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision's 2014 Best DAC £700 - £1,000 (Qute EX). The result is a new super-DAC for 2015 with class-leading specification, outstanding technical measurements and proven sonic performance.

2Qute advances the award-winning Qute EX DAC into 2015 with the latest Hugo specification. Essentially a Hugo in a Chordette chassis, it brings the latest FPGA DAC technology into an affordable home-system-orientated unit. 2Qute contains the same high-performance Spartan 6 FPGA that has enabled Hugo to redefine the DAC genre in 2014. The 2Qute also boasts astonishingly low distortion levels of 0.0003%.

The 2Qute offers support for up to 32-bit/384kHz audio via coax and USB, and 24-bit/192kHz over optical. DSD64 is supported on all inputs and DSD128 is supported via coax or USB (all via DoP). The new DAC also gains a handy switch to easily move between coax, optical and USB digital inputs.

The device features a Class 2 USB input which, because of the 2Qute's home-system orientation compared to Hugo's more mobile aspirations, has been galvanically isolated for greater sonic performance. This has been achieved using a novel technique which allows for very high data rates of up to 384kHz; the input is driverless on Apple and Android devices, with (ASIO included) drivers for Windows devices.

2Qute key features

- Coax, optical and USB digital inputs with input switch
- Galvanically isolated Class 2 USB input up to 384kHz
- Driverless operation on Apple and Android devices; drivers supplied for Windows
- Support for up to 32-bit/384kHz audio via coax and USB, and 24-bit/192kHz via optical
- DSD64 supported on all inputs, DSD128 supported via coax or USB input (all via DoP)
- Source and sample rate indication/illumination
- 12V 0.5A power supply provided

Measured performance

Output: 3v RMS 1kHz
Dynamic range: -119dB A Wt
THD: 0.0003% at 3v RMS 1kHz; 0.0002% at 2v RMS 1kHz
Crosstalk: 126dB 1kHz
Frequency Response: +/- 0.1dB 20-20kHz