Qute Operator

Chord Electronic’s new 2Qute DAC sounds even better than it looks, says Jon Myles.

A company has to have supreme confidence in its abilities when it allows one of its flagship products to share the same name as a popular TV comedy channel. But so it is with Chord – who earlier this year raised a few eyebrows by naming its state-of-the-art £8000 DAC Dave.
    Mind you, the Kent-based outfit seems to have taken a particular delight recently in giving its products slightly off-the-wall names. At one time it was content with technical-sounding monikers such as QBD76HD or DSX1000 – but lately its DAC line-up has consisted of products bearing titles such as Chordette, Hugo, Qute EX and the aforementioned Dave.
    And now there’s the Qute EX’s successor in the shape of the 2Qute (see what they’ve done there again?).
    To be fair, it’s quite an apt epithet as the product in question is undeniably small, shapely and, well, cute. In typical Chord fashion the new standalone DAC is housed in a gorgeous machined aluminium chassis measuring 160mm x 70mm x40mm (W/H/D) with curved edges and an illuminated round window on the top allows you to see a section of the neatly laid-out internal electronics as well as acting as an indicator of incoming sample rate (more of which later).