Schiit vs. Mytek vs. Chord - looking for some thoughts

Oh and I don’t necessarily “need” the extras such as volume control/preamp and a phono in Mytek but if it’s the better dac than the rest, I don’t mind. Looks of the unit not the highest priority. 

I listen to everything from classical to heavy metal. Amplification - Rogue RP-1 preamp, Rogue ST-100 amp
speakers -  Martin Logan Montis. Front end - Rega P2, Mac Mini running Roon Core with Qobuz into Bel Canto DAC-3, library of CD rips on HDD. Natural sound is what I’m after with precise imaging, width and depth of stage is a must. 

“Digital” sound is also one of the things that cannot be an attribute of the dac for me, but not at the expense of sacrificing on detail and dynamics. Also, not looking for analytical/dry sound. isnrmack, theo...how would you characterize the sound of the Chord Qutest? Do you have tubes somewhere in the chain, what source are you using to feed the dac?

Saw Darko video. It’s one of the reasons the Qutest is on my list. Kingbardnuda...Dac+ has filters as well. Any plans to try the Qutest in place if Brooklyn? That would be interesting... 

Theo thanks!

I’m leaning towards the Chord Qutest. 

Thank you. I think I’m pretty much set on the Chord Qutest. It’s pretty versatile, should be a good fit with the rest of my gear. We’ll see...

Ended up with the Chord Qutest. Very happy with it. Not much to complain about. With the Warm (orange) filter, it is smooth, throws a large soundstage. No listening fatigue, not analytical and just draws you in. A joy to listen to. 

theo thanks!
alex nice videos! Bach cello prelude sounds great!

I will share my thoughts and how I landed with the Qutest.
My decision was based on the comparison I conducted in my own system.
I had an opportunity to compare 4 DACs:
1. Mytek Brooklyn DAC+2. Chord Qutest
3. Bryston BDA-3.14 (streamer DAC, used purely as DAC).
4. Bel Canto DAC-3 (my current DAC at time of this comparison). 
I am running Roon Core on Mac Mini with Qobuz and my library of CD rips in AIFF, with the Wireworld Starlight USB cable.
To not indulge too much into details and cliches...I’ll try to make it short...

1st place - the Bryston BDA-3.14
2nd place - the Chord Qutest
3rd place - the Brooklyn DAC+4th place - the Bel Canto DAC-3

The Bryston just lays this amazingly solid foundation, has better separation, slightly more relaxed sound, bigger soundstage.

The Qutest with warm filter is not far behind, trails the Bryston slightly, and I mean slightly, in that lower end solidity and gives up a bit in the stage width.
A/B-ing the 2 DACs reveals these nuances, however, super close and the Qutest for the money is amazingly close to the Bryston for less than half the price.

The Mytek is a lot more forward sounding than the above 2 DACs, less depth, less width, not as dimensional in its presentation, appears to be a bit more dynamic but only because it is more forward sounding. it puts you on the stage with the band, instead of in the audience. This results, depending on the quality of recording, in listening fatigue. I ended up turning the volume down more often than I wanted.

The Bel Canto (just sold it) is a very nice DAC, but back when it was designed, it was geared mor towards using the coax, toslink and BNC. The USB input isn’t its strongest feature, and for hi-res streaming it lacked qualities that were strengths of the other DACs, and could not match the resolution of the other converters.Keep in mind, this is what I heard with my ears, in my system with my gear.

Unfortunately I was not able to try Schiit Bifrost 2 and I’m sure it is a great DAC.

As a side note, I am trying out a DH Labs Mirage USB cable now and it took the cutest up a notch in every respect.

Hope this helps someone in their research, but take it for what it is...my ears, my system, etc.