Chord Qutest Upgrade

@mlapenta 

I’m in the same boat, well sort of.  I have a Denafrips Pontus ll that I really like, but I have upgraded my streamer and want to see if upgrading my DAC would bring more out of it. I will most likely stay with a “Ladder” DAC, so there’s a lot to choose from.  So far the two that are on top of my list are the Venus 15th and the LTA Aero.  Both have received nothing but positive reviews and both are similar in price.  I wonder if anyone has done a comparison between the two?  Anyway the Venus 15th is in the lead for two reasons, first is I am already familiar with the Denafrips sound and the second is the tubes in the Aero. I’m a believer in leaving my equipment on 24/7 and I can’t do that with the Aero.  My preamp and amps have tubes and also have triggers, so they go on with one press of the button.  The Aero might stand a better chance with me if it had a trigger jack.

I’ll be interested in hearing what you finally decide to get.

All the best.

I was in the same boat going from Qutest with Sbooster + ultra to a new DAC. I wanted the Qutest sound… but better.

For me, I wanted to avoid Chi-fi and tubes. I chose to go with the Briscati M3, available used in your range. I chose to go used. The following was my thread. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/dac-recommendations-under-7k

Unfortunately, it is not scheduled to arrive until Monday, so I can’t yet provide any listening impressions. The LTA came highly recommended. 
 

After much research and input from You (TY), I think i have narrowed it down to 2.

The LTA Aero Dac or the Gustard R30

The Aurrender A1000 also seems very interesting but.. the other 2 are R2R 

Any additional thoughts?

Thanks

Had Chord Qutest in my main rig from 2019 to 2022. Great little DAC and still have mine in another system. In 2022 acquired a Rockna Wavelight and haven't looked back. To my ears not as ebullient or analytical as the Qutest. The Wavelight to my ears is a more organic presentation, warmer, with a wider soundstage, while still highly resolving and not at all fatiguing. New it is outside your budget, but used it should be well within your budget.

I decided to go LTA AERO with Ray Reserve tubes.  Will report back