42 Australian Hi-Fi http://www.avhub.com.au
ON TEST Questyle Reference System Golden Edition
PRODUCT&CONTACTDETAILS
Brand:Questyle
Model:Reference System Golden Edition
RRP:$18,096 (See Copy)
Warranty:One Year
Distributor:Audio Dynamics
Address:5/3 Wellington Street
Kew VIC 3101
T:(03) 9882 0372
E:[email protected]
W:audiodynamics.com.auƊVolume control
ƊInputs/outputs
ƊWarrantyperiodƊGlorious sound
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ƊSelectable outputsLABREPORTONPAGE44mention that one huge advantage of using
Questyle’s approach is that you get twice the
voltage swing and thus four times the power
compared to using just a single unbalanced
amplifier. And boy did the Questyles make
the HD800Ss sing! As, I think, every reviewer
has noted of the HD800Ss, their exquisite
clarity and the way they render the finest
details of the music they reproduce is beyond
exceptional. But with the Questyles driving
the HD800Ss, their already state-of-the-art
sound quality in these aspects of performance
was ratcheted up a large notch—taking them
from beyond exceptional and all the way out
to fantastic. Listening to the intro toNever
Give All the Heart(Brenda Fricker and Anuna,
backed by The Chieftains) was like a holy
experience... an auditory version of the visual
catharsis one experiences when first looking
up into the naves of Antoni Gaudi’sSagrada
Família. The crisp delineation of the vocal
lines... the incredible feeling of harmonic uni-
son from the merging of the voices... there are
few words that can describe the experience.
Also taken to yet another level was the bass
delivery, which accelerated from being just
‘fast’ to ‘lightning fast’, such that for the very
first time I completely appreciated the com-
plexities of the drumming on Dream Theatre’s
Dance of Eternity. And not just the complexi-
ties of the drumming ... I also finally totally
appreciated the rhythmic interplay between
the musicians, not simply on a sonic level, but
also on an intellectual level. The combo of the
Questyles and the HD800Ss just peeled back
the layers of sound, revealing the whiteness of
the bones below.
My only previous criticism of the Sennheis-
er HD800S’s might have been their midrange,
which I’d have described as being translucent,
rather than totally transparent, but it appears
that I was obviously not using the correct
associated electronics to drive them when I
made that assessment, because when they
were driven by the Questyles, the midrange
of the HD800Ss went beyond transparent
to being totally invisible. When listening to
female vocalists, the closeness and realism—
indeed the humanity—of their voices was so
uncanny it was almost embarrassing... as if I
were intruding on their personal space just by
listening. I’ve heard nothing like it.
In order to insert a modicum of fiscal reality
into this review, I re-wired the HD800Ss back
to a single 6.5mm phone jack, and reconnect-
ed the CAS192D directly to a single CMA800R
switched for normal stereo operation, which
rendered the volume control operational.
A retrograde step? Well, yes... but whereas I
was expecting there to be a huge difference,I was more than a tad surprised to hear the
HD800S’s were still operating on a whole high-
er plane than I expected. Perhaps notquiteat
the level I’d been experiencing with the dual
CMA800Rs, but close... very,veryclose. So
close that if I had to pull $4,299 out of my
pocket in order to return to the sonic nirvana
I’d been enjoying only a few moments earlier,
I think I would hesitate. But for how long?
That I don’t know.CONCLUSION
Throughout the time I was evaluating this
system I could not help but wonder why
Questyle left out so many facilities that many
audiophiles might expect, such as a volume
control and a headphone output on the DAC,
additional inputs on the pre-amplifier, and a
certainly a remote control that could actually
be used to adjust volume level! At least these
omissions means that there’s a clear upgrade
path should you wish to work your way up to
owning a complete Questyle Reference System
Golden Edition System by buying one compo-
nent at a time. But whether you buy this sys-
tem incrementally, or take the plunge and do
it all at once, you’ll end up the proud owner of
what just has to be thene plus ultraof desktop
headphone audio. Ernest DenmanReaders interested in a full technical appraisal of the
performance of the Questyle Reference System Golden
Edition System should continue on and read the
LABORATORY REPORT published on page 44.niceties are available on the CMA800R, so
you’re essentially missing out on nothing.
Alas, when I tried eliminating the CMA-
800P, I quickly discovered why it’s an essential
part of Questyle’s Reference System. That
reason is simple: It’s the only component
that allows you to control volume level when
you’re using the CMA800Rs’ ‘Full Balance
Outputs’ (which is the confi guration designer
Jason Wang recommends). If you don’t use it,
your headphones will be running ‘full bore’
all the time. This is because although the
CMA800R has a volume control, it only con-
trols the volume of the unbalanced outputs,
not that of the ‘Full Balance Output’. And, of
course, there is no volume control at all on
the CAS192D!
My statement that the CAS192D does not
have a volume control may seem contra-
dictory for anyone who has looked at the
advertisements for it, many of which show a
small plastic remote control with two volume
buttons. Sadly, these buttons do not work at
all (i.e., they’re inoperative) and this despite
the fact that one of the features built into the
WM8741 inside the CAS192D is a digital vol-
ume control. The mute button on the remote
does work though. While it’s not exactly dow-
dy, the build quality of the remote is nowhere
near that of the main components.
I fi rst tried to determine which of the many
fi lter options I preferred, which was complicat-
ed slightly by the fact that if I used 44.1kHz or
48kHz source material, I had three IIR and two
FIR options from which to choose, whereas
at higher bit-rates, I had three FIR and only
two IIR options. (And when playing back DSD
there are no fi lter options at all.) It didn’t take
too long at all to fi nd that I preferred the IIR
apodising fi lter, except that when doing the
comparisons, I’d only been using the same
small section of classical music, played over
and over. Later, when I accidentally selected a
different fi lter while playing some rock music,
I found I preferred the FIR apodising fi lter for
rock. Review time constraints meant I could
not establish if I preferred different fi lters for
other musical genres, but I really wouldn’t be
surprised if I did. When switching between
fi lters, the volume fades-out then fades-
in, which I found annoying: I would have
preferred an instant switch, though I guess
Questyle is doing the right thing by making
sure that no switching transients can ever get
near your loudspeakers.
When working out my fi lter options I was
using my trusty Sennheiser HD800S head-
phones, all set up for dual-mono, dual-bal-
anced operation (via a four-pin to dual XLR
adaptor lead)... at which point I should