You’re right. The current generation is lean (haven’t heard the Dave). I’ve often wondered what caused that as the DAC64 was warm and the QBD wasn’t lean. Perhaps a change in taste on behalf of the designer? Perhaps prioritising measurements? I would be really like to know what happened.
I guess everything has to be assessed within the context of each persons system. I have owned and used in my system in chronological order
1) the original Hugo, to be honest I have forgotten the exact nature of its sound but it was a huge improvement on my old Audio Alchemy DAC.
2) Mojo, this always sounded warm to me. I have since read that the warm sound signature is deliberate, perhaps for the intended mobile use?
3) Original TT, I remember this being a good step up from the original Hugo with firmer bass and a well rounded sound. I would recommend a second hand TT as being a good buy but be prepared to change the batteries or get them changed as they might be getting tired. This is not difficult or expensive either DIY or at a dealer.
4) Dave, this replaced a Bricasti M1 SE in my system and I found the Dave to be a large step up in sound quality compared to the Bricasti which always seemed to me to be inclined to smear the sound and lose definition in large orchestral works.
5) Adding the Blu Mk2 and then later the Mscaler to the Dave, what I noticed first about this was the better bass and then soon after I noticed the better detailed and more musical top end.
6) TT2, this was a bit of an experiment for me as many people were suggesting that the TT2 + Mscaler was better than solo Dave. Also I wondered whether the rave claims of the TT2 direct driving speakers without any other amp could be true. My initial listening to the TT2 revealed a somewhat overly warm bass / lower mids which at first seemed to give the impression of good bass which after longer listening was more wooly and less detailed bass (and not as deep) as the Dave. Also compared to the Dave I found the TT2 to be somewhat less transparent. Comparing the TT2 + Mscaler I preferred the Dave by itself. I know that many will disagree with me about the TT2 and they love it, indeed some prefer it to Dave.
7) Qutest, this replaced the TT2 in my second system and I preferred it to the TT2 especially when paired with a good power supply. At first I used the Sbooster but then changed to the Farad Super3 which I slightly preferred. In a moment of madness I did try powering the Qutest with a Sean Jacobs DC4 and whilst that is stupidly expensive it also made the Qutest sound just amazing and getting closer to a Dave than it had any right to do. When I was considering the Qutest I compared it to the RME dac but I found the RME to be slightly fatiguing which was only cured by selecting a filter with top end roll off but this was not satisfactory because it removed some top end detail. I sold the RME after a few weeks and kept the Qutest.
To the OP I would say that the Qutest is not the only DAC to consider but it is worth putting on a list to try. Second hand it is something of a bargain (I bought mine second hand).