QUDELIX5K Reference DAC AMP

This tiny little DAC / Dongle is an absolute revelation in the world of DAC dongles!I have owned and used many of these headphone DAC amps in the past ranging from all the Audioquest Dragonflys, Apogee groove, FiiOs, Hidiz, Ibasso, Hiby, Shanling etc etc and this little guy is the best by quite some margin.This has superb bluetooth range in which this will connect from the other side of my house with little effort a distance of several metres through walls and up stairs etc although I do use it mainly via USB C connection into my PC.The DAC chip used in this is not the most modern or up to date ESS Sabre chip but its not always about having the latest chip inside but how it is implemented and the technology in this little guy is pretty awesome with good engineering and thought processes in manufacture.What sets this device apart from the vast majority of dongles is the amazing software which you can use with it, I downloaded both the control app to my phone AND the superb Chrome extension on my PC to give you an incredible range of options like DAC filters, power range like high or normal to drive an impressive range of headphones.The app also gives you battery life and management etc etc etc there is simply too many functions to mention although I do have to give a very special shout out to the parametric equaliser function which you can search for your headphone in the drop down list and dial it in and save it (the dongle saves all your stored information in its built in flash drive and even if you switch it off it restores all of the settings you dialed in) this EQ function will give you the best possible sound to the Harman curve to basically optimise your headphones of choice or you can simply play with no EQ and completely flat just using the standard settings for sound which is also superb in standard mode.This level of control and flexibility is unheard of even with the FiiO control app you don't get offered half as much.You can just use this dongle as a simple plug and play device without using the app or PC chrome PC extension and it would still be worth the money on sound quality alone.I suppose if I had to nit pick then a 4.4mm balanced socket rather than the slightly dated 2.5mm one would be prefered but I do not used any of my headphones in balanced mode just the unbalanced 3.5mm supplied also, so to me that is not important.6 stars all the way!

I just got this gadget for my inear monitors from Westone.I am using a Sony Xperia 5ii, which does have a decent dac and headphone jack integrated.The reason for buying the Qudelix are- I am not using the inear only with this phone- having a small external thing to connect the headphones is not bad, with a short wire maybe, and why not balanced out- I loved the fact the Qudelix has a DSP which allows to tune the out around my inear monitors and the setting is applied no matter the app or where you have connected the Qudelix to,it will always sound the same and to your likingOk, so a few impressions.The audio quality is brilliant, lets get that out of the way. The details are there, it sounds amazing and it has plenty of power for my Westone. Even playing unbalanced at 1V, I did set a bit of volume limiter, it works really well.The DSP is fantastic, as predicted, if not better. The equalization customization is brilliant and a little of colour changes the feeling of the music massively (see screen shot for an example of my setup).The buttons are definitely not intuitive, but honestly, I am not planning on using them, just powering on and off basically. I configured the light to be on so I know if the Qudelix is on, and I regognize the buttons.The device ia super small, so it is easy to just use! The clip is embedded and it is so light that it would be held by the cable easily if dropping by mistakeRemember if you have a new generation phone, I disabled the aptx adaptive thing (see picture), so the LDAC become available straight away. To get it to 990kbps, go ro your blue tooth aettings and set the qudelix connection to maximise quality. Then check the app, it should show now 990kbps like mine does.If you love your music, even more if you do not have headphone jacks, you are going to love this little thing

I’ve had the Qudelix 5K in “But Later” basket longer than any other item, what a wasted opportunity - glad I’ve finally committed! I’ve been missing out.I have much more expensive and technically competent gear - but, this does everything, and lets you drill down into the very smallest aspects of your setup, the companion app is fantastic in how much it lets you tweak your sound - without doubt the best aspect is the PEQ (allowing you to tune your headphones, whether for accuracy - or to sound like others) - this device above any other in my collection offers value for money in spades - if you’re remotely interested in audio, and you use wired headphones, done do a me and keep it in your basket for ages, just buy it - and thank yourself later.

Phenomenal piece of kit. Sounds amazing when paired with decent headphones and works wired (Hi-Res) and via Bluetooth (Hi Res if Sony LDAC codec enabled on the android phone). Extremely tweakable using the iOS or Android app. The onboard mic works ok but not brilliant for calls because it pics up any noise made when holding the device. Minor irritant only. A must have for anyone who wants great sound quality when out and about - worth every penny!

Amazing PEQ control (10 bands!), bluetooth connectivity (LDAC and aptx), and super long battery (around 13 hours). Sound is completely clean and the audio quality over bluetooth is essentially flawless. Recommended DAC/AMP combo, best in class. It's also really, really tiny (it's smaller than a single KSC75 driver!) and super portable. Build quality is really great too - a sturdy plastic and metal clip combo which is leagues better than the competition.The app that goes along with the device is also amazing, with the DSP settings being really in-depth – they even have support for the github AutoEQ settings! The fact that it's multipoint but can still switch between bluetooth and a wired connection is also mind-blowing.