Qudelix 5K Reference DAC AMP

Product Information

The Qualcomm QCC5124 Bluetooth chip is also nothing exotic at this price tier; however, Qudelix has put its little spin here. Instead of relying on squiggly PCB traces, the receiver uses a separate 3D antenna. It makes the 5K more immune to failing signal strength due to direction changes and increases connection reliability at a distance. My only other critique is the inbuilt mic array is a bit weak. Maybe a software algorithm/optimization thing, but that would also be an appreciated area to improve. Wish people would Please stop defending the fallacy that something has to look ugly or use cheap feeling materials to perform well. I also appreciate the light weight of the Qudelix, which is much less noticeable clipped to my shirt. The BTR5 really pulls down and is annoying. It would be nice to know the method for opening without damage. My battery is also degrading - simply because I've put it through so many cycles. I would love to replace the battery myself.

This is a limitation USB Audio Class 1.0. On the upside – it ensures that the 5K requires no drivers and will run on almost anything with a USB port. For high-sensitivity IEMs, the amplifier noise figure is the most important. The high-sensitivity IEM is so sensitive that it translates every electrical noise or thermal drift into audible acoustic sound, usually white noise. With Bluetooth, there are no noise complaints, although, with Apple devices, the AAC codec isn’t as detailed as LDAC but is still more than enjoyable. Qudelix 5K won’t win any awards for sharp looks, so all you need to do is listen! In the manual, the four button positions are called: red upper, red lower, blue upper, and blue lower, respectively. Initially, it was a bit of a problem to figure out which is which, as the indicator LEDs light up only when you press something. I've seem from people that own both the qudelix and competition (BTR5), that que 5K presents way better range.On the other hands, the high-impedance headphones require a higher power amplifier. Those headphones usually have low sensitivity, and they are free from the white noise affected by the amplifier noise characteristics. Instead, they need higher power from the amplifier output to deliver enough loudness and headroom. 10-Band PEQ/GEQ (64-bit double precision) What sets Qudelix apart is that the company is an official Sony LDAC technical partner. Reportedly Qudelix was responsible for developing the LDAC solution for the Qualcomm QCC5000 platform. The QCC5124 receiver, as seen in just about every higher-end Bluetooth DAC/amp, relies on the work done by Qudelix to operate using the LDAC codec.

At the same time, with great power comes great power draw. With 10 band PEQ correction running, I can spend the smallish 500mAh battery in as little as 5 hours, depending on the listening volume. And that’s with sensitive IEMs. Running adventurous DSP configs with hungrier full-size headphones will drain the battery even faster. In terms of bugs and problems, I can’t really report much. Firmware updates over Bluetooth take a few minutes and sometimes fail; however, the 5K always remembers the last good version and boots up nicely. Where the 5K blows my mind is in the myriad of options found in the app. There’s enough DSP horsepower that I can actually recommend the 5K for people using speakers to do surgical room EQ.While the 5K will not replace much costlier desktop DAC/amp combos, it is a delight to use on the go and with my office desktop. Users of powered monitor speakers will also find the 5K useful, as the DSP works wonders for room correction. Where to Buy I will go as far as to say that pairing the Qudelix 5K with naturally warm-sounding headphones can be too much. With the Moondrop Aria, I approached that line. The Monarch Mk1 are a better match and let me appreciate the detail retrieval of both devices. Sound - I don't claim to have the best ears so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but the sound signature is decidedly neutral to me. I don't notice a real difference between a simple USB C to 3.5mm dongle and this unit, however I do hit my comfortable listening level quite a bit sooner which makes sense (power increase). I was listening initially on AptX before figuring out how to get it to stay on LDAC - I can't personally say I noticed a difference, but LDAC is supposed to be higher quality...so I guess why not? As seen in the app, one can expect up to 2VRMS SE and 4VRMS BAL out of the 5K. It’s a smart rating for a portable device, as battery power means limited voltage. It is apparent that Qudelix is busy improving the software, and I had more than five app and firmware updates in a few months. These are not just bug fixes – I bought the 5K due to its 10-band PEQ. Then one fine day, Qudelix doubled the number of PEQ bands via a firmware update.

Mentioning a person that on purpose instills excessive and extreme force to purposely damage electronics, just for views and money....not at all a realistic or real world scenario. No one bends their phones like that, and certainly not a small form factor device like this DAC can even bend as such. In the “EQUALIZER” tab, you can find either the parametric or graphic equalizer, depending on what you’ve chosen. For the PEQ, either 20 bands can be configured – which are the same for both channels – or 10 bands for each channel separately. Insane!As a USB DAC, the Qudelix 5K may leave some wanting as it only supports PCM datastreams up to 24bit/96kHz. A few weeks ago I made the leap off of the True Wireless train by grabbing my first pair of wired IEM's (Fiio FH3's) and a Bluetooth DAC, the Qudelix 5K. In everyday use, the first hurdle is memorizing the button press commands and which button does what. One can turn down the system gain if any digital boosting is present to avoid clipping. The “QX-feed” enables crossfeed, which I find inoffensive, if a little simplistic, compared to more advanced solutions on the market. Best to experiment with what works best here. In the DSP settings lies the main strength of the Qudelix 5K – total control over tone shaping