276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Qudelix 5K Reference DAC AMP

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

If we make a 5K upgrade, it will have a bigger battery, more powerful amp, and will be more expensive. Not the same price range. They could sound a little different from each other. But, it doesn't mean that which one is better. 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.

What is more is that the 5K supports the open source AutoEq project which helps users to load and apply eq presets from the AutoEq project. The 5K also supports phone calls through the embedded high sensitivity MEMS microphone with the Qualcomm® cVc noise cancellation system. We've tried many DACs and Amplifier ICs and found ESS9219C is the best option for our goal. Besides the sound quality, the primary advantage of ESS9219C is that the built-in amplifier delivers the maximum output voltage up to 2V RMS. Furthermore, it supports the 1V RMS option at the same sound quality to save power consumption.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. However, this decision entailed getting a completely new source, since my main players of choice up to then were: Sansa Clip+ and my phone (Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro). The Chrome app requires the 5K firmware version 1.12.0 or higher, please update the 5K device firmware first using the mobile app.

As far as the build quality of the unit goes, it's a tiny smart looking and solidly put together unit. The 4 button interface is definately better than other bluetooth amps I've used in the past, the functionality of which can reprogrammed via the app to suit your preference. My only gripe is that they are a little fiddley to press because they are small.For the mobile and outdoor use cases, the standard profile provides the best power efficiency and good enough sound quality, by trading off 2~3dB degradation in sound performance. 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. In practical terms, the power output should be enough for most dynamic headphones and more sensitive planars, depending on how much headroom is sacrificed to the gods of DSP.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment