DAC AMP with EQ. Alternatives to Qudelix 5K

[marklings]

Looking for a portable, bluetooth, DAC AMP. I definitely need EQ since my hearing has lost quite a bit of the high frequencies.

Seems like the only sensible choice is Q5K, or is it?

My only worry: I will be driving a Beyerdynamics DT 990 Pro, kind of hard to drive. Anyone with experience on that couple? Will Q5K have enough juice for that? The listening station for this case is Ipad + Spotify. Spotify does have EQ built in but it's only 5 bands and doesn't really sound that good to these ears. Any advice appreciated, Thanks.

 

[staticV3]

There are other brands that make Bluetooth adapters with EQ, FiiO most notably, but their App is somewhat buggy and nowhere near as good as Qudelix's.

They also have a pretty fast release schedule and don't really seem to care about long-term, quality of life support for their products.

 

[unpluggged]

Looking at the test here,

Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro Review (headphone)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Beyerdynamic DT990 (250 ohm) open back headphone. A member was kind enough to purchase one new and drop ship it to me due to request from membership! The DT990 costs about $160 and has been around for many years. I like the look of the DT 990...

www.audiosciencereview.com

we see that the DT 990 Pro require EQ and are quite insensitive. Worse, they have a fixed cable and do not allow for balanced drive. So I fear that the 2 V that Qudelix 5K can deliver may not be adequate. This is in contrast to the Sennheiser HD600/650/6XX, which the 5K is able to drive fine even accounting for EQ headroom.

I think I would get rid of such headphone.

 

[Roland68]

Looking for a portable, bluetooth, DAC AMP. I definitely need EQ since my hearing has lost quite a bit of the high frequencies.

Seems like the only sensible choice is Q5K, or is it?

My only worry: I will be driving a Beyerdynamics DT 990 Pro, kind of hard to drive. Anyone with experience on that couple? Will Q5K have enough juice for that? The listening station for this case is Ipad + Spotify. Spotify does have EQ built in but it's only 5 bands and doesn't really sound that good to these ears. Any advice appreciated, Thanks.

I also own the Q5K and don't currently know of any alternative with the same performance and range of functions.

As @Unplugged has already said, I would look for more efficient headphones. Amirm also includes the sensitivity overview in almost all of his headphone tests.
Ideally headphones with a symmetrical connection to make the most of the Q5K's performance.

 

[marklings]

How about the Fiio Q15? Has glowing reviews and ticks all my boxes . . .

 

[Roland68]

How about the Fiio Q15? Has glowing reviews and ticks all my boxes . . .

That is of course a hefty price for a mobile DAC/AMP. That corresponds to a Q5K plus a good pair of headphones, such as a Hifiman Sundara or XS.

On the other hand, it looks like a high-quality DAC that can easily replace very good desktop DACs.
Disadvantages are clearly the price (although reasonable), size, weight and short battery life of around 7 hours at high power and around 9 hours at low power.
For a mobile DAC with top features such as AK4499EX, XMOS XU316, Qualcomm QCC5125 and PEQ/EQ, the price is very moderate.
The biggest plus in my eyes and in my experience is that there is no THX amplifier.

Whoever has the choice is spoiled.

 

[ckernel8]

That is of course a hefty price for a mobile DAC/AMP. That corresponds to a Q5K plus a good pair of headphones, such as a Hifiman Sundara or XS.

On the other hand, it looks like a high-quality DAC that can easily replace very good desktop DACs.
Disadvantages are clearly the price (although reasonable), size, weight and short battery life of around 7 hours at high power and around 9 hours at low power.
For a mobile DAC with top features such as AK4499EX, XMOS XU316, Qualcomm QCC5125 and PEQ/EQ, the price is very moderate.
The biggest plus in my eyes and in my experience is that there is no THX amplifier.

Whoever has the choice is spoiled.

What's wrong with THX amplifiers? They're super linear and low noise right?

 

[Roland68]

What's wrong with THX amplifiers? They're super linear and low noise right?

I didn't say anything about it being wrong.
I had a few THX headphone amplifiers under €1000 here (almost all of them) and compared them with others.
Compared to many good "non-THX" headphone amplifiers, I was lacking some transparency and authenticity with acoustic instruments, especially in jazz. But that's complaining at a very high level. There are no big differences and nothing you would hear in a quick comparison.
However, THX is just a circuit design with completely normal components. Very similar circuit designs are also used in other amplifiers without THX being written on them.

An exception for me was the SMSL SH-9, one of the best HPAs I have heard so far.