Qudelix-5K Bluetooth DAC & Headphone Amp

[GaryH]

These are my settings attached.

I'm using 3.5mm port

First check you have the latest app (version 1.15.3) and firmware (1.9.2) installed. If not, update the app on the Google Play store, which will then prompt you to update the Qudelix 5K firmware in-app.

I see you've EQed in a (likely inaudible) +0.11 dB at 8 and 16 kHz. If this was accidental and you were not intending to use the GEQ, disable it under DSP > DSP > EQ ON/OFF. If it was intentional (I'd use the PEQ instead of the GEQ if it was), decrease the preamp ('PRE' on the equalizer control) to -0.2 dB to prevent digital clipping, and set the HEADROOM to 0 dB - this will allow you to set the total Qudelix volume gain lower, reducing the chance of entering the amp's clipping region. Make sure to at first set MAX LIMIT to 0 dB under VOLUME > OPTION, and only increase this if you need more volume. If your source is an Android device, keep the source volume at maximum (as Qudelix advise for best sound quality) and adjust the master volume using the slider on the right of the VOLUME > MAIN page (or using the Qudelix's physical buttons). If you still need more volume, switch OUTPUT POWER to HIGH under DAC/AMP > MODE.

Make sure you are testing the USB output first (your volume page screenshot suggests you were testing Bluetooth). To ensure this, select USB DAC under INPUT > PRIORITY > INPUT SOURCE PRIORITY. Also, select 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz under INPUT > USB > USB DAC FS. And select AUTO under DAC/AMP > MODE > OUTPUT MODE SELECTION. Oh and check that MIC PASS-THRU is disabled under INPUT > MIC > MUSIC.

 

[randomer]

Sorry for a longish post. Had a question for fellow 5k owners. I have been using it as my portable setup (via USB C) with Samsung S21 since launch, beast of a device, absolutely love it. I have using it balanced with 6xx, 4xx and Arya more recently. Love the PEQ with Oratory1990. For my main setup, I use MBP 2020 and THX789 amp.

Had always felt the portable setup was lacking a bit of clarity and dynamic range compared to my main setup. Just for experimenting, I got the Apple USB C dongle yesterday, rooted my phone and removed Android volume limiter. The moment I put on music, I heard back the dynamic range and clarity, seems like a veil was lifted. I tried my best to A/B between these two setup (Qudelix w/o EQ and Apple DAC) volume matched and it was consistent with different songs, I preferred the sound of Apple. Only issue with Apple is that with Arya, my listening volume is 90% without EQ (I do love the eq).

I am highly confused right now. Is it just a placebo or am I trying to hear non-existent things? Is it the DAC or the amp portion causing this effect? Has anyone noticed something similar when comparing Q5K to another DAC they own.

 

[GaryH]

Is it just a placebo or am I trying to hear non-existent things? Is it the DAC or the amp portion causing this effect? Has anyone noticed something similar when comparing Q5K to another DAC they own.

Short answers? 1) Yes. 2) No. 3) No.

Long(er) answers? 1) Highly likely, plus you're not volume matching the two outputs, which can have a significant effect on perceived 'clarity' etc. 2) Highly unlikely (make sure the Qudelix settings are optimal as I described in the above post, additionally with PROFILE set to PERFORMANCE under DAC/AMP > MODE). 3) Nope (I also have the Apple dongle).

 

[Flow]

Anyone have any experience using this with PC USB? I find it useful to use this with the EQ profiles on PC but I get audible noise/popping no matter what cable or port I use so far. No issues with the supplied USBC to USBC cable with an Android device or over Bluetooth. I suspect my PC might have problems with other USB DACs but I have no others to test with.

I will try some of my other PCs to isolate the issue but is there anything else I can try? Qudelix settings are 44.1 kHz for the USB connection with PERFORMANCE profile and NORMAL output over the unbalanced 3.5mm jack.

 

[GaryH]

Anyone have any experience using this with PC USB? I find it useful to use this with the EQ profiles on PC but I get audible noise/popping no matter what cable or port I use so far. No issues with the supplied USBC to USBC cable with an Android device or over Bluetooth. I suspect my PC might have problems with other USB DACs but I have no others to test with.

I will try some of my other PCs to isolate the issue but is there anything else I can try? Qudelix settings are 44.1 kHz for the USB connection with PERFORMANCE profile and NORMAL output over the unbalanced 3.5mm jack.

Set the USB DAC FS to 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz in the Qudelix app so it autoselects the correct input sampling frequency (in fact I'd always leave it on this setting). Your PC might be resampling to a frequency other than 44.1 kHz.

 

[Flow]

Set the USB DAC FS to 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz in the Qudelix app so it autoselects the correct input sampling frequency (in fact I'd always leave it on this setting). Your PC might be resampling to a frequency other than 44.1 kHz.

So I figured it out in the end after trying different sample rates and uninstalling EqualizerAPO which didn't fix the issue.
It looks like USB ports coming from the chipset all caused issues but the after that I checked my motherboard manual block diagram and used the USB ports coming directly from the CPU the issue went away.

My system is a B450/Ryzen 3600 for anyone elses reference. I believe the AMD platform has had some USB issues recently I am some BIOS updates behind.

 

[msic]

Hi all, if I plan on using the 5k (basically) exclusively with a PC/Desktop setup, would I be better served by something like the AE-5 instead? Both have a built-in DSP iirc.

 

[maverickronin]

Hi all, if I plan on using the 5k (basically) exclusively with a PC/Desktop setup, would I be better served by something like the AE-5 instead? Both have a built-in DSP iirc.

Does the Creative have PEQ or just GEQ?

 

[msic]

Does the Creative have PEQ or just GEQ?

Hey, it's just GEQ for the Creative from what I've seen. (I'm currently using Equalizer APO/Peace in my current amp/dac-less setup).

 

[maverickronin]

Hey, it's just GEQ for the Creative from what I've seen. (I'm currently using Equalizer APO/Peace in my current amp/dac-less setup).

Sounds like you've already got a good DSP solution then. Are you thinking about moving to hardware for less latency with the DSP, more amplifier power, or something else?

 

[randomer]

Short answers? 1) Yes. 2) No. 3) No.

Long(er) answers? 1) Highly likely, plus you're not volume matching the two outputs, which can have a significant effect on perceived 'clarity' etc. 2) Highly unlikely (make sure the Qudelix settings are optimal as I described in the above post, additionally with PROFILE set to PERFORMANCE under DAC/AMP > MODE). 3) Nope (I also have the Apple dongle).

Thanks GaryH for replying. I have an update after testing it quite extensively over the past week. Will try to summarize what I found.

Test Setup

Music App
1) Amazon Music HD/Ultra HD
2) Youtube Music (Always High)

Player
1) MacPro 2020
2) Samsung S21

Headphones
1) Arya
2) 4xx, 6xx (quickly tested these but decided to stick with Arya for all my testing)

Amp
1) THX789
2) Qudelix 5K (Q5K)

Precondition to all testing:
I volume matched using umik-1 (stuffing its head in between the pads centered), playing pink noise from REW and capturing the db levels. This was the only way I could do it without relying on my ears.

Music App Comparison:
I started the first test to figure out if there is any benefit of using Amazon HD vs YTM.
Setup: Mac > THX789 > Arya

I couldn't hear any difference between both. For subsequent tests, I decided to stick with YTM.

DAC/AMP Comparison:
I wanted to get answers to the following questions:

1. How does MBP 2020 DAC compare to Apple Dongle/Q5K wired?
   • I couldn't pick any difference between any of these 3.
   • To be sure, I connected the output of these 3 and ran it via 789 to make sure I was not leaving anything out during the tests. Same thing, no difference at all.
   • Apple Dongle ($10) is an absolute beast of a DAC. It has the same level of audible performance (to my ears) as MBP. You can essentially put this in any Desktop/Windows laptop or phone and get amazing audio quality. Absolute bonkers! I was pleasantly surprised.
   • I was expecting Q5K to sound a bit different (sound signature maybe?) but it had the same sound as the others.
   • Also compared the players here: MBP vs Phone. Again, no difference. It was the same.
2. Do we benefit from adding AMP to MBP/Dongle/Q5K?
   • With Arya running directly from my MBP/Apple Dongle. I heard no difference compared to adding 789 in the chain.
   • Mind you, on Arya with no EQ, I was listening at 90% volume on MBP and 95% volume on my phone. I use EQ with -5.5 gain so it was a bit low on volume. If you don't need/use EQ and don't listen to much of classical music, then just using MBP/Dongle is sufficient. No sonic differences.
3. Q5K Wired vs Q5K BT LDAC 990?
   • Coming back to my previous post where I mentioned Apple Dongle sounded better than Q5K. It did not. In reality, Q5K was running off BT even when it was wired. My bad, I should have checked it in settings and set the priority right in the app. So conclusion from DAC comparison still holds.
   • Coming back to wired vs BT. Both sound 95% same to me. The only difference that I can discern is that with wired:
     • Bass is less but much more controlled (which I like). BT seems a touch boomy to my ears, reducing the overall clarity in general.
     • The Dynamic range is slightly more. The difference b/w loud parts of the music and quiet parts seems to be higher when wired.
     • Mids are brought forward and much more clear.
     • Now I don't know why its happening. I got stuck doing this test for 2 hours but reached at the same conclusion again and again with a bunch of different songs. If anyone can chime in and share their experience, it would be great!

Please note these are from my subjective listening so YMMV. A big motivation for doing these tests was to satisfy my own mind. I tried looking for definitive answers about the performance of MBP as a DAC but couldn't find much info. These tests at least confirms that it is an excellent one, if you have efficient headphones you don't even need a DAC/AMP. Heck it can even drive the Arya's without EQ. Please let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Bimbleton]

Thanks GaryH for replying. I have an update after testing it quite extensively over the past week. Will try to summarize what I found.

Test Setup

Music App
1) Amazon Music HD/Ultra HD
2) Youtube Music (Always High)

Player
1) MacPro 2020
2) Samsung S21

Headphones
1) Arya
2) 4xx, 6xx (quickly tested these but decided to stick with Arya for all my testing)

Amp
1) THX789
2) Qudelix 5K (Q5K)

Precondition to all testing:
I volume matched using umik-1 (stuffing its head in between the pads centered), playing pink noise from REW and capturing the db levels. This was the only way I could do it without relying on my ears.

Music App Comparison:
I started the first test to figure out if there is any benefit of using Amazon HD vs YTM.
Setup: Mac > THX789 > Arya

I couldn't hear any difference between both. For subsequent tests, I decided to stick with YTM.

DAC/AMP Comparison:
I wanted to get answers to the following questions:

1. How does MBP 2020 DAC compare to Apple Dongle/Q5K wired?
   • I couldn't pick any difference between any of these 3.
   • To be sure, I connected the output of these 3 and ran it via 789 to make sure I was not leaving anything out during the tests. Same thing, no difference at all.
   • Apple Dongle ($10) is an absolute beast of a DAC. It has the same level of audible performance (to my ears) as MBP. You can essentially put this in any Desktop/Windows laptop or phone and get amazing audio quality. Absolute bonkers! I was pleasantly surprised.
   • I was expecting Q5K to sound a bit different (sound signature maybe?) but it had the same sound as the others.
   • Also compared the players here: MBP vs Phone. Again, no difference. It was the same.
2. Do we benefit from adding AMP to MBP/Dongle/Q5K?
   • With Arya running directly from my MBP/Apple Dongle. I heard no difference compared to adding 789 in the chain.
   • Mind you, on Arya with no EQ, I was listening at 90% volume on MBP and 95% volume on my phone. I use EQ with -5.5 gain so it was a bit low on volume. If you don't need/use EQ and don't listen to much of classical music, then just using MBP/Dongle is sufficient. No sonic differences.
3. Q5K Wired vs Q5K BT LDAC 990?
   • Coming back to my previous post where I mentioned Apple Dongle sounded better than Q5K. It did not. In reality, Q5K was running off BT even when it was wired. My bad, I should have checked it in settings and set the priority right in the app. So conclusion from DAC comparison still holds.
   • Coming back to wired vs BT. Both sound 95% same to me. The only difference that I can discern is that with wired:
     • Bass is less but much more controlled (which I like). BT seems a touch boomy to my ears, reducing the overall clarity in general.
     • The Dynamic range is slightly more. The difference b/w loud parts of the music and quiet parts seems to be higher when wired.
     • Mids are brought forward and much more clear.
     • Now I don't know why its happening. I got stuck doing this test for 2 hours but reached at the same conclusion again and again with a bunch of different songs. If anyone can chime in and share their experience, it would be great!

Please note these are from my subjective listening so YMMV. A big motivation for doing these tests was to satisfy my own mind. I tried looking for definitive answers about the performance of MBP as a DAC but couldn't find much info. These tests at least confirms that it is an excellent one, if you have efficient headphones you don't even need a DAC/AMP. Heck it can even drive the Arya's without EQ. Please let me know if you have any questions!

wait a minute are you saying I don’t need a Chord DANIEL to run HD650’s?! /s

All kidding aside, really appreciate this comparison!

 

[buz]

My qudelix used to make a woosh sound upon BT connection. Somehow that stopped and I can't find the setting to turn it back on?

 

[brandall10]

DAC/AMP Comparison:
I wanted to get answers to the following questions:

1. How does MBP 2020 DAC compare to Apple Dongle/Q5K wired?
   • I couldn't pick any difference between any of these 3.

Using a KSE1200 w/ harman PEQ, I hear a fairly audible difference between 2019 16" MBP line out vs. the 5k. Haven't tried w/ anything else. Of course this is the most resolving thing you can shove in your ears and it might be more subtle to others, but it's enough that I've only been using the 5k in a pinch.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Can someone please clarify for the uninitiated (me).

Do I have to use Bluetooth, or can I plug it into my iPhone directly to use as a USB DAC/amp? -

2 - If the answer to that is yes, do I need to buy a separate cable, or is there one supplied which connects this to an iPhone?

3 - Could I couple this with a pair of these and get the excellent experience Amir describes? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../panasonic-rp-tcm125-review-budget-iem.22797/

4 - How easy to use is the EQ?

5 - This pairing would cost me £100 for the DAC/amp and £15 for the IEMs = TOTAL £115. Is there a pair of IEMs capable of that standard (or better) which I could just use with the Apple dongle for a similar price (or less)?

Cheers.

 

[abdo123]

Can someone please clarify for the uninitiated (me).

Do I have to use Bluetooth, or can I plug it into my iPhone directly to use as a USB DAC/amp? -

2 - If the answer to that is yes, do I need to buy a separate cable, or is there one supplied which connects this to an iPhone?

3 - Could I couple this with a pair of these and get the excellent experience Amir describes? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../panasonic-rp-tcm125-review-budget-iem.22797/

4 - How easy to use is the EQ?

5 - This pairing would cost me £100 for the DAC/amp and £15 for the IEMs = TOTAL £115. Is there a pair of IEMs capable of that standard (or better) which I could just use with the Apple dongle for a similar price (or less)?

Cheers.

1) yes

2) yes, it's called a lightning camera adapter

3) yes, or any IEM measured by anyone, including Qudelix's own 2-way earhphones that they just recently released.

4) very easy

5) not really, i don't think any earphone or headphone will ever provide the same experience as an earphone / headphone with EQ. Sennheiser HD650 comes close though, maybe with a simple sub-bass boost.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

1) yes

2) yes, it's called a lightning camera adapter

3) yes, or any IEM measured by anyone, including Qudelix's own 2-way earhphones that they just recently released.

4) very easy

5) not really, i don't think any earphone or headphone will ever provide the same experience as an earphone / headphone with EQ. Sennheiser HD650 comes close though, maybe with a simple sub-bass boost.

Many thanks for your quick and informative response.

I keep seeing this camera adapter. It's £35, which adds a fair whack to the price, given that it's basically just an adapter lead. It also means you have quite a chain going on in between iPhone and IEMs.

I need to have a think.

Why are there not more iPhone apps with PEQ. How difficult can it be?

 

[brandall10]

2) yes, it's called a lightning camera adapter

Far less bulky and cheaper solution: https://www.amazon.com/Cable-iPhone-Amplifier-Digital-Camera/dp/B08WQ1LY5D?ref_=ast_sto_dp

 

[GaryH]

5 - This pairing would cost me £100 for the DAC/amp and £15 for the IEMs = TOTAL £115. Is there a pair of IEMs capable of that standard (or better) which I could just use with the Apple dongle for a similar price (or less)?

Yes, the Sony MH750/MH755 which can be had for around $10, if you can still find a genuine pair (there are fakes out there). They're better with EQ, but still fantastic without.

Edit: if you're just listening to offline files (not streaming apps), you can download Neutron Player for a few dollars more which has an excellent software parametric equalizer.

 

[Bimbleton]

A quick tip:
Shortly after a firmware update, I began noticing the audio was noticeably sharper, in a bad way.

Turns out the firmware update reset the sampling rate to 96khz. Setting it down to 44.1khz smoothed things out again.