Qudelix-5K Bluetooth DAC & Headphone Amp

[Oso Polar]

I don’t consider non-existent support and not answering e-mail a factory defect.

Well, obviously, if this is the common situation with support then it is less then ideal - and this is, unfortunately, quite common with Chinese brands.
But on the other hand it looks like in practice for the wast majority of folks it just works and works, so just buy it form a good seller who will exchange the device or return money in case of a factory defect.

Dell, for example, has an excellent support! How do I know this? Every single Dell laptop I ever had had factory defects. Some of them - multiple. Yeah, they'll fix all of them. But I'd rather have them just work without failures...

 

[Chromatischism]

Qudelix lists a South Korean address on their website. Not that it changes anything.

 

[Blorg]

Qudelix lists a South Korean address on their website. Not that it changes anything.

I believe it's a very small company, the guy behind it is Korean and former CTO of Korean brand EarStudio but set off by himself to improve upon the Earstudio ES100.

 

[CedarX]

I believe it's a very small company, the guy behind it is Korean and former CTO of Korean brand EarStudio but set off by himself to improve upon the Earstudio ES100.

Qudelix “About Us” says they’ve developed the implementation of LDAC onto the Qualcomm QCC5xxx chips in partnership with Sony—see https://www.qudelix.com/pages/about-us

Successfully working with Sony and Qualcomm is quite an accomplishment, even more so if they are a small Company!

 

[zonk]

I use one since August 2022 without any problems. I bought it in a shop on Amazn. In case of a defect it would go back to the seller. What's the problem?

And the feature set of this little thing with it's app is simply amazing

 

[Rollingsound514]

I am in the market for a portable balanced DAC/Amp to go along with some IE600s preferably with a 4.4 output... Is this thing still the best option? (no 4.4 I know)

 

[staticV3]

I am in the market for a portable balanced DAC/Amp to go along with some IE600s preferably with a 4.4 output... Is this thing still the best option? (no 4.4 I know)

It's the best at what it does (BT/USB in, PEQ, tons of features).

That doesn't mean it's necessarily the best option for you.

 

[Chromatischism]

I finally ordered one. Seems the best solution. I'll be using the unbalanced with IEMs as it seems clean enough and uses less juice. Thanks to all who answered my questions so far.

Can anyone comment on battery performance in a typical scenario using LDAC with IEMs at work?

 

[Berwhale]

Can anyone comment on battery performance in a typical scenario using LDAC with IEMs at work?

I use LDAC during my commute, but usually switch to USB at my desk. I use a Type-C splitter to simultaneously charge my Android phone & Q5K and use the Q5K as a USB DAC.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C724K3QN

This one also works...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BMM8DQ2X

Obviously I can still use LDAC at work, but I know I can top up the batteries at any time so my 'range anxiety' is assuaged

Note that the adapters above also work with USB-C IEM cables like the Moondrop FreeDSP.

 

[staticV3]

Also note that these adapters only work on phones which support USB PD charging, at least in my experience.

 

[Oso Polar]

Can anyone comment on battery performance in a typical scenario using LDAC with IEMs at work?

It seems to last forever.

 

[Rottmannash]

I'm using LDAC (dongle not connected to USB to charge) and it appears over 44 hours if I'm interpreting this correctly.

 

[Berwhale]

Also note that these adapters only work on phones which support USB PD charging, at least in my experience.

Interesting. The adapters work on my Poco F3 and Nothing Phone (2) which both support PD 3.0. They also work on my Lenovo P11 Pro Gen 2 tablet which does not mention PD support in it's specs.

 

[Berwhale]

I'm using LDAC (dongle not connected to USB to charge) and it appears over 44 hours if I'm interpreting this correctly.

My battery lasts 284h 46m by that reckoning I think you'll find that's the total time playing over Bluetooth, rather than the battery life which is spec'd at 6 to 20 hours.

 

[Rottmannash]

My battery lasts 284h 46m by that reckoning I think you'll find that's the total time playing over Bluetooth, rather than the battery life which is spec'd at 6 to 20 hours.

Ah, my mistake? I was playing over bluetooth, via the battery. What else would it be indicating? @Oso Polar was asking how long the battery would last playing LDAC via battery. Wasn't that what that screen is indicating?

 

[staticV3]

Wasn't that what that screen is indicating?

I think "Total Play Time" is the 5K's odometer basically.

 

[Jimbob54]

I guesstimate around 10 hours from full charge. I cap charging at 80% and get a bit less.

Depends what phones, sample rate and of course output volume of course.

 

[Chromatischism]

Ok guys I have the 5K up and running and it is a pretty neat device.

But I have a problem. I need to load my EQ but there is no import/export button on the Equalizer page like I'm seeing in screenshots. I have searched the interwebs and this thread and have not found anyone with this problem. I feel like I have to be doing something wrong.

I'm using app version 2.3.2 and F/W Version 2.3.2 (2024.01.18)

EDIT: got it working through the Chrome extension. So strange that no one mentions this online. Import/Export feature is not available in the Android app.

 

[Chromatischism]

Happy to say I've solved my audio issues with my Pixel 8 with the Qudelix 5K. Always-on EQ and plenty of power. Extra benefits include IEMs unchained from the phone (LDAC), play/pause/track/volume on a little clip-on device that is much smaller than I anticipated. It even allows real-time adjustment of the filters through the app, which is great, instead of having to use Crin/Squig to adjust then load into Wavelet.

Then I pull up to my computer and plug in with USB-C and it takes over DAC duty so I have the same headphone EQ at the PC. It also charges at the same time. Happy to report there is no noise, either, so they have done a good job at isolation/suppression. It's either that or my OWC Thunderbolt 4/USB hub responsible for the low noise. I get a ton of noise connecting DACs directly to the PC which had me switching to optical out with desktop DACs.

But now I have taken headphone duty away from my Topping EX5, leaving it with fewer roles. It's still there for my iLoud MTM's though. But this is a far superior way to do headphones in my opinion, since there's no switching of inputs needed at the EX5, and no switching of EQ profiles in Equalizer APO whenever I switch between speakers and headphones. Just plug in the 5K and it becomes the DAC. Maybe if I want to do super critical listening I'll still use the EX5 since it produces measurably better SINAD.

 

[imnotarobot]

How does its app compare to Viper4Android and Jamesdsp?