Qudelix T71 Portable DSP DAC & HP Amp

[staticV3]

Unless I have missed it, this schematics is not documented anywhere on the manufacturer's website.

It is directly from the manufacturer's website.

 

[FTB]

We are living in a time where portable devices are better than some desktop products...

 

[Labjr]

Nice review. Cool toy. No DSD support?

 

[Scytales]

It is directly from the manufacturer's website.

Incredibly, the links we respectively provided does not point to the same content!



Navigating the website from the links you provided, I see a dedicated in-ear transducers supposed to work only with the USB output of the t71:

T71 IEM

Qudelix Bluetooth Qualcomm QCC512x ES9218P ESS DAC USB SONY LDAC Headphone Amp HiFi Audio aptX

www.qudelix.com

So, for the time being, the use case of this multichannel DAC is extraordinary restricted.

 

[staticV3]

Incredibly, the links we respectively provided does not point to the same content!



Navigating the website from the links you provided, I see a dedicated in-ear transducers supposed to work only with the USB output of the t71:

T71 IEM

Qudelix Bluetooth Qualcomm QCC512x ES9218P ESS DAC USB SONY LDAC Headphone Amp HiFi Audio aptX

www.qudelix.com

So, for the time being, the use case of this multichannel DAC is extraordinary restricted.

You can totally use the T71 as a surround sound processor for your home theater, provided you can feed it via USB.

 

[respice finem]

That's really nice, even an easily replaceable battery.

 

[daniboun]

My bad ) here the right picture

 

[Mort]

What a device! I'm upgrading my 5K now. Got a Wiim Ultra pro in the same order.

Thank you for testing this @amirm

 

[LeZe]

@amirm

Am I correct in understanding that the T71 may not be ideal for low-impedance headphones such as the DCA Noire X if only 1V is available at 12 ohms?

Or am I misinterpreting this?

Thanks for the review!

 

[Robbo99999]

Ok, this is a really interesting device given it can be seen as a real 7.1 device to for example a Windows operating system - so this makes me wonder how they've implemented the virtual surround sound processing when they mix it down to headphones - from a gaming perspective mainly. I'll have to look into it, but no time now! Surely an impressive device given all it's functionalities, but I haven't voted yet as I need to find out more about how the virtual surround sound is handled for headphones.

 

[juliangst]

Is the surround functionality exclusively meant for their surround iems or is there some kind of breakout cable to use it as a multichannel DAC as well?

 

[norcalscott]

Thanks for measuring this device! I've been wondering about it since I have had the 5K for a few months and it has changed the way I use my wired headphones and IEMs. This is a company that cares about performance and meeting specifications at a reasonable price!

 

[respice finem]

View attachment 500983

No-nonsense design, form follows function. But it seems to be a slightly different model, compared to Amir's picture?

 

[DearSX]

I wonder if something like this would make a lot of sense in a car plugged into the Aux port and then using DSP etc. to tweak the sound?

 

[staticV3]

I wonder if something like this would make a lot of sense in a car plugged into the Aux port and then using DSP etc. to tweak the sound?

For just one Aux port the 5K performs just as well for <½ the price.

But yeah that is a great use case and Qudelix have created a Car power mode just for that.

 

[DearSX]

For just one Aux port the 5K performs just as well for <½ the price.

But yeah that is a great use case and Qudelix have created a Car power mode just for that.

Wow, nice, I'll need to look into this car power mode option. I like the portability also, I have several old cars with Aux ports that I use for leisure.

 

[daniboun]

No-nonsense design, form follows function. But it seems to be a slightly different model, compared to Amir's picture?

Just corrected. Did not past the right picture

 

[Inertiaman]

For just one Aux port the 5K performs just as well for <½ the price.

But yeah that is a great use case and Qudelix have created a Car power mode just for that.

Any chance you've seen examples of people using the "2-way active crossover" feature to feed directly to an amp, rather than to the Qudelix IEM?

If one could utilize the crossover and the PEQ simultaneously and output four channels to amplifier(s), a 5K would be amazing at $109 for car audio, or even DIY home active speakers.

 

[staticV3]

Any chance you've seen examples of people using the "2-way active crossover" feature to feed directly to an amp, rather than to the Qudelix IEM?

I have not, though I'm not active on Qudelix's forum where I imagine such a project would be posted first.

 

[CedarX]

Is the surround functionality exclusively meant for their surround iems or is there some kind of breakout cable to use it as a multichannel DAC as well?

The 8 channels are exposed through the USB-C “auxiliary” port—see schematics in earlier post. There is a surround downmix (software) feature, but the T71 IEM is not “surround” IMO, it is a 4-way active IEM: it connects onto the USB-C auxiliary port, which enables this 4-way crossover mode in the “SPK PEQ” section. The crossover freq. are fixed (150, 1500, and 6500 Hz I believe), but each driver (1x DD + 3x BAs) has it own set of 10x PEQ filters to choose from Peak, Low-Shelf, High-Shelf, Low-Pass and High-Pass. They are applied to L&R combined or individually and the amp gain can be adjusted for each driver. Each driver can also be muted. If you add the global “USER” 10x PEQ, that’s up to 90x PEQ filters…