Quedelix 5K as dac

[rallychief]

Hi everybody i have a 5K but need something more powerful, but need the PEQ and BT of the 5K, only thing in my price is the Topping DX3 Pro + but need more power really, it has been suggested i can use the 5K as a a dac, and connect to a decent amp Topping D30 2 maybe, via 3.5mm output and 3.5 to RCA cable, is this a sensible proposition, or will the double amplification be lower quality.

 

[mc.god]

Hi everybody i have a 5K but need something more powerful, but need the PEQ and BT of the 5K, only thing in my price is the Topping DX3 Pro + but need more power really, it has been suggested i can use the 5K as a a dac, and connect to a decent amp Topping D30 2 maybe, via 3.5mm output and 3.5 to RCA cable, is this a sensible proposition, or will the double amplification be lower quality.

Perfectly fine, the first dashboard in Amir's measurements is indeed as a pure DAC:

I assume you intended Topping L30 II as for the amp.

 

[rallychief]

Hi mc.god, many thanks for rapid reply, sounds like a plan then, yes L30 2 as amp D30 was brain fog lol

 

[rallychief]

Came up with a slightly different plan, that is JDS Labs Atom 2, as it has 3.5mm input, saving need for RCA-3.5mm conversion, and has 4.4mm 4 pole output, as well as 6.3mm 3 pole, which means i can use my balanced 2.5 mm cable with 2.5-4.4 adapter, snag is nobody seems to sell JDS in the UK, unless anybody knows different, and can steer me in the right directio, or does anyone here have one they would like to sell.

 

[mc.god]

Came up with a slightly different plan, that is JDS Labs Atom 2, as it has 3.5mm input, saving need for RCA-3.5mm conversion, and has 4.4mm 4 pole output, as well as 6.3mm 3 pole, which means i can use my balanced 2.5 mm cable with 2.5-4.4 adapter, snag is nobody seems to sell JDS in the UK, unless anybody knows different, and can steer me in the right directio, or does anyone here have one they would like to sell.

Yes, unfortunately getting JDS devices for non US customers is an hassle and a lot more expensive, and given that you can't even benefit from their praised customer support I consider them totally not worth, surely not for saving on an RCA-3.5mm cable.

 

[staticV3]

@rallychief before you declare the 5K too weak, use a basic multimeter ($10-15) and double check your playback chain and 5K configuration to confirm that you're using the 5K's full power budget.

With everything setup properly, your multimeter should read 2.0V via 3.5mm and 4.0V via 2.5mm while playing the test tone attached below.

If that's the case and it's still not loud enough, you could switch to the Qudelix T71 which plays 50% louder than the 5K (4.0/8.0V), without the need for an external power supply.

 

[rallychief]

Ok will try that ie measure voltage. my problem is i have hi fi man xs with balanced cable, i listen to internet radio a lot uk stations called greatest hits and Magic soul, these with subscription run at 320kbs, i am using an LG v30 thinq phone as source with its quad core dac, forced into Ldac 990kbs in developer options ( have to do this every session or it defaults to best effort ) uapp app for my own wav files etc, on sd card, the 5k just manages enough volume on the internet radio, problem comes with Spotify Premium again 320 kbs, it is at a very much lower level , i understand it is transmitted at -14 db, with this 5k is flat out, this is the same with uapp app, the qudelix app in volume page is saying its outputing 4v, but as you say worth a physical check, anyway hence my desire to get something more powerful, to give some headroom, the T71 is not BT which i need. i wasn,t considering Atom to save RCA cable, but rather for the 4.4 mm 4 pole output, which means i can use my balanced cable, over the hi fi man 3.5-6.3

 

[staticV3]

Ok will try that ie measure voltage. my problem is i have hi fi man xs with balanced cable, i listen to internet radio a lot uk stations called greatest hits and Magic soul, these with subscription run at 320kbs, i am using an LG v30 thinq phone as source with its quad core dac, forced into Ldac 990kbs in developer options ( have to do this every session or it defaults to best effort ) uapp app for my own wav files etc, on sd card, the 5k just manages enough volume on the internet radio, problem comes with Spotify Premium again 320 kbs, it is at a very much lower level , i understand it is transmitted at -14 db, with this 5k is flat out, this is the same with uapp app, the qudelix app in volume page is saying its outputing 4v, but as you say worth a physical check, anyway hence my desire to get something more powerful, to give some headroom, the T71 is not BT which i need. i wasn,t considering Atom to save RCA cable, but rather for the 4.4 mm 4 pole output, which means i can use my balanced cable, over the hi fi man 3.5-6.3

Just FYI, the Atom's 4.4mm output is there just for convenience and offers neither extra power nor better sound quality.

If you already have a 4.4mm cable or adapter, that's just fine, otherwise you're not missing out by using the 1/4" output.

Also, try Spotify settings->Playback->Volume normalization Off. Should give you slightly louder playback.

 

[rallychief]

Hi staticV3, fyi the output from balanced cable is a little low on one channel 3.78 volts, (Left) and 3.94 on other i did it at the headphone ends of the balanced cable, didn't know any other way of doing it, don't know if the cable is possibly responsible for imbalace, playback normalisation is already off in spotify, the other thing i forgot, is when DSP is on and PEQ running, the EQ seems to take some power, is that normal, i have Sundara closed back as well, that need a lot more EQ, that also loses power on EQ, although they are somewhat easier to drive, seems like Topping L30 2 may be entering my life, with upgraded se cable for headphones. would you go that way, or is their something i have missed, budget about £200 gbp, be nice to have 4.4 4 pole output, no need to be actually balanced, so i can retain my balanced cable, the L30 2 is £149 in uk from amazon.

 

[staticV3]

Hi staticV3, fyi the output from balanced cable is a little low on one channel 3.78 volts, (Left) and 3.94 on other i did it at the headphone ends of the balanced cable, didn't know any other way of doing it

Good method.

don't know if the cable is possibly responsible for imbalace

It's likely.

If you're curious, you can use a 2.5mm DIY Headphone plug or the awesome E1DA Cosmos Load board to directly probe the 5K's headphone output, without the headphone cable as variable.

Alternatively, you can use a YR1035 to precisely measure your headphone cable's resistance down to the milliohm, to check any imbalance there.

That's just a "nice to know" though, not really relevant to the issue at hand.

the other thing i forgot, is when DSP is on and PEQ running, the EQ seems to take some power, is that normal

Yes.

Though you can be smart about your EQ and avoid large frequency boosts which will rob you of headroom.

I see that oratory's preset for the Sundara Closed requires -5.9dB of preamplification, so make sure that the Sundara preset you've configured on your 5K doesn't need significantly more than that:

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

seems like Topping L30 2 may be entering my life, with upgraded se cable for headphones. would you go that way, or is their something i have missed, budget about £200 gbp, be nice to have 4.4 4 pole output, no need to be actually balanced, so i can retain my balanced cable

The Sabaj A20h is worth considering.

 

[rallychief]

Looked at Sabaj AH20, that would work for me being balanced re cable, outputs on back might be a pain, the big issue is the the AH20 seems to be designed to pair with a dac with 5v output, which i won't have, is that a problem ? another bonus it's only £129 in uk from Amazon, which is a big + with their returns policy.

 

[jkim]

Looked at Sabaj AH20, that would work for me being balanced re cable, outputs on back might be a pain, the big issue is the the AH20 seems to be designed to pair with a dac with 5v output, which i won't have, is that a problem ? another bonus it's only £129 in uk from Amazon, which is a big + with their returns policy.

The 4 Vrms output from the 5K is completely sufficient to drive the A20h to its max output.

But if I were you, I would still consider Topping L30 II, L50, or A50 III. Driving the L30 II with the 5K's unbalanced out is not a problem. For your 4.4mm headphone connector, simply use an adapter like this. Not a problem, either.

 

[rallychief]

Ok decided to go with L30 2 as size is another consideration, it will be in a bedroom system, and needs to sit on bedside table, ordered one, and a short 3.5mm to RCA lead, just need to get a better se cable for the hi fi man. tried to buy an Open Heart one from Ali Express on a good offer, which gets good reviews, but seemed to have failed , will let you all know how it goes when up and running, many thanks for all the help, this really is a great forum.

Chris

 

[rallychief]

Ok L30 2 arrived, still have issues, 5k would not output 2v from se, did some research and came up with possibility of phone being issue maybe, found the attached setup guide to get full out of BT, made no difference, wondering if i have a duff 5k and that has been problem all along, on 3.5 se their is no difference between normal gain and high gain, .996 volts, and no audible difference, other than normal, sounds better than high but same volume, balanced seems to be okay, as we know its near 4v output, also se on 5k seems to sound horrid, don't know what to do next, maybe a D50 3 have seen one for good price, snag is i believe PEQ will not work over BT, any other options or thoughts.

 

[staticV3]

wondering if i have a duff 5k and that has been problem all along, on 3.5 se their is no difference between normal gain and high gain, .996 volts

To get 2Vrms, you need to enable 2Vrms mode, then increase the volume.

 

[Scrivs]

The 5K is quite a feature rich device for what it is.

To get the most out of it, it really would behoove you to read the comprehensive documentation available online for it.

Nice HP amp (L30 II) CHOICE btw

 

[rallychief]

Yep i understand about the max slider in app, what i am saying is that with the app in Dac Amp settings screen, i engage High Gain, then i should have an extra 6db on max slider, i don't have that, it stays at 0 db, also with High Gain engaged, it sounds horrid, but ok ish from normal gain but not great, output voltage stays at .996 V, regardless, have i misunderstood something, it works at it should, in 2.5mm balanced mode. EDIT also the left hand slider for volume from external device, in se mode sometimes says -12.75 db and sometimes 0db totally randomly

 

[rallychief]

Ok madness is descending, got fed up with it yesterday switched it all off and gave up, just fired it up again and its working perfectly, normal gain 0 DB High gain +6 DB, intermittent fault on 5K ? the expression these things are sent to try us springs to mind, switched from high to normal numerous times, behaves perfectly, and sound is now good on both