Quloos QA390 - marketing hype or great product?

[Xulonn]

The recent disappointing Woo Audio WA11 portable DAC/HA post by @amirm prompted me to check out the Quloos QA390 and start this thread ...

The QA390, even available in bright red for those with flamboyant tastes, has more features than the Woo, and might even be worth the $1,400 it costs at AliExpress. I am impressed by Shenzhen Audio's professional marketing approach, and apparently their interest in hiring qualified professionals includes audio and digital engineering. It would be interesting to get a Quloos product on Amir's bench to see if the performance matches the marketing. I am aware of the personal psychology and our susceptibility to marketing methods, but Quloos penetrated my anti-advertising barriers and created curiosity and interest.

Any comments on Quloos from ASR members from China and other Asian countries?

French online audio dealer Audiophonics sells Quloos products, and I wonder if they will pick up this new item for resale? However, it is a long shot that one will ever get to Amir for testing.

 

[pavuol]

Haha, I like that term, "movable":

Indeed, quite detailed description on its homepage.

 

[pozz]

The looks are very nice. A great gift if it performs well.

 

[Xulonn]

Haha, I like that term, "movable":

Pavuol, if your native language is Slovak, obviously your English is better than 95% of Chinese audio company marketing departments.

However, in spite or that funny error (movable vs portable), I think that Shenzhen/Quloos does better than most Chinese companies with their English marketing efforts.

 

[pavuol]

Pavuol, if your native language is Slovak, obviously your English is better than 95% of Chinese audio company marketing departments.
However, in spite or that funny error (movable vs portable), I think that Shenzhen/Quloos does better than most Chinese companies with their English marketing efforts.

I don't criticise their English, as my is far from perfect too. Actually, I like that word (be it intentional or not), if it is used in a sense "less portable". So if I were manufacturer, I would use it so no one can blame me for a product with somehow larger dimensions as usual..

I wonder, what do they mean with this:
Product weight: 3.0kg in full package, net weight 1.8kg
packaging+accesories account for that high difference?

Btw., from the top view, it looks like a small player docked inside a cradle/full amp.. Like an analogy with laptop+docking.

 

[dorirod]

Did they just call this culos? PHAT

 

[solderdude]

Qul∞s or Quloos ?

 

[Xulonn]

I don't criticise their English, as my is far from perfect too.

Don't take my comments as serious criticism, but rather as a light-hearted observation. With amateur translation services available at organizations such as Fiverr - "an Israeli-based online marketplace for freelance services," anyone can have websites and web advertising in perfect English for very, very little cost.

Your English is far better than my Spanish - and I moved to retire in a Spanish-speaking country eight years ago. However, there are too many gringo expatriates and tourists here in Boquete, and many of the locals speak English. Being bilingual is a good thing for the locals for getting jobs in a town with many English-speaking residents and tourists.

I love the place to which I retired for many reasons, one of which is the international atmosphere - and that is also one of the reasons I like ASR.

 

[Xulonn]

Did they just call this culos? PHAT

The little mountain town in Western Panama where I live is named "Boquete" meaning "gap" or "opening", and refers to the gap in the mountains that allows the global trade winds to blow across our region from the Caribbean to the Pacific - and was a shortcut across the mountains during the American Gold Rush of 1849.

In Portuguese, boquete is a slang word for a sex act - an entirely different meaning that leads to weird looks and usually laughter from those who speak that language. I would have no idea of how I should respond to queries of "where are you from" if I traveled to Brazil or Portugal.

 

[50°F=Hellfire]

Apos audio's product page claims a THD of ~-106db. That doesn't seem groundbreaking, but the output impedance is pretty good.

 

[Hemi-Demon]

The only review I have seen is from Z Reviews for what it is worth. I want one with the AK4499. Wish they would send one over to ASR.

 

[jzwang43]

I don't criticise their English, as my is far from perfect too. Actually, I like that word (be it intentional or not), if it is used in a sense "less portable". So if I were manufacturer, I would use it so no one can blame me for a product with somehow larger dimensions as usual..

I wonder, what do they mean with this:
Product weight: 3.0kg in full package, net weight 1.8kg
packaging+accesories account for that high difference?

Btw., from the top view, it looks like a small player docked inside a cradle/full amp.. Like an analogy with laptop+docking.

Hi, Chinese speaker here, I just want to clarify that they call this "movable" in their Chinese listings and marketing materials too. They just want to indicate that this is technically too big and heavy to be called "portable" but can be moved around since it can be powered by batteries. They are targeting people who want a desktop setup but need to move them every once in a while, like those who listen with it in the office during weekdays and maybe move it back home on weekends.

 

[Tks]

Cool device. Only issue I see is that volume knob. I can't imagine all the grim and dust that will eventually start catching around the top cutout.

 

[escalibur]

Cool device. Only issue I see is that volume knob. I can't imagine all the grim and dust that will eventually start catching around the top cutout.

Literally a prefect example why the wheel shouldn't be re-invented over and over again.

 

[A800]

Yes, that volume knob is not good.

 

[Hugo9000]

"Everything old is new again" haha

The volume control reminds me of the old portable radios my parents had when I was a child. The Quloos looks much nicer, of course! haha

Lots of partially-recessed controls like that back in the stone age. The point of the design was to make it harder to accidentally turn the knob on portable devices. Some of the smaller ones were meant to be carried in one's pocket. Pocket lint collecting in the control would have been more of an issue than falling dust, I suppose.

 

[Nango]

The recent disappointing Woo Audio WA11 portable DAC/HA post by @amirm prompted me to check out the Quloos QA390 and start this thread ...

The QA390, even available in bright red for those with flamboyant tastes, has more features than the Woo, and might even be worth the $1,400 it costs at AliExpress. I am impressed by Shenzhen Audio's professional marketing approach, and apparently their interest in hiring qualified professionals includes audio and digital engineering. It would be interesting to get a Quloos product on Amir's bench to see if the performance matches the marketing. I am aware of the personal psychology and our susceptibility to marketing methods, but Quloos penetrated my anti-advertising barriers and created curiosity and interest.

Any comments on Quloos from ASR members from China and other Asian countries?

French online audio dealer Audiophonics sells Quloos products, and I wonder if they will pick up this new item for resale? However, it is a long shot that one will ever get to Amir for testing.

This brand name already tested by ASR here with bad results: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...n-da9-1-es9038pro-dac-and-headphone-amp.3618/