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Why use a Qudelix 5k instead of good Bluetooth headphones?

Brian Hall

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I watched a couple of reviews on the Qudelix 5k and also the Fiio BTR 15. Why use a Bluetooth DAC/amp like these instead of just using a good Bluetooth headset or earbuds?

When I'm going to be using Bluetooth, it is because I am doing something where I don't want wires.

If I am going portable and don't mind wires, I will just plug IEMs into my DAP, or use a good dongle DAC/AMP with my phone.

What am I missing or misunderstanding? I just don't see the point or advantage of these.
 
Can you name a few products you are thinking of as blutooth headsets or earbuds because these are somewhat nebulous terms.
 
I'm unaware of reputable Bluetooth headphones or IEMs that sounds as good as today's $20 passive IEMs, much less ones with parametric EQ, crossfeed, and the Q5K's other features. It is also a solid wired dac/headphone amp.
 
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Because the vast majority of bluetooth earbuds still struggle to compete with wired iems in fidelity, some notable exceptions like the samsung's galaxy pros and the AKG N400NCs aside. Even in those cases, bluetooth true-wireless implementation is often marred by "poor" codecs (and connectivity/signal issues) like SBC, AAC and APTX that have a considerable impact in treble fidelity, while the qudelix and FiiO's BTR's support APTX HD and LDAC, which are leaps beyond the former ones, being oftentimes as transparent as wired dongles.

If I am going portable and don't mind wires, I will just plug IEMs into my DAP, or use a good dongle DAC/AMP with my phone.

Yes, but a competent DAP is much more expensive than a BTR15 and a Qudelix 5K, and dongles are way more janky than them. USB connectors don't like being inside pockets, there's the whole weight of your smartphone + dongle on the same pocket and some dongles can drain your battery pretty fast. Don't forget that both the Qudelix and FiiO's BTRs have belt clippers. I personally use mine from my PC (LDAC connection) to walk the house without being constrained to a desktop amp/dac.
 
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I watched a couple of reviews on the Qudelix 5k and also the Fiio BTR 15. Why use a Bluetooth DAC/amp like these instead of just using a good Bluetooth headset or earbuds?

When I'm going to be using Bluetooth, it is because I am doing something where I don't want wires.

If I am going portable and don't mind wires, I will just plug IEMs into my DAP, or use a good dongle DAC/AMP with my phone.

What am I missing or misunderstanding? I just don't see the point or advantage of these.

Some of my personal reasons for preferring the Q5K + IEM over other solutions (I do own Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro/Live in ears and 1More SonoFlow over-ears)

1. I don't want to carry a phone and a DAP. At one point in my life I carried a phone/Blackberry, pager, PDA and MP3 player, I took quite a while to get back down to a single device and i'm not keen on going back to multiple devices.

2. I don't want to have my IEMs plugged in my phone. It makes it more difficult to use the phone and you have to be more careful with putting it into, and getting it out of, your pocket. I talking from the perspective of someone who commuted for over 2 hours per day on a train and listened to music and used my phone extensively on the journey.

3. I can have the Q5K clipped to my lapel with a shortened IEM cable. It's out of the way, I can reach the controls easily, the mic is close to my mouth and I don't catch the cable with my arms (like I might if the IEMs were attached to a phone in my pocket.

4. I can plug multiple cheap (but very well measuring) IEMs into the Q5K. If I break or loose the IEMs, I can get another pair for £20.
 
Because the vast majority of bluetooth earbuds still struggle to compete with wired iems in fidelity, some notable exceptions like the samsung's galaxy pros

I have the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earbuds and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 bluetooth headset. They both sound great with Bluetooth to my phone or DAP.

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro use Samsung seamless codec with my S23 Ultra. Amazon Music HD says it is doing 24/48. Switched to the Momentum 4. I think it uses some Aptx codec. Amazon also reports it using 24/48 on that same song. I don't think the Qudelix or BTR 15 would beat the sound quality from either of these.


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Yes, but a competent DAP is much more expensive than a BTR15 and a Qudelix 5K, and dongles are way more janky than them.

Yes, DAPs are usually more expensive, but also have more advantages. I have my complete ripped CD collection on my DAP. A DAP will generally have longer battery life and more power than a dongle.
 
Yes, DAPs are usually more expensive, but also have more advantages. I have my complete ripped CD collection on my DAP. A DAP will generally have longer battery life and more power than a dongle.

I have a Nothing Phone (2) with 512GB of storage. My FLAC collection is approaching 1.2TB, but easily fits on the phone when transcoded to high quality OPUS format which is basically transparent (the library takes up around 270GB on my phone).
 
Some of my personal reasons for preferring the Q5K + IEM over other solutions (I do own Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro/Live in ears and 1More SonoFlow over-ears)

1. I don't want to carry a phone and a DAP. At one point in my life I carried a phone/Blackberry, pager, PDA and MP3 player, I took quite a while to get back down to a single device and i'm not keen on going back to multiple devices.

Yes, but why Bluetooth (from your phone?) to a separate box like the Qudelix and then wired to IEMs instead of good Bluetooth earbuds with a good codec? Less complication and still great sound quality.

As for carrying a DAP when I want to use wired IEMs, I'm sure the Qudelix is lighter than my DAP, but I don't notice the weight of the DAP in my pocket.
 
Yes, but why Bluetooth (from your phone?) to a separate box like the Qudelix and then wired to IEMs instead of good Bluetooth earbuds with a good codec? Less complication and still great sound quality.

Bluetooth breaks the physical connection between my phone and my IEMs. The Q5K is much more flexible than a pair of Bluetooth Earbuds, it has better PEQ, can be used as a DAC/Amp with a PC/Laptop (and doesn't need to be charged to do this) and can drive over-ear headphones that I already own like my HD 660S or even my HE-4XX.

You already have decent Bt IEMs and over-ears, it feels like you are trying to justify not buying a Q5K - perhaps because of all the positive comments on ASR. I don't think a Q5K is going to add much to your listening experience over what you already have, but the Q5K is a very capable tool for what it cost - it will turn any phone with LDAC support into a very capable music player (with a small outlay on UAPP, PowerAmp, Neutron Player, etc.)
 
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Generally, it's convenience of BT headset vs headphones-Qudelix wired together. Generally, the latter gives you more flexibility with your headphone choice (I use 4-5 different ones from Ety IEM, to Philips Fidelio, to AKG 371-passive) and use of high quality DAC and various high quality stream options. I am pretty sure the latter also is a better value option, unless you end up with many different headphones (because Q works so well).
 
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro use Samsung seamless codec with my S23 Ultra
Yup, I've noticed they sound significantly better on my relatives Samsung phones. Unfortunately for me they're restricted to AAC/SBC on my xiaomi smartphone, so I do notice a drop in quality: high frequency stuff sound mushy and lossy, whereas with LDAC i honestly can't tell my earphones apart from wired
 
You already have decent Bt IEMs and over-ears, it feels like you are trying to justify not buying a Q5K - perhaps because of all the positive comments on ASR. I don't think a Q5K is going to add much to your listening experience over what you already have, but the Q5K is a very capable tool for what it cost - it will turn any phone with LDAC support into a very capable music player (with a small outlay on UAPP, PowerAmp, Neutron Player, etc.)

Not trying to justify not buying the Qudelix. I was just wondering if I was missing something since the reviews were almost all positive.

The conclusion is to either have very good Bluetooth earbuds / headphones or get a Qudelix to be able to use other headphones with Bluetooth. I don't need another desktop dac and already have 2 or 3 dongle dacs, latest being the Fiio KA17.
 
Thinking about this more, I guess I wasn't getting it because I have a DAP for when I want to use wired IEMs/headphones and still have something portable. If I didn't have the DAP, then something like the Qudelix would make sense to fill that role.
 
Sennheiser Momentum 4, Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Sennheiser Momentum true wireless 4.
For people that prefer non TWS IEMs it's about how fit and sound quality differs. Wired IEMs can be designed without consideration to the added weight a volume required for a batteries and other circuitry, both of which have acoustic implications. The Added weight and mass is often compensated with shallower nozzles which leads to a floatier fit.
Others will find the concessions with TWS IEMs acceptable, in favor of the streamlined software integration.
 
In my case, I just want a bluetooth open-back headset to use at home for PC but they are quite rare. With bluetooth DACs I do have a much larger headphone pool to choose from.
 
@Brian Hall
In a nutshell, the Q5K gives you access to thousands of wired IEMs and headphones, but using them without being tethered to the source device.

Let's say you're looking for a set of open-backed headphones or IEMs, you'll have a hard time finding ones with Bluetooth built-in.

Additionally, the Q5K has DSP capabilities that are unmatched by any Bluetooth headphone.

The trade-off is slightly more cumbersome operation, but if your headphone/IEM has a replaceable cable, then you can find short 50cm cables online to better suit this use case.
 
Bluetooth breaks the physical connection between my phone and my IEMs. The Q5K is much more flexible than a pair of Bluetooth Earbuds, it has better PEQ, can be used as a DAC/Amp with a PC/Laptop (and doesn't need to be charged to do this) and can drive over-ear headphones that I already own like my HD 660S or even my HE-4XX.

You already have decent Bt IEMs and over-ears, it feels like you are trying to justify not buying a Q5K - perhaps because of all the positive comments on ASR. I don't think a Q5K is going to add much to your listening experience over what you already have, but the Q5K is a very capable tool for what it cost - it will turn any phone with LDAC support into a very capable music player (with a small outlay on UAPP, PowerAmp, Neutron Player, etc.)
Is LDAC as good as the Sony publicity claims?

I love don’t have cables but I hate AAC of my iPhone: perhaps is the last year I support Apple’s way of managing other’s patents.
 
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