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The Quedelix-5K DAC/Amp is a marvel of engineering on a number of ranges. Essentially the most spectacular of which is the true 10 and 20-band PEQ present in its companion app. Throw in Hello-Res Bluetooth audio, MEMs microphones for cellphone calls, and each single-ended and Balanced outputs (2.5mm), and you’ve got probably the most versatile cellular DACs available on the market.
Qudelix-5K: Worth and availability
The Quedelix-5K is out there direct from Quedelix for $109, or from Amazon for $110. You doubtless received’t discover it on sale however for every little thing you get with the Quedelix-5K, and when in comparison with its competitors, $110 is a good worth level.
Some of us could have a difficulty with the plastic physique at this worth, nevertheless it does not really feel low-cost, and there’s a cause for that construct resolution. We’ll get into that in a second.
Qudelix-5K: Construct and match
The Qudelix-5K feels very mild in hand, though it’s heavy in {hardware} and software program options. It has a plastic physique, which ensures you get a stable Bluetooth connection to your music supply. Steel our bodies are likely to attenuate radio frequency alerts. Have a look at the construct of your private home router, for instance. Steel or plastic? Internally, you get lots for $110. The 5k is full of a Qualcomm BT 5.0 chipset and twin ES9219 SABRE HiFi DAC, which helps single-ended and balanced outputs and high-sensitivity MEMs mics for cellphone calls.
Externally, you’ll discover the lone microphone port on the highest of the unit subsequent to the three.5mm and a pair of.5mm ports. There’s a useful spring-loaded aluminum clip on the underside of the unit and two complicated buttons on the edges. Neither is labeled, and that’s the one ache level I’ve with the exterior setup. One button is the quantity rocker, and on the opposite aspect of the unit, you have got the facility button, which additionally controls Bluetooth features: pairing, playback, observe skipping, and cellphone calls. As soon as powered on, the buttons glow pink and blue when pressed, making them simpler to make use of. The blue-lit button controls the Bluetooth features.
Apart from the button labeling, my solely different subject is the selection of a 2.5mm port as a substitute of a 4.4mm port. I’m positive this resolution was primarily based on unit measurement however I’d take a bigger 5k for the 4.4mm port. Studying on-line boards, a typical grievance is that fairly just a few individuals have snapped these tiny 2.5mm pins. Your mileage could range.
Qudelix-5K: Options
The Qudelix-5K gives nice codec help for Bluetooth streaming, which iPhones received’t be capable of make the most of. Along with the usual SBC and AAC, you additionally get help for aptX Adaptive, LDAC, and aptX HD. This is a crucial observe as a result of app help for the system extends to your computer systems by way of a Chrome browser plug-in. Even with iOS’ lack of Hello-Res Bluetooth codec help, it’s best to nonetheless obtain the app as a result of iOS and iPad OS don’t have EQ help that works throughout all of your apps. Quedelix app’s settings, although, are ubiquitous and saved on to the 5k’s inner storage. That is to say, after getting it configured to your liking, that sound profile will likely be persistent throughout each system you hook up with it: automobile, cellphone, pill, laptop, and many others. That additionally means it’s persistent regardless of which music apps you employ in your cellular gadgets.
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The app’s most essential characteristic is the 20-band PEQ, which can be set to a 10-band left/proper impartial PEQ. That is the place the 5k shines. As you dive into the world of “coloring” your audio to your liking, this can be a nice method to hear how tremendous adjustments within the EQ curve have an effect on your audio in actual time. This can be a welcomed characteristic for audiophiles and an excellent instructing device for audiophile neophytes. Better of all, it can save you as much as 20 of your EQ settings, and there’s an exhaustive database of computerized EQ presets that you would be able to entry within the DSP tab of the app.
Certain, different producers provide EQ help, however usually, it isn’t true PEQ. You typically get EQ presets or easy 3 or 5-band EQ help with no possibility for issues like pre-gain, headroom, peak filters, excessive or low-shelf filters, and Q issue (frequency bandwidth) adjustment.
The app can even present you the state and stats to your present enter (BT or USB-C), present you essential battery/energy consumption stats, provide you with management over acquire, and each coarse and tremendous management over quantity with separate sliders for the cellphone’s quantity and the 5k’s. Notice that you would be able to additionally management quantity straight from the 5k itself.
Quedelix 5k: Sound high quality
By itself, the Qudelix-5K reproduces audio superbly. It doesn’t have as giant a soundstage or that sparkle that my present fave iFi GO blu has, however that one doesn’t have the PEQ. However, once more, that’s the 5k’s power. I hooked Sennheiser’s $1500 IEMs, the IE900, as much as the Quedelix 5k, and the primary hear by way of the three.5mm cable was fantastic. The sound is well-balanced and nuanced, a delight.
Subsequent, I linked the two.5mm cable to get the balanced output energy, turned on the PEQ, and added some backside to the sub-bass and bass within the 31 and 63Hz frequencies and Candy Christmas, I grinned ear-to-ear just like the Cheshire cat after I performed “Begin a Riot” from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack! It’s a scrumptious Dolby Atmos combine that reveals what may be achieved when a producer is aware of find out how to use these instruments successfully. The IE900s aren’t a bass head’s IEM in any respect. With the 5k’s PEQ, they grow to be simply that, however the mid and high-end readability will not be diminished. The bass on that observe turns into downright darkish and nasty and makes me wish to get within the ring and bang leather-based with considered one of my Muay Thai buddies.
The fitting PEQ settings can take fulfilling music and make it transcendent. They will take you from having a listening session to having a listening expertise. With the proper headphones or IEMs, in fact.
This can be a final observe on the Qudelix-5K. I threw just a few headphones and delicate, low, and high-impedance IEMs at it, and it drove every little thing with aplomb.
Quedelix 5k: Competiton
There are just a few different choices at $100, however none of them provide true PEQ just like the Qudelix-5K. For instance, choices from FiiO provides you with EQ customization by way of their app, however the stage and number of customizations are larger with the 5k.
The closest system is FiiO’s BTR15, which has MQA help and native DSD help for a similar $110. It additionally consists of an OLED show, which the 5K doesn’t have and it makes use of 4.4mm as a substitute of two.5mm balanced output. Shanling has their UP4 2022, which is bigger, has a bigger battery, and consists of codec help for LHDC. All of them characteristic single-ended and balanced outputs, however the app makes all of the distinction, so I’d select the Quedelix 5k over its competitors.
Qudelix-5K: Must you purchase it?
You should purchase the Qudelix-5K Bluetooth DAC/Amp if…
- You’re inquisitive about fine-tuning audio
- Value is a major consider your DAC buy
- You desire a DAC for nearly any supply
You should not purchase the Qudelix-5K Bluetooth DAC/Amp if…
- You don’t want Bluetooth connectivity
- You like 4.4mm outputs
The Quedelix-5K is nicely value the fee for the parametric EQ alone! When you think about the entire unit’s different options, I believe this system is a no brainer for many who wish to study crafting their supreme sound curve or those that already know find out how to however desire a system they will take anyplace and hook up with nearly any audio supply. You’ll be able to even use the 5K as a preamp.
If true PEQ piques your curiosity, look no additional. That is the one.
