Qudelix-5K Bluetooth USB DAC AMP with LDAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, AAC (Dual ES9219 3.5mm Unbalanced & 2.5mm Balanced Output)

Love the sound quality and compactness. Now that they have added a 20 filter PEQ, it's even better return for money.

Up to expectations. The hinge broke in a month despite the fact that I hardly used it for 4-5 days during that period.

Not to be used as primary usb dac

Sound quality is batter than fiio btr5 Best EQ options Much Power Best for portable use It can power high impedance headphones

Believe the hype - the Qudelix 5K is such an advancement over other pocket DAC amps that it’s ridiculous. The star is the app, which allows for detailed sound customisation. You can use parametric EQ or a ten-band graphic equaliser. You can choose from hundreds of preloaded PEQ presets that cover just about every headphone and earphone in existence, and edit and tweak them if you like. That lets you get the sound tailored to your preferences, no matter how much of an audio nerd you are. Power-wise, the 240mW on balanced (2.5mm) output is good enough to drive 300ohm-100dB headphones, like the HD650 adequately, with some headroom left to spare. On the single-ended 3.5mm output, you need to crank both device and Q5K volume up to near maximum for the same kind of results. On more sensitive, low-impedance devices, like the Blon BL-03, for instance, you need to dial the volume way back. I listen with about 25dB of headroom for those (on balanced output, with about 5dB of headroom on the phone volume). The app has too many functions to list, but they’re all laid out intuitively, and reward experimentation. Plus, Qudelix updates the app and firmware regularly and takes user suggestions on board for new features. The option to have the device charge only up to 80% (thus extending the life span of the battery) is an example of the latter. Other good features include: -- The ability to have the device power on or off depending on what it’s connected to. -- The ability to draw power from USB selectively - you can disable charging when it’s connected to a phone, for instance, so it does not drain the phone’s battery. -- Super-fine-grained volume control. -- EQ settings are saved to the amp, so you don't lose them when switching devices. Battery life is decent - but not stellar if you're going to be using it in balanced mode all the time. The button placement and design on the Q5K is perhaps the only flaw on an tremendously well-crafted, well thought-out product that punches well above its category.

Bought my unit directly from the company in South Korea. Amazon as ususal is overpricing it. I got it for 15k after shipping and import duties. Have been using the Qudelix for my cycling rides for 4 months now. I can vouch that they are really well built. They can take the sweat, rough and tumble well. You can see the small scuffs on the clipp in my photos. I think their use of materials are spot on. I saw some reviewer saying that the clip broke, maybe he tried something odd with it. My unit have been thrown off my pocket during ride. And it is absolutely the most well built unit in this category. I had used a Btr3k earlier and I know what I am talking about. The company keep upgrading the internal firmware every month. The app is absolutely solid now. No crashes on the phone. So that department is covered. The company is very committed to this product and they are from South Korea. They have a lot of new features added like a digital crossover etc added in this time. In my opinion this is gold standard for what a bluetooth dac can do! Also they can work like a usb dac 96k max using a usb C cable. You have 2 in the box. You can use this as a desktop dac amp if you are on a budget. These can easily drive a large range of headphones and almost all iem's. I use the onboard digital dsp equalizer when I switch between my Blon BL03's (iem) or the HE4XX (desktop rig) or the IBasso Sr2's(desktop rig). I can say with certainity that this portable unit fairs quite well on the audio quality scale against my Desktop rig (Custom Allo Revolution Dac, Toppng D10s, IFFI zen dac and dedicated headphone amp Topping A50s). Yes you are not going to the get the dedicated amp level gain of volume. But what you get is usable and wont make you deaf. The sound stage is wide enough, and on tonality and details this little dac/amp holds on it own. I also use the Balanced output to drive the harder headphones. They have excellent power (2v single ended/4v rms balanced)and sound is absolute quality. It is great value for money! The cons, it is clunky to use. Because the button are opposing when you grasp it and press one side, the other button gets a phantom input. Especially when you are doing sports and outdoor activities. You have to develop muscle memory for control. It they upgrade the firmware for the new Lossless high bitrade Aptx codec it will be absolute bargain. May be they cannot - the bit rate is max 990 and the codec need 1000, maybe licencing and hardware limitations? Are you listening Qudelix?

Lo utilizzo quotidianamente con le mie KZ e funziona divinamente. Il dispositivo è leggero e facilmente trasportabile, essendo principalmente in plastica, salvo per la clip in metallo. Lo uso quasi esclusivamente tramite bluetooth quando sono fuori casa. L'autonomia non è eccezionale a mio parere (>4 ore di riproduzione audio via bluetooth utilizzando Sony LDAP) ma non ho altri riferimenti per poter valutare la cosa (e non penso si possa fare molto di più per via delle dimensioni). L'applicazione è ottima sia da smartphone che da browser. Ti consente di monitorare costantemente i parametri e ti avvisa non appena è disponibile un nuovo update firmware (fatto l'ultimo oggi 30/04 e da quando lo ho acquistato è il 5, quindi molto supportato). L'unico aspetto "negativo" sul quale posso esprimermi, è in merito all'usabilità dei bottoni laterali. Non hanno icone e una forma differente perché siano distinguibili al tatto o alla vista, pertanto bisogna fare l'occhio e capire quale è uno o quale è l'altro dal verso del dispositivo (probabilmente acquisterò/stamperò degli sticker e li attaccherò sul dispositivo per risolvere questo aspetto). Il dispositivo inoltre non è configurabile in altro modo se non tramite applicazione. L'ho comprato principalmente per migliorare il mio ascolto e per imparare un po' di più sulla musica che ascolto quotidianamente. Il suo equalizzatore e il suo catalogo di preset (ce ne sono una vastità, ed è possibile inserire anche di custom) mi ha permesso di comprendere meglio come poter adattare la risposta delle cuffie a quelli che sono i miei gusti in fatto di ascolto. Il dispositivo possiede anche un microfono e da quello che mi è parso di capire dalle poche chiamate che ho fatto utilizzando questo, si sente discretamente bene (aggiunta molto gradita per chi ha cuffie prive di microfoni o che utilizza cavi custom per i proprie monitor, come il sottoscritto). Non ho cavi bilanciati con cui provare l'uscita bilanciata di cui il dispositivo è provvisto, quindi la mia valutazione per ora è solo in merito all'uscita sbilanciata. Aggiornerò ma mia recensione qualora dovessi acquistare un cavo/cuffia con cui testare l'uscita e non appena sarò un ascoltatore migliore. Consiglio quindi l'acquisto ai neofiti come me che vogliono esplorare un po' più a fondo il mondo dell'ascolto musicale, e vogliono imparare a capire i loro gusti in termini di ascolto. Il dispositivo è molto semplice da utilizzare, ed i preset già all'interno del dispositivo aiutano molto (funziona anche senza impostare questi). La copertura bluetooth è molto buona ed è possibile utilizzarlo anche connesso alla USB-C (2 cavi un confezione uno USB-C ed uno USB standard). Il costo è alto, ma penso sia un buon punto di partenza che non impone particolari limitazioni in merito di cuffie o dispositivi che ci vuole acquistare qualora si scegliesse di fare un upgrade in futuro.

Qudelix-5k has been a legend for years on internet. I had always been wondering if there is a better option after so many years with so many new products. After conducting research extensively for several months, I finally decided this is it. Once it's delivered to my hand, I have been in love with it every day. Now I fully get why it's a legend. For my exact requirement, Quedelix-5k is one and only. I love music, but I cannot drop my work. Meetings are spread out from morning to evening, sometimes I am in office, sometimes I am driving. High quality mic is non-negotiable for me. I have to switch from music to meeting without too much hassle, like fiddling with wire or anything. For a portable DAC using IEM, there is no better choice. My voice is loud and clear, no voice latency that people can tell, I truly enjoy attending meetings using this DAC with my favorite IEM. Besides mic, the most unique feature of Qudelix-5k is its high quality software on Apple iOS. I need parametric EQ on iOS, and the EQ settings must be stored on device. No other device has software as awesome as this, others aren't even close. I can easily load the precalculated settings from AutoEQ, I can overlap it with my own, I can even enable cross-feed to adjust the sound stage. Given that I have HD 6xx and S12, but with good EQ even $20 IEM can be super impressive, the sound quality with low latency is undeniably awesome! Listen to me -- the Qudelix-5k software on iOS is truly outstanding. There is no alternative as far as I can see. I love how compact the device is. I clip it on my shirt and don't feel anything. I love how versatile it is to connect with phone and PC. Additionally, I can use it like a wired USB-C DAC, is there anything else more convenient than this? Lastly, at this price on Amazon, there is absolutely no way to find a better Bluetooth DAC with good software, high power, great mic, and exceptional sound quality. Actually, even the second hand DAC would be more expensive than this. This is the best deal on the market. If you have an IEM and wonder which DAC to pick, look no further, this is the right one.

This is hands down the best bluetooth dac amp by miles. I though my Earstudio ES100 is already quite amazing. This goes another level in the amount of customizations. Sound is great, but thats not the main part. The software is. I set it to behave like normal bluetooh dac and the moment I connect it to the PC, it disables (!) bluetooth and works like a dac amp. It routes headphones microfone both via bluetooth and USB. So I can enjoy my comfy Koss kph30 for both music and MSTeams calls. Simply amazing.

Deze bluetooth DAC overtreft mijn verwachtingen: heel detailrijke klank, mooie textuur en timbre. Ik gebruik hem voornamelijk met een Queen Of Audio Vesper IEM en een Sennheiser/Drop HD58X hoofdtelefoon. Voor geen van beiden heb ik EQ nodig met de DAC. Zelfs een 30 jaar oude Sennheiser HD480 II klinkt, met slechts een beetje lift in de lage tonen, beter dan ooit tevoren. Het belangrijkste verkoopsargument van de DAC is de EQ, maar die is voor mij minder belangrijk, de instellingen in de app zijn zeker zo interessant. Er zijn enorm veel mogelijkheden. Een raad voor nieuwe gebruikers: doorloop aandachtig alle instellingen. Zoniet zal je enkele cruciale functies over het hoofd zien, zoals de 2 volumeregelingen in cascade. Uiteraard zijn er beperkingen: een hoog-ohmige hoofdtelefoon zoals de Sennheiser HD250II (300 ohm) is weliswaar nog net aanstuurbaar, maar daarvoor is de DAC niet gemaakt en dan moet hij echt "zwoegen". De bediening is een beetje wennen omdat de knoppen geen labels hebben, maar daar is een oplossing voor: de Qudelix 5K sticker by Sproketz.

I absolutely love this DAC, paired it with a set of Ziigaat Oddessy 2 IEM's and this can drive them very well. Having the option of super high quality Bluetooth as well makes the listening experience amazing. Really impressed with the app, you can change the EQ to superior depths to match your hearing profile. The battery lasts ages, I've only charged it once since I've had it, and the fact it clips onto a belt is great. The multi function buttons on the side make controlling music and volume really easy too. Juat be careful not to turn it up too much or you could damage your hearing, this DAC can get very very loud. I paired it with a Samsung S26 Ultra and enabled Bluetooth LDAC, the change was absolutely immense in terms of quality, the compatibility with LDAC is just a game changer. Excellent value for money.