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

The media could not be loaded. Sound quality is batter than fiio btr5Best EQ optionsMuch PowerBest for portable useIt can power high impedance headphones

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?

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.