Qudelix 5K Reference DAC AMP

Product Information

With 4V RMS on tap from the balanced headphone output, the Qudelix 5K can run pretty much every earphone and a lot of sensitive headphones like the Sennheiser HD660S. In the manual, the four button positions are called: red upper, red lower, blue upper, and blue lower, respectively. Initially, it was a bit of a problem to figure out which is which, as the indicator LEDs light up only when you press something. has four buttons and two LEDs. The volume buttons are with Red LED, and multi-functional buttons are with Blue LED. You can easily recognize and distinguish the left and... has three BGA(Ball Grid Array) IC parts; QCC5124, and two ES9128p. To enhance the PCB reliability and durability, we did the epoxy underfills on those sensitive BGA parts, although... For a USB DAC use case with Windows, MacOS, and Linux, you can install the Qudelix Chrome Extension.

The Qudelix 5K might not be the most beautiful looking or premium made Bluetooth DAC/amp in the market but it stands out not only for the good sound quality but foremost for its most innovative software implementation. Well, it could be just me not understanding how the device works. However, I have read some more remarks that the use of the 5K is not exactly intuitive. The Qualcomm® QCC5100 series are the most advanced Bluetooth SoC designed for high-end Bluetooth applications. Qudelix-5K is the world's 1st Bluetooth DAC/AMP designed with a QCC512x chipset. QCC512x's ultra-low power... All this technical capacity has resulted in one of the most interesting devices on the portable Hi-End market, which combines the best Bluetooth option, with an excellent Dual DAC/AMP by SABRE (ES9218P) and a high output power. This is the Qudelix-5K: a small Bluetooth receiver of very high quality and a DAC/AMP. It can be used as a sound card, connected to a PC or laptop. It can also be connected, via Bluetooth, to a Smartphone or DAP, to be used as a Bluetooth receiver and headphone amplifier. Finally, it can also be connected, via USB-C, to a Smartphone or DAP, to be used as an amplifier. It even has a high-sensitivity microphone as a Bluetooth communication solution.

Parametric EQ (what you're here for):​

Battery life​Really great. At 100% charge, I can get about 10-12 hours connected to the Arias on performance mode. Granted, I don't listen at crazy high volumes, so YMMV. Additionally, perhaps markings on volume buttons, though with mappable button this becomes redundant. IOS/ANDROID APP: 5K Mobile App enables the user to access every detail; Battery history, charger status, volume, DAC operating profile, DAC LPF filter, Equalizer, USB DAC sample rate, microphone gain, Bluetooth codecs. *5K is the only Bluetooth device that displays real-time LDAC bitrate. Latency: So apparently the chipset Qudelix is using doesn't support aptX Low Latency, and the USB DAC isn't working currently with the Nintendo Switch, so Switch owners, this isn't for you. aptX Adaptive's latency is fine on videos, maybe not ideal for competitive games, so I'm a bit upset that this is replacing aptX Low Latency, but it's definitely better than most other Bluetooth codecs.

By the way, about the button placements, I'm used to that already, because I place the device in a convenient position for myself. The operating profile automatically switched to the performance mode upon the presence of any USB VBUS connection. The Qudelix mobile app displays the real-time active LDAC bitrate. Qudelix-5K is the only receiver that provides accurate bitrate information. At the same time, with great power comes great power draw. With 10 band PEQ correction running, I can spend the smallish 500mAh battery in as little as 5 hours, depending on the listening volume. And that’s with sensitive IEMs. Running adventurous DSP configs with hungrier full-size headphones will drain the battery even faster.So the first night I've had it, I was listening to this song I used to put on, and at some point I was like: ** this bass sound so good. I was in the moment, but as like I said, with a better IEM and custom earbuds it will sound even more amazing. Also, with a balanced cable even more. I'm very enthusiastic of the future of Qudelix 5K and how they're going to improve their USB AMP DAC. I'll buy a better version if it comes out, but for now, the Qudelix 5K is a master piece. The EQ tab is so extensive and so customizable that it really should satisfy everyone's needs. It definitely made my little, non-EQ head hurt. Every line of the LDAC software library is optimized for the QCC512x platform and KALIMBA DSP architecture. The highly optimized LDAC library and the ultra-low-power QCC512x enables the LDAC streaming more secure and more extended. I really like the way they've designed the interaction between the wired and wireless connection as well. With my phone always connected, I can edit settings etc. on the device while having it be wired to my Macbook; i.e: you can run this device wired and wireless at the same time with minimal issue. has built-in mic and a great one at that. This enable voice call and even transparency mode (so-so in my experience, depend on where you clip it). I also wish it has some kind of IP water resistant rating since this is intended for on-the-go usage.