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

This is my first DAC/amp. I bought it mostly based on the hype and positive reviews, and because I wanted something portable with a lot of flexibility. Overall this is an excellent DAC/amp for the price with a really strong feature set. Bluetooth supports most of the important codecs, and the balanced 2.5mm output is a big plus for something this small. In 2025 I do kind of wish it used 4.4mm instead, but it’s not a deal breaker. Sound quality is clean and has more than enough power for the headphones and IEMs I’ve tried. It also has battery passthrough and lets you set safe charging limits, which is a nice touch if you care about battery longevity. The app is one of the best parts. There are a ton of options, it’s actively updated, and it feels like the developers actually care about supporting the product. Build quality seems fine for daily use, but it’s basically a chunk of plastic with a clip, nothing fancy. The buttons take some getting used to, and there’s a lot I still haven’t messed with yet. This probably isn’t the device for someone who just wants super simple plug-and-play. But if you want flexibility and control in a small portable DAC/amp, it’s hard to beat for the price.

The Qudelix 5K truly is an awesome product. Don't know if it's exactly worth the price but it certainly is excellent. I've been using it paired with Truthear Hexa IEMs and with an iPhone/Mac/Windows PC over Bluetooth and USB (for each device). It's a great product effectively delivering a GREAT sound quality. I can't hear any difference with my IEMs used directly with the cable. It's awesome for this. With such IEMs, power will never be a problem as you'll completely annihilate your ears before you reach half the full volume of this thing. The volume automatically syncs with your device's so that it always delivers the best audio quality no matter the volume set on the source device (you don't have to worry about absolute volume on Bluetooth). The app is incredibly full of options. There's settings for EVERYTHING. I never had any lag when changing the settings, they're well saved, it's responding lightning fast, you can set an EQ with up to 20 bands... I can't say much about durability yet, but it's very small. I could fit two of these products inside a single hand. The clip is really good so I can attach it to my jeans, vest, or anything really. It's light enough that if it ever falls, the cable of the IEMs will retain it from falling. Oh and also, you can connect (simultaneously) up to 2 devices over Bluetooth as well as an additional device over USB (all 3 at the same time). It switches very intelligently and quickly over these 3 devices. The integrated microphone isn't very good, but I'm pretty sure no one will buy this product for that. If needed, you can plug in an external mic to use with it. It works flawlessly and is also available to set up within the app. If you're wondering whether you should buy this product, just buy it. It's EXCELLENT.

This little DAC is incredible! The Bluetooth is reliable and has great range, along with the ability to control almost any settings you can think of. The battery lasts as long as I could reasonably want and its wonderful to be able to simply unplug it from my computer to switch from USB mode to BT mode. The custom EQ is obviously a huge selling point of the device, and it doesn't disappoint. While audiophiles will argue to the ends of the earth about how various BT modes might sound, nobody could reasonably pretend that any of that makes half as much of an impact as a good eq! The audio quality is incredible, and the ease of use is even better. Near instant device switching, a fantastic app, easy to use EQ, and a convenient form facto really make this the one adapter to ruel them all.

this dac/amp has a lot of functionality and a lot of really good features. it sounds amazing and has enough power for any iem but can also handle a fair amount of headphones as well. i can drive things like my hifiman sundara or aune ar5000 no problem. the best feature is the app that has preset EQ from other users for tons of headphones plus a great EQ feature that allows you precise control over EQ

I had a bad cable on my IEMs which ended up damaging one of the amplifier chips in my EarStudio ES100 MkII (some crackling in the left channel on both 2.5mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced). When looking for a suitable replacement, I wanted something that was at least the same level of functionality and configurability as the ES100 but with USB-C. The decision came down to the Fiio BRT5 and the Qudelix-5K as both had USB-C and a 2.5mm balanced output (BRT15 was out since it did not have 2.5mm balanced). After seeing how configurable the 5K was through the app, it was a no brainer for me. SOUND QUALITY: In terms of sound quality, I cannot tell a difference between the ES100 MkII and the 5K. Granted, I have only used one set of IEMs for daily listening (Etymotic ER2XR) and cannot do A-B testing since my ES100 is damaged, so far from a scientific comparison. There is no hissing at all that I can tell when things are quiet or music paused. The volume goes higher than I would ever want to go. I have absolutely no complaints about the sound quality. It is honestly incredible how much value you get from something so small and portable! Definitely in the top of this price bracket! ANDROID APP: In terms of the app, it is a function over form sort of affair. It isn't the most intuitive layout with each section or page having multiple tabs. Sometimes it takes a bit of hunting around to find the setting you want to mess with. Also, there is a lot of plain text with little styling to distinguish between a simple status or reading and a configurable option. It is a simple black background with white, grey, and red text. The functionality is all there and I have no complaints about what it is capable of, just that it could use the touch of someone who specializes in user interfaces to take it to the next level. 5/5 on functionality, 3/5 on ease of use. BATTERY: As for battery life, this is really where I wish things could be better. Compared to my 2.5 year old ES100 MkII, I get significantly less battery life out of the 2.5mm balanced output on the 5K. I'm using the 5K in much the same way I did with the ES100: LDAC from my phone (44.1KHz sample rate, 24-bit, adaptive bitrate that often sits at 909/990), 2.5mm balanced output, ER2XR IEMs, similar listening volumes, no DSP/EQ enabled, no oversampling, battery charging limited to ~80%. With the ES100 MkII I could get 10-12 hours of listening on the balanced output. With the 5K, I'm only getting around 7-8 hours. I am charging every day or two which is too frequent for me (battery capacity will degrade to 80% of nominal in only a few years at this rate). That pushed me to create an adapter to turn my 2.5mm balanced cable into a 3.5mm unbalanced cable to see if I could notice a difference in audio quality and battery life. Using 3.5mm unbalanced with normal gain (1V RMS) and performance mode at the exact same listening volumes on the same IEMs, I get 10-11 hours of listening from an 80% charge (3-4 hours more than before). The audio quality is slightly worse as far as I can discern with everything being slightly more muddy and less refined, but I can only tell when looking for a difference, not during casual listening. Considering the gain in battery life is significant and I cannot make the 2.5mm balanced output battery life any better, I think I will continue to use my custom adapter cable that way I can choose between balanced and unbalanced at any time. I may also resort to simply plugging the 5K into a charger while sitting at my desk and disable charging so the battery doesn't experience any unnecessary wear. That is one thing I do really like about the 5K, the behavior when plugged into USB is very configurable and does not disconnect or interrupt the bluetooth connection unlike the ES100. I can plug into or disconnect from USB, change most settings, enable or disable charging, etc. all at will without interrupting my listening session. OVERALL: For me, the Qudelix-5k is a no-brainer for IEMs! The price is spot on for the features, sound quality, portability, and and flexibility you get out of this device. The battery life is less than I would like but I would consider myself a heavy user with 4-8 hours of listening most days of the week. Either way, this is certainly a device I can recommend!

I have playing with this little dac/amp for about a day. I've connected it to both my home PC (windows 10) and my iPad. I've been streaming from Amazon music HD and Pandora. Here's some initial impressions. The device itself is really small and the buttons are very small and awkward. It's tricky to not misfire because of their placement. It would be great if there were clear labels for each button. Curiously there ARE labels on the box it came in. Almost all of the adjustments are made using the Quedlix app. I've installed it on my iPad as well as the plug-in for Windows chrome. The app has a LOT of settings and the instructions are pretty sparse. I was able to get more information searching around on the web however. Although I was able to establish a bluetooth connection with each device, I've been mostly using a USB cable on both my PC and iPad. On bluetooth the quality is not quite as good 16bit/44.1k according to Amazon music. Hardwired I get 24bit/96k. The shining light on this device is the equalization options. There are many! You can switch between multiple configurations, 10 or 20 graphic equalizer, PEQ or use pre-sets. I have been fine tuning for multiple headphones. My go-to headphones are Beyerdynamic 990's. The amp drives these with ease. Once equalized the sound is quite pleasing with a decent soundstage. It is great to finally have an option to have a full-fledged equalizations for iOS devices. For a little over $100 I'm impressed with value and functionality. A few things I would appreciate: A discrete on/off switch and a discrete, well labeled volume control. This is definitely a device that requires some serious configuration to get the best out of it. I will update if I run into any issues. So far, so good. One additional note. There's a case available from the manufacturer's website but not Amazon. It's $2.00 with a $10.00 shipping fee to my areas. It would be swell for either Amazon to carry the product or for the manufacturer to include in the purchase.

I purchased the Qudelix-5K to use with the IASUS High Def XSound 4 Helmet speakers. This combination is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted good quality audio in my snowmobile helmet. The Qudelix-5K powers the helmet speakers perfectly. They get plenty loud. I run the Qudelix-5K at about 60% volume level most of the time and I can hear my music clearly while riding at 60-70mph with my balaclava on. It automatically connects to my phone and with the settings in the app, you can configure it to your personal preference. My complete set up includes: Qudelix-5K (BT), IASUS High Def XSound 4 Helmet speakers (speakers), 3.5mm 4 Pole TRRS Audio Splitter Cable (connect my speakers and a mic to the Qudelix-5K), Headphone Extension Cable 4 Pole TRRS 3.5mm Extension. I run the cable extender from my helmet into my coat where I have the Qudelix-5K. Overall, this product works perfectly for my setup.

Great little device and totally worth it. If you’re using good wired headphones, this is a perfect way to keep using them with an iPhone. Works flawlessly, the interface is easy to understand, and Bluetooth works really well. I mainly use it with my 64 Audio U12t and it drives them without any issues. Sound quality is excellent.