QLS QA 350 WAV: A new portable player with digital output - Page 9

I only have the impressions of longstanding Head-Fiers to go by on the 801, but my interest was rekindled by the addition of the balanced amp module. If I didnt own the RE262, or didnt think so highly of that particular product, I might be inclined to dismiss the whole thing as 'too expensive' - for now, it remains the pinnacle for me. If the iBasso proves to be a worthy competitor, fantastic, but I'm less inclined to declare it such based purely on the silicon. I have championed iBasso's P4 amp here for many months and I still use their cables, but I'd prefer to wait till the DX100 is released before allowing myself too much wanton excitement.

 

I hold Hifiman's IEMs in high regard (262 and 272 in particular), but I am always a little skeptical of their players. I am getting a HM-601 as loaner for a few days. While it's not exactly HM-801, but at least I'd be able to do a direct comparison of QA350 and HM-601 to see which one I prefer. The only issue is I cannot experiment with Rockbox and have to live with the stock UI. I know that Mike @ Headfonia prefers the HM-60X over QA350, but my preferences are not exactly aligned with his (he likes warmer sounding devices more). If my experience with HM-601 turns out to be good, I might consider HM-801 sometime in the future.

I'm in no immediate hurry - if the explosion of new gear at the beginning of 2011 was any guide, the next couple of months could well break the hearts of those who have recently invested heavily in new portable kit, but that has been the risk since the day I arrived here. Those who hung on by their fingernails for the Fiio DAP must have been sorely disappointed, but thats the great thing about keeping money in the bank - someone else is always happy to take care of it for you !

Has anyone else tried the combination of QLS QA350 and iBasso P4?

I discovered this almost by accident, and have been very positively surprised by the result (especially with regard to resolution and soundstage).

This is now my standard OTG rig (with custom ZY silver mini-to-mini interconnect and well run-in GR07s)!

Is'nt the QA350 a little big on it's own? I cant imagine adding a second amp...

That's the point.  It's so big, adding another amp makes no difference, might as well.

 

Hell, if thats the case, said amp may as well be the Schiit Lyr.  

Try plugging that in on a plane!

Has anyone tried op-amp rolling on the QA 350 Mod. V2? I would like to have the option of occasional one-box use, but need to get rid of that thinness and top-end grain (I know I won't be able to turn it into a P4, but a worthwhile improvement would be nice - the P4 got me into op-amp rolling.....).

 

Also, using the Mod. V2 into Ety HF5s works well, but I am worried about accidentally knocking the volume control and blowing my eardrums out of my head (I usually run it at about 7-8 o'clock)! Is there a simple (and reversible) way of reducing the gain when using IEMs? I had thought about a resistor in series with the volume pot (but this would surely mess up the load impedance), or a straight volume pot swap for something more progressive. It would be great if DAPs had electronic volume controls with variable ramp-up curves (just an idea - maybe the new iBasso DAP already has it).

So navigation from album to album is not too difficult with QA350 (does its small screen show enough album title)?

I assume it will sound decent while driving full sized headphones such as DT880/600 ohm or LCD-2?

And this really does not play mp3s?

Thanks.

Edited by zzffnn - 1/4/12 at 1:56pm

I have been following this thread for the last couple of hours...sounds like the QLS QA 350 ver 2 is the way to go.  Looking at the pictures you can easily put pansonic FM or better yet FJ caps in this player.

Best sounding electrolytics I have ever heard...have modded Marantz and Cal Audio digital output sections with these...they sound like the best film caps...very similar to Aeon/Solen or even better.

 

FWIW...

 

jgwtriode