[Music junky]

Omg! Just down loaded boston. DSD. From HD tracks. Omg!!!!! This Qp1r. ROCKS! IT! BIG! Like you are standing in the studio as the band rocks out!.... there gose my wallet!

 

[Philliesfan]

I've had the QP1 (non R) for about a week now (I'm the lucky guy who won one at CANJAM SOCAL) and can vouch for it's amazing sound quality. I haven't had to chance to put it side by side with the reference version, but can't imagine any better clarity, air, impact, and ability to drive headphones without additional amps or dacs in the daisy chain.  I trust the folks at Questyle that the R is even better, but the QP1 is end game for me. 
 
I've been busy getting my son married off, so I won't attempt an exhaustive review. Just some observations.
 
The QP1 drives my Sennheiser HD 600s easily on it high gain setting. Usually I'm listening at or below 40 on the 0-60 volume scale. So there is plenty of head room on this 300 ohm set of cans.  I've purchased a short after-market cable and am enjoying these classics wherever I want to sit down, rather than tethered to a desk top amp or a portable amp.  It also easily drives my home modified Fostex T50RP headphones, bringing out the music in these also tricky-to-drive phones. It also sounds great on the much less demanding Grado 80s, and my Turbulent Labs Magnum X woodies.
 
But what amazes me even more is that I can plug my sensitive in-ear monitors and just turn down the volume, still on high gain, without any hiss. I haven't found the need to switch to low or mid gain settings with any headphone yet, although it's a very simple deal.
 
Silence, that key space between notes that is key to space and emotion, is still pure black even on high gain with sensitive phones. The super low output impedance is great for my finicky Sony BA-4i and Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10s. These are both in ear headphones that can get squirrely with some sources, making the bass bloated and sucking the joy out of the mids. The Sony's are designed without any crossover network, each balanced armature is tuned to the frequencies it is to reproduce, but that only works with low output impedance not gumming up the frequency responses of the individual drivers. In fact, Sony designed it for the iPhone 4 series and didn't recommend it with their own players at the time. I held off upgrading my 4S phone because the iPhone 5 had a slightly higher impedance that sounded bad on these phones when I tested them out at the Apple Store. The iPhone 6 fixed that, and I upgraded and love the audio out on that device. Or I did. Until I compared the same rips on both players.
 
The QP1 just has more detail, soundstage, bass impact and pure musicality -- and this is with 320 mp3 rips and phones that both sources can drive well. The sample DSD tracks included with the QP1 are even better, but that could also be a factor of better mastering as well, so I won't go that far until I can rip some vinyl and play the same hi res tracks on both devices.
 
Other observations:  As people have noted, the surface of the track selection wheel is slippery when you first get it. If you put a circle of screen saver plastic over it, it works like a charm. So does moistening you finger tip to get a better grip. So if you aren't sharing it with others, there's really no reason to complain about it not easily tracking to select songs. Just think of the music as finger-licking good.
 
I use iTunes on an iMac to rip and archive my music. I was worried about those silent files someone complained about showing up in Mac transfers. But I have had no problems copying music from my iTunes library directly to the QP1. The Mac recognizes it as a drive. And iTunes even transfers the album art in most cases. In fact, it works better than transferring from a separate folder I use to store my rips, because iTunes actually puts a number in front of the song name to preserve the order of the tracks. The regular folder does not, so music I transferred from those files plays in alphabetical order. I will have to remember to add those numbers to file names when I rip vinyl at higher than the 16 bit max of iTunes. 
 
I will probably eventually get that custom leather case, especially if they add a front flap, but I did order a cheap belt-clip sleeve from Amazon designed for iPhone 6 in a protective case that works great for now. I also found a generic neoprene armband case at a Everything's a Dollar store that fits great. A few snips with scissors on the clear front to open up the physical wheel for navigation and some snips of the cover flap to open up the volume knob and enlarge the headphone jack hole and you have a great, cheap, protective case. I removed the arm band, though, it just got in the way since I don't run.
 

The included micro USB cord works just fine. I don't know why anyone would complain about the recessed plug being a deal breaker. It's not like they don't give you a perfectly good recharging cable when you buy your unit. And I have found about five additional cords I had around the house, that came with cell phones or battery back up chargers, that also fit just fine. It's pretty easy to tell if it will or won't. The metal plug has to be a little longer than usual, and the plastic sleeve can't be too bulky. You can feel it click in when it seats properly. Since Questyle will now sell you extras if you can't find your own, I don't see any problems.
 
Speaking of Questyle, I can't say enough about them and Bruce Ball. It was a long wait from the drawing in April to shipment in mid November. Especially since the QP1 run was put off until early QP1r orders were filled.  Bruce, however, actually called and emailed me from his car on his wedding day to let me know he had shipped my unit. And since mine was a freebee,and we only met that once after the drawing, he had no personal, financial or business reason to interrupt his drive to the altar to do that. It bodes well for those who are actually paying the man for a product.
 
I gave no promise to do anything but take my prize when it shipped. So these comments are purely my own, without compensation or expectation of anything else. Hey, what more do I need. I have an end game portable player right now that, for me, eliminates the need to keep lusting after new amps, dacs or players. Now, new headphones could be another matter. I wonder how much better an HD 700 or HD 800 would sound on this thing. Or an LCD 3....Ether....or HiFiMan 1000.  There goes my wallet once again. As we all know, in this hobby even free can wind up costing you an arm and a leg.
 
Thanks again Bruce and the gang at Questyle. You have designed an amazing product. I wish you all the best of luck. Now I am going to do a little more listening and lurking. 

 

[rcoleman1]

Great summary @Philliesfan. I have the QP1R and my response is equal to all your points.This really is a great product IMO.

 

[514077]

  I've had the QP1 (non R) for about a week now (I'm the lucky guy who won one at CANJAM SOCAL) and can vouch for it's amazing sound quality. I haven't had to chance to put it side by side with the reference version, but can't imagine any better clarity, air, impact, and ability to drive headphones without additional amps or dacs in the daisy chain.  I trust the folks at Questyle that the R is even better, but the QP1 is end game for me. 
 
I've been busy getting my son married off, so I won't attempt an exhaustive review. Just some observations.
 
The QP1 drives my Sennheiser HD 600s easily on it high gain setting. Usually I'm listening at or below 40 on the 0-60 volume scale. So there is plenty of head room on this 300 ohm set of cans.  I've purchased a short after-market cable and am enjoying these classics wherever I want to sit down, rather than tethered to a desk top amp or a portable amp.  It also easily drives my home modified Fostex T50RP headphones, bringing out the music in these also tricky-to-drive phones. It also sounds great on the much less demanding Grado 80s, and my Turbulent Labs Magnum X woodies.
 
But what amazes me even more is that I can plug my sensitive in-ear monitors and just turn down the volume, still on high gain, without any hiss. I haven't found the need to switch to low or mid gain settings with any headphone yet, although it's a very simple deal.
 
Silence, that key space between notes that is key to space and emotion, is still pure black even on high gain with sensitive phones. The super low output impedance is great for my finicky Sony BA-4i and Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10s. These are both in ear headphones that can get squirrely with some sources, making the bass bloated and sucking the joy out of the mids. The Sony's are designed without any crossover network, each balanced armature is tuned to the frequencies it is to reproduce, but that only works with low output impedance not gumming up the frequency responses of the individual drivers. In fact, Sony designed it for the iPhone 4 series and didn't recommend it with their own players at the time. I held off upgrading my 4S phone because the iPhone 5 had a slightly higher impedance that sounded bad on these phones when I tested them out at the Apple Store. The iPhone 6 fixed that, and I upgraded and love the audio out on that device. Or I did. Until I compared the same rips on both players.
 
The QP1 just has more detail, soundstage, bass impact and pure musicality -- and this is with 320 mp3 rips and phones that both sources can drive well. The sample DSD tracks included with the QP1 are even better, but that could also be a factor of better mastering as well, so I won't go that far until I can rip some vinyl and play the same hi res tracks on both devices.
 
Other observations:  As people have noted, the surface of the track selection wheel is slippery when you first get it. If you put a circle of screen saver plastic over it, it works like a charm. So does moistening you finger tip to get a better grip. So if you aren't sharing it with others, there's really no reason to complain about it not easily tracking to select songs. Just think of the music as finger-licking good.
 
I use iTunes on an iMac to rip and archive my music. I was worried about those silent files someone complained about showing up in Mac transfers. But I have had no problems copying music from my iTunes library directly to the QP1. The Mac recognizes it as a drive. And iTunes even transfers the album art in most cases. In fact, it works better than transferring from a separate folder I use to store my rips, because iTunes actually puts a number in front of the song name to preserve the order of the tracks. The regular folder does not, so music I transferred from those files plays in alphabetical order. I will have to remember to add those numbers to file names when I rip vinyl at higher than the 16 bit max of iTunes. 
 
I will probably eventually get that custom leather case, especially if they add a front flap, but I did order a cheap belt-clip sleeve from Amazon designed for iPhone 6 in a protective case that works great for now. I also found a generic neoprene armband case at a Everything's a Dollar store that fits great. A few snips with scissors on the clear front to open up the physical wheel for navigation and some snips of the cover flap to open up the volume knob and enlarge the headphone jack hole and you have a great, cheap, protective case. I removed the arm band, though, it just got in the way since I don't run.
 

The included micro USB cord works just fine. I don't know why anyone would complain about the recessed plug being a deal breaker. It's not like they don't give you a perfectly good recharging cable when you buy your unit. And I have found about five additional cords I had around the house, that came with cell phones or battery back up chargers, that also fit just fine. It's pretty easy to tell if it will or won't. The metal plug has to be a little longer than usual, and the plastic sleeve can't be too bulky. You can feel it click in when it seats properly. Since Questyle will now sell you extras if you can't find your own, I don't see any problems.
 
Speaking of Questyle, I can't say enough about them and Bruce Ball. It was a long wait from the drawing in April to shipment in mid November. Especially since the QP1 run was put off until early QP1r orders were filled.  Bruce, however, actually called and emailed me from his car on his wedding day to let me know he had shipped my unit. And since mine was a freebee,and we only met that once after the drawing, he had no personal, financial or business reason to interrupt his drive to the altar to do that. It bodes well for those who are actually paying the man for a product.
 
I gave no promise to do anything but take my prize when it shipped. So these comments are purely my own, without compensation or expectation of anything else. Hey, what more do I need. I have an end game portable player right now that, for me, eliminates the need to keep lusting after new amps, dacs or players. Now, new headphones could be another matter. I wonder how much better an HD 700 or HD 800 would sound on this thing. Or an LCD 3....Ether....or HiFiMan 1000.  There goes my wallet once again. As we all know, in this hobby even free can wind up costing you an arm and a leg.
 
Thanks again Bruce and the gang at Questyle. You have designed an amazing product. I wish you all the best of luck. Now I am going to do a little more listening and lurking. 

That was an  enjoyable review.  And I was actually going to enquire about the included DSD tracks.  I wouldn't mind owning the albums they came from, if they're available.
Of course, I treated myself to the 'Pawnshop' ddoubleDSD files, and they are so clear.

 

[Gurashieruro]

Superb write-up! I can agree with that. I own the QP1R so I can tell you it is a fantastic DAP. I'm still in the midsts of getting everything nice and tidy in my audio library. I had some problems with clipping which I found on two of my expensive mSD cards, so I had to redownload and retag EVERYTHING. So now everything finally is nice and runs smooth. So I'll update my thoughts on the QP1R:

Recently I have have downloaded more of a Japanese band called CROW'SCLAW. While I can't find high-quality FLAC versions of their songs, I am able to get 320kbps MP3s of all their songs. Anyways, they are a metal/rock band and so there's lots of distortion at some times and other times not so much. With my QP1R + Westone W60 (w/UM56 tips), their songs really sing. Everything is beautifully separated and interestingly, I can hear the rifts through all the distortions and effects. Meanwhile, the drums, bass, and vocals remain true and are pronounced in their separate area. Its fantastic.
While I can't compare a dedicated audio player to a phone, my Note 4 can't even get any bit of this right. When I mean none, I am quite firm in that statement. Everything sounds muddy and its hard to hear anything definate. Its like as if someone loaded all the audio tracks into Adobe Audition and just left everything as is. Its an absolute mess compared to the QP1R. The difference becomes even more vast when comparing it to even higher versions of songs, like FLACs.
So for a genre that stereotypically sounds dark, muddy, and uncontrolled, the QP1R shines new light on the genre, or at least for CROW'SCLAW. I frankly was more surprised by the difference as I had that previous expectation. Thanks to Bruce, the guys at Questyle, and the one guy who asked Dignis to make a case for the QP1R. I am still rediscovering music but man is this one hell of a ride of audio bliss.

 

[mwhals]

I feel this will be my first DAP. I am still waiting on the fix for the 5,800 song limit before I buy.

 

[vilhelm44]

Where does the QP1R fall in terms of SQ? I'm coming ZX2, N6, P1, AK100ii, Lotoo Paw Gold, DX90 and would like to try something new. I was going to go for the Chord Mojo but after reading reviews on the QP1R, I'm starting to change my mind.
 
Is the QPR1 a challenger to the AK240 and 380 from a sound point only?

 

[Gurashieruro]

  Where does the QP1R fall in terms of SQ? I'm coming ZX2, N6, P1, AK100ii, Lotoo Paw Gold, DX90 and would like to try something new. I was going to go for the Chord Mojo but after reading reviews on the QP1R, I'm starting to change my mind.
 
Is the QPR1 a challenger to the AK240 and 380 from a sound point only?

From what I understand by those who have listened or own the AK240 and 380, they seem to like the QP1R more. Actually, people have mentioned the 380 is beaten by the QP1R in the sound department. I'll wait to see if anyone can back-up what I said. Look up Moedog's review. He might have something that might solve your question.

 

[cheznous]

Where does the QP1R fall in terms of SQ? I'm coming ZX2, N6, P1, AK100ii, Lotoo Paw Gold, DX90 and would like to try something new. I was going to go for the Chord Mojo but after reading reviews on the QP1R, I'm starting to change my mind.

Is the QPR1 a challenger to the AK240 and 380 from a sound point only?

The Mojo is fine sounding DAC/amp but the QP1R,in my opinion,sounds better.
Likewise I own the ZX2, Cowon P1 and AK240. I owned the AK380 and returned it as it showed no improvement over the others. Mustn't forget the Hugo either.
The QP1R is better sounding than any of them.
Though I have to say I prefer it with Headphones,LCDX to IEM,Layla.
It just has such synergy with the Audeze and the detail is amazing. Whether it's Van Morrison or the Replacements I hear little additional bits of the music I have missed with other DAPs.

 

[Gurashieruro]

The Mojo is fine sounding DAC/amp but the QP1R,in my opinion,sounds better.
Likewise I own the ZX2, Cowon P1 and AK240. I owned the AK380 and returned it as it showed no improvement over the others. Mustn't forget the Hugo either.
The QP1R is better sounding than any of them.
Though I have to say I prefer it with Headphones,LCDX to IEM,Layla.
It just has such synergy with the Audeze and the detail is amazing. Whether it's Van Morrison or the Replacements I hear little additional bits of the music I have missed with other DAPs.

Interesting. Good to hear that I am hearing the same as I said prior. I have to admit though the QP1R sounds good with almost everything, if not everything. If my Best Buy store carried anything other than the HD700, I would post more opinions but I leave it to the big boys for that.

 

[longbowbbs]

Nice deal on amazon for 200GB cards!
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V62XBQQ/

 

[JimNoyd]

  Nice deal on amazon for 200GB cards!
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V62XBQQ/

super deal, thanks!

 

[longbowbbs]

I may need to ask for commission...

 

[rcoleman1]

The Mojo is fine sounding DAC/amp but the QP1R,in my opinion,sounds better.
Likewise I own the ZX2, Cowon P1 and AK240. I owned the AK380 and returned it as it showed no improvement over the others. Mustn't forget the Hugo either.
The QP1R is better sounding than any of them.
Though I have to say I prefer it with Headphones,LCDX to IEM,Layla.
It just has such synergy with the Audeze and the detail is amazing. Whether it's Van Morrison or the Replacements I hear little additional bits of the music I have missed with other DAPs.

I totally agree. Love the QP1R with my Audeze LCD-Xs. Haven't heard the Mojo but I can't imagine it getting much better than this. 

 

 

[bearFNF]

  I may need to ask for commission...

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