This is just a short impression of my time with the Quidelix 71T iem and AMP dac. It’s a complicated product that I made a longer form video review on it. It’s a great unit overall that has a lot of positives. It has great power a transparent sound and a lot of unique features. This is a short loan that I have got to listen to for a while now. I test a lot of iems and headphones and find this to have a lot great qualities, but a tiny bit of an intimidating learning curve. I did do a Video review, and was asked by the company to do a written impression. So I’m trying my best to summarize the video and many of my feelings on this amp dac without it actually being on me and I did have a lot of notes that I made for my video that made this impression easy.
IEM
The iem is fantastic. The fit is basically perfect for me and I feel it is made of quality materials, it has a nice case, and very nice selection of tips, and is extremely comfortable, which is important for an iem like this.
The stock sound on the iem is slightly lacking. I recommend EQ, but the good thing is that this can only be used with the Quidelix app and 71T so equing is easily done. Sound is by no means bad, just not my cup of tea.
This Eq is here:
Preamp: -9.3 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 1.9 dB Q 0.900
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 100 Hz Gain -5.3 dB Q 1.100
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 680 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 1.900
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1500 Hz Gain 5.2 dB Q 1.500
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2400 Hz Gain -2.4 dB Q 2.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2700 Hz Gain -1.9 dB Q 2.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 3400 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 4600 Hz Gain -5.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 11000 Hz Gain -5.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain 12.0 dB Q 2.000
Amp Specs:
Specs:
- NXP iMXRT600 ARM + DSP Core
- Four ES9219C SABRE HiFi® DAC
- Two Texas Instruments INA1620 AMP
- Unbalanced output max. 4V RMS (3.5mm)
- Balanced output max. 8V RMS (2.5 & 4.4mm)
- 4~10 hours battery time (1000mA Battery)
- 2.0 Channel Stereo Mode 384KHz / 32-bit
- 7.1 Channel Surround Mode 96KHz / 32-bit
- 20-Band Equalizer
- Two High Sensitivity MEMS Microphones
- PC Chrome App Windows/macOS/Linux
- 84 x 40 x 1.6mm / 75g
- Aluminum CNC Body / Plastic Bottom case
No audible noise to the amp at all and you can also adjust left and right independently.
Adjust left and right independently.
CASE
There is a case that you can buy for 10 dollars, it’s pretty nice to use on an iphone or another phone that can utilize the magnetic style case. It’s nice, it’s practical and easy to put on.
VS Quidelix 5k
The Qk5 is Smaller, it has passthrough charging which can be an issue. It is less expensive but ohh so portable and has an awesome clip. It has few faults, but having a 4.4mm out is one of them. So the Q71T 100% fixes that. Bluetooth is such an important thing to have on the go. This becomes a shirt clip. It’s so small and powerful it’s hard not to call the GOAT (Greatest of all time), so to find a device that is better is hard.
For Desktop use I 100% prefer the t71 as it has greater build quality and stays on my desk more easily when moving around. But it’s hard to deny the q5 for many people still retains its title unfortunately.
I would love a larger 6k or some kind of device with a little more build quality with a 4.4 mm out, and a 3.5mm out, and a USB-C out for other iems as I feel usb-C iems are all the rage and not going away. I would even pay a premium for a desktop style device with more connections like 6.5mm, as well and a larger durable amp with more power. Almost like a quidelix desktop dac or amp. Quidelix is a company that I will follow what they do in the future.
Conclusion:
I overall enjoy the Quidelix 71T. As someone with a more totl end game dac and amp I still see value in a dac amp like this. I fully enjoy this device and depending on your portable needs this could be a very good solution that could also be a full time desktop use as well. I don’t find the iem to be a great value, but a nice toy to add to the experience, but I also feel you could add your own iem to Quidelix 5k and not have any problems with eq. So if you need a nice quality iem, it’s an option, but by no mean necessary. This is a midfi king, for users who need the dac amp in their life on a phone that is locked down like the new iphones with usb-c or just want a nice bluetooth dac for their phone or personal computer.
While I could see people wanting a different dongle I do find this dongle to be competitive sonically and desirable in feature set for many iphone users. For this iphone user, I think I just need the basic Q5k for my time on the go, and I can EQ at my desk with Peace APO. But if it’s a useful thing for you to use on the go, or a desktop replacement for you, it’s fantastic and represents great value against something like the 17000 Fugaku or other expensive portable amps that are more expensive with less features.
