Xduoo XQ-50 Pro

Introduction
Xduoo is a popular company from China with a number of years of experience. They are focused on development, design and distributing high end audio products.
They make multiple headphone amplifiers, portable headphone amplifiers and digital audio players. They are the makers of the famous XD05 portable headphone amplifier. Today we
get to review the Xduoo XQ50 Pro which is a bluetooth receiver and dac combo.



Specifications
USB Interface: Type C
Power Input: DC 5V / 1A
Display: OLED, 128 * 64 pixels
Bluetooth Specification Version: 5.0
Bluetooth Chip: CSR8675
Bluetooth Audio Support Formats: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX_LL, aptX_HD, LDAC
Transmission Distance:About 10 Meters

Size: 10.5 * 7.6 * 3.4cm
Weight:165G

THD + N:
Optical Output: 0.00087%
Coaxial Output: 0.00087%
AUX OUT: 0.07%

Output Level:
Optical Output: 0.5Vp-p
Coaxial Output: 0.5Vp-p
AUX OUT: 2.5V

Accessories:
1 x Xduoo XQ-50pro Receiver
1 x TYPE-C Cable
1 x Bluetooth Antenna
1 x Manual
1 x Warranty card



Features
XQ50 Pro features a nice oled display which is of high quality. It displays track name, sample rate and format of the track. The resolution of the screen is good.
The unit has a push button in front that can be used to play and pause the track and the response is quite fast. Speaking of formats it supports AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and LDAC.
The bluetooth input is bluetooth 5.0 and the dac chip used is ES9018K2M. That's right! the XQ50 Pro has an inbuilt DAC and can be used as a standalone bluetooth DAC if you want to. The pairing is super fast
due to the Bluetooth 5.0. A useful feature is that the USB can be directly used to connect to PC and use it as an USB DAC for your PC. It has coaxial and optical output to connect to an external dac so you can transform your existing dac to a bluetooth DAC
with the XQ50 Pro.



Sound Performance
I compared the bluetooth input and the wired mode by using the XQ50 Pro by using it as an USB DAC and I am happy to say that the bluetooth input sounds just as good as the USB mode! The dynamics of the sound are also on point in bluetooth mode and there is no harshness in the treble.
This means that the bluetooth input implemented here by Xduoo is really good.
The output of the XQ50 Pro as a standalone DAC is crisp and clear with a clean background with no obvious coloration. It is a very capable DAC. When connected to external DAC via the optical or coaxial output, the sound reproduction out of the dac was totally preserved
which means you can pair the XQ50 Pro with any DAC and still maintain its sound quality no matter what. Overall I am very pleased and satisfied with the performance of the XQ50 Pro.

Conclusion
I have tried a few bluetooth receivers before in the budget range and they were good but the XQ50 Pro is definitely a step up in the right direction. It is built well, the OLED screen is quite cool with its black background and the bluetooth input is very clean. What more can you ask for?

First things first…The unit was sent graciously enough by HiFiGo, in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions. You buy the same by clicking here.

Now…in this day and age…having a Bluetooth connection…that too an LDAC capable one… is a feature which is very much needed. Xduoo XQ50 pro is one such little beast that will add this awesome feature to your chain.

Build:

XQ50 pro has a black metallic build with an OLED display smacked at the from alongside a power/play-pause button. Long Press the power button after you feed the device power through the USB-C type port at the back and it comes to life. You will also find Optical, COAX, and RCA out at the back and a removable Bluetooth antenna.



Technical Specs:

• Bluetooth V5.0 functionality.
• Flagship Bluetooth Chip From Qualcomm, CSR8675.
• Hi-Res Bluetooth Codecs support including, SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX HD, AptX LL, LDAC.
• High-performance ES9018K2M DAC Chip.
• High-performance CS8406 Conversion Chip.
• THD+N (Optical): 0.00087%.
• THD+N (Coaxial): 0.00087%.
• THD+N (Aux): 0.07%.
• Output Power (Optical): 0.5Vp-p.
• Output Power (Coaxial): 0.5Vp-p.
• Output Power (Aux): 2.5V.
• OLED Display: 128*64 Pixels.
• Size: 10.5cm x 7.6cm x 3.4cm
• Power Input: DC5V/1A.
• USB Input.

Functionality:

You can use XQ50 Pro as a standalone DAC or as a Bluetooth DAC which can be connected to your phone or your laptop. It supports all hi-res codecs including, SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX HD, AptX LL, LDAC. I used it connected as a Bluetooth DAC feeding the stream to my active speakers and I was so happy.

Sound Impressions:

I loved it. The screen shows little details like the track name, the quality of the stream, and the codec being used. There was degradation in the sound quality whatsoever and also there was no coloration noticed as well. The songs were streamed from apple music and the dynamics were on point. The stage was not reduced, and the overall presentation was gorgeous. Clean and good output.



Conclusions:

One small device…one big leap for your chain. Add a good high-quality Bluetooth connection with an OLED display combined with OPT and COAX outputs

Wireless Bluetooth connection is a must-have feature in today’s devices. Most of the mid and high-end audio decoders(we commonly know as USB DAC’s) feature Bluetooth input functionality. But what to do with older devices? Is there any solution for an entry-level DAC system to feed them audio signals via Bluetooth? The answer is yes. xDuoo XQ50 Pro is one such device that can be used for adding Bluetooth input to desktop systems or can even be used as a USB DAC on itself. I got the opportunity to try out the xDuoo XQ50 Pro, today I am sharing my impressions on the same.

Disclaimer:-

xDuoo XQ50 Pro was provided to me by HiFiGo. All impressions in this blog are completely my own based on my own usage with the device. You can purchase it from their store at the link below. For saving on custom taxes, I asked them to ship me the xDuoo XQ50 Pro without the retail packaging. I got the unit itself along with a USB Type-C cable.

XDUOO XQ-50 PRO Buletooth 5.0 DAC Audio Receiver Converter support PC — HiFiGo

Design & Build Quality:-


xDuoo XQ50 Pro has a metallic build with a smooth black finish. It has a small OLED display on the front with a single power button. We have to hold this button down to start or turn off the device. The display here shows some basic information like the active Bluetooth codec such as APTX HD, LDAC, track title, and active file bitrate. On the back, we have input/output connection ports. It has a USB Type-C port that can be used For USB DAC or power input. We have three different output options, one analog RCA aux output, and two digital outputs(Coaxial and Optical). Unlike other bulky or heavier devices in a desktop stack, the XQ50 Pro is compact and can be carried easily. With RCA output it can also be used with active speakers to provide them with Bluetooth input.


Functionality As A Bluetooth DAC:-

The XQ50 Pro can either be used as a USB DAC with a windows/Mac pc or as a Bluetooth DAC connected to our smartphones via Bluetooth. It supports all the latest Bluetooth Codecs including LDAC, APTX HD, AptX, AAC, and SBC. You can feed a signal from XQ50 Pro to an amplifier/speaker system via RCA output or can use it as a digital transport via optical and coaxial connections to further devices. I personally used the XQ50 Pro connected to my Samsung S6 Lite tablet further providing a signal to the Topping E30 via Optical connection that outputs to Cayin tube headphone amplifier. My Topping E30 doesn’t have Bluetooth input, so XQ50 Pro in my chain actually served me well.

The Bluetooth connection with LDAC(Best Available BT transmission with it) is super smooth. There is no noticeable lag or delay in the signal transmission with coverage over a long distance. I can easily wander around in my room without any signal loss or breakage. As a Bluetooth DAC, I would say this serves its purpose fantastically.

Functionality As A USB DAC:-

XQ50 Pro houses an ES9018K2M Sabre DAC chip that handles USB DAC functionality with the device. While the USB DAC functionality is decent with no noticeable hiss or background noise, the limitation here is that the XQ-50 Pro decodes only PCM 16Bit/48kHz and has no support for native DSD decoding. As a USB DAC, I would say this is not the best device out there.

Sound Quality:-

In terms of sound, XQ50 Pro presents a quite detailed and smooth sound signature. I loved it when I listened to my HD600 with my stack and fed the signal via Bluetooth connection to the XQ50 Pro. LDAC codec enables the best performance with Wireless Bluetooth transmission. There is no sound degradation or coloration while using the XQ50 Pro in the chain. While using it as a USB DAC, I notice the sound getting a bit thin but maintains good clarity and detail(While using it as a USB DAC I connected it directly to my amplifier.

A Few Final Words:-

xDuoo XQ50 Pro is an amazing device, especially when used as a Bluetooth device. I personally find it so clean and rich sounding when I use its optical output with my Topping E30. I always missed Bluetooth connectivity on my DAC as I had to boot my entire PC for music, now I can directly enjoy music with my smartphone or tablet connected to it. It’s gonna be in my collection for long now!!

Disclaimer : The unit was sent by Hifigo as a part of a review tour but all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can purchase it here.

Functionality
This tiny box seems to be packing a lot more than meets the eye. The biggest improvement over the regular XQ50 is the inclusion of an OLED display which is genuinely functional.
It shows the format, track name and track details. It upgrades the bluetooth chipset to the flagship CSR8675 from Qualcomm from the QCC3008 found in the regular XQ50.
This change brought about the inclusion of AptX HD, AptX LL, LDAC and the pairing & connection process is a breeze. The bluetooth signal remained unfazed even when there walls between my phone and it. I guess the high gain antenna is doing its job.
The main use case of a device like this is to add bluetooth functionality to your DAC. But that's not it, it already has a Sabre DAC inside of itself. That means you can use it as a standalone DAC and output the analog signal via its RCA ports on the back to your amp, if not using this way, the digital outputs connect to your DAC. An underappreciated feature is the front on/off and play/pause combo switch. That just takes the convenience factor up a few notches. Instead of fiddling with your phone or PC, operating the switch is much faster and simpler.



Sound Performance
I found absolutely no difference while using the bluetooth input of XQ 50 Pro when compared to the other digital inputs of my DAC when using other wired sources. I used the LDAC platform when analyzing this. Connection took only like a couple of seconds consistently.
I found no degradation in sound when using the bluetooth input -> digital output to my DAC. I got the same level of dynamics, absolutely no hint of "digital glare" or any sort of nasty glitches in sound. As a DDC then, the XQ50 Pro is a worthy buy due to its functionalities.
When using the internal DAC of the XQ50 Pro, the output was clean, although a bit sterile and dry sounding but when judging its overall performance, is on par with budget desktop DACs in the 100 USD price range more or less.



Conclusion
Bluetooth DDCs in general being quite utilitarian in nature, the XQ50 Pro is worth it to many just because of the functional OLED Display. If you want to add bluetooth input to your DAC and overall improve the convenience of using your hifi setup, these devices are quite useful.
Meanwhile, Xduoo seems to have released the XQ50 Pro 2 which sees a few chipset changes and the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.1 instead of 5.0. I am guessing the Pro 2 will perform identically so the conclusion remains the same.