[samandhi]

I’ve spoken to VE several times about it. They keep assuring me that AE won’t steal my money, but AE is telling me that they won’t give my money back—they gave me the coupon. AE won’t really do anything until it’s been 60 days which is exactly when PayPal’s protection runs out. Looks like AE is probably aware of that. I’ve had 2 talks with AE’s customer service and several with Venture Electronics. I’ve begged them both to make it right. Now I’ve go PayPal involved too. I’ve checked tracking on the order nearly everyday for 2 months. It hasn’t budged. It’s still in China. I’ll just have to wait and see at this point.

Maybe just have Paypal get your money back, and then order them directly from VE? Sorry for your pain!

 

[Ronion]

Maybe just have Paypal get your money back, and then order them directly from VE? Sorry for your pain!

This is what I’m hoping for but it’s past PayPal’s buyer protection policy period. My original intent was to order through VE, but their website actually suggested I placed my order through AE… I think shipping is cheaper that way, but I don’t remember their rationale. My memory span for such matters seems to be about 2 weeks and it’s been more than now lol.

I tell you, the participants in this thread have to be the coolest people on the web! Thank you guys so much. I truly appreciate it. It’s amazing to me that people I’ve never met from all over the world care enough to be helpful. There’s hope for this comfy blue planet nestled 93 million miles away from its power source in this picturesque corner of the Milky Way yet.

 

[Ronion]

Not liking to smile at your misery. That sounds rough and I'm sorry you're going through it. Sounds very similar to my experience with Edifier, so I understand the frustration. My only words of encouragement are that the Edifier eventually showed up months down the road.

All of the courier services are having issues right now. Add international post and it's an extra level of complexity. We're definitely feeling the sting of that right now where I work.

Thanks brother, I appreciate it. I’ve had 2 other packages lost, both audio products, since the pandemic started. Both Drop and Brainwaves made it right the first time without a hint of hassle. They were both actually cool to talk to. Nothing but friendly. I’ll order more things from them in the future without a doubt. In fact I have since then.

 

[samandhi]

Now that I think about it, I had almost the same issue some years back when I ordered the Xioami Piston 2. It was actually my very first dealings with AE. I waited something like 2 1/2 months, and the tracking didn't change. AE claimed they were on the way. At that time I had no recourse because I didn't use Paypal (taught me fast). Turns out they sent it to the wrong address, in the wrong country. They DID finally make it right, and admitted what they had done.

I have to say, I really haven't had any issues of suspected dishonesty, rip-off, etc... with AE, though they have the be the absolute slowest shipping I have ever dealt with, except where AudioSense used their own shipping, and I received my T800 in 2 days (from China to USA).

I do really hope you get it resolved, as I hate to see anyone just trying to try new things and get shafted for the effort!

 

[Ronion]

It’s definitely a bummer. That’s the one ear bud shape that I want to try and haven’t had the opportunity due to this shipping issue and my reluctance to order another when I’ve already paid for one that I haven’t received.
In any case, I didn’t intend to hijack this thread with Ali bashing. Just to put the warning out there that if things go wrong they may very well be exceptionally reluctant to make it right. I’d hate to see others go through this just like another member did with FAAEAL—where they sent him the wrong item and absolutely refused to make it right.
what I want to do now is a 2.5mm balanced plug on my Eearbud Anonymous Earbuds. They sound so much better on the A5 that I want to use them on the Qudelix through the 4v balanced output. Reading the A5 specs though, it looks like it has a 14.9v output!?!? I must be reading that wrong. Anyone know if that’s correct? I must be misunderstanding something. That sounds unrealistic.

 

[RikudouGoku]

It’s definitely a bummer. That’s the one ear bud shape that I want to try and haven’t had the opportunity due to this shipping issue and my reluctance to order another when I’ve already paid for one that I haven’t received.
In any case, I didn’t intend to hijack this thread with Ali bashing. Just to put the warning out there that if things go wrong they may very well be exceptionally reluctant to make it right. I’d hate to see others go through this just like another member did with FAAEAL—where they sent him the wrong item and absolutely refused to make it right.
what I want to do now is a 2.5mm balanced plug on my Eearbud Anonymous Earbuds. They sound so much better on the A5 that I want to use them on the Qudelix through the 4v balanced output. Reading the A5 specs though, it looks like it has a 14.9v output!?!? I must be reading that wrong. Anyone know if that’s correct? I must be misunderstanding something. That sounds unrealistic.

It is 1.8V

18volt is impossible for a portable amp (dont even think high end desktop amps are that powerful).

 

[baskingshark]

I’ve spoken to VE several times about it. They keep assuring me that AE won’t steal my money, but AE is telling me that they won’t give my money back—they gave me the coupon. AE won’t really do anything until it’s been 60 days which is exactly when PayPal’s protection runs out. Looks like AE is probably aware of that. I’ve had 2 talks with AE’s customer service and several with Venture Electronics. I’ve begged them both to make it right. Now I’ve go PayPal involved too. I’ve checked tracking on the order nearly everyday for 2 months. It hasn’t budged. It’s still in China. I’ll just have to wait and see at this point.

I've bought north of 200 items from Aliexpress, about 10% of the purchases had issues:
- seller gave fake tracking number and the item was delivered to another country (aliexpress internal tracker says it was delivered to me, but using some global tracking like 17track showed otherwise)
- wrong item or different amount from the original order
- defective item
- item was never shipped but Aliexpress seller pulled some sob story that it was and to be patient and wait for it


I still buy from Aliexpress cause they are cheaper than Amazon, but of course the CS and warranty is a bit iffy. On Aliexpress, I always buy from shops that have > 97% POSITIVE reviews, and not from new fly by night shops that have no ratings or very dodgy alphabet soup names. After a while you will know who are the more established names.

Whatever you do, do not close the dispute. Your money is still held in escrow on Aliexpress. The usual tactic the Aliexpress sellers do is to stall you until the buyer protection runs out or they persuade you to remove the dispute, saying it is bad for their reputation etc. Aliexpress is quite sticky about the buyer protection period and they will really make you wait until a few days before it ends before refunding you. Take photos and screenshots of your conversation with the Aliexpress shops, and use 17track to show that the tracking they gave shows it wasn't delivered to your house and hold firm, they will eventually refund you. But do chase them a few days before the buyer protection ends, once it ends, Aliexpress will release the money to the seller.

 

[samandhi]

It is 1.8V





18volt is impossible for a portable amp (dont even think high end desktop amps are that powerful).

It is interesting that you found some actual measurements, because it says >800mW on the Fiio site... LOL

And you are correct, it is indeed impossible. Heck, my DX300 WITH an Amp12 card is only capable of of 8.3V, which is actually huge for a portable DAP.

 

[Ronion]

That is so crazy! The measurements do look incredible for a portable device, but not what their website is stating. Of course that measurement data from ASR COULD be interpreted as >800mw @ 0.1% THD or nearly 1watt at 1%. That’s insane power really even if not what they claim. I may well be misunderstanding what their specs say. Now what I wonder is why does the performance of the A5 seem considerably better than my Qudelix. I’ve got a feeling that the Qudelix just needs to be run balanced, but maybe it’s partly the AAC codec from Apple? I always run FLAC when wired and using the A5.

 

[Ronion]

Look how much the Qudelix’s(say that out loud and try not to sound drunk lol) power jumps when run balanced. Also look how bad crappy codecs perform And how well LDAC does.

 

[Ronion]

Actually given their stated conditions, FiiO was being a bit conservative.

my Little Bear has arrived and is being charged as I type. Ignore the footstool it’s on. I made those joints from a homemade jig and never completed the finish so it’s all worn off. Lazy and Woodworking are not a good combination lol

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Actually given their stated conditions, FiiO was being a bit conservative.

my Little Bear has arrived and is being charged as I type. Ignore the footstool it’s on. I made those joints from a homemade jig and never completed the finish so it’s all worn off. Lazy and Woodworking are not a good combination lol

Considering a fraction of the people out there would attempt to work with a joint like that, I don't think it's bad at all!

Regarding the Qudelix, it's quite interesting, really, to see what's going on sonically from codec to codec. I can tell you there is a tangible improvement in technicalities and overall FR when I switch from aptX over, let alone AAC. Qudelix did something right with that codec. I never really trust power output numbers as they're typically rated at 1kHz only and that's not representative of music, but it's cool that Qudelix displays the real-time voltage output, so you can reasonably do some circuit math and figure it out for yourself. It's not a lightweight, that's for sure. This is intelligent power management to a T.

Good news is, when in doubt, you can just run the bugger as a wired DAC/amp. Its ASR figures for that aren't so pretty, but it at least gives you an alternative to AAC from the iDevices.

 

[Ronion]

Thanks for the compliment on the joint! I wish I had more time to do some woodworking. It’s good for the soul.

It’s so crazy how much power the Qudelix has for the size! I do want to run it wired. I wonder if it’s not the bigger part of the ‘problem’ not that there’s any real problem mind you. FLACing it might just do the trick. I want to FLAC it so bad The EQ is really it’s best feature!

 

[Ronion]

Well this tube amp thing is legit. It’s a totally different experience than the A5. There’s a pleasantness to the sound. Like a dark, soft-toned female voice that is sensual and inviting. I used to think that the A5 sounded polite compared to the E12 Mont Blanc, but this is the next level. The soundstage, or headstage also seems more saturated and lush. Far more interesting than I thought this was going to be to say the least. Something is compelling me to put in the ShoonTH and listen to the best pianists on the planet play Romantic Era piano music.

 

[aspire5550]

I’ve spoken to VE several times about it. They keep assuring me that AE won’t steal my money, but AE is telling me that they won’t give my money back—they gave me the coupon. AE won’t really do anything until it’s been 60 days which is exactly when PayPal’s protection runs out. Looks like AE is probably aware of that. I’ve had 2 talks with AE’s customer service and several with Venture Electronics. I’ve begged them both to make it right. Now I’ve go PayPal involved too. I’ve checked tracking on the order nearly everyday for 2 months. It hasn’t budged. It’s still in China. I’ll just have to wait and see at this point.

From my experience, any disputes usually have to go through AE and AE have the final say. May I know when is the ETA for your item's delivery? If it has not exceed the delivery time, AE will never refund you. Also , in my experience, when I select free shipping, the seller will use some cheaper shipping option that only provides tracking within China. Anything that happen outside of China, will not be tracked. I can refresh all I want , the shipping information can show that it is still somewhere in china. Next thing I know, the item arrived in front of my doorstep.

Things to note, (correct me if im wrong),the sellers actually doesn't get your money during every sale. Every purchase that you make, AE actually acts as the middle man and hold on the money first. It is only until you click on confirm received that AE will give the money to the seller.

Sometimes the shipping can get weird and the item may or may not arrive. From my experience, I've purchase close to 50 items from AE. There's been close to 5 times when I filed dispute for items not arriving and I always get my money back.

The most recent one, since I selected free shipping, I didn't mind the wait time. Estimated Delivery Time:30-50 Days.
It happened around june last year when Covid still affected the shipping time. If I remember correctly, they asked me to wait for few more weeks after the 50 days explaining the covid situation. So I extended the AE protection time during that period.

After I've waited and the item still haven't arrive, they refunded me with no questions asked. As long as you filed a dispute with AE after the ETA delivery time, within the AE protection time, I'm pretty sure you can get your full refund from AE.

A side note, the item actually arrived many months later.