[Usr7530]

Nope, its the same driver with a resistor behind it haha. Better tuning but the cable is awful. Very microphonic and stiff.

Thanks. So, let's say i have an impedance adapter (150 ohms), i plug it to my source then plug my "Shoonth ESEP-01BL" on the adapter and, basically, i have upgraded to the "Shoonth ESEP-01BLE" for a fraction of the price, correct ?
All right, i'll get a set of "Qlabs Athena 2" instead...

 

[samandhi]

@samandhi, very nice.

@h8uthemost, the Q5K puts out (max low gain) 1 VRMS, (max high gain) 2 VRMS at the 3.5SE and (max low gain) 2 VRMS and (max high gain) 4 VRMS at the 2.5Bal outputs.

I'm listening to the Yinman 600 right now (at my computer) and the Q5K is driving it nicely from the 2.5Bal with high gain (max 4 VRMS) setting enabled. BTW, you will never even crank it to max, you would hurt your hearing / blow your eardrums out.

I think you can be very happy with the Yinman 600 / Q5K combo without any regret.

Below from the Qudelix website: https://www.qudelix.com/products/qudelix-5k, also in the user manual: https://www.qudelix.com/blogs/5k-dac-amp/user-manual-pdf

Ah, my bad, and your right it IS max 4VRMS. So, this means my calculations for what can be given as max volume for the Yinmans before they start to skew (minus any swing that might take place) is roughly 101.3dB instead of the previously mentioned 98dB:

Yinmans need (at this volume level):

• 4.02VRMS
• 26.92mW
• 6.7mA

Quidelix 5K gives:

• 4VRMS
• 26.67
• 6.6mA

Which is likely more than enough volume for most people. When you get up to 110dB, the requirement goes way up, needing about 10VRMS or more.

Thanks. So, let's say i have an impedance adapter (150 ohms), i plug it to my source then plug my "Shoonth ESEP-01BL" on the adapter and, basically, i have upgraded to the "Shoonth ESEP-01BLE" for a fraction of the price, correct ?
All right, i'll get a set of "Qlabs Athena 2" instead...

Well, there are two answers to this question. If I say yes it is the same, it would be because the manufacturer simply added a resistor in the 150ohm version to make it look like a high ohm driver. There have been some companies that try and cheat the customer by simply adding a resistor internally to make those that desire higher impedance head gear (for the right reasons) think that is what they are getting (in other words, scamming them).

If I say no its not the same, it is because instead of using a resistor to artificially inflate the ohms rating, that there are more Widings on the voice coil that subsequently add to the resistance, and adding 150ohm resistor doesn't do the same thing (nothing in fact, other than crippling the potential sound that transducer might be able to reproduce). High(er) impedance DDs aren't just made that way to be higher resistance. One of the hardest parts to tune in a DD is the upper frequency. With more windings you achieve more than one thing here. First is the control of noise/hiss you would get from a lower impedance set. Secondly, as you get more windings, it acts like a driver coating by keeping the driver from damping too little. This makes the upper frequency (more so than any other frequencies) sound tighter, more precise, and imaging is improved a lot (in some cases almost like a planar).

Also, if you added a 150ohm adapter to the output into a set of buds, they would sound SO flat, lifeless, bloated, blurry, etc.. that you would probably hate it.

Hopefully that helps some?!

 

[h8uthemost]

@qua2k Oh...I will be getting them. Especially now that I know that they can come in wood. I love that!

@samandhi very nice typing all of that up. If anything I learned a little about wattage(which I need to).

And I always listen to music at low levels. I don't know the exact decibel but it's gotta be below average levels. I'm seriously afraid of tinnitus. And I walk around all day pretty much with some buds in, so I have to have them low to hear people talking to me while the music is playing. Now that I think of it, that's probably annoying to some people. Lol

@mt877 2.5mm is definitely the way I'm gonna go thanks to the recommendation from @samandhi. It only makes sense to go with 2.5mm since I now know that the 5k will drive it. Which I thank you for that info.

A HUGE thank you to everyone in the thread. Whether you're posting or lurking, you all put a smile on my face and a dent in my wallet!

 

[samandhi]

BTW! @JAnonymous5150 I finally sprung for the Anchor Drops Redux album you introduced me to...

I have had it in my amazon playlist for a long time, but let's face it, if you are going to listen to this in higher resoltion, you want it to be a bit perfect player.... and Amazon is NOT (even though it sounds pretty good nonetheless).

Thanks again!

Amazon Music link: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B07PQPC2Q3?ref=dm_sh_cc85-f847-f9f1-dc46-a6c81

 

[samandhi]

very nice typing all of that up. If anything I learned a little about wattage(which I need to).

And I always listen to music at low levels. I don't know the exact decibel but it's gotta be below average levels. I'm seriously afraid of tinnitus. And I walk around all day pretty much with some buds in, so I have to have them low to hear people talking to me while the music is playing. Now that I think of it, that's probably annoying to some people. Lol

Thank you.

If that is the case, then just as (one of our resident "super smart people") @mt877 has mentioned, it should work very well with the 5K.

And just to give you an idea of what the different levels are, here is a general chart for you...

 

[JAnonymous5150]

BTW! @JAnonymous5150 I finally sprung for the Anchor Drops Redux album you introduced me to...

I have had it in my amazon playlist for a long time, but let's face it, if you are going to listen to this in higher resoltion, you want it to be a bit perfect player.... and Amazon is NOT (even though it sounds pretty good nonetheless).

Thanks again!

Amazon Music link: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B07PQPC2Q3?ref=dm_sh_cc85-f847-f9f1-dc46-a6c81

Nice pick up! I'm always stoked to introduce people to music to love and double stoked when it leads to more support for the artists making that music. Anchor Drops Redux is definitely a favorite that I revisit pretty frequently.

 

[mt877]

Ah, my bad, and your right it IS max 4VRMS. So, this means my calculations for what can be given as max volume for the Yinmans before they start to skew (minus any swing that might take place) is roughly 101.3dB instead of the previously mentioned 98dB:

Yinmans need (at this volume level):

• 4.02VRMS
• 26.92mW
• 6.7mA

Quidelix 5K gives:

• 4VRMS
• 26.67
• 6.6mA

Which is likely more than enough volume for most people. When you get up to 110dB, the requirement goes way up, needing about 10VRMS or more.

Thank you.

If that is the case, then just as (one of our resident "super smart people") @mt877 has mentioned, it should work very well with the 5K.

And just to give you an idea of what the different levels are, here is a general chart for you...

@samandhi, your calcs are accurate and wonderful and here's the proof... I drove the Yinman 600 to the Q5K max output and did a screenshot. It was way louder than I would care to listen to, that's for sure!

3.991 VRMS
26.5mW
101.2dBSPL

Could you imagine that 100dB chainsaw being placed into your concha instead of 1 meter away. Yowzah!, that would be one loud chainsaw.

 

[samandhi]

@samandhi, your calcs are accurate and wonderful and here's the proof... I drove the Yinman 600 to the Q5K max output and did a screenshot. It was way louder than I would care to listen to, that's for sure!

3.991 VRMS
26.5mW
101.2dBSPL

Could you imagine that 100dB chainsaw being placed into your concha instead of 1 meter away. Yowzah!, that would be one loud chainsaw.

Thank you!

That is a really cool tool, and I have always wondered how accurate it was. Did you have to enter the impedance and/or sensitivity for the results (like a built-in calculation), or did the 5K measure that?

Edit: While I don't do it often anymore, I have probably been to over 150 concerts in my day (and I ride a harley with custom pipes too LOL), so I can imagine.... haha And for anyone wondering about the small deviations, it could come from the ouptput impedance of the source, or impedance deviations in the cable or connector, etc... )

 

[samandhi]

Nice pick up! I'm always stoked to introduce people to music to love and double stoked when it leads to more support for the artists making that music. Anchor Drops Redux is definitely a favorite that I revisit pretty frequently.

Did you ever get a chance to give a listen (if you didn't already know about them) to Pattern Seeking Animals? @FranQL pointed out to me that they just came out with a new album.

 

[mjobolks]

Hey everyone I've been thinking about getting the Faaeal Snow lotus 1.0 and while they are cheap if there is another better option around the price of about 20usd I'd rather just get that. I listen to mostly music derived from Veggie Tales if that matters but anyhow thanks in advance.

 

[fooltoque]

My bad for thinking the Yinman wouldn't work with the Qudelix 5k. Should have done the math

Maybe I should get a 2.5 - 4.4 adapter for mine. I don't tend to listen at high volumes. I don't really regret getting the Topping G5 though. The pair sound great together.

 

[qua2k]

My bad for thinking the Yinman wouldn't work with the Qudelix 5k. Should have done the math

Maybe I should get a 2.5 - 4.4 adapter for mine. I don't tend to listen at high volumes. I don't really regret getting the Topping G5 though. The pair sound great together.

The ddhifi DJ44AG 2.5 to 4.4 is the best one out there imo. I have a few of them

 

[fooltoque]

The ddhifi DJ44AG 2.5 to 4.4 is the best one out there imo. I have a few of them

Thanks for the rec!

Since the Qudelix side is 2.5, and the Yinman is a 4.4 plug, I guess I would actually need the DJ44B. What's sad is that the DJ44AG is this beautiful round clear and gold casing, and the DJ44B is an ugly grey box.

 

[baskingshark]

Well that was a pleasant experience. I messaged the vendor on AE to see if I can get the Yinman 600 in the wooden shell with 4.4mm termination and they replied within minutes saying they can do that for me. So I put in an order and a couple minutes later, they changed the status to "Shipped."

I'm sure it's just a shipping label printout, but this shop sure opens late into the evening!

Basically, these Aliexpress shops will get penalized if they do not put an order to a "shipped" status within a short time of the customer buying it.

So many of them use a placeholder "shipped" status. Some unscrupulous ones will even issue a fake tracking number - this is dangerous as I've encountered a few that were put as "delivered" with the fake tracking number, when nothing arrived at my home. Within a few days, Aliexpress would have close the order totally, so do pay attention for fake tracking numbers.

BTW, if you ask the shop to terminate the Yinman's cables to 4.4 or 2.5 mm, it might take a few days extra as they need to resolder it. My order was officially shipped about 1 week after ordering due to this.

Thank you.

If that is the case, then just as (one of our resident "super smart people") @mt877 has mentioned, it should work very well with the 5K.

And just to give you an idea of what the different levels are, here is a general chart for you...

Indeed, most worldwide noise safety guidelines would advise not to exceed 85 dB in an 8 hour period.

But noise is logarithmic, so for every 3 dB increase in sound, the noise exposure should be halved, to prevent noise induced deafness.

Actually, rock concerts can easily hit 120 - 130 dB. Even when listening to IEMs or earbuds, one can be tempted to jack up the volume to hear more micro-details and stuff, easily over the 85 dB guidelines.

But noise induced deafness is irreversible, so please take care of your hearing health, as what will our hobby be without the ears? Maybe only measurebators can enjoy the audio hobby by looking at graphs without anything on the ears, but the rest of us surely need hearing health to be preserved till old age!

 

[mt877]

Thank you!

That is a really cool tool, and I have always wondered how accurate it was. Did you have to enter the impedance and/or sensitivity for the results (like a built-in calculation), or did the 5K measure that?

Edit: While I don't do it often anymore, I have probably been to over 150 concerts in my day (and I ride a harley with custom pipes too LOL), so I can imagine.... haha And for anyone wondering about the small deviations, it could come from the ouptput impedance of the source, or impedance deviations in the cable or connector, etc... )

I'm using Chrome with the Qudelix Chrome plugin to control the Q5K at my computer. Yeah, you have to enter the impedance and sensitivity and the 5K does the calculation. There's a small trick, well not really a trick, but can be hard to figure out if you don't use any DSP functionality. You need to enter the impedance and sensitivity on the DSP page. Select one of the DSP configs, double click it to open a pop-up to enter the name, impedance and sensitivity, then save it. The Output Profile section of the Volume page will appear afterwards.