[SonicFade]

the Qudilex 5X is definitely worth mentioning. It is $110 and ironically allows you to use a PEQ with anything.

anyone know of another device like that, of higher quality, that allows you to tether an app to control EQ?

 

[wanderingsounds]

I was also wondering if there's something similar to the Qudelix 5K, but with support for MQA and more amp power? It doesn't need to be portable nor support Bluetooth. I'm surprised there aren't more DAC/AMP combos with built-in PEQ and GEQ...

 

[samandhi]

I was also wondering if there's something similar to the Qudelix 5K, but with support for MQA and more amp power? It doesn't need to be portable nor support Bluetooth. I'm surprised there aren't more DAC/AMP combos with built-in PEQ and GEQ...

You might be better off with a DAP that has a UI. Most nowadays are pretty powerful and have at least GEQ.. Though if you get one that has android, you can use apps that have PEQ and GEQ (or a combination of both) built in (Neutron, Poweramp, UAPP, Hiby, FiiO, Mango, etc...).

 

[givmedew]

Hi, I'm looking for a DAP that I can use with my current desktop DAC/Amp. I'm using windows currently but changing music on my tower is inconvenient in my studio. I want to be able to just pick up a small device and pick a new album to listen to while I work. I also want this device to have a parametric EQ or just a regular equalizer if the PEQ proves to limit my options to greatly.

I could just use my iphone if that's the way I should go but I have no idea if the PEQ apps are worth their weight.

I'd love to hear your opinions and draw from this forum's vast knowledge.

If it matters, I use either an OPPO HA1 or a Toppping DX7 pro with a pair of Audeze LCD-3's and occasionally a pair of HIFIMAN HE-560's the original 300-ohm version.

Did you ever find something? I've been looking for something with the power of the Qudelix 5K which is now a 20 band PEQ or 10 band stereo and is capable of directly downloading AutoEQ profiles and applying them. Problem is... it might not be the best pre-amp. I've always wondered 2 things... why can the Qudelix 5K do that and others can not and how is it so affordable with that feature. I later learned the answer is the bluetooth DAC it uses is the answer to all those questions. The reason other DACs can not do 10-20 band PEQ compatible with an AutoEQ profile is simple enough. They feel that the consumer is more concerned with having stupid high bit rates and sample rates like 24/192 at a minimum and more like 32/768 and DSD512 even on quite affordable DACs. Oh god and lets not forget MQA which might even make EQing impossible for some affordable DACs... so something that ruins the sound quality (using MQA) is a primary reason we might not ever see good EQs on affordable DACs...
A good EQ on an affordable DAC would look something like the discontinued Monoprice Monolith THX Desktop DAC 124459 which most importantly has the words Dirac associated with it. That word alone probably took up 20-30% of the retail price of that DAC/AMP and it is actually the reason why that DAC/AMP is so good. BUT Dirac probably refused to make that DAC AMP a MiniDSP slayer because Dirac charges something like $200 to fully unlock those MiniDSP DACs. Only prob is those MiniDSP DACs might not be great 2CH pre-amps. They are mostly used for room correction for running multiple subwoofers.
So I think thats where having an operating system comes into play... those DAPs are more than just a DAC and they dont have to rely on people like Qualcom, Sharc and Dirac to figure all this out... also I think if you arent using the Qualcom it is probably quite difficult to write the PEQ for a Sharc. Probably why MiniDSP one of the few affordable options in room correction.
Anyways... MQA probably forever locks us out of having a good EQ on an affordable DAC. You'll notice that one of the best DACs money can buy doesn't support MQA. It has one of the best PEQs in the industry BUT still nowhere near Qudelix 5K and NOT ENOUGH TO USE DEFAULT AUTOEQ PROFILES... Instead you have to have the AutoEQ profile altered for use with the Adi-2.
Hopefully there is an affordable DAP someone knows of that would make a better pre-amp than the Qudelix 5K...
Also while my comments might make it seem like I think going over 24/96 is pointless... I don't actually believe that. I think 24/96+ playback is almost pointless as we can't discern anything better then 19/44 but 24 gives producers room for error with volume levels during recording and high bit rates allow for DSP to be applied without audible artifacts being introduced which is why even old high end DSP systems would upscale the input to 24/192 even though the final output DAC would only be 24/48. Its so that the DSP doesn't introduce problems by attenuating the volume which could see an effective bit rate that goes well bellow 16 bits and for the 192khz requirement so it wouldn't introduce an artifact that fell into the audible frequency range.

let me know what you got if you found something that works with autoeq...

main reason I don't want to use an application on my iphone is because im trying to use lossless and hi-res lossless streaming on Apple Music. It is NOT compatible with PC so I can't use EqualizerAPO/Peace/AutoEQ and I don't want to purchase a Mac just to play music with but I am tempted! Maybe the least expensive Apple Mini that supports Atmos so I have head tracking when I watch movies on it with airpods.

 

[goodvibes]

I'm not a fan of lossy MQA so find the material in another format. A MQA capable DAC chip does not suppress downstream EQ capability. That's a long rant about very little as EQ is not contained within the DAC chip and I personally wouldn't invest in a DAC that didn't decode 24/192 as that's where I find them to become relatively transparent with 24/96 often close enough as the 24 bit portion is the more important part. To do EQ properly on 24 bit material, you'll need 32 bit float processing. EQ is overrated anyway. Doesn't compensate for time domain/impulse, phase, damping factor or distortion. Adds processing and buffers.

You can get used Mac Minis for under $300. I'm sure you'll find something else to rant about when your washing machine doesn't make toast.

 

[givmedew]

Does replying to someone like this make you feel that much better about yourself that you find it that necessary? Do you see my comment doing anything at all to make someone feel lesser? I wish the forum rules actually mattered. You can be polite and try to be helpful. Instead you have constructed your reply for the sole purpose of making yourself seem supperior. I will admit I don't know everything about MQA as my interest in it is non existant. I had read that the way modifying the sound is applied has to be done in a certain way to not break the MQA. I certainly don't need be lectured on 24 bit and 192 etc when I am already quite aware of what double blind studies say about what you can actually hear and why its still important for recording and modifications to be done at 24bit and 192khz or higher and this can apply to DSP as well. It doesn't apply to your ears. As far as 24bit mattering on a player... only with sensitive headphones and player that does volume control incorrectly and therefore effectively reduces your bit rate and causes distortion. Good players can completely avoid this issue BUT 24bit does make it a non issue.

All that said what makes me think of you as a pretnetious jerk is none of the above... It's that you somehow feel that you know what is better for me than I do. Like either you are better because you don't believe in EQ or I'm not getting the most out of my gear because I am using EQ. Only... thats absolute nonsense. No two people have the exact same hearing or preferences. It might be that you just don't have as good of hearing as I do so you aren't as sensitive to certain imperfections. Or maybe you brute force your way through the issue by owning multiple pairs of headphones for different styles of music. Owning more than a few pairs of electrostatic headphones is outside of my budget. After using owning Stax and HifiMan Electrostats I really can't go back to my audeze and hifiman planars or sennheisers normal headphones for critical listening. So I prefer to EQ my music for some kinds of music when listening to my Stax...

That is MY preference... But then you bust out this comment about "Doesn't compensate for time domain/impulse, phase, damping factor or distortion". Are you using headphones? Because honestly if you are worried that much about all that then you should probably be using speakers because Headphones are already an awful compromise compared to a proper 2CH/2.1CH setup. Problem is my wife doesn't like it when I play a 7FT tall pair of electrostats when she is sleeping.

The bottom line is this however: I asked the OP if he foud a solution. Perhaps I did rant about what I feel matters to me and why I might want this or that. But that gives more insight on what is driving my decisions.

What on earth is your motivation to come in and NOT AT ALL BE USEFUL IN ANY WAY!!! You have no product recommendation that can solve my needs and insted you insult me or complain about me and basically tell me that I should change what I want.

Even better you then make some absolute useless comment about Macs that are incompatible with head tracking that only cost $300... After I said head tracking is important to me. I enjoy using it at night when I'm watching a movie in my theater and can't use my surround sound because I have a sleeping wife and child.

So you will probably try to tell me that I shouldn't enjoy Apple's Head Tracking or you'll say some nonsense about me ranting or this or that instead of being realistic about the fact that your reply was all about making yourself feel big and better while making me feel silly and smaller. You did a passive agressive insult for what reason? All while offering 0 useful information!

 

[samandhi]

Does replying to someone like this make you feel that much better about yourself that you find it that necessary? Do you see my comment doing anything at all to make someone feel lesser? I wish the forum rules actually mattered. You can be polite and try to be helpful. Instead you have constructed your reply for the sole purpose of making yourself seem supperior. I will admit I don't know everything about MQA as my interest in it is non existant. I had read that the way modifying the sound is applied has to be done in a certain way to not break the MQA. I certainly don't need be lectured on 24 bit and 192 etc when I am already quite aware of what double blind studies say about what you can actually hear and why its still important for recording and modifications to be done at 24bit and 192khz or higher and this can apply to DSP as well. It doesn't apply to your ears. As far as 24bit mattering on a player... only with sensitive headphones and player that does volume control incorrectly and therefore effectively reduces your bit rate and causes distortion. Good players can completely avoid this issue BUT 24bit does make it a non issue.

All that said what makes me think of you as a pretnetious jerk is none of the above... It's that you somehow feel that you know what is better for me than I do. Like either you are better because you don't believe in EQ or I'm not getting the most out of my gear because I am using EQ. Only... thats absolute nonsense. No two people have the exact same hearing or preferences. It might be that you just don't have as good of hearing as I do so you aren't as sensitive to certain imperfections. Or maybe you brute force your way through the issue by owning multiple pairs of headphones for different styles of music. Owning more than a few pairs of electrostatic headphones is outside of my budget. After using owning Stax and HifiMan Electrostats I really can't go back to my audeze and hifiman planars or sennheisers normal headphones for critical listening. So I prefer to EQ my music for some kinds of music when listening to my Stax...

That is MY preference... But then you bust out this comment about "Doesn't compensate for time domain/impulse, phase, damping factor or distortion". Are you using headphones? Because honestly if you are worried that much about all that then you should probably be using speakers because Headphones are already an awful compromise compared to a proper 2CH/2.1CH setup. Problem is my wife doesn't like it when I play a 7FT tall pair of electrostats when she is sleeping.

The bottom line is this however: I asked the OP if he foud a solution. Perhaps I did rant about what I feel matters to me and why I might want this or that. But that gives more insight on what is driving my decisions.

What on earth is your motivation to come in and NOT AT ALL BE USEFUL IN ANY WAY!!! You have no product recommendation that can solve my needs and insted you insult me or complain about me and basically tell me that I should change what I want.

Even better you then make some absolute useless comment about Macs that are incompatible with head tracking that only cost $300... After I said head tracking is important to me. I enjoy using it at night when I'm watching a movie in my theater and can't use my surround sound because I have a sleeping wife and child.

So you will probably try to tell me that I shouldn't enjoy Apple's Head Tracking or you'll say some nonsense about me ranting or this or that instead of being realistic about the fact that your reply was all about making yourself feel big and better while making me feel silly and smaller. You did a passive agressive insult for what reason? All while offering 0 useful information!

The only thing that I know of with all of those things you are looking for is Neutron Player; a piece of software for anything with an OS. It has 32 and 64 bit floating processing, oversampling, PCM to DSD, Dither (with soundshaping), up to 60 band PEQ (IIRC it is something like that), Auto-EQ profile downloading (you don't need to import them, it will grab all the head gear profiles from the database online), auto-gain protection, pre-gain slider, its own USB-Audio out driver, etc... And it doesn't even process MQA other than just playing it as the .FLAC file that it is. But the problem is that this is ONLY for local files.

Having said all of that, I am not familiar with the Apple version of it, but with PC and android there are settings to satisfy all. IMHO it has one of the best DSP on the market. So basically, you just need a device with decent power that has an OS on it. The problem here is that most portable devices (unless it is desktop class or TOTL) don't have as much power as you might want for the big stuff. The solution for me was a mid-tier DAP from iBasso (the DX160/DX170 @$400). I also have the DX300, but that would probably defeat the purpose of looking for something within a decent budget. The DX160/DX170 has 1.2W@32ohms and can drive even my hardest to drive head gear (600ohms @ 91dB/W) with proper damping.

I know you said that you like streaming also, but other than having an older android device that has the capability of Viper4android or maybe even the lesser capable (but still good as a system-wide Auto-EQ) Wavelet, which both require rooting your android device (IIRC), there isn't much out there (still) for Apple unless you jailbreak the device.

The use of passive EQ has gone "the way of the dodo" for the most part, so everything with EQ is on a software basis nowadays. Honestly, I miss those days of tinkering with car stereo equipment where you could just throw a passive "eek" inline with your equipment and tune away.

I am a big believer in using EQ because there is VERY little head gear that is tailored to your ears alone (let alone the synergy between the head gear and the DAP or DAC/amp). Having said that, I don't use EQ unless I need to, and I DO indeed have many pieces of head gear with different tuning for all my "mood swings"...

 

[givmedew]

The only thing that I know of with all of those things you are looking for is Neutron Player; a piece of software for anything with an OS. It has 32 and 64 bit floating processing, oversampling, PCM to DSD, Dither (with soundshaping), up to 60 band PEQ (IIRC it is something like that), Auto-EQ profile downloading (you don't need to import them, it will grab all the head gear profiles from the database online), auto-gain protection, pre-gain slider, its own USB-Audio out driver, etc... And it doesn't even process MQA other than just playing it as the .FLAC file that it is. But the problem is that this is ONLY for local files.

Having said all of that, I am not familiar with the Apple version of it, but with PC and android there are settings to satisfy all. IMHO it has one of the best DSP on the market. So basically, you just need a device with decent power that has an OS on it. The problem here is that most portable devices (unless it is desktop class or TOTL) don't have as much power as you might want for the big stuff. The solution for me was a mid-tier DAP from iBasso (the DX160/DX170 @$400). I also have the DX300, but that would probably defeat the purpose of looking for something within a decent budget. The DX160/DX170 has 1.2W@32ohms and can drive even my hardest to drive head gear (600ohms @ 91dB/W) with proper damping.

I know you said that you like streaming also, but other than having an older android device that has the capability of Viper4android or maybe even the lesser capable (but still good as a system-wide Auto-EQ) Wavelet, which both require rooting your android device (IIRC), there isn't much out there (still) for Apple unless you jailbreak the device.

The use of passive EQ has gone "the way of the dodo" for the most part, so everything with EQ is on a software basis nowadays. Honestly, I miss those days of tinkering with car stereo equipment where you could just throw a passive "eek" inline with your equipment and tune away.

I am a big believer in using EQ because there is VERY little head gear that is tailored to your ears alone (let alone the synergy between the head gear and the DAP or DAC/amp). Having said that, I don't use EQ unless I need to, and I DO indeed have many pieces of head gear with different tuning for all my "mood swings"...

thanks for this info… I love do it yourself stuff and used to write tutorials on how to root early Verizon androids so that sounds like something up my alley.

I already have a few high-powered portable DAC amps including (2) FiiO THX DACs plus I will be using this with a desktop DAC and desktop tube amp for my Stax and HifiMan stats or Emotiva A2Mini high power headphone amp and planars.

I’m hoping Apple Music works on a rooted phone. I’ve learned from experience some apps don’t. I just need to find a cheap used android phone that is easy to root.

 

[samandhi]

thanks for this info… I love do it yourself stuff and used to write tutorials on how to root early Verizon androids so that sounds like something up my alley.

I already have a few high-powered portable DAC amps including (2) FiiO THX DACs plus I will be using this with a desktop DAC and desktop tube amp for my Stax and HifiMan stats or Emotiva A2Mini high power headphone amp and planars.

I’m hoping Apple Music works on a rooted phone. I’ve learned from experience some apps don’t. I just need to find a cheap used android phone that is easy to root.

Sounds like you have a "sound plan there.

The best scenario would be if your DAC accepted USB in. Then you could bypass all the phones crappy internals and just use it as a transport. Then you also wouldn't have to worry about preamp also.