Introducing the Questyle M15 & the brand new Questyle Shop!

[Questyle]

Hey guys, chiming in with a few updates:


@Hyde00 @KuroKitsu
One important thing about Hifigo:

Hifigo is not our direct distributor, that is, they do not directly receive Questyle products from our warehouses. If you proceed to purchase off Hifigo, please do proceed with this in mind.

---

@KuroKitsu
As you live in Canada, our official distributor for North America is Bluebird. https://www.bluebirdmusic.com/sections/questyle.html They plan to have M15 stock in the USA very soon that you can directly buy from them. Again, thank you for your patience on this — we are working hard to get better about getting our products to customers, faster and easier.

And about the balanced output: our 4.4mm output is indeed true balanced, a fully balanced output circuit.

Lastly... unfortunately, no, the promotion regarding the leather cover is only applicable for purchases on Questyle Shop. So if you’re in a hurry to get the M15, Bluebird will have them very soon; otherwise, the Questyle Shop will begin offering service to Canada (and the USA) as soon as possible, but it might be a tad bit after Bluebird begins offering it. Thank you for your patience here.

---

@Vartan

The engineering team tested the 32ohm output today, connected to a Dell PC running JRiver20. The in-situ measurements we got were:
4.4mm, High Gain : 72.72mW
4.4mm, Low Gain : 77.11mW
3.5mm, High Gain: 42.25mW
3.5mm, Low Gain: 29.95mW

Thank you for your patience as we get back to you about the precise details of the EM shielding wrt the glass panel.

---

@Polky74

Measurements are tricky. Different organizations test with different standards, and in different conditions. As such, I can’t speak for everyone… but I can speak for Questyle.

At Questyle, we take all of our measurements in in-situ, authentic real life conditions. We take our products, link them to commonly used equipment (popular computers, phones, etc), and take the measurements directly, most typically with the Audio Precision SYS-2722. The numbers we provide accurately reflect the true abilities of our products in true use-case scenarios.

But at the end of the day, numbers are just numbers. The real determining factor is how it sounds when you use it. So far, with almost any headphone we pair it with (and that our customers have paired it with), the M15 shines. I’m hoping that you’ll have the chance to audition one soon!

---

@someyoungguy
Yes, you’re exactly right. Questyle’s numbers always seem a bit “off,” but at the end of the day, the experience is worlds more important than the numbers. Current Mode Amplification has been known to work some magic...

---

@asifur
Let me check with the engineers and get back to you.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

@Questyle
Are these numbers correct ?

4.4mm, High Gain : 72.72mW
4.4mm, Low Gain : 77.11mW

 

[Hyde00]

Hey guys, chiming in with a few updates:


@Hyde00 @KuroKitsu
One important thing about Hifigo:

Hifigo is not our direct distributor, that is, they do not directly receive Questyle products from our warehouses. If you proceed to purchase off Hifigo, please do proceed with this in mind.

---

@KuroKitsu
As you live in Canada, our official distributor for North America is Bluebird. https://www.bluebirdmusic.com/sections/questyle.html They plan to have M15 stock in the USA very soon that you can directly buy from them. Again, thank you for your patience on this — we are working hard to get better about getting our products to customers, faster and easier.

And about the balanced output: our 4.4mm output is indeed true balanced, a fully balanced output circuit.

Lastly... unfortunately, no, the promotion regarding the leather cover is only applicable for purchases on Questyle Shop. So if you’re in a hurry to get the M15, Bluebird will have them very soon; otherwise, the Questyle Shop will begin offering service to Canada (and the USA) as soon as possible, but it might be a tad bit after Bluebird begins offering it. Thank you for your patience here.

---

@Vartan

The engineering team tested the 32ohm output today, connected to a Dell PC running JRiver20. The in-situ measurements we got were:
4.4mm, High Gain : 72.72mW
4.4mm, Low Gain : 77.11mW
3.5mm, High Gain: 42.25mW
3.5mm, Low Gain: 29.95mW

Thank you for your patience as we get back to you about the precise details of the EM shielding wrt the glass panel.

---

@Polky74

Measurements are tricky. Different organizations test with different standards, and in different conditions. As such, I can’t speak for everyone… but I can speak for Questyle.

At Questyle, we take all of our measurements in in-situ, authentic real life conditions. We take our products, link them to commonly used equipment (popular computers, phones, etc), and take the measurements directly, most typically with the Audio Precision SYS-2722. The numbers we provide accurately reflect the true abilities of our products in true use-case scenarios.

But at the end of the day, numbers are just numbers. The real determining factor is how it sounds when you use it. So far, with almost any headphone we pair it with (and that our customers have paired it with), the M15 shines. I’m hoping that you’ll have the chance to audition one soon!

---

@someyoungguy
Yes, you’re exactly right. Questyle’s numbers always seem a bit “off,” but at the end of the day, the experience is worlds more important than the numbers. Current Mode Amplification has been known to work some magic...

---

@asifur
Let me check with the engineers and get back to you.

Thank you so much for answering our questions!

@Questyle
Are these numbers correct ?

4.4mm, High Gain : 72.72mW
4.4mm, Low Gain : 77.11mW

I feel like it's correct, like M12 also measures really low but from what I read can drive some pretty demanding headphones.

So maybe their Current Drive Amplification technology doesn't measure well but in practice can drive pretty well?

Might need to wait till someone actually get their hands on M15.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Thank you so much for answering our questions!

I feel like it's correct, like M12 also measures really low but from what I read can drive some pretty demanding headphones.

So maybe their Current Drive Amplification technology doesn't measure well but in practice can drive pretty well?

Might need to wait till someone actually get their hands on M15.

Read a post that someone was driving his 600 Ohm headphones with the M12
Might have been here or on FB

 

[Hyde00]

Read a post that someone was driving his 600 Ohm headphones with the M12
Might have been here or on FB

Post #27 I believe on page 2.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Post #27 I believe on page 2.

Correct was here !

 

[subguy812]

Hopefully, I will have a unit to review soon.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Hopefully, I will have a unit to review soon.

My M15 are shipped

 

[KuroKitsu]

My M15 are shipped

Did you get the free case as well?

@Questyle thanks for following up, some of my feedback and issues:

Hifigo is a no go if there's another layer of intermediary in the middle. I rather have as much of a direct path to the manufacturer in case issues arise, part of why I disdain having distributors in the middle.

I did find that Bluebird was the North American distributor, but it seems they only sell to dealers and the best they do is put you in contact with their dealers at best, but whether the dealers bring in the product is up to them. My desire to order direct is to avoid sales tax as its quite hefty here, and taking custom fees are actually cheaper overall for me.

Lastly the case offer:

1. The conjunction of the shop currently being unable to handle shipping to what could be considered the bigger markets also cuts off a large number of interested parties of being eligible for the offer given the timeline presented. Regardless of this being an intentional oversight or not, it just doesn't look good.

2. I've purchased other items where I've had to buy third party cases after the fact as there was no such offer or even a case available at the launch and that's acceptable.

The fact that this offer is being made confirms that the cases exist. And had they been offered as a purchase option, I would gladly have made my order.

Through no fault of my own, neither of the options are available. Holding me at the mercy of the distributor and dealers as to whether they will stock the case when it is released or paying for shipping from another source that will most likely cost the same or more than the case itself (Primary reason why my LP W2 doesn't have a case still).

It's not an issue with the product itself, but just all the factors surrounding getting that has me backing off. Maybe this will be sorted out when the M17 or other is released, I'll take another look then.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Did you get the free case as well?

@Questyle thanks for following up, some of my feedback and issues:

Hifigo is a no go if there's another layer of intermediary in the middle. I rather have as much of a direct path to the manufacturer in case issues arise, part of why I disdain having distributors in the middle.

I did find that Bluebird was the North American distributor, but it seems they only sell to dealers and the best they do is put you in contact with their dealers at best, but whether the dealers bring in the product is up to them. My desire to order direct is to avoid sales tax as its quite hefty here, and taking custom fees are actually cheaper overall for me.

Lastly the case offer:

1. The conjunction of the shop currently being unable to handle shipping to what could be considered the bigger markets also cuts off a large number of interested parties of being eligible for the offer given the timeline presented. Regardless of this being an intentional oversight or not, it just doesn't look good.

2. I've purchased other items where I've had to buy third party cases after the fact as there was no such offer or even a case available at the launch and that's acceptable.

The fact that this offer is being made confirms that the cases exist. And had they been offered as a purchase option, I would gladly have made my order.

Through no fault of my own, neither of the options are available. Holding me at the mercy of the distributor and dealers as to whether they will stock the case when it is released or paying for shipping from another source that will most likely cost the same or more than the case itself (Primary reason why my LP W2 doesn't have a case still).

It's not an issue with the product itself, but just all the factors surrounding getting that has me backing off. Maybe this will be sorted out when the M17 or other is released, I'll take another look then.

No clue if it's included
Comes from Questyle directly

 

[Hyde00]

LOL damn now I'm slightly regretting that I jumped the gun and bought xDuoo Link2 Bal. Probably should've waited for M15 review first.

Though I guess I can always buy it later, looking forward to you guys' reviews!

 

[Questyle]

@Vartan
To answer your question, “can the transparent window shield the internal components well”:

As I said before, we have tested the M15 very vigorous environments to make sure it works without fail. You can trust that you’ll get an incredibly clean signal with near-imperceptible noise floor (-130dB) out of it in almost any use scenario.

The glass panel on top of the M15 is coated with a special layer that resists radio wave interference, and is also specifically targeted to eliminate TDMA noise (aka the 217 Hz hum/buzz).

Does that answer your question? If not, let me know, I’ll to my best to answer any query you have in this regard.

I hope you’ll soon have the chance to try out the M15, and hear for yourself that the glass won’t compromise the audio quality in any way.

---

@AnalogandDigital
Yes, those numbers are correct. I know what you're probably thinking: "why is the power output less for high gain, and more for low gain?" The answer is complicated, but it basically boils down to the fact that voltage of the USB port varies from device to device, and from condition to condition, even though in theory all USB ports should be “5V” consistently.

---

@asifur
To answer your question concisely:

The ES9038PRO (which we use in our CMA Fifteen) is a world-class standalone DAC, but it consumes a lot of power and is also quite big in physical size.

Meanwhile, ES9281AC (which we use in our M15) is a USB+DAC, and has a lower power consumption and a smaller physical size, and as such is better suited for mobile DAC/amps.

Of course there are a lot of other details, but I’ll keep it simple for now

---

@Hyde00
Yes, I feel your pain… I’ve been there too… when looking at new devices / DACs / amps, if you don’t have the ability to readily and immediately audition it where you live, you have to rely on measurements and numbers to decide if you want to purchase it… or wait until a lot of reviews have been written on it. But don’t worry, lots of reviews are coming out these days, and even more in the near future. To list a couple that have been published recently:

• https://www.pocnetwork.net/product-...mobile-lossless-dac-with-headphone-amplifier/
• https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/questyle-m15/

If anybody else has seen any reviews of the M15 worth sharing, also please do share! They are coming in from every angle (including a LOT in Chinese, if anybody is interested in that, I would be happy to share as well, I have plenty).

---

@KuroKitsu
Thank you for your honest feedback. We at Questyle, and me personally, really crave it. So really, thank you.

You’re 100% right. Absolutely right. It’s not a good look to launch a product without offering direct sales to a lot of major markets/regions/countries. And to add insult to injury, to have an offer of a bonus, complementary add-on (like this leather case) but limit to a specific timeline, knowing very well that some users might not be able to buy the product in that timeline… I hear you. This is not good. And it needs to be corrected.

Let me go and talk with the team tomorrow and see what we can do about this. At the end of the day, we must be fair to all of our customers. As you said, this situation is through no fault of your own… and you, nor should any customer, have to suffer consequences from such.

I’ll personally make sure we correct this and make it right. I’ll revert soon.



Now, to tangent off for a second:

There’s a lot that can be said and discussed about sales channels. Distributors/dealers are an indispensable and crucial part of the hifi ecosystem: not many people are willing to purchase new, expensive equipment without having the chance to try it out in person first and audition it, and unfortunately Questyle (and most other hifi audio companies) aren’t capable of placing retail outlets in every country at the moment. This is where dealers come in, and really play a critical role. And on top of that, dealers provide so many other value-add services, including events, community-building, product service, customer support, and much more.

That being said, for some products, especially those with a lower retail value, some customers are indeed willing to purchase them without first trying/audition them personally — and, in theory, it is only fair and reasonable to be able offer these to such customers in the most direct, efficient, and fast way possible (that is, directly from the manufacturer). But in reality, it’s incredibly complicated. And at this moment, we are right in the middle of this complication.

There’s no easy answer, there’s no one-minute solution, so all I can do at this moment is say thank you for your understanding, thank you for your patience, and most of all thank you for your honest feedback and thoughts. Questyle is literally nothing without our customers, and we tremendously value every one of you that is willing to spend your time sharing your ideas, feelings, suggestions, criticisms, and experiences with us. Really, thank you.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

@Vartan
To answer your question, “can the transparent window shield the internal components well”:

As I said before, we have tested the M15 very vigorous environments to make sure it works without fail. You can trust that you’ll get an incredibly clean signal with near-imperceptible noise floor (-130dB) out of it in almost any use scenario.

The glass panel on top of the M15 is coated with a special layer that resists radio wave interference, and is also specifically targeted to eliminate TDMA noise (aka the 217 Hz hum/buzz).

Does that answer your question? If not, let me know, I’ll to my best to answer any query you have in this regard.

I hope you’ll soon have the chance to try out the M15, and hear for yourself that the glass won’t compromise the audio quality in any way.

---

@AnalogandDigital
Yes, those numbers are correct. I know what you're probably thinking: "why is the power output less for high gain, and more for low gain?" The answer is complicated, but it basically boils down to the fact that voltage of the USB port varies from device to device, and from condition to condition, even though in theory all USB ports should be “5V” consistently.

---

@asifur
To answer your question concisely:

The ES9038PRO (which we use in our CMA Fifteen) is a world-class standalone DAC, but it consumes a lot of power and is also quite big in physical size.

Meanwhile, ES9281AC (which we use in our M15) is a USB+DAC, and has a lower power consumption and a smaller physical size, and as such is better suited for mobile DAC/amps.

Of course there are a lot of other details, but I’ll keep it simple for now

---

@Hyde00
Yes, I feel your pain… I’ve been there too… when looking at new devices / DACs / amps, if you don’t have the ability to readily and immediately audition it where you live, you have to rely on measurements and numbers to decide if you want to purchase it… or wait until a lot of reviews have been written on it. But don’t worry, lots of reviews are coming out these days, and even more in the near future. To list a couple that have been published recently:

• https://www.pocnetwork.net/product-...mobile-lossless-dac-with-headphone-amplifier/
• https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/questyle-m15/

If anybody else has seen any reviews of the M15 worth sharing, also please do share! They are coming in from every angle (including a LOT in Chinese, if anybody is interested in that, I would be happy to share as well, I have plenty).

---

@KuroKitsu
Thank you for your honest feedback. We at Questyle, and me personally, really crave it. So really, thank you.

You’re 100% right. Absolutely right. It’s not a good look to launch a product without offering direct sales to a lot of major markets/regions/countries. And to add insult to injury, to have an offer of a bonus, complementary add-on (like this leather case) but limit to a specific timeline, knowing very well that some users might not be able to buy the product in that timeline… I hear you. This is not good. And it needs to be corrected.

Let me go and talk with the team tomorrow and see what we can do about this. At the end of the day, we must be fair to all of our customers. As you said, this situation is through no fault of your own… and you, nor should any customer, have to suffer consequences from such.

I’ll personally make sure we correct this and make it right. I’ll revert soon.



Now, to tangent off for a second:

There’s a lot that can be said and discussed about sales channels. Distributors/dealers are an indispensable and crucial part of the hifi ecosystem: not many people are willing to purchase new, expensive equipment without having the chance to try it out in person first and audition it, and unfortunately Questyle (and most other hifi audio companies) aren’t capable of placing retail outlets in every country at the moment. This is where dealers come in, and really play a critical role. And on top of that, dealers provide so many other value-add services, including events, community-building, product service, customer support, and much more.

That being said, for some products, especially those with a lower retail value, some customers are indeed willing to purchase them without first trying/audition them personally — and, in theory, it is only fair and reasonable to be able offer these to such customers in the most direct, efficient, and fast way possible (that is, directly from the manufacturer). But in reality, it’s incredibly complicated. And at this moment, we are right in the middle of this complication.

There’s no easy answer, there’s no one-minute solution, so all I can do at this moment is say thank you for your understanding, thank you for your patience, and most of all thank you for your honest feedback and thoughts. Questyle is literally nothing without our customers, and we tremendously value every one of you that is willing to spend your time sharing your ideas, feelings, suggestions, criticisms, and experiences with us. Really, thank you.

Thanks for the feedback
Appreciated
And eager to test drive my M15
Next will be CMA Fifteen I suppose

 

[Fawzay]

after many hours of comparison between the Cayin Ru6 and Questyle M15, I choose the M15 over Cayin. It's a W-shaped sound, with great technicality throughout the whole frequency. Wider dynamic and harmonic, there is a feeling of warmth and analog sounding giving a sense of musicality yet having great details. The separation and timbre are excellent. Soundstage as previously mentioned is wide and deep depending on the gear you have. Finally, no EMI as compared to Cayin Ru6 which is prominent for me though.
IMO, It's like a fusion of L&P W2's resolving nature + Cayin Ru6 analog-sounding but don't quote me wholly. It may be different in your ears.

 

[Hyde00]

@Vartan
To answer your question, “can the transparent window shield the internal components well”:

As I said before, we have tested the M15 very vigorous environments to make sure it works without fail. You can trust that you’ll get an incredibly clean signal with near-imperceptible noise floor (-130dB) out of it in almost any use scenario.

The glass panel on top of the M15 is coated with a special layer that resists radio wave interference, and is also specifically targeted to eliminate TDMA noise (aka the 217 Hz hum/buzz).

Does that answer your question? If not, let me know, I’ll to my best to answer any query you have in this regard.

I hope you’ll soon have the chance to try out the M15, and hear for yourself that the glass won’t compromise the audio quality in any way.

---

@AnalogandDigital
Yes, those numbers are correct. I know what you're probably thinking: "why is the power output less for high gain, and more for low gain?" The answer is complicated, but it basically boils down to the fact that voltage of the USB port varies from device to device, and from condition to condition, even though in theory all USB ports should be “5V” consistently.

---

@asifur
To answer your question concisely:

The ES9038PRO (which we use in our CMA Fifteen) is a world-class standalone DAC, but it consumes a lot of power and is also quite big in physical size.

Meanwhile, ES9281AC (which we use in our M15) is a USB+DAC, and has a lower power consumption and a smaller physical size, and as such is better suited for mobile DAC/amps.

Of course there are a lot of other details, but I’ll keep it simple for now

---

@Hyde00
Yes, I feel your pain… I’ve been there too… when looking at new devices / DACs / amps, if you don’t have the ability to readily and immediately audition it where you live, you have to rely on measurements and numbers to decide if you want to purchase it… or wait until a lot of reviews have been written on it. But don’t worry, lots of reviews are coming out these days, and even more in the near future. To list a couple that have been published recently:

• https://www.pocnetwork.net/product-...mobile-lossless-dac-with-headphone-amplifier/
• https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/questyle-m15/

If anybody else has seen any reviews of the M15 worth sharing, also please do share! They are coming in from every angle (including a LOT in Chinese, if anybody is interested in that, I would be happy to share as well, I have plenty).

---

@KuroKitsu
Thank you for your honest feedback. We at Questyle, and me personally, really crave it. So really, thank you.

You’re 100% right. Absolutely right. It’s not a good look to launch a product without offering direct sales to a lot of major markets/regions/countries. And to add insult to injury, to have an offer of a bonus, complementary add-on (like this leather case) but limit to a specific timeline, knowing very well that some users might not be able to buy the product in that timeline… I hear you. This is not good. And it needs to be corrected.

Let me go and talk with the team tomorrow and see what we can do about this. At the end of the day, we must be fair to all of our customers. As you said, this situation is through no fault of your own… and you, nor should any customer, have to suffer consequences from such.

I’ll personally make sure we correct this and make it right. I’ll revert soon.



Now, to tangent off for a second:

There’s a lot that can be said and discussed about sales channels. Distributors/dealers are an indispensable and crucial part of the hifi ecosystem: not many people are willing to purchase new, expensive equipment without having the chance to try it out in person first and audition it, and unfortunately Questyle (and most other hifi audio companies) aren’t capable of placing retail outlets in every country at the moment. This is where dealers come in, and really play a critical role. And on top of that, dealers provide so many other value-add services, including events, community-building, product service, customer support, and much more.

That being said, for some products, especially those with a lower retail value, some customers are indeed willing to purchase them without first trying/audition them personally — and, in theory, it is only fair and reasonable to be able offer these to such customers in the most direct, efficient, and fast way possible (that is, directly from the manufacturer). But in reality, it’s incredibly complicated. And at this moment, we are right in the middle of this complication.

There’s no easy answer, there’s no one-minute solution, so all I can do at this moment is say thank you for your understanding, thank you for your patience, and most of all thank you for your honest feedback and thoughts. Questyle is literally nothing without our customers, and we tremendously value every one of you that is willing to spend your time sharing your ideas, feelings, suggestions, criticisms, and experiences with us. Really, thank you.

Lol omg I can't believe you actually answered ALL the questions, much appreciated!!!

after many hours of comparison between the Cayin Ru6 and Questyle M15, I choose the M15 over Cayin. It's a W-shaped sound, with great technicality throughout the whole frequency. Wider dynamic and harmonic, there is a feeling of warmth and analog sounding giving a sense of musicality yet having great details. The separation and timbre are excellent. Soundstage as previously mentioned is wide and deep depending on the gear you have. Finally, no EMI as compared to Cayin Ru6 which is prominent for me though.
IMO, It's like a fusion of L&P W2's resolving nature + Cayin Ru6 analog-sounding but don't quote me wholly. It may be different in your ears.

Damn now I wish I read this before I bought xDuoo Link2 Bal. Granted I bought it 1 week ago so timing wise it would've been impossible anyway lol.

Truth be told I did previously owned RU6 and W2 and W2-131 and sold all of them due to different shortcomings.

RU6 as you mentioned has the most analogue sound but to me has very shallow soundstage in low gain and high gain has recessed vocal. Also has treble and bass roll off (sub bass not there).

W2 is actually the closest to what I like in terms of tonal balance (sparkly treble, rich mids, deep bass) but has the least amount of texture (voices) and distant vocal.

W2-131 the vocal is better (much more overall texture) but lacks the treble sparkle that I liked in W2.

LOL sorry at this point I hope I don't sound too picky. But at the same time from what you described M15 might be the best of both worlds.

Though could you describe vocal forwardness of M15 by any chance? I found M12 (demoed for like 10 min) vocal a bit recessed for my taste, I hope it's better in M15. Sorry I know this is more like preference, but I like forward and upfront vocal. Otherwise thank you so much for the first review!