QDC - Discussion and Impressions Thread
Aug 20, 2019 at 4:19 PM Post #1,066 of 2,714
So Luminox launches a new product "shadow" Same price as "Day for Night" Glad they always have QDC 2pins
available.

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is there a way to find a seller that sells the shadow and ships internationally as i need a 4.4mm balanced 2 pin for my noble iems
 
Aug 20, 2019 at 11:51 PM Post #1,068 of 2,714
Was quite impressed with the VX, their presentation on some of the songs was pleasantly different from my A12. However Fall Out Boys - The Phoenix sounded quite funny with the VX... will have to revisit again for a longer impression.
 
Aug 25, 2019 at 8:58 AM Post #1,069 of 2,714
Here is the 1st part of my impression of all the cables i have tried in Japan. Just some short impression from 15-30mins of listening.

KL licht
More bass leaning with good extension downlow and better bass texture compare to the DFN, with somewhat tamed the treble if you find the VX being too bright. Resolution is good even without the boosted treble. Vocal is somewhat the same. A good budget cable thats a bit cheaper than DFN if you favors bass over treble.

KL Erde
Another cable from kumitate lab, the more vocal foucs of the 2. Female Vocal sounds more forward and sweeter, bass take more recessed but controlled, treble is unchaged from the Licht, stage feels a bit more narrow compare to DFN due to the lowered treble amd forward mids.

Radius SPSCC
Good stage width but lacks depth. Bass is unpressive, all around a pretty meh cable... But the 45 degree plug is nice... Kek

Beat Audio Vermilion
Keeping the overall tonal balance, but with way better bass dynamic compare to DFN, female vocal is also sweeter and more pleasant overall, with a noticable amount of increase in clarity and stage width. The down side is that the UE plug is a bit too big for the qdc plug, im sure I can force it all the way in but i rather not...
But the 2pin version seems to fit just fine.
The cable is somewhat microphobic and stiff, but I do prefer the sound of vermilion over my own DFN any day of the week...

Beat Audio Hadal
The the more neutral of the 2 Beat Audio. Bass is lighter than the vermilion but it does not lack in quality. Vocal is also less colored. A very neutral cable like the NFN, and without any of the annoyinyness of the vermilion. Halad is prob a bit better than NFN but not by much. Probability my overall pick for the best sounding cable while keeping the same balanced sound signature of VX.

Luminox NFN
The co-flagship to the yet to be released tri-light. A more balanced cable compare to the DNF which favors more treble. Bass is more forward and punchier, while keeping the overall tonal balanced of the VX better than its little brother. With a better bass response and overall small improvement to the technicalities, NFN is THE cable to get if you want a more well rounded cable.

Luminox Shadow
The new cable from Luminox with the same price as DFN. The more Bass focused of the 2, while DFN is more treble foused, a good alternative to DFN for the same price for people who thinks the VX is a bit on the bright side. Tho bass can be a bit overpowering on some heavy electronic tracks. Everything else is pretty much the same as the DFN.

Luminox Booster Blue
A more upper mids focused cable with noticeble less bass and treble compare the DNF, vocal is forward but keeps VXs neutral tonality in terms of mids. The recessed trble can make it seem like its technicalites is not as good compare to DNF. Bass is also too light for my taste, the bass reponse is also not as good, and it can sound muddy at times.

Wagnus Frost Sheep Mastering edition
The Frost sheep weeboo edtion, what can easily describe as the Beats vermilion on crack, without any of the cable stiffness. Female vocal is clear forward and sweet. Bass takes a back seat to vocal but its textured and detailed. Treble have the same quantity as the DFN but it feels more spacious with better separation. If Beat Hadal is the best neutral cable, the Frost Sheep is best cable for VX if you want a more colored and flavorful VX. And before you check the price on these... They are 1.5k US... So forget about it... Buy a pair of used Z1R with that money and you can have a more colored VX...
 
Aug 25, 2019 at 6:24 PM Post #1,070 of 2,714
Part 2 of my impressions... I tried mostly 1k+ daps with 4.4mm out, since I only have a 4.4mm cable with my VX.

N8
Not not my 1st time with the N8, but it has been a while since I was in china. Still one of the most detailed dap out there, the 4.4mm bal is more bass focused, but thats isnt exactly a bad thing, bass is more textured and punchy. Sound stage is great and a overall all around upgrade to the 1A. A very good match with VX, and a good kilobucks neutralish dap.



LPGT
Revisiting the LPGT, its a bit more colored and warmer compare to the N8. Which I prefer over the N8 and my own 1A. Technicalities is on part with N8 but the stage can with narrower due to the boosted bass and forward vocal.



N6ii
Warm dap with a bump in midbass. Too much bass for me on a VX, the bass can be very boomy even on VX, it bleeds too much into the vocal. Resoultion is better than my 1A, but the lower frequency is just too much. It feels like I have the bass switch on my turned on, and then somemore... Overall a pretty bad dap to pair with VX, unless boomy BA bass is something you find enjoyable.



Cowon Plenue L
A warmish dap, tho less warm than N6ii. Somewhat reminds me of my DX200 with AMP8. Nice a pleasant sounding, good stage and great bass dynamic with excellent technicalities. Another good all rounder, tho a step down from the N8, a small step.



R2R2000 red
This sounds hot, like a pile of hot garbage. Chifiman really out did themselves this time, puting everything that can go wrong with a dap in one tiny package.... W/o a doubt the worst dap i ever tried...



DMP-Z1
If you every wonder if the Z1 is THAT good... It is. This is summit porta-fi, sell ur wife sell ur kids... This is the only thing you will every need. Z1 is the one true 'dap' for VX and nothing else comes close...

Jokes aside, it sounds like a more balanced 1A with insane detail and stage. If you dont think iem can scale with source, try Z1.



AK KANN Cube
The newest 'portable' meme from AK with a mini xlr to 4.4 adpter...
Dark neutralish signature with amazing clarity and great soundstage. The AK kann has always been the great price to performance lineup. And the KANN cube continues that tradition. The best 'bang 4 ur bucks' totl dap. Tho the size can a but much.



I really don't have too much bad things to say about most of the daps I have tried, since all of them are over 1k usd and performance are somewhat similar.



But in terms of technicalities:
Z1 > N8 = LPGT > AK KANN > Cowon PL > N6ii

LPGT is still my my pick for best dap for the the VX due to the combination of its sound signature and good resolution. KANN cube is a great performer for the price, if I can figure out how to carry a brick around everywhere...
 
Aug 25, 2019 at 9:58 PM Post #1,072 of 2,714
Beat Audio Vermilion
Keeping the overall tonal balance, but with way better bass dynamic compare to DFN, female vocal is also sweeter and more pleasant overall, with a noticable amount of increase in clarity and stage width. The down side is that the UE plug is a bit too big for the qdc plug, im sure I can force it all the way in but i rather not...
But the 2pin version seems to fit just fine.
So the 2 pin version works fine? I'm curious. Given reversed polarity of QDC, I assume you have to put in a "wrong way".
Then memory wires go other way... Let me know how it works. They've just launched Vermilion "Mk II". I wanna try if their custom 2 pin
still works fine.
 
Aug 25, 2019 at 10:00 PM Post #1,073 of 2,714
Part 2 of my impressions... I tried mostly 1k+ daps with 4.4mm out, since I only have a 4.4mm cable with my VX.

N8
Not not my 1st time with the N8, but it has been a while since I was in china. Still one of the most detailed dap out there, the 4.4mm bal is more bass focused, but thats isnt exactly a bad thing, bass is more textured and punchy. Sound stage is great and a overall all around upgrade to the 1A. A very good match with VX, and a good kilobucks neutralish dap.



LPGT
Revisiting the LPGT, its a bit more colored and warmer compare to the N8. Which I prefer over the N8 and my own 1A. Technicalities is on part with N8 but the stage can with narrower due to the boosted bass and forward vocal.



N6ii
Warm dap with a bump in midbass. Too much bass for me on a VX, the bass can be very boomy even on VX, it bleeds too much into the vocal. Resoultion is better than my 1A, but the lower frequency is just too much. It feels like I have the bass switch on my turned on, and then somemore... Overall a pretty bad dap to pair with VX, unless boomy BA bass is something you find enjoyable.



Cowon Plenue L
A warmish dap, tho less warm than N6ii. Somewhat reminds me of my DX200 with AMP8. Nice a pleasant sounding, good stage and great bass dynamic with excellent technicalities. Another good all rounder, tho a step down from the N8, a small step.



R2R2000 red
This sounds hot, like a pile of hot garbage. Chifiman really out did themselves this time, puting everything that can go wrong with a dap in one tiny package.... W/o a doubt the worst dap i ever tried...



DMP-Z1
If you every wonder if the Z1 is THAT good... It is. This is summit porta-fi, sell ur wife sell ur kids... This is the only thing you will every need. Z1 is the one true 'dap' for VX and nothing else comes close...

Jokes aside, it sounds like a more balanced 1A with insane detail and stage. If you dont think iem can scale with source, try Z1.



AK KANN Cube
The newest 'portable' meme from AK with a mini xlr to 4.4 adpter...
Dark neutralish signature with amazing clarity and great soundstage. The AK kann has always been the great price to performance lineup. And the KANN cube continues that tradition. The best 'bang 4 ur bucks' totl dap. Tho the size can a but much.



I really don't have too much bad things to say about most of the daps I have tried, since all of them are over 1k usd and performance are somewhat similar.



But in terms of technicalities:
Z1 > N8 = LPGT > AK KANN > Cowon PL > N6ii

LPGT is still my my pick for best dap for the the VX due to the combination of its sound signature and good resolution. KANN cube is a great performer for the price, if I can figure out how to carry a brick around everywhere...
No trying DX228?
 
Aug 25, 2019 at 10:28 PM Post #1,074 of 2,714
So the 2 pin version works fine? I'm curious. Given reversed polarity of QDC, I assume you have to put in a "wrong way".
Then memory wires go other way... Let me know how it works. They've just launched Vermilion "Mk II". I wanna try if their custom 2 pin
still works fine.

Yeah theres no memory wire so it works just fine with the 2pin but the stiffness is very annoying I would not recommend it. Hadal is better, but also cost more.
 
Aug 26, 2019 at 12:39 AM Post #1,076 of 2,714
Does anyone know where I can find a retailer for QDC in Beijing?

Heading there in 2 weeks and hoping to try a few models.
 
Aug 26, 2019 at 4:09 AM Post #1,078 of 2,714
OverlordRush
Thank you for your impressions! Did you tried Brise Audio and other Wagnus cables?

I did not, and not likely to get to try anything else. They dont have all the cables for demo in 2pin or qdc plugs. I tried the wagnus cable for the memes, most of their cables are 2k+ which I would personally never buy.
 
Last edited:
Aug 26, 2019 at 8:09 AM Post #1,079 of 2,714
I did not, and not likely to get to try anything else. They dont have all the cables for demo in 2pin or qdc plugs. I tried the wagnus cable for the memes, most of their cables are 2k+ which I would personally never buy.
Just checked these meme cables, there's a Silver Plated OFC one listed at 1700 Trump units.....

What the hell? Well I guess you gotta be a particular sheep, not just any regular sheep but an "Omni" one to be qualified to buy such goodness.
 
Aug 26, 2019 at 9:00 AM Post #1,080 of 2,714
Part 2 of my impressions... I tried mostly 1k+ daps with 4.4mm out, since I only have a 4.4mm cable with my VX.

N8
Not not my 1st time with the N8, but it has been a while since I was in china. Still one of the most detailed dap out there, the 4.4mm bal is more bass focused, but thats isnt exactly a bad thing, bass is more textured and punchy. Sound stage is great and a overall all around upgrade to the 1A. A very good match with VX, and a good kilobucks neutralish dap.



LPGT
Revisiting the LPGT, its a bit more colored and warmer compare to the N8. Which I prefer over the N8 and my own 1A. Technicalities is on part with N8 but the stage can with narrower due to the boosted bass and forward vocal.



N6ii
Warm dap with a bump in midbass. Too much bass for me on a VX, the bass can be very boomy even on VX, it bleeds too much into the vocal. Resoultion is better than my 1A, but the lower frequency is just too much. It feels like I have the bass switch on my turned on, and then somemore... Overall a pretty bad dap to pair with VX, unless boomy BA bass is something you find enjoyable.



Cowon Plenue L
A warmish dap, tho less warm than N6ii. Somewhat reminds me of my DX200 with AMP8. Nice a pleasant sounding, good stage and great bass dynamic with excellent technicalities. Another good all rounder, tho a step down from the N8, a small step.



R2R2000 red
This sounds hot, like a pile of hot garbage. Chifiman really out did themselves this time, puting everything that can go wrong with a dap in one tiny package.... W/o a doubt the worst dap i ever tried...



DMP-Z1
If you every wonder if the Z1 is THAT good... It is. This is summit porta-fi, sell ur wife sell ur kids... This is the only thing you will every need. Z1 is the one true 'dap' for VX and nothing else comes close...

Jokes aside, it sounds like a more balanced 1A with insane detail and stage. If you dont think iem can scale with source, try Z1.



AK KANN Cube
The newest 'portable' meme from AK with a mini xlr to 4.4 adpter...
Dark neutralish signature with amazing clarity and great soundstage. The AK kann has always been the great price to performance lineup. And the KANN cube continues that tradition. The best 'bang 4 ur bucks' totl dap. Tho the size can a but much.



I really don't have too much bad things to say about most of the daps I have tried, since all of them are over 1k usd and performance are somewhat similar.



But in terms of technicalities:
Z1 > N8 = LPGT > AK KANN > Cowon PL > N6ii

LPGT is still my my pick for best dap for the the VX due to the combination of its sound signature and good resolution. KANN cube is a great performer for the price, if I can figure out how to carry a brick around everywhere...
Thanks for the reviews. I disagree a bit on the daps, but great to hear other’s thoughts. I compared N8 to LPGT to AK1000 and my order would be:
N8>LPGT >AK
I felt the N8 had a slightly better bass, was smoother at the top with the same detail. I did really like the LPGT as well though. And these were with the Anole VX and Noble Encore. Tks.
 

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