[dip registered]

What DAC/amp combos are people using with the qa360? Or are most of you using it straight to headphones? I experimented with the optical out to Hifi m8 last night, but hard to tell the difference (between that and using headphones directly). Possibly the m8 was slightly less warm and had slightly more instrument separation, but I'm not confident in that conclusion, because only some tracks made me feel that way, other didn't.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

^ I came to same conclusion as you, I tried using a separate amp, and it was only very slightly better, not enough to justify the extra size and weight of stack. Although I do like using the digital out to my desktop dac and amp when using my speaker rig.

 

[dip registered]

  ^ I came to same conclusion as you, I tried using a separate amp, and it was only very slightly better, not enough to justify the extra size and weight of stack. Although I do like using the digital out to my desktop dac and amp when using my speaker rig.

Good to know that you've found a similar result. And yeah, I totally agree. I'll continue to A/B between the m8 (and mojo when I get one) but for now I'm totally happy with the qa360 flying solo. 
 
...I think that, then I see so many people with separate DAC/Amps attached to their A&K gear. Surely the A&K DAPs are good enough ($$$$) without an additional amp? Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[sstyle]

It is because the A&K make a design first of all.

 

[AlexRoma]

Last week I had made an A/B comparison on same tracks between Fiio X7 Am1 module, HighGain and QLS360, using fullsized Fostex X Massdrop TH-X00 headphones.
 
First of all, l have to say, I am an old school audiophile guy. I don't need that fancy wifi / android stuff, when I pay for a high-end DAP .
I have a Meizu phone for multimedia purpose. I don't need streaming services either because they are too expensive and need to invest much more in your mobile internet (4G / LTE). I have a collection of over 2Tb lossless music, collected over 10 years, before internet streaming services had ever existed.
 
Fostex headphones are not an easy to drive beast, like an AKG K712 headphone. They have very low impedance (25 ohms) but also much lower then average sensitivity - only 94 dB/mW, same as AKG K7** series, and huge magnets inside (over 1 Tesla). Even desktop setups encounter difficulties driving these headphones.
 
QLS made my Fostex Massdrop sing like no other source I've tried in 6 months, beating stuff like Pegasus 2 HP DAC/AMP, Cayin N5 DAP, Audinst HUD MX-2, Emu-1616M. The output is sublime, the imaging and space rendering - to die for, huge and sophisticated, without harshness and fatigue, perfectly controlled bass, plenty of sub bass, fast attack, slow decay. In fact, QLS + Fostex made a new reference in my house. This stack performs like a measurement and an enjoyment tool the same time, showing you a clear difference between a better and a poorer recording, if it is a higher resolution file, a DSD file and a CDA 44/16 file - you don't have too look on the screen - you hear the difference. You never know what to expect from QLS presentation, it's so unpredictable (in a good way). Each song sounds different, but the general rule is clear - the better the recording - the more sophisticated imaging and space rendering you get. My old Gothic Metal favorite albums now sound like crap, because they had been recorded so from the very beginning. Give it a Mark Knopfler or Adele recording - you are in heaven. A very musical, yet precise setup.
 
To tell you a long story short - QLS 360 beats Fiio X7 on all headphones I've tried (Fostex, M50x, Sennheiser Momentum, IE80) like a heavy-weight boxer vs a fancy dressed biker. No contest... High-End vs Mid-Fi experience.
 
I am joining the QLS QA360LE pre-order on tao-bao. Hard to imagine what an upgraded QA360 can deliver, let's see

 

[sonickarma]

Love the signature on this, don't know why it doesn't get more fans/buyers?
 
Any impressions of the QLS QA360LE ?
 
As thinking of getting one.

 

[sonickarma]

Not sure of the purpose of this but thought I would share it
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Remote-Control-and-Remote-receive-cable-QLS-QA360-DAP-/301393265314
 

 

[sonickarma]

Anyone know/tried the differences in sound signature between firmware  Player Pure 1.4.05 and 1.4.02 ?

 

[dip registered]

  Love the signature on this, don't know why it doesn't get more fans/buyers?
 
Any impressions of the QLS QA360LE ?
 
As thinking of getting one.

I'd like to know the sonic diffirences myself, it should use the same firmware though, maybe just stronger/better materials? A slight sonic difference through that, but hardly noticeable perhaps? 
 
I love mine to bits. Maybe the lack of cover art, playlists - those things really do turn people away. And it is big, but you shouldn't need an external amp/dac to use with it, so in regard to being a full size sound rig, it is actually very small.
 
Also, I have the remote and receiver for mine. Haven't used it yet. Supposedly only a couple of buttons work with the QA360, the main control buttons, like play - pause - next - previous, etc. It was made for their larger full size players, but it can work with the QA360. Cheap, so I got it!

 

[dip registered]

The only issue I have with the player is that when I play mix CDs (techno mixes that need seemless track changes) there is a slight 'skip' every time the track changes, even though in the menu I have TRACK GAP = 0
 
Makes playing mixes pretty much a no go, unless you can put up with a slight glitch. I'm SURE this could be fixed with new firmware - but I don't know how I could suggest it to them.
 
I'm using the WAV only firmware at the moment. Haven't tried other firmwares.

 

[dip registered]

The QA360 LE (Limited Edition) has just been announced and only 550 units will be manufactured. Caps, resistors etc have been upgraded to improve the SQ. Not sure if the LE will be available to international customers, though.

Check out some photos at http://erji.net/read.php?tid=1882144

Is the upgrade still available? Who sent theirs in for the upgrade?

 

[AlexRoma]

I had received my QLS360 LE last week. Remote control not included in package.
 
First impression - contradictory, looks like burn-in is a must. Sounds kind of compressed and closed , even considering the treble happy signature, lacks extension, not as open as a well burned-in ordinary QLS360.
 
By the way, guys, what is the best tool/way to convert DSD128 files to DSD64 files ? I had found a resource full of dsd128 albums but almost nothing DSD64 .

 

[unknownguardian]

I had received my QLS360 LE last week. Remote control not included in package.

First impression - contradictory, looks like burn-in is a must. Sounds kind of compressed and closed , even considering the treble happy signature, lacks extension, not as open as a well burned-in ordinary QLS360.

By the way, guys, what is the best tool/way to convert DSD128 files to DSD64 files ? I had found a resource full of dsd128 albums but almost nothing DSD64 .

which firmware are you running on? i would recommend either 1.4 or 1.4.02 (or even better the wav only 1.4.05)

 

[griff2]

What DAC/amp combos are people using with the qa360? Or are most of you using it straight to headphones? I experimented with the optical out to Hifi m8 last night, but hard to tell the difference (between that and using headphones directly). Possibly the m8 was slightly less warm and had slightly more instrument separation, but I'm not confident in that conclusion, because only some tracks made me feel that way, other didn't.

Feeding a Chord Mojo, via coax, which in turn feeds a Ray Samuels SR-71A amp.  The combo sounds fabulous, bus is still a wee bit clinical for my taste.  I prefer a Pioneer BD feeding the Mojo/Ray Samuels combo: the sound is less clinical and more organic.

 

[griff2]

  Feeding a Chord Mojo, via coax, which in turn feeds a Ray Samuels SR-71A amp.  The combo sounds fabulous, bus is still a wee bit clinical for my taste.  I prefer a Pioneer BD feeding the Mojo/Ray Samuels combo: the sound is less clinical and more organic.

Having listened to "Claire Martin We've Got A World That Swings" ripped from CD I completely recant my criticism of the DAP, it's not clinical, it's accurate.  I haven't heard a piano reproduced so accurately from any recording until listening via the above setup; the last time I heard a piano sound this good I was in front of it (not playing it though).
 
Personally I'm not interested in the DAP as a DAP, I'm using it as a digital source and to that end it's phenomenal.  
 
Interestingly the Mojo/Ray Samuel combo really blows away my Naim DAC VI; time to get the Chord 2qute I think.
 
BTW I've listened to all the firmware, both WAV only and full, I prefer the as supplied with my unit firmware (as of May 2016) full version 1.306.