QLS QA361 impression thread

[Forty6]

The qa360le isn’t mine, if I can borrow it again I shall do so

Btw , may i know where are you located ?

 

[Matpar]

I honestly ended up giving mine back, and in general can't really get the balanced output (I do use IT04). I find It very "dry" and too airy for my taste (got same experience with cayin n5 mkii).

I found this DAP to be neat, but was not that impressed with SQ. And the screen with that vertical ratio is a bit questionable imho.

In general I've found It very well built. Btw They give you a 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm balanced cable!

 

[audionewbi]

To me the sound is a more refined dpx1 with a meatier bass. Certainly is isn’t a warm dap but and as dynamic as calyx m( which still holds the standard) but it is a fast dap, reponsive, and with the right IEM can sound very engaging.

I’ve tried playing with balance and single ended connection but I can’t clearly hear a difference. Owners of hd650 told me this dap shine with headphone using those settings. More to come later.

 

[audionewbi]

Btw , may i know where are you located ?

Sydney

 

[Forty6]

Ummm.. interesting .

 

[unknownguardian]

Not sure this had been posted yet but just saw this from the china site

361 has 6 OPA1622 opamp chips internally.

For single-ended output (unbalanced 3.5mm)
Normal amp: Utilise 1 chip, Voltage output 10V
Large current: Utilise 3 chips, Voltage output 10V
High voltage: Utilise 1 chip, Voltage output 16-17V
Double high: Utilise 3 chips, Voltage output 16-17V

For balanced output (balanced 3.5mmpro)
Normal amp: Utilise 2 chip, Voltage output 10V
Large current: Utilise 6 chips, Voltage output 10V
High voltage: Utilise 2 chip, Voltage output 16-17V

 

[Forty6]

Not sure this had been posted yet but just saw this from the china site

361 has 6 OPA1622 opamp chips internally.

For single-ended output (unbalanced 3.5mm)
Normal amp: Utilise 1 chip, Voltage output 10V
Large current: Utilise 3 chips, Voltage output 10V
High voltage: Utilise 1 chip, Voltage output 16-17V
Double high: Utilise 3 chips, Voltage output 16-17V

For balanced output (balanced 3.5mmpro)
Normal amp: Utilise 2 chip, Voltage output 10V
Large current: Utilise 6 chips, Voltage output 10V
High voltage: Utilise 2 chip, Voltage output 16-17V

Thanks for sharing .

Interesting is there's still no product introduction in English for this QA361 found at the official site.

The QA361 can only be found on the chinese version product page .

http://www.qlshifi.com/wzcp/qa361.htm

Very colourful and impressive spec .

 

[Rlin987]

Thanks for sharing .

Interesting is there's still no product introduction in English for this QA361 found at the official site.

The QA361 can only be found on the chinese version product page .

http://www.qlshifi.com/wzcp/qa361.htm

Very colourful and impressive spec .

They are not focusing on NA market currently I guess.

 

[Forty6]

There's this possibility that the 361 may be just like the previous ultra successful qa350 , 360 line up , may also shared the same fate of upgrading to mod status at a later date , if history is any indication .

Can see that there's quite a numbers of 361 at the resale market back in mainland china for as low as 4000RMB .

The majority user impression of this 361 in china seems to be not very favorably as compare to the 360 series in china , from what i had read in chinese forum . many chinese user actually criticized the 361 and still favor the 360 series over this new dap .
And if the criticising keeps going , i won't be surprised QLS boss is going enter into Paranoia mode again to give this 361 a mod of the century

Anyway this dap just roll out not very long ago , take that wait and see approach first to see if there's any further happening on this dap .

 

[audionewbi]

It is a different size dap and until I can do a a side by side comparing I wouldn’t know. QA360 is great but big, BIG.

 

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

Spent a while away from the portable audio scene and come back to this! My QA360LE is jealous.

So this dap is using the AK4495SEQ (not to be confused with the AK4495EQ in other daps!), but the kicker is that it is also running at it's max 7v rather than the standard 5v, the only other dap to do this is the Yin Lu Mei D200+ (which I own and love the sound of), it's a totl DAC at 7v. Also it is running dual power supplies (dual channel batteries like HM901 and Paw Gold), but this also has twin super capacitors backing the batteries, only other dap to use a super capacitor is WM1Z/A and QA360, but they only use a single super capacitor because of the single channel power supply. The OPA1622 are the latest audio opamp from TI, this dap uses 6 for balanced output, it is actually the same amp setup as the Fiio AM3 module. The LPF is OPA2107, doesn't get much better (same part as HM901 actually). Using PGA2311U volume control like the Cayin N8 and QA360.

QLS prioritize purity and refuse to use digital power management chips like virtually every other dap, instead opting for pure hardware LDO power management. Also the reason for it's barebones interface is the engineer believes a single threaded music player and firmware decreases jitter. It's a very well engineered dap.

The QA360LE advantage is the Class A biased amp, but it is still less powerful than the QA361. I love my QA360LE though, talk about a black backround with razor sharp timbre cutting through, and the LE has channel matched components which isn't feasible for mass production dap's, so it's a one of a kind dap (well a 500 of a kind dap). I have not bought another dap since, QA360LE cured me of upgradeitis!

 

[Forty6]

It is a different size dap and until I can do a a side by side comparing I wouldn’t know. QA360 is great but big, BIG.

Awaiting that moment of truth to arrived . to be delivered by you in English version .
I have to be patient .. All Good things comes late

 

[Forty6]

Spent a while away from the portable audio scene and come back to this! My QA360LE is jealous.

So this dap is using the AK4495SEQ but the kicker is that it is running at 7v rather than the standard 5v, only other dap to do this is the Yin Lu Mei D200+ (which I own and love), really a top DAC particularly at 7v. Also it is running dual power supplies (dual channel batteries like HM901 and Paw Gold), but this also has twin super capacitors backing the batteries, only other dap to use a super capacitor is WM1Z/A and QA360, but they only use a single super capacitor because of the single channel power supply. The OPA1622 are the latest audio opamp from TI, this dap uses 6 for balanced output, it is actually the same amp setup as the Fiio AM3 module. The LPF is OPA2107, doesn't get much better (same part as HM901 actually). Using PGA2311U volume control like the QA360. Overall looks to be a very well engineered dap. The QA360LE advantage is the Class A biased amp, but even then it is less powerful than the QA361, everything else is in favor of the QA361. Still the QA360LE has it's own sound and the limited edition has channel matched components which isn't feasible for mass production dap's, so I won't sell mine hehe.

The LE is 2 thumps .

 

[audionewbi]

Spent a while away from the portable audio scene and come back to this! My QA360LE is jealous.

So this dap is using the AK4495SEQ but the kicker is that it is running at 7v rather than the standard 5v, only other dap to do this is the Yin Lu Mei D200+ (which I own and love), really a top DAC particularly at 7v. Also it is running dual power supplies (dual channel batteries like HM901 and Paw Gold), but this also has twin super capacitors backing the batteries, only other dap to use a super capacitor is WM1Z/A and QA360, but they only use a single super capacitor because of the single channel power supply. The OPA1622 are the latest audio opamp from TI, this dap uses 6 for balanced output, it is actually the same amp setup as the Fiio AM3 module. The LPF is OPA2107, doesn't get much better (same part as HM901 actually). Using PGA2311U volume control like the QA360. Overall looks to be a very well engineered dap. The QA360LE advantage is the Class A biased amp, but even then it is less powerful than the QA361, everything else is in favor of the QA361. Still the QA360LE has it's own sound and the limited edition has channel matched components which isn't feasible for mass production dap's, so I won't sell mine hehe.

Class A is the key, this is why Calyx M is still great.

 

[audionewbi]

Review to come this Sunday. For now, QA361 is a very capable DAP that falls short slightly only compared to daps 2.5 times its price, but it has an ace up its sleeve that those daps don't, an ace that places it on a class bigger than its own, find out later once my review is out.