Dobrescu George
Reviewer: AudiophileHeaven
Let's start with my usual first impressions
+ Man, the package is exquisite. They include a 32 GB MicroSD card, with hi-res music, and a card reader. WTH, I haven't seen this much luxury in a long while
+ Also comes with all the cables you could ever desire. It has LO / Coax, Balanced 3.5mm , with adapters included in the package to 2.5mm, and a normal headphone out. This is amazing once again.
+ The build quality is outstanding, full metal build, screen protector applied from the factory, and buttons / USB Type-C. Volume buttons, menu button and hold / power swtich. Really easy blind navigation
+ Screws at the bottom make it fully serviceable.
+ It does scan for music every time it is turned on, but it takes less than 30 seconds for a realistic full 256GB microSD card. More like 10 - 15 seconds
+ Very bright, crisp and clear display
+ Can do DSD conversion on the spot, you get multiple AMP power modes, and even fine tuning settings for the buttons
+ Now, if there's something you won't like about it, is that it is very basic. There is no cover art support, no streaming, no BT, no USB DAC functions. This is a transport or DAP, and that is it.
+ Ligh fast with my 256GB mSD card.
Now here's what I wasn't expecting.
+ So I have a large number of settings, and on the headphone out, it is doing so much damage, it could be called terminator. It has the power to not only drive but also control Sundara in full. And this ain't no joke, I'm talking about full power and control of a full sized planar.
+ 4 Power modes, including high current, high voltage, and both together. Seems like Sundara loves both, and now you can determine what your headphone thirsts for, if you want to get a dedicated AMP for it.
+ The sound alone is even better than the price point predicts, truly a gem if you like a minimalistic DAP.
+ Overall, the signature is very neutral, very detailed, extremely revealing, yet natural and organic, no digital glare, no harshness, no hard musical notes, just pure music awesomeness.
+ If there is one way to describe the sound, that is too good to be true.
+ Battery life is a bit on the short side, about 6 hours if used in double high mode, with other power features turned on, so not fully happy with that.
+ Even the microSD reader is optimised to lower the noise of microSD reading.
Now, I don't want my words to be mistaken. This is not a perfect player. This isn't even comparable to something like DX200 form iBasso in terms of abilities and tricks it can do, DX200 has way more powers for streaming, and apps support and such. QLS QA361 is strictly a music player, but it is an amazing one at that, a DAP to truly shine in music, but in a very minimalistic way. No fancy abilities, but with such a good sound, you probably won't even be asking for any.
I have some issues with it that I'm trying to sort out, like the battery life, and I'm still figuring the UI behavior, but man, that sound alone made me remember why I got in this hobby in the first place, it wasn't for the most revealing, or the most technical thing, or the most capable one, it was all for music. This is what QA 361 does best, play music, and do it really well.
I will be doing a full in-depth review, and most probably a Youtube video soon to showcase how it looks.
[Those are still first early impressions, please take them with a grain of salt]
+ Man, the package is exquisite. They include a 32 GB MicroSD card, with hi-res music, and a card reader. WTH, I haven't seen this much luxury in a long while
+ Also comes with all the cables you could ever desire. It has LO / Coax, Balanced 3.5mm , with adapters included in the package to 2.5mm, and a normal headphone out. This is amazing once again.
+ The build quality is outstanding, full metal build, screen protector applied from the factory, and buttons / USB Type-C. Volume buttons, menu button and hold / power swtich. Really easy blind navigation
+ Screws at the bottom make it fully serviceable.
+ It does scan for music every time it is turned on, but it takes less than 30 seconds for a realistic full 256GB microSD card. More like 10 - 15 seconds
+ Very bright, crisp and clear display
+ Can do DSD conversion on the spot, you get multiple AMP power modes, and even fine tuning settings for the buttons
+ Now, if there's something you won't like about it, is that it is very basic. There is no cover art support, no streaming, no BT, no USB DAC functions. This is a transport or DAP, and that is it.
+ Ligh fast with my 256GB mSD card.
Now here's what I wasn't expecting.
+ So I have a large number of settings, and on the headphone out, it is doing so much damage, it could be called terminator. It has the power to not only drive but also control Sundara in full. And this ain't no joke, I'm talking about full power and control of a full sized planar.
+ 4 Power modes, including high current, high voltage, and both together. Seems like Sundara loves both, and now you can determine what your headphone thirsts for, if you want to get a dedicated AMP for it.
+ The sound alone is even better than the price point predicts, truly a gem if you like a minimalistic DAP.
+ Overall, the signature is very neutral, very detailed, extremely revealing, yet natural and organic, no digital glare, no harshness, no hard musical notes, just pure music awesomeness.
+ If there is one way to describe the sound, that is too good to be true.
+ Battery life is a bit on the short side, about 6 hours if used in double high mode, with other power features turned on, so not fully happy with that.
+ Even the microSD reader is optimised to lower the noise of microSD reading.
Now, I don't want my words to be mistaken. This is not a perfect player. This isn't even comparable to something like DX200 form iBasso in terms of abilities and tricks it can do, DX200 has way more powers for streaming, and apps support and such. QLS QA361 is strictly a music player, but it is an amazing one at that, a DAP to truly shine in music, but in a very minimalistic way. No fancy abilities, but with such a good sound, you probably won't even be asking for any.
I have some issues with it that I'm trying to sort out, like the battery life, and I'm still figuring the UI behavior, but man, that sound alone made me remember why I got in this hobby in the first place, it wasn't for the most revealing, or the most technical thing, or the most capable one, it was all for music. This is what QA 361 does best, play music, and do it really well.
I will be doing a full in-depth review, and most probably a Youtube video soon to showcase how it looks.
[Those are still first early impressions, please take them with a grain of salt]
