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The Qudelix-5K thread

Jun 8, 2021 at 12:04 PM Post #2,311 of 5,298
Hi all, can I just clarify something please? On the PEQ page, are all values entered manually or can you use the touch screen to create and adjust the bands? I'm hoping it's the first but imagine it's actually the second version.
Also, once a value is finished or entered, does the Q5K reflect the change immediately or does it need saving and activating in some way?
Thanks in advance.
 
Jun 8, 2021 at 12:39 PM Post #2,312 of 5,298
Hey,

does anybody know, why the level on the right side is lower than on the left side?
I've watched this now for a couple of minutes and most of the time, both levels are around -0.50.

But every few seconds the right side gets lower and the left side stays.

The picture is just an example, sometimes the difference is way higher.

IMG_0284.png
 
Jun 8, 2021 at 1:52 PM Post #2,313 of 5,298
CommanderCute said:
Hey,

does anybody know, why the level on the right side is lower than on the left side?
I've watched this now for a couple of minutes and most of the time, both levels are around -0.50.

But every few seconds the right side gets lower and the left side stays.

The picture is just an example, sometimes the difference is way higher.

IMG_0284.png
Click to expand...

This happens to me too.
 
Jun 8, 2021 at 3:58 PM Post #2,315 of 5,298
Very sad that it doesn't support Bluetooth.

But I have two questions and maybe someone can help.

1. The Qudelix is a 24 Bit/96 Khz USB DAC and I can choose in Apple Music between Lossless (up to 24 Bit/48 kHz) and High Resolution Lossless (up to 24 Bit/196 kHz).
Which should I choose for the Qudelix?

I read that it always upsamples to 196 kHz and that's bad or worse than the lower setting. Is this true?


2. No matter what I choose in Apple Music (256 AAC, Lossless or High Resolution Lossless), in the Qudelix app under "input -> state" there's always (!) Codec: Lossless, Sample Rate 96 kHz and Bits Per Sample 24 Bit.

Why isn't this different when I choose different formats in Apple Music?


Thanks for your help.
 
Jun 8, 2021 at 7:04 PM Post #2,317 of 5,298
I posted in Qudelix forum as well

will playing a lossless file improve the sound quality of Bluetooth-transmitted sound?
I am not sure about the exact signal/data path. But if the file to be converted/compressed to BT signal is higher quality (lossless), won’t the sound be better?

Or will the details of the larger lossless file be lost at the BT compression?
 
Jun 9, 2021 at 3:36 AM Post #2,319 of 5,298
CommanderCute said:
2. No matter what I choose in Apple Music (256 AAC, Lossless or High Resolution Lossless), in the Qudelix app under "input -> state" there's always (!) Codec: Lossless, Sample Rate 96 kHz and Bits Per Sample 24 Bit.

Why isn't this different when I choose different formats in Apple Music?
Click to expand...
What device are you playing Apple Music on? There is a lot of discussion happening on the web about Apple Music and lossless playback. It seems that if you are playing from USB on an iOS device, the data rate will switch to match the track resolution. However, if you are playing on a Mac, the USB audio resolution is set by the Audio MIDI Setup app and the audio will be up or down sampled to match it. Tidal and Qobuz apps use an exclusive mode that bypasses the MIDI Setup settings, but currently the Apple Music app (on a Mac) does not use exclusive mode.
 
Jun 9, 2021 at 4:13 AM Post #2,320 of 5,298
rkw said:
What device are you playing Apple Music on? There is a lot of discussion happening on the web about Apple Music and lossless playback. It seems that if you are playing from USB on an iOS device, the data rate will switch to match the track resolution. However, if you are playing on a Mac, the USB audio resolution is set by the Audio MIDI Setup app and the audio will be up or down sampled to match it. Tidal and Qobuz apps use an exclusive mode that bypasses the MIDI Setup settings, but currently the Apple Music app (on a Mac) does not use exclusive mode.
Click to expand...
I'm using the new M1 MacBook.

I've read that with the Audio-MIDI-Setup, but when the Qudelix is connected to the MacBook, I can't change the setting, it's locked in on 24 Bit/96 kHz.

Also in the audio system information of the MacBook there's always sample rate 96 kHz, no matter which setting I've enabled in Apple Music.
 
Jun 9, 2021 at 7:11 AM Post #2,321 of 5,298
CommanderCute said:
I'm using the new M1 MacBook.

I've read that with the Audio-MIDI-Setup, but when the Qudelix is connected to the MacBook, I can't change the setting, it's locked in on 24 Bit/96 kHz.

Also in the audio system information of the MacBook there's always sample rate 96 kHz, no matter which setting I've enabled in Apple Music.
Click to expand...
The Q5K supports a maximum of 24bit/96Khz when used as a USB DAC, so your Mac will always use that rate, either upsampling or downsampling music as necessary. If you choose to listen the what Apple are calling Hi-res Lossless, the music will be downsampled from 192Khz so if you want to listen to that music at the highest possible quality, you’ll need a DAC that supports 192Khz sample rate. If you choose ‘Lossless’ which is 24bit/48KHz then the Mac will upsample to 96KHz to match the Q5K.
how good the Mac is at upsample I’m not sure but basically if you can hear the difference, pick the one that you enjoy the most 😉
 
Last edited:
Jun 9, 2021 at 7:30 AM Post #2,322 of 5,298
davehutch said:
The Q5K supports a maximum of 24bit/96Khz when used as a USB DAC, so your Mac will always use that rate, either upsampling or downsampling music as necessary. If you choose to listen the what Apple are calling Hi-res Lossless, the music will be downsampled from 192Khz so if you want to listen to that music at the highest possible quality, you’ll need a DAC that supports 192Khz sample rate. If you choose ‘Lossless’ which is 24bit/48KHz then the Mac will upsample to 96KHz to match the Q5K.
how good the Mac is at upsample I’m not sure but basically if you can hear the difference, pick the one that you enjoy the most 😉
Click to expand...
Perfect, thanks.

Honestly, I don't hear any differences between Lossless and High Resolution Lossless.

I just were irritated because some member of MacRumors wrote, that if your DAC doesn't support 192 kHz you shouldn't use the High Resolution Lossless because the result is worse than using the 48 kHz setting.

So I also can't change the settings in the Audio-MIDI-Setup because the Qudelix is locked at 96 kHz, right?
 
Jun 9, 2021 at 8:40 AM Post #2,323 of 5,298
I’ve had my Qudelix 5k for almost a week now and really love it. Everyday, I’m finding new ways to get even better sound out of it. I do have one irritating problem, though. I use the Onkyo HF Player app when playing music and for whatever reason, it takes several reboots, reloads and plugging and unplugged to get the app to work with the Qudelix when using USB. I don’t have this problem with any other app. Is there any solution for this?
 
Jun 9, 2021 at 10:16 AM Post #2,324 of 5,298
CommanderCute said:
Perfect, thanks.

Honestly, I don't hear any differences between Lossless and High Resolution Lossless.

I just were irritated because some member of MacRumors wrote, that if your DAC doesn't support 192 kHz you shouldn't use the High Resolution Lossless because the result is worse than using the 48 kHz setting.

So I also can't change the settings in the Audio-MIDI-Setup because the Qudelix is locked at 96 kHz, right?
Click to expand...
Yes, that’s right. My ES100 is locked at 24/48
After a quick read of this, it does sound like upsampling would be the way to go and therefore to use 48KHz Apple Music
 
Last edited:
Jun 9, 2021 at 11:00 AM Post #2,325 of 5,298
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