The Qudelix-5K thread
Jun 19, 2021 at 5:40 AM Post #2,371 of 4,905
I know it's not out yet but... Anybody else praying to the gods of audio for an over ear full sized version of their upcoming IEMs?

Or is there a good reason why there aren't any multi driver full sized cans?
 
Jun 19, 2021 at 11:12 AM Post #2,372 of 4,905
I know it's not out yet but... Anybody else praying to the gods of audio for an over ear full sized version of their upcoming IEMs?

Or is there a good reason why there aren't any multi driver full sized cans?
There are a number of multi driver cans, but I don't think they're as popular as single drivers, probably for technical reasons. One huge driver is likely easier to design than the space that multiple smaller ones and the crossovers would take, not to mention trying to make all those drivers coherent. I have a pair of Bluedio ones with maybe a dozen drivers, but I'm not going to use those for comparison to anything since most of their gear is total garbage (these certainly are).
 
Jun 19, 2021 at 4:34 PM Post #2,373 of 4,905
is there a good reason why there aren't any multi driver full sized cans?
There are multi driver full size headphones, but they use the standard cabling with two wires per channel and have passive crossovers internally to split the frequencies between drivers (the same configuration used by multi driver IEMs and loudspeakers).

What Qudelix is doing is very unique, using external active crossovers and powering each driver separately (4 drivers, so requires 4 separate amp channels, and 2 pairs of wires going to each earpiece). They accomplish this by using all channels of the 2.5mm and 3.5mm outputs simultaneously with a special connector.
e1.jpeg

The reason nobody else is doing it, is that the configuration is very inflexible. The headphone can only be used with a matching amp that has the correct connections and crossover settings, and conversely you can't use the amp in this mode with any other headphone.
 
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Jun 19, 2021 at 6:00 PM Post #2,374 of 4,905
The reason nobody else is doing it, is that the configuration is very inflexible. The headphone can only be used with its matching amp, and conversely you can't use the amp in this mode with any other headphone.
Completely agree. Only outstanding listening experience as the efforts result would justify the approach, I guess.
 
Jun 19, 2021 at 6:35 PM Post #2,375 of 4,905
I'm going to be very interested to see what drivers they use, and ultimately what the sound signature is. I've seen that body before, but it's the special sauce inside that matters. On a side note, think of how much raw power they're going to be able to feed it through both outputs. Wow! I wonder if they'll have a new FW setting for these, to moderate the battery life.
 
Jun 20, 2021 at 8:21 AM Post #2,376 of 4,905
Thanks for the replies. I have cauliflower ears but most importantly in the right ear canal so IEMs are really painful at best, if they fit at all. Having said that, I'll probably still buy them just because. I just hope they make a cauliflower friendly form factor further down the line.

Qudelix seems incredibly reluctant to show any FR - which is a little suss but hey, it's $30 so the 'entrance fee' isn't too extortionate.
 
Jun 21, 2021 at 12:51 PM Post #2,380 of 4,905
If you are in the US, keep an eye out for Prime Day deals. 5k was discounted last year for Prime Day.

I'm not seeing it on sale at amazon.com. But possibly that is because I am not in the US (I'm not seeing any prime day sales at amazon.com).
 
Jun 21, 2021 at 1:58 PM Post #2,381 of 4,905
I'm not seeing it on sale at amazon.com. But possibly that is because I am not in the US (I'm not seeing any prime day sales at amazon.com).
Don't see it on sale this year either unfortunately. May be the first Prime Day where I save money by not buying anything.
 
Jun 21, 2021 at 3:17 PM Post #2,382 of 4,905
Yeah that’s what I have as well. Hope your next one doesn’t exhibit the same issue.
My replacement 5K arrives today. I'll report back what I find.

In the interim, a few different items to note as I've played around with my Fiio BTR5 and EarStudio ES100:

BTR5 - it too produces pops and clicks when starting/pausing music, though at a much lower volume. I never noticed this before and only came across it during testing.

ES100 - completely silent.
 
Jun 21, 2021 at 7:55 PM Post #2,383 of 4,905
My replacement 5K arrives today. I'll report back what I find.

In the interim, a few different items to note as I've played around with my Fiio BTR5 and EarStudio ES100:

BTR5 - it too produces pops and clicks when starting/pausing music, though at a much lower volume. I never noticed this before and only came across it during testing.

ES100 - completely silent.
Well, I got the replacement 5K and it's exactly the same thing.... Pops/clicks when sound starts and stops. It's not terribly loud, but quite annoying. I'm surprised no one else is hearing this, as I doubt I just happened to get two different units with the same "issue". My guess is, it's the internal amp turning on/off as needed to conserve power.

The sound is great, and the app is very feature rich, but the pops/clicks are annoying AF. I guess I'll have to use it a while to see if it's worth keeping and using in lieu of the ES100.
 
Jun 21, 2021 at 8:04 PM Post #2,384 of 4,905
Can anyone confirm if iOS has the ability to use the Absolute Volume control with the 5K? Perhaps it's because I'm still using an iPhone 8, even though I'm on v14.6? According to Qudelix I should have an option to set this in the app, but I don't see it:

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Jun 21, 2021 at 8:29 PM Post #2,385 of 4,905
It's has to be a source/software issue maybe an Apple thing ? Could also be software related to the player software you're using. The chance that 2 units have the same defeat is slim I would think. I'm feeding it with a samsung s20 5g using foobar2k LDAC or USB lossless I get no clicks or pops ever. All my files are flac no mp3 with a few hi res here and there. Could also be something related to streaming app if you're Streaming. Never tested it because I don't stream.
 
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