The Qudelix-5K thread

[daveya]

Tbh that's my whole hifi philosophy 'why the hell not', just in case etc etc

Etc etc doing the heavy lifting

 

[daveya]

Deleted due to idiocy

 

[ExTubeGamer]

Y'all do realize balanced doesn't inherently sound better, its only utility here is to provide extra juice to headphones that might need it? Like there's literally nothing mechanically in a balanced connection that would make it sound better.

The balanced output option on most sources sounds better then the unbalanced output. It might be the circuit or it might be the manufacturer who put extra effort into the balanced port.

 

[daveya]

I love the extra effort bonus when I buy stuff

 

[xSDMx]

I mean if your cable was 30 feet long, absolutely. Otherwise no. And yes I know the SE846 is especially low impedance (which could theoretically be a factor) but I heavily, heavily doubt it. Balanced is something that has an incredibly narrow use case but has been marketed to audiophiles with the same honesty as all those ridiculous dragon cables and whatnot leading to people insisting they can hear something that literally does not show up in measurements.

The only reason I have a balanced cable myself was because I needed a new one and they were the same price so I thought hey why the hell not.

Your anecdote vs. my anecdote, go! I can hear a difference with my SE846, so I'll leave it at that. Others can make their own decision re: if spending $15 on an extra cable is worthwhile.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

I mean if your cable was 30 feet long, absolutely. Otherwise no. And yes I know the SE846 is especially low impedance (which could theoretically be a factor) but I heavily, heavily doubt it. Balanced is something that has an incredibly narrow use case but has been marketed to audiophiles with the same honesty as all those ridiculous dragon cables and whatnot leading to people insisting they can hear something that literally does not show up in measurements.

The only reason I have a balanced cable myself was because I needed a new one and they were the same price so I thought hey why the hell not.

Believe it or not, a balanced connection and an unbalanced one sounds different, whether it can be better or worse that's another story but they sound different. Plus the human hearing nerve is superior to any measurement system out there. Measurements are a good approach to making a rough assessment but in no way can they replace critical listening.

It's like believing you know the flavor of a food, measuring its weight, shape, texture, density, color, etc.

 

[mugbot]

Believe it or not, a balanced connection and an unbalanced one sounds different, whether it can be better or worse that's another story but they sound different. Plus the human hearing nerve is superior to any measurement system out there. Measurements are a good approach to making a rough assessment but in no way can they replace critical listening.

It's like believing you know the flavor of a food, measuring its weight, shape, texture, density, color, etc.

Modern measuring devices are orders of magnitude better than the 'human hearing nerve'.
Citation needed on where an unbalanced connection sounds different to balanced. There's no science based reason for this to be the case (except of course where chip amps can produce more power, and thus play louder).

 

[3fifty]

Plus the human hearing nerve is superior to any measurement system out there.

This is so wrong I don't even know where to start..

 

[daveya]

Qudelix themselves say this in the manual.

2.5mm Balanced (Full Differential)
2VRMS Mode

The full differential direct audio path delivers the best linearity and separation, still with enough battery time.

I mean who doesn't want 'the best' .

Just in case etc etc

 

[yabba235]

The eternal problem - measurements or hearing - I wonder why people with the so-called absolute hearing are still alive and their opinions are binding, not the results from the laboratory. Measurements can tell us if a brick is made to the standards, but they won't tell us anything about its sound quality. This is the domain of subjective listening. And that's about it. As for the differences between unbalanced and balanced, I personally always prefer balanced connections. Even when I used to have an analog turntable as a source in the audio path a long time ago. After all, it is a clean, balanced source

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Got a big problem going.

The 5k won't turn on. Pressing the blue button makes the red light turn on and stay on, but no amount of holding turns the device on. PC no longer recognizes it. I left it on a charger for an hour or so, no change.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

The eternal problem - measurements or hearing - I wonder why people with the so-called absolute hearing are still alive and their opinions are binding, not the results from the laboratory. Measurements can tell us if a brick is made to the standards, but they won't tell us anything about its sound quality. This is the domain of subjective listening. And that's about it. As for the differences between unbalanced and balanced, I personally always prefer balanced connections. Even when I used to have an analog turntable as a source in the audio path a long time ago. After all, it is a clean, balanced source

Because hearing is wildly affected by your feelings and opinions. No one has "objective hearing".

Never forget that a whole bunch of people claimed that the Synergistic Research HOT made all these wonderful changes to the sound until someone popped one open and it was literally just a 3.5mm jack with some sand and a couple wires that didn't do anything. People raved about certain models of KZ early on for their separation thanks to all the drivers and then someone looked and several of the BAs weren't even connected.

Think of the analogy of the wine tasting experiment in 2004. A bunch of wine experts were given a white wine to sample and give their opinions, then a red to do the same. The white was described as sweet, flowery, citrus notes, etc. The red was described as dry, tart, etc. Except the red was the white. It had been dyed red to see if people's opinions will change. And it caused exactly what we knew would happen.

I guarantee you the same could be done with audiophiles. If I swapped cables around and told you this one is balanced, that one is copper, this one is 16 core braided pure silver, that one has extra insulation, if I told you this file was 16/44.1 and that one was 32/192, you'd start giving me all kinds of explanations for the sonic differences you hear... even when nothing was actually changed.

Human beings are incredibly easy to mislead, the placebo effect is real, and it doesn't take much effort to trick people into experiencing what they want to experience. If it makes you happy to give you that psychological security of knowing that you have something-or-other, that's great. Honestly. The problem arises when you begin to take that and insist it's an objective and real difference that makes your chosen arrangement superior beyond your own brain.

 

[xSDMx]

Is there anyway to disable Bluetooth? I use the 5K in USB mode and it keeps automatically connecting to my phone and stealing audio output.

 

[daveya]

Unplug and plug it back in, that's what I have to do, the phone software tries to force BT I think, in between the volume columns you can pick who one you want to use and make sure USB is selected as priority in the app

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Is there anyway to disable Bluetooth? I use the 5K in USB mode and it keeps automatically connecting to my phone and stealing audio output.

it does this because the app needs bluetooth to interface with the device. You can safely use the 5k via USB but the bluetooth must remain active otherwise you lose the functionality of the app