So... at long last Questyle CMA18P is in the house
thanks to Pierre at Headonist.fr
CMA18P features a beautiful build quality and such a sexy design with the view on the internal design
but maybe that's the nerd talking
In terms of size I had seen pictures of CMA18P stacked with iPhone and wondered if the pic was a Max, and yes it's the iPhone 15 Pro Max here so it matches.
A smaller phone won't be as good an experience obviously...
I used a
magsafe magnet with 3M tape fixed to the CMA which is to me such a handy way to stack it !
I wished I could magnet both ways as it would be slimmer but still very very convenient...
Now all this is good and all but how does it sound?
Well I'll cut to the chase and after a few hours with it out of the box I am very impressed by the SQ.
The stage is vast and imaging is precise, PRaT is top notch which makes it quite engaging and it’s not a colored source in USB mode. It’s
reference done right in my book with plenty of authority down low and a lot of headroom as well. It's a very
dynamic brand of sound with
fast transients and dynamic range is quite impressive. Resolution is fairly impressive as well, with a clean black background. Questyle managed to avoid going the clinical road, it's really accurate and will reflect the pure nature of your gear, at least that's the impression I get from my trusted Elysium and DCA Stealth which in my collection are less organic than my usual stuff. So YMMV but you won't get a smoothed or relaxed presentation from the CMA18P : it's
fast, clean and accurate and won't add or substract anything.
In
BT mode you loose a bit of this with a smoother presentation with a touch of warmth but not a total signature change altogether… note that I obviously don't have APTX HD so there is that, but even in the weaker quality BT from the iPhone I do still get a lot from the CMA18P and aside from a slightly smoother and less punchy and resolved presentation honestly aside from cricital listening during a commute
BT does the job very well and is more convenient than stacking which can be very handy so kudos for making this a feature !
Last but not least, I had initial worries about taping a magsafe magnet to the CMA for interference so I was not sure this would work out. But this baby is properly shielded as it doesn't even affect the BT connection 
So all in all I am so very happy with the purchase and very very impressed by the CMA18P.
I expected good stuff but that good? No... Maybe it's a bias since the CMA features AKM4493 but... well amplication plays such and important part as well...
I mean I started A/B with R8II and even... N30 and I must say
this baby delivers quite the value at the asking price Sure, I get more body from R8II but it's more of a different signature than performance bracket difference which honestly impresses me. Now N30 has a "soul" that well is on top of everything that the CMA18P can offer but honestly on technical fundamentals well the gap is not one might think it is (which is damn impressive considering the comparison).
I would even dare say that at this price point (well even twice the price) no DAP can compete... you get fantastic SQ and flawless technicalities and the amp section is something to behold... Now in my view this is one heck of a highly recommended from me to any audiophile looking for a clean, fast, dynamic reference source. You get 1W power at 32ohm which is nothing to sneeze at but also clearly you get quality current and we all know how important this is for multi driver and low impedance IEMs.
So hats off to Questyle for this little gem !!!
And maybe it's the geek in me but while I listen I often find myself looking at the circuit board with all this lights that give off a tubey vibe (signature does not but hell, I love it anyway).
Note : People from the Watercooler you'll get to audition it in Amsterdam
