[Polky74]

Have been living with the Questyle M15 for a few weeks now, mainly on my commute to and from work.
Sound wise, I appreciate its neutrality and it has plenty of power. I still think it's behind the likes of Mojo2 in this area, but in terms of sound for size it works well for me. As I've mentioned previously, it's also a clear upgrade over the Violectric Chronos I used to run - detail retrieval and sound stage in particular.

It does have its quirks, the most annoying being a seriously high sensitivity to EMI. Mojo2 also suffers from this when placed close to the phone, but the M15 is on another level. Can get really frustrating.
The other downside I've found is it underperforms as a desktop DAC, hooked to an external amp. Just doesn't have enough power, even over the balanced the output. Pity as this limits its versatility for me.

For desktop use, have you tried supplying it with a little more power with a switching power supply like the one contained in this hub?

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0BTYVL57R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Derivative]

For desktop use, have you tried supplying it with a little more power with a switching power supply like the one contained in this hub?

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0BTYVL57R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I have not, so thanks for pointing this out, very interesting.
So this hub will take signal from the laptop and power from the PS and feed both to the M15?

 

[Polky74]

I have not, so thanks for pointing this out, very interesting.
So this hub will take signal from the laptop and power from the PS and feed both to the M15?

No, this hub only takes the audio signal from the PC and does not power it from the USB port otherwise it would burn it... the only powered port is the one at the bottom which also signals the instant consumption of the dongle, the other ports must be kept free.

 

[Derivative]

No, this hub only takes the audio signal from the PC and does not power it from the USB port otherwise it would burn it... the only powered port is the one at the bottom which also signals the instant consumption of the dongle, the other ports must be kept free.

Thanks again and apologies if I'm being slow, but not following you entirely.
Here's what I understand:
- the hub takes the signal from the PC
- the hub itself is also powered by a switching PS
- the hub then connects to the M15 via the USB-C output cable
The M15 is then receiving both signal and power from the hub, via the USB-C cable. Same as it would from a phone or directly from the laptop.
Because the hub has an independent PS, it's able to provide far more power to the M15.

if this is the case, does this have any impact on how much power the M15 itself can the output to the external amp? Isn't the output power of the M15 dictated by its amp circuitry rather than how it's being powered?

thanks for any guidance, curious to learn more about this.

 

[Polky74]

Quite right, in fact the M15 (like all other dongles) are limited by the current they receive from the streamer (PC/phone/tablet). In this way they have much more power available because they ask it directly from the hub's switching power supply. In this photo you see that an FC6 is asking for 0.7 watts from the hub... power that it couldn't get from the PC's USB output... let alone from that of a tablet or phone. In addition to this, when connected to phones or tablets, via the hub, the dongles will not draw from their respective batteries. Simple, safe, effective.

 

[Polky74]

It is understood that not all hubs behave like this... preventing the current from reaching the streamer and not overloading the phone/tablet or burning the PC port. It's not just any hub... it was chosen precisely because that's how it works.

 

[Derivative]

Quite right, in fact the M15 (like all other dongles) are limited by the current they receive from the streamer (PC/phone/tablet). In this way they have much more power available because they ask it directly from the hub's switching power supply. In this photo you see that an FC6 is asking for 0.7 watts from the hub... power that it couldn't get from the PC's USB output... let alone from that of a tablet or phone. In addition to this, when connected to phones or tablets, via the hub, the dongles will not draw from their respective batteries. Simple, safe, effective.

That's very clear now, thanks.
Looks like I had it backwards - the hub's USB-C cable connects to the laptop, and the dongle connects to the hub via the powered port at the bottom. Seems a neat solution, grateful you took the time to share it.

 

[jasonb]

Regarding EMI. How do some expensive dongles and even bigger amps/DAC’s like the the Mojo2 have issues with EMI, but the cheap $9 Apple dongles don’t suffer from EMI?

 

[Derivative]

Regarding EMI. How do some expensive dongles and even bigger amps/DAC’s like the the Mojo2 have issues with EMI, but the cheap $9 Apple dongles don’t suffer from EMI?

Great question... I don't have the technical knowledge to answer but hopefully someone here does. I'm curious to know too.
For what it's worth, the Violectric Chronos does not suffer from EMI at all.

 

[jasonb]

Great question... I don't have the technical knowledge to answer but hopefully someone here does. I'm curious to know too.
For what it's worth, the Violectric Chronos does not suffer from EMI at all.

My Topping NX4DSD or Qudelix 5K never suffered from it either when used with an iPhone 13Pro. I haven’t used either with my 15ProMax, but I’d suspect the results are the same.

 

[Polky74]

Regarding EMI. How do some expensive dongles and even bigger amps/DAC’s like the the Mojo2 have issues with EMI, but the cheap $9 Apple dongles don’t suffer from EMI?

For the Mojo 2 I can't answer... but for the M15 I imagine it has to do with its cute little window...

 

[sodesuka]

came out of retirement just to chime in on tempotec bhd pro. really like it and remind me of chord mojo (1) but more resolving, pretty much what I had always wanted out of these dongles. had hugo 2 once and sold it cause I didn't care about its tonality.

had been on many dongles and settled on sonata hd pro before this but the micro usb and lack of balanced connection sucked. didn't really like the bhd (non pro) though I figured I'd give tempotec another try and bingo.

people who aren't into warmish tone should probably steer clear though.

 

[Deckard001]

Thank you all for your opinions about Colorfly M1P. Do you believe can work as a desktop DAC/AMP? Does it worth to upgrade to Mojo 2 which is much pricier that M1P.

I am looking a long time now for a portable solution for HD600 and K701.

Thanks you all

 

[Lifted Andreas]

The included cable is actually not dogsh*t

Hows the Cayin? From what I researched it costs way more than the M1P.

I now have 2 devices with the AK4493SEQ, the AkLIAM dongle and a Topping DX1 (which got delivered today!). Both sound very similar but the DX1 is smoother, and that volume knob is so so appreciated when I'm at my desktop... which is like 90% of the time!

It is crazy how AkLIAM got pretty much the same sound, just with less power out of something as small as their beautiful dongle. Which I also highly recommend!

The Topping DX1 however is absolutely perfect if you need a great DAC_AMP for desktop use. About the only thing missing is balanced, but it has plenty of power.

 

[MainScentAuthor]

Question, Do Android devices still have the volume issue with the Apple USB-C DAC? or has it been fixed in newer models or with updates?