Questyle QP1R Dap review A. Reddog Jones





Questyle QP1R Dap review 
- A. Reddog Jones





 When I first got into this wonderful and addictive hobby,  I had to at that time to have to take my parents to lots of doctor appointments and thus had to have a mobile headphone rig.  
At first I used my trusty kindle ( full of MP3 files) hooked up to my FiiO E 12 Mont Blanc, to drive my Beyerdynamic DT 880 600 OHM cans.   
But then later  I read about high resolution  DAPS and became intrigued.  
The first high resolution  Daps were TOTL and exceedingly expensive, then the technology began to trickle down and the prices began to drop.  And finally after reading lots of reviews on various web sites, I decided to pull the trigger and got myself a Questyle QP1R.  



 The Questyle QP1R is a handsome unit a tad steampunkish with with its brass metal case and large wheel. The unit is well made, feels like everything is finely machined, like a fine watch. 
  
The QP1R has two micro memory card slots and micro USB port on the bottom and on top it has a 3.5 mm headphone and a 3.5mm line out / optical out, as well as the volume knob. 
On the right side is a off and on button, Push lightly to turn off the screen and hold down the switch for  a few seconds to turn the unit off and on. The front of the QP1R has a nice little screen on top and a wheel on the bottom.  
The wheel can be a bit problematic at times, especially when navigating a long list of albums, songs, artist, genre, or playlist.  I was fortunate and my wheel seems to work pretty well most of the time. And there are arrow keys that also allow a person to go up or down any list or menu.  One uses the wheel to navigate the different menu choices such as gain or the equalizer.


The operating system is functional but nothing to write home about.  The operating system supports PC’s and Apple computers.   I am using a old version of the OS because my apple computer died and I have not replaced it just yet.  Too my crazed audiophile mind, its more important to have the best Amps, DACs, and Headphones, than some desktop computer lol.  My iPad works just fine for the stuff I do.  However I have had no issues with the OS once installed, and the unit has been working flawlessly for almost two years.   
 The battery lasts about 8 hours. 
The QP1R is a finely engineered item, solidly built and works like a champ. 

e-earphone show, Tokyo. 12/2015 - expatinjapan


Finally the most important quality of the QP1R is how exquisitely natural and detailed the sound signature is for a mobile device .  I prefer my headphones and audio equipment to be as natural and revealing as possible.  
When I use my tube amps, I make sure I have tubes that help bring out the natural revealing qualities of the music, and the QP1R is so detailed and natural sounding.  
The first time I used my plucky little QP1R I was simply blown away by the natural and revealing sound. I was listening to some Frank Zappa and I could hear a drummer drop his sticks in he back ground, as Zappa was jamming.   I never heard that detail with my kindle’s dac chip set.   I only got that detail from using my Schiit Audio Yggdrasil paired with a good amp.  
The first few days were surrealist as I walked about the neighborhood and local grocery.  And while I was walking around listening to such great sound, I could not help grinning from ear to ear.   



The bass, on the QP1R, has good impact yet not boomy or bloated.  Likewise the mids are very natural and resolving of detail. Vocals by Zappa, Kate Bush and Rebecca Pigeon sound very life like.  Furthermore the instruments sound natural and detailed, no artificial sounding cymbals or guitars  or violins and the Qp1r seems to handle the highs just fine and does not seem too bright.



 Another amazing facet of this dap, is how it handles my collection of headphones so well, depending upon use of the gain settings.   For low impedance cans like my Meze 99 Classics or my ATH m50x, low gain works just fine, with the volume about half way up 25-30.  

For regular headphones like the Oppo pm-3,  MsSpeakers Aeon, Audeze iSine 20 or the Focal Utopia( for certain genres).  And the high gain can drive cans like the Beyerdynamic Dt. 880 600 OHM,  HE1K, MrSpeakers Ether and Ether C quite well.  
The QP1R could drive my MrSpeakers Alpha Primes and Audeze LCD i4, but the volume has to be almost maxed out to hear the music well.  Note I never listen to my headphones on loud settings. 









"why tho?"

The QP1R is a great sounding DAP, that sounds very natural and detailed.  Furthermore the units amp can drive just about all of my headphones quite well.  Likewise the QP1R is a well machined device and is rugged.  I have used mine almost every day , for almost 2 years and has worked flawlessly.  I am amazed how great the sound quality is and its fantastic having such a powerful, versatile unit that fits into the palm of my hand.

Photo: expatinjapan

Specifications

-Patented "Current Mode Amplification" in headphone AMP, all discrete components, Pure Class A circuit.
-File Format Support:WAV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, AIFF, ADPCM, LPCM, MP3,
WMA,WMA Lossless, OGG, AAC, DFF, DSF
-Sample Rate:
PCM Native: 44.1 kHz - 192 kHz(16bit/24bit)
DSD Native: DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz)/DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz)
-DAC:Cirrus Logic CS4398
-Output:3.5MM headphone output, 3.5MM line out & optical output 
-Frequency Response: 20Hz-20 kHz(±0.1dB)
-QP1 R THD+N = 0.0006%
-Output Impedance :
QP1R: 0.15Ω 
-Memory:
Internal: 32GB
External: Micro SD card 2*200GB
-Battery:3300mAh Li-polymer, 8-10 hours
-Charge Current:
Via PC USB connection @ 450mA, 
Charging Time:  8 hours 
Via Charger @ 2A, Charging Time: 4 hours
-Body :CNC cutting aluminum case, Available in Space Gray/ Gold

-Headphone AMP Output Power
-Gain = High
 Max Output Amplitude: Vout=1.9V rms 
 Output Power:  Pout=40mW @32Ω
                          Pout=12mW @300Ω
-Gain=Middle
Max Output Amplitude : Vout=1V rms 
Output Power:  Pout=31mW @32Ω
                         Pout=3.5mW @300Ω 
-Gain=Low
Max Output Amplitude :  
Vout=0.53V rms @32Ω
 Vout=0.51V rms @16Ω 
Output Power:  Pout=8.8mW @32Ω
                       Pout=16.3mW @16Ω 

-Manufactured by Foxconn


headphones used in this review:

Beyerdynamic Dt 600 OHM
Meze 99 Classics
OPPO PM-3
ATH M50x
MrSpeakers Ether, Ether C, Aeon, Alpha Primes
HE1K
Audeze iSine 20 and LCD i4 


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