The company Questyle took its player QP1R very interesting niche. He was never among the leaders in "discussion" on the forums, but enjoyed a stable demand among the connoisseurs of sound. Interesting design, firm amplifier and fairly convenient control made the model popular among audiophiles, but for a long time to keep the market share with one model will not work, so Questyle released a new model QP2R.
The company clearly notes the recent trends, so the main update touched the amplifier, it is now completely balanced, and the player offers an appropriate output. Considering the shortcomings of usability, QP2R acquired separate buttons for navigating the tracks. In general, the case remained the same, the developers decided that the design that received the iF Design Award, just do not need to change.
Of the small pluses there are still small changes in ergonomics, which I will discuss below, and the increased memory capacity of the player itself. Of the minuses - a retouched one slot for microSD cards and an increased price, who wants to buy QP2R will now have to part with .
Specifications
- DAC: AKM AK4490
- Output Impedance: 0.1Ω
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz (± 0.1 dB)
- Signal to noise ratio: 100 dB at the normal output, 102 dB at the balanced
- Total harmonic distortion + noise: 0.0006% at normal output, 0.0005% at balanced
- Output level: 1.6 Vrms at the normal output, 3.2 Vrms at the balanced
- Output power: 38 mW @ 32Ω, 9 mW @ 300Ω
- The output of the balanced output is 70 mW @ 32Ω, 38 mW @ 300Ω
- Supported formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, APE
- Maximum resolution: 384 kHz / 32 bits, DSD to DSD256
- Input: USB Type C
- Outputs: 3.5 mm earphone, 2.5 mm balanced
- Built-in Memory: 64 GB
- External Memory: MicroSD
- Battery: Li-Polymer, 3100 mAh, 3.7V
- Operating time per charge: ~ 10 h
- Screen: IPS 2.4 "
- Dimensions: 65 mm × 134 mm × 14.5 mm
- Weight: ~ 214 g
Packing and delivery kit
The QP2R box is made a little more modest than many competitors, but this did not prevent the company's designers from giving it a maximum "premium sensation". The outer jacket of white color hides the packaging from the black cardboard, which opens into two equal compartments. In the right part is the player itself, in the left accessories: adapter for S / PDIF output, cloth storage bag for storing the player and USB-C-wire. Also included are various instructions / warranties.
Afflicts the lack of a complete set of cover, so necessary for this player, against the background of the manufacturers of the lower segments, which put the covers even to players for 150-200 dollars, such "housekeeping" of Questyle looks doubtful.
By the way, the company has developed an excellent docking station with a remote control designed for those wishing to use the player with stationary equipment, it is very stylish and convenient, but it also needs to be purchased separately.
Design and management
As I wrote above, the changes in appearance of QP2R are minimal. The dimensions and shape of the case remained the same, the materials too. In Questyle, obviously, inspired by the classics of Apple in the face of the iPhone 4 and made the case of aluminum with glass in the role of the front and back panels. The player comes in gray and golden colors, both look very nice. Naturally, glass panels are as effective, as impractical. They collect fingerprints (easily rubbed off by the oleophobic coating) and are not strong enough, so that the player is able to give a few unforgettable, full adrenaline moments during the flight to the asphalt due to the retreat past the pocket. In general, I immediately recommend ordering the player along with the cover. But on the other hand - how to hide such beauty in a cover? Yeah, the dilemma ...
Controls are distributed over all surfaces of the player. On the left side added three buttons to navigate through the tracks and start playback / pause. They really improve the ergonomics of the player in the field of blind control. Buttons are made very high quality, with a pleasant click.
The top face contains two jacks: 3.5 and 2.5 mm, both serve to connect headphones, but more can also give out a digital signal through a complete adapter. There is also a volume control, which is protected from accidental turns by the projections of the case. The volume control here is digital, a good encoder is used, so the controller rotates with clear and well-fixed clicks.
On the right side there is a power switch, it also traditionally turns off the screen and locks the buttons, next to it there is an indicator that shows the color of the selected BIAS.
On the lower edge are USB-connector (supported by USB-DAC function) and a slot for memory cards. Unfortunately, in the new model it's only one, apparently, it's a compromise, which had to go because of the complication of the amplifier circuit (it's necessary to somehow arrange everything in the case).
On the front panel everything is also quite expected: the top is the screen, it is not the brightest, it is hardly readable in the sun, but a good resolution and juicy colors in other situations allow it to look "on the level". Under the screen there is a control wheel and 4 touch buttons: navigation, return and submenu call - the standard scheme for Chinese players. Perfectly understanding that the touch buttons though and effective, but uncomfortable, Questyle equipped the player with vibration feedback. In the second version, they improved this mechanism, now it is more reminiscent of Apple's haptic feedback devices (a bit simpler, of course), which is beneficial to the sensations of using it.
In the first version of the player, the wheel itself caused many problems, the metal surface did not give a reliable "snag", and the finger often just slid over it. In the second audit, this was taken into account and immediately with the factory equipped with a torsion silicone sticker, improving contact. The wheel encoder is not bad, although the distance "between clicks", for my taste, is a bit too big. At the center of the wheel is traditionally a selection button, it also serves to start playback and pause. There is a small drawback with the wheel, it is not properly fixed in the vertical plane, and if you shake the player, a small bounce is heard. Operation is absolutely not hindering, but the image of the "top solution" spoils a little (although this problem is not deprived and much more expensive A & K models).
The only thing that is worth mentioning in this section is the time of work. In my traditional test (MEEAudio P1 in the role of load, FLAC 44.1 / 16 as files, Gain - average, volume at a comfortable level), the player worked 9 hours and 40 minutes. Separately, I want to note the quite accurate operation of the battery indicator, the charge is displayed in percent and very accurately corresponds to the remaining time of operation.
Firmware
If the Soviet pilots instead of the heart had a fiery motor, then QP2R is replaced by Linux, and on the developer's site proudly adorns the logo of RedHat (although I doubt that I used it). In the role of the same mind, which gave the steel hands-hooks eee ... wings, the well-known Hiby Music performed.
The firmware on one side has come out quite traditional, on the other - it has some nice features.
Traditionally, after launching the player, there is a menu of 5 items on the screen.
Playing - return to the playback screen, everything is traditional, the cover is shown, with the help of the wheel you can turn on the text display (if there is one in the tags) and the extended information about the track. The submenu button allows you to add a track to your favorites, playlist, delete it, or switch the playback order.
Category - a media library, here too, without surprises, you can see all the tracks in one list, by artists, albums, genres or display a list of records in DSD.
Playlists - simply and without fuss, a list of your play lists.
Browse Files - view tracks by folder. There is also a pop-up menu, which is mainly used to delete tracks / folders.
Settings - settings. The first thing that draws attention here is the ability to hide some points. Questyle rightly decided that flipping a long list is inconvenient, so you can choose those items that you do not need, and remove them from your eyes. The approach is sound, for example, why often switch the interface language or font size?
In general, there are a lot of settings:
- Language (Russian)
- Font size
- Main screen wallpapers (4 options + random selection)
- Gain (3 levels)
- BIAS (standard and elevated)
- Additional gain for DSD (0 to 6 dB)
- Equalizer (implemented well, but its inclusion still affects the sound quality)
- Channel balance
- The volume level of the line output in the dock (adjustable or maximum)
- The output mode of this very dock (analog or digital)
- USB mode (memory or DAC)
- Sleep Timer
- Updating the Library
- Play order
- Play without pauses
- Remember position and volume when turning off
- Direction of rotation of the volume control
- Does this control function when the screen is locked
- Brightness and backlight time
- Do the bottom buttons on the front panel work when the screen is locked
- Enable the ability to scroll through the whole screen in the music list using the bottom buttons (the mysterious menu item "Flip Function")
- Touch Sensitivity Sensitivity and Vibration Response Power
- Standard memory formatting, resetting settings, updating the firmware and information about the player.
"Soft" player is actively developing, for two weeks, that he is in my hands, there are two updates that added a number of useful features, so I want to believe that Questyle will not forget to please us with new clothes in the future. However, the firmware already works quite stably and is practically devoid of "missing features", so, probably, updates will not be needed.
Sound
To listen to the device used the following headphones: iBasso IT03, Meze 99 Classics, Audio Zenith PMx2, Noble Kaiser Encore, Campfire Audio Andromeda, 64 Audio U12, HUM Pristine and others.
In my hearing, QP1R turned out to be an interesting player, with a pronounced "academic" sound, it was sometimes even too technical, that not all records were useful. In the second generation, the developers tried, on the one hand, to keep this technicality, on the other hand - to add the player a bit of what is sometimes called "musicality", that is, to make the pitch a little more seamless and a bit smoother, which they probably did.
Low frequencies here are slightly accented, of course, this is not done with the help of lifting on the frequency response, the player of this price category should be deprived of such vulgarity, the emphasis is made with a few underlined attacks and added weight. This "additive" gives the QP2R a little warmth and what is sometimes called "musicality", it sounds very nice, but it does not go against the resolution and detail. The player copes very well with the transmission of textures and the separation of instruments of the low-frequency register, which adds to its feeding a fraction of the naturalness in comparison with the first generation. The lowest parts of the bass are slightly overshadowed, which also benefits the playing of natural instruments and the overall control of the pitch. By the way, this accentuation of the bass is slightly more pronounced in the balanced output, so with QP2R it makes sense to look towards the transition to a 2.5-mm connector.
The midrange retained the same neutrality that was characteristic of the previous generation of Questyle players. QP2R does not try to gloss over something, add emotion or create something with an imaginary scene, it plays as a whole "as is", but it does not fall into a dry monitor. On high-quality tracks, he perfectly builds an imaginary scene, it is much larger than the average in width and depth, with a qualitative separation of plans and instruments, with bad records, the results can be noticeably worse. However, to take a top player for badly recorded styles - originally a failed idea (although for some people it somehow arises).
The upper frequency range also underwent a little processing, Questyle slightly reduced the aggressiveness of the feed, QP2R does not accentuate attacks as its predecessor, on the whole I would describe it as a "return to normal". In terms of RF, the QP2R is practically devoid of any distinct features, they are good in resolution, very good in attacks and fading, they may almost lack the separation typical for more expensive top players, but this is already at the level of nuances, tracks, which can be heard, very little.
Naturally, you can not do without comparisons. I will confine myself to a few top players, since the "all in one" comparisons are meaningless.
Astell & Kern AK320 . Perhaps the best player, in my opinion, from A & K, except for the novelty Ultima (I have not listened to it yet, but I plan to buy it to my collection), offers a more "adult" sound - the LF is still more complex, the HF is better developed, there is the same proprietary "color", which gives a spectacular supply of "astella". QP2R, in turn, offers slightly more neutral midrange, for those who want maximum neutrality and slightly longer running time.
Lotoo Paw Gold . Of course, LPG costs about 2 times more expensive, but if you compare with tops, then compare. "Gold" sounds more vigorously, it conveys emotions and micronuanses of instruments better, it is more collected and elastic on LF, has a much larger power reserve and a bit more aggressive transmits the HF range, however, the key word here is "little".
TheBit OPUS # 2 . Another good model for fans of "musical" presentation. Opus offers a more cohesive midrange, a slightly more elastic bass and a slightly less pronounced HF, while Questyle has a slightly better MH resolution and working out plans in depth.
iBasso DX200 . If we talk about the "bass" with a stock amplifier, then it sounds technically, neutral and monitor, but it's more demanding for records. If you upgrade it to AMP3, you will get a more natural (relatively QP2R) pitch and better control of the instruments on tight headphones, primarily due to the greater power of the amplifier.
Compatibility
QP2R does not differ in excess power, although the amplifier working in Class A, easily copes with most headphones, except for very tight models. QP2R has a small background noise with sensitive IEM, although it is heard mostly only in pauses. In general, pronounced preferences for headphones this model does not have to choose, based on their tastes, but personally, I would prefer something neutral with it, without a pronounced color.
The genre player gravitates to "noble" styles like chamber music, vocals, jazz, classics, with which his character unfolds in full, but with the rest of the styles he shows himself more than worthy. The sensitivity to recording quality is moderate, somewhere by 7 points out of 10, the second generation due to more musical filing behaves tolerant of the first.
Traditionally, a few example tracks
Sepultura - Ratamahatta . If you did not already know, Sepultura had a very good remaster of their greatest album Roots. The unsurpassed charge of rage, splashed by the Brazilians on this album, is successfully fused with a technical, but slightly darkened pitch of the player, forcing at least to tread his foot to the beat.
Melody Gardot - Lisboa . A bit of beautiful jazz vocal will decorate any selection without exception, and if it's Melody Gardot, then, I think, there's nothing to add, except that this track also fits perfectly to the slightly tinted technical manner of QP2R. Although I'm lying, I also want to say that this album "The Absence" is on Tidal in MQA.
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain . Well, since it's about a new-fashioned MQA in the context of Tidal, here is another classic work available in this format. Again, I do not think that Fleetwood Mac with its most popular album need some additional epithets on my part. Fine drums, light lace of guitars, vocals - all this QP2R gives with maximum effect.
conclusions
Questyle - a company that has everything its: design, circuitry, vision of sound. And the first and second generation of their players were not like competitors, which, perhaps, is a huge advantage in our time of the same devices. With QP2R, the company showed that they are able to vary their vision of the sound, remaining true to the "general trend". Did they have a "killer of all"? Perhaps, to say so it will be an exaggeration. Did they have an interesting player that offers a special, but interesting sound? Of course - yes.
The article is based on materials .
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