Questyle, known for their high quality desktop DAC and amps but recently they have a handful of portable DAC/amps under their belt too. It had been an while since the M15 came out, there is M15i with minor improvements but isn’t an upgrade.
Couple of years ago, we used to see good dongles but these days one can easily find superb dongles even at just $100. What about the flagship dongle DAC/amps? Questyle, known for their high quality dongles had the M15 which was excellent for the asking price but had a bit of flaws with the sound quality. It was superb with expansion and staging but it’s lack of proper extension at both ends wasn’t exactly great. It’s been a while and now it seems they have the replacement or one can easily see that it’s an upgrade we all have been waiting for. The M18i is not a run off the mill kind of dongle DAC. It has a couple of tricks under it’s belt. It’s equipped with tech from the M18P, has a built-in battery and Qualcomm powered Bluetooth DAC that enables it with BT 5.4 LE . Yes, that’s the first for this industry. We don’t see sources with BT 5.4 capabilities, there is not one I know of at least but guess what it’s not all rosy though, I will explain later. Oh, I am forgetting the biggest miss of the M18P, man, that is a $800 transport DAC/amp yet didn’t had a display, it relied on boring and confusing LEDs but the M18i comes with a proper digital display, though monochrome, it gets the work done with pleasure. Just like the M18P we get a switch to switch between phone, desktop and BT mode for easy operation. Its buttons too are borrowed from the bigger brother and I am loving all the functionalities. Another huge upgrade is the additional USB port meant for charging, this is definitely a welcome change but was it necessary since it doesn’t have any additional advantage with power or anything? Let’s dive into details.
P.S. I have used a handful of IEMs for this review, ranging from Craft Ears Aurum to Kiwi Ears Melody and my assessment is based on their combined performance with the M18i and the benchmark is the Shanling UA5 which in its own was one of the best of its time.
Get one from here:
UNBOXING AND ACCESSORIES:
Just like any other dongle we barely get any accessories except a C to C cable, an USB A adaptor for PC and some documentation. That’s it, no case for a flagship $350 dongle DAC when popular brands are offering cases with $100 DAC/amps. Nevertheless, its SQ we are after so let’s move on.
Here is my unboxing and walk through video:
BUILD QUALITY, OPERATION AND FUNCTIONALITIES:
Build quality is just like the M18P, metal allover while the front is glass. I am not sure how much scratch resistant this glass is but I haven’t seen any till date. On the other hand the metal shell and black paint isnt immune from scratches, which is sad so keep in mind that its not suitable to be carried with keys and other hard objects in pocket. Oh, it’s on the bigger and heavier side, thanks to the BT module, metal build and extra charging port but it feels solid and sturdy to the hand. Questyle has paid a lot of attention to details too and all the buttons are made out of metal and have a plush fit with very good feedback. We have all the buttons on the bottom side while the charging type C port is on the upper side. Headphone jacks are on the right while the Type C port for data is on the left side. M18i’s even though is a great addition, it isn’t bright enough to be used outdoor, its legible under shade and indoor only.
Functionalism are very simple too, the last switch is meant to set the mode of connection, put it on BT and pair it as usual, no tricks, put it on PC to save the built-in battery, it will charge from the connected device. Put it on phone mode to use the internal battery. Strangely it doesn’t add any extra power in the desktop/PC mode. The MBF button is only available in BT mode and can be used to skip track and play pause with usual double, triple and single presses.
BLUETOOTH AND BATTERY:
M18i uses a 5.4 LE version of snapdragon Bluetooth module and the sound quality is impressive. Much better than most but the similar flaws remain. It’s still not able to keep up with high-paced music and there is a bit of clipping or say lag. If you don’t do that, m18i’s sound quality is fantastic. But there is a problem.. We usually get at least 10m of range irrespective of the circumstances but that’s not the case here. Sometimes M18i can’t even receive signal inside the pocket while the phone is just 2m away, why? Because the signal is easily obstructed by bones. Walls deal similar damage but the distance is longer in clean air and the battery life isn’t anything to boast about either. We get around 4-6 hrs of battery life at max in Bt mode.
And this built-in battery life is in the range of 2.5-4 hrs when used in phone mode, which is kind of horrible but when used in desktop mode, my 4500mah mobile phone was able to run for around 12+hrs which is commendable. Why not put in a bigger battery? This battery is put in there just for the sake of BLUETOOTH I think and that’s too only for emergency scenarios when one needs to take a office call.
POWER AND DRIVABILITY:
This tiny little thing is seriously powerful. It’s easy to switch between low and high gain with press of a button. I paired it with a handful of IEMs ranging from EST based IEMs like Craft Ears Aurum, hybrid IEMs like JOMO 408H and it has no problem with any of these. Pair it with any IEMs and there will not be anything to complain about. It brings out the best of the IEM without tampering much with it except a bit of sub-bass thump. Treble extension is excellent with nice energy till the end. The biggest positive is the extra headroom. This helps with better sonicality and dynamic cue placements when compared to the M15.
Driving a very power hungry Headphone like HD800s is a very good idea but anything under the 150 ohm should be drivable without any issues. I tried with the FIIO FT1 pro and M18i has no problem at all. Our daily use headphones with 50-100ohm are good to go too.
SPEC TALK:
Let’s get this out of the system first, that i we see here indicates that this device is fully compatible with apple devices and MFI certified. It uses 16-core XMOS316 USB for data in it works seamlessly. With a noise floor of -130db this is one of the cleanest audio sources one can find in the market.
Questyle is not a big fan of specs so they do not offer a lot insight about the amplifier and its power at different resistances but what we know is we have two ESS 9219Q dac and their own quad core CMA amplification sip module stages for out of 28mw at 300 ohm. So I guess it can do around 280+mw at 32ohm and that is plenty powerful for a DAC amp of this size.
It uses TOREX high efficiency power management for longer battery life and less power consumption from the source. In BT mode we get Snapdragon Sound tech and version 5.4 with LE . It supports all the popular wireless codecs. One minor flaw I felt is the lack of filters, if it had a few, it would have been exceptional but that can be done from the source I guess. I really felt Questyle could have used the extra USB input for additional power to make it even more appealing, especially when it barely has any heating issues.
SOUND QUALITY:
If you look at the specs, M18i might not look like a highly capable device but if you know Questyle, they know magic!! Their tuning capabilities are superb and while a few cheaper products can offer higher power ratings are unable sound louder or more powerful than this beauty. Sound wise we have to split this in two parts though. Wired and wireless. Let’s get done with the wireless bit.
Wireless Sound Quality:
BT sound quality is very good, it’s enhanced with Snapdragon Sound tech and V5.4 LE offering the best clarity and details possible. It has very good end to end extensional while resolution and definition are high quality for a wireless source. Yes, it still is not excellent when dealing with high paced tracks but is cleaner and less choppy than others. Tonality and timber are a bit on the warmer side with very good male and female vocal accuracy. It doesn’t have a lot of attack or aggression to be wary of either, making it more comfortable and versatile to pair with variety of IEMs and headphones. Bass is full and nicely balanced with the right amount of air and body. Treble is nicely rendered with very good agility, air and separation. It might feel like the air and decay isn’t as good as the wired version but that’s not a thing one can expect wirelessly.
Main corse!!
LOWS:
How are the lows? I used a couple of bassy hybrid IEMs now and these perform exceptionally well when it comes to lower end prowess. M18i does have a slight bit of extra body to sub-bass which enhances the impact and rumble.
Thanks to this we get very good sub-bass presence and extension. Mid bass is just the way it should be, tight, controlled and clean while maintaining layered delivery. Movement of air isn’t restricted but the area of impact gets a bit focused. Notes don’t lose any weight but when compared to the dry sounding M18P is definitely is less rapid and a bit more full bodied. It lets the notes precipitate but doesn’t let them get overly heavy exhibiting its control and precision. We get very good texture and layered note that can hit in waved manner when the track asks for it. Dynamics too is excellent. M18i in fact makes the Jomo 408H hit upper bass notes that the M18P or the old M15 are unable to extract.
MID RANGE:
The beauty here is the transparency. M18i doesn’t bring a its own flavoring to the table, letting the IEM exhibit their true potential. Even when I pair it with a smooth sounding IEM like the Fibae 4 it manages to bring better definition and clarity from both vocals and instruments.
What the M18i adds is a bit more notes depth and air between instruments. M18i delivers exceptionally accurate amount of finishing bite, which is neither lacking nor overly done, delivering an immaculate balance and accuracy which was reserved for flagship products. M18i has superb definition and clarity without tampering with timber, tonality or texture. We are treated with class leading transparency and clarity which isn’t sharp or thin. The decay speed is improved too and thanks to this we get right of air in between instruments. All of this leads to impressive back and foreground contrast. Sonics and cue placement are excellent too. It manages to extract micro details effortlessly.
HIGHS:
If you love an agile, extended and lively treble region then the M18i will put a smile on your face. It has to be one of the most natural sounding high end I have ever heard out of an dongle, it isn’t unnaturally tight or thin nor is warm or full, just rightly tuned with excellent air and separation of instruments. Needless to say that separation is top notch with excellent cue placement, layering of back and foreground instruments is captivating to say the least. The cleanliness at the floor is excellent too. One can easily perceive the clean and well defined origin plane of the notes.
I love its extra bit of energy and transparency at the upper treble region. I did felt the Moritz Paradise lacked a bit of upper treble energy which the M18i managed bring back.
STAGE AND IMAGING:
I have has the M15 and I know what Questyle can do with their dongles and few weeks ago I had the M18p with me so knew what to expect from M18i. Yes, M18i’s stage isn’t the most rounded stage but has excellent X-axis width and very good height. Its the well developed Z-axis depth that makes the biggest difference. Imaging is something this little DAC/Amp excels at. All the instruments have excellent positioning with very good air between them while maintaining superb sonics and cue placement. Stage size is fairly flexible and lets the IEM define the boundaries exhibiting its versatility and pairing capabilities.
COMPARISONS:
What kind of comparison you are looking for? It blows away everything under $250 when it comes to consistency and balance. Yes the RU7 has similar balance but that’s a bit too smooth and lacks finer texture which is available with the M18i.
If I have to compare it with the bigger brother M18P, M18i has better tonality, timber and cohesion, M18P has better clarity, resolution and finishing definition but it sounds dry, a bit sharp here and there and has a thin feeling across the spectrum while the lower end sounds a bit too flat for the IEMs and headphones to express their natural tumble and thump which is available with the M18i. Both have similar extension but the M18i is more effortless and natural.
If I have to pit this kind of big dongle with the Xduoo XD05T, similarities end with their horrible battery life. M18I is the more effortless and cohesive one with better lower end punch anf even emphasis across the spectrum while the 05T can sound thin and sharp in the lower treble and upper mid region. I somehow felt the 05T lacks proper treble extension too which is not an issues with the M18i and the heating issues of the 05T is nowhere to be found with the Questyle.
CONCLUSION:
My oh my, I usually do not get blown away by sources easily but this USB DAC/amp is the best one can buy, its basically flawless when it comes to sound quality. Its not flat though, it has a bit of sub-bass body and excellent tonality and timber across the spectrum. It has no problem with extension either (unlike the M15). I am unable to find any issues with sound quality. Wireless sound quality is slightly less capable but when the connection is good, it’s as good as it gets. This is loaded with features too, dual USB port, a display and fantastic build quality too.
It’s not like it’s totally flawless. I faced issues with BT connectivity, battery life of the built-in battery is below average and it has no app support to play around it. Another thing I missed is filters. It has none. I will put it simply, M18i is the best when it comes to SQ but it’s kind of flawed. Maybe M20i will rectify these issues, only time will tell.
Cheers & Enjoy your music!!
