Audiophiles are nicely conscious of Questyle and what the corporate is able to. Its M15i and CMA18 DACs have been well-received by many. The brand new M18i cell DAC continues that streak.

With the M18i, you get a wired or Bluetooth DAC for cell connectivity and a succesful desktop DAC appropriate with Home windows, macOS, and Linux. Every part you should make it work, together with a USB-C to USB-C cable and USB-A adapter, is included within the field.

The sound high quality is exemplary, thanks partially to some proprietary components made by Questyle, however there are some issues you should know as you take into account the acquisition, so let’s get into all of that!

Questyle M18i: Stable sound, stable construct

Rather a lot is occurring contained in the M18i. Internally, the DAC makes use of twin ESS ES9219Q DACs and different {hardware} powered by a 16-core XMOS XU316 processor. You additionally get a Qualcomm chipset that features its newest clear voice communications chipset and Infineon MEMS microphones. We’ll discuss these parts extra in a second. There are a number of different issues contained in the DAC, however I’ll go over these as I discuss audio high quality. Verify the spec desk for different odds and technical ends it’s possible you’ll be interested in.

The construct high quality may be very reassuring. The unit is small, and all parts are wrapped in a CNC anodized aluminum alloy. There’s a tempered glass display screen on the entrance of the system with an OLED show. The data you’ll get from the highest row of that display screen is: quantity, achieve degree (Low or High), earbuds/headphone related indicator, and battery cost indicator. Beneath that, you’ll see your pattern price in a bigger font, and beneath that, the mode and decoding indicators.

Holding the system vertically with the display screen going through you, the highest is the place you’ll discover the three.5mm (SE) and 4.4mm (Balanced) outputs. The correct aspect is the place you’ll discover the delightfully clicky operate buttons. You get an influence button that may also dim the display screen, separate quantity up and down buttons, an MFB or multifunction button that controls achieve and Bluetooth capabilities, and a mode sliding change that’s stiff and doesn’t really feel like it’s going to get unfastened anytime quickly.

You’ll discover one in every of two USB-C ports on the backside of the unit. This one is primarily for information switch, however in PC mode, the unit does cost from the supply it’s related to. The second USB-C port is on the left aspect and doesn’t assist information. Charging solely.

Testing methodology and tools

I examined the M18i with a number of completely different IEMs and over-ear headphones (circumaural), enjoying FLAC information (PCM), DSD, and Tidal streams, with it related to varied sources: Google Pixel 9 utilizing USB Audio Participant Professional, iPhone 16 Pro Max, Microsoft Floor Professional 11 utilizing MusicBee.

Sonic imaging, Questyle

General, the M18i is among the extra clear, nuanced cell DACs I’ve had the pleasure of testing. Let’s discuss utilizing it to drive the equally clear, analytical Sennheiser IE900s: This pairing is not for bass lovers, although tracks mastered with a heavy-handed low finish sound excellent with regard to their low-end nuance and resolve. Utilizing the IE900s with the achieve set to low and the 4.4mm Balanced connection, I may drive them fantastically with the amount solely midway up at 30 of 60 steps.

What’s the “taste profile” of this pairing? Very clear. No colour. An enjoyably giant soundstage for IEMs, however essentially the most compelling sonic function is the nuance. Taking part in the DSF file of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Beginning Somethin’,” there are backing vocals blended to virtually a whisper, you may clearly discern through the music’s intro at 15 seconds in. A function of that blend that will get misplaced in much less clear sound replica with extra coloured DACs and earbuds/headphones.

Relating to tracks mastered with bass emphasis, The Roots’ “Do You Need Extra??!!!?” sounds precisely prefer it ought to, with no coloring of the increase bap heavy bass. The bass continues to be fairly satisfying with this pairing. A PCM file of Marvin Gaye’s “Bother Man” exposes an superior orchestral association! All of the nuance, layered electrical and analog pianos, saxophones, and cymbals. It’s an engrossing sonic expertise with the M18i. By way of signal-to-noise, the M18i may be very darkish!

There isn’t a audible noise through the quiet components of the intro to Whitney Houston’s “I Will At all times Love You.”

My sound take a look at, pairing the M18i with Campfire Audio’s Mammoth IEMs through the three.5mm connection, introduced extra weight and drama to the music with its extra entertaining, punchier sound replica within the low finish and sub-bass. There was some nuance misplaced within the low finish with the IE900 that was realized with the Mammoth IEMs. That is the bass lovers’ pairing.

Sennheiser HD660S2 was the primary pairing that benefited from the excessive achieve choice, even with extra juice flowing by way of the 4.4mm cables. I needed to enhance quantity by 9 steps, to 39. Over-ears permit the M18i to “stretch its legs” and broaden that soundstage, giving it larger depth and layers as I listened to “Violin Duel” from the Chevalier OST.

The element within the assault and decay of the violins in Violin Duel was prime tier! Subsequent up, Ladysmith Black Mombazo’s ethereal a cappella on Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Footwear” was equally gratifying, being so immersive due to the wealthy timbre and readability offered partially by Questyle’s patented current-mode amplifier SiP expertise present in all of their DACs.

In Bluetooth mode, the sound high quality continues to be pleasant. That mentioned, there’s a distinction between the wired and Bluetooth 5.4 displays. Nonetheless, due to the broad assist for Qualcomm aptX and LDAC HiRes Wireless Audio codecs, that distinction is minimal and sure indistinguishable to these new to lively listening.

Persevering with with the Bluetooth implementation, the Qualcomm chipset gave me higher mic audio than anticipated. Frankly, this Infineon MEMS mic setup within the M18i sounds higher than many Bluetooth earbuds I’ve reviewed, up there with Jabra, Beats, and AirPods Professional. It does not 100% remove background noise, however it offers you a wholesome stability of background noise dampening with crystal clear voice pickup, so you do not sound such as you’re in a closet, as some TWS earbuds do.

General, from cell to PC, the M18i presents a formidable sonic picture. It’s balanced and clear, with fantastically layered instrumentation separation. It additionally has the flexibility to go wherever and hook up with virtually something, together with Linux and HarmonyOS.

The M18i is nearly excellent, apart from….

Battery life might be a ache level. One hour of wired hi-res file playback drained the battery from 97% to 41%. My leads to battery testing have been fairly constant throughout modes, apart from PC mode. Which means the max you may count on out of the M18i is roughly two hours of playback.

Happily, there’s a function that mitigates the disappointing battery lifetime of the interior 500mAh cell. Switching to PC mode will energy the DAC from no matter system it’s plugged into. I examined that with my Google Pixel 9, and the cellphone’s battery drained at a price of roughly 10% per hour. I examined with the cellphone in airplane mode as a result of I needed to see what the pull regarded like with out extra components draining the battery, like weak mobile sign energy.

The aspect USB-C port additionally helps mitigate the brief battery life. It helps charging throughout playback, so you may have a battery financial institution with you on that long-haul airplane trip to maintain the tunes going as you cross the Atlantic or Pacific.

Must you purchase it?

I’ve had the pleasure of testing some wonderfully entertaining audiophile-grade mobile DACs from iFi, Quedelix, and Fiio, and that is now one in every of my favorites. The sound high quality is among the greatest in the marketplace, with the utility to make sure you get essentially the most bang on your hard-earned buck.

Its MSRP is $400, however it’s at the moment on sale direct from Questyle’s web site for $350. On the time of writing, it is also on Amazon with a $50 coupon, bringing the value right down to $300. If you have already got a great pair of IEMs or wired headphones, take into account the M18i as you learn critiques of competing merchandise.