Questyle M15 Review

Questyle M15 – Sound Quality

 

The M15 sets itself apart from other dongles with its different sound characteristics and we will be going over that in this section. I tested the M15 with Vision Ears VE7, Yanyin Canon, and Sennheiser 58X, the most. The M15 is on the latest firmware and I am using MBPro14 as the host.

Firstly, the M15 has a different tonality compared to dongles I’ve experienced before. It has a slightly warmer, more liquid, and richer tonality in comparison. I believe that is because it uses Questyle’s propriety SiP CMA amp modules. The most distinct difference versus all the other DAC/AMPs that use OP-amps is in the midrange.

The mids of the M15 are thicker, meatier, and richer. The vocals sound absolutely delightful while having adequate resolution and transparency. It does not feel as colorless as some of the flatter-sounding dongles, like the MoonRiver 2, but where it lacks detail-retrieval, it makes up with its musicality and its ability to convey emotion.

The M15 sounds very natural, especially when combined with IEMs that feature neutral signatures. It has a superior synergy with those and combining them is really impressive. You don’t really go all the way up to 1.700 Euro either, the 349 USD Yanyin Canon is a perfect match for the M15 as it shows a great tonal balance along with very solid technical capabilities.

As for the bass response, the M15 is capable of reproducing powerful lows. The bass is layered, textured, and quite impressive for a dongle. It can even tackle some of the entry-level desktop DACs and AMPs. The quantity of the bass is two notches more than what I would call flat, however, there is no bleed and the transition from the lows to low mids is smooth.

In my opinion, the mids are the most impressive side of the M15. The articulacy, the richness, and the musicality they introduce to the equation are just wonderful. The instruments, especially natural instruments sound very lifelike and reproduced organically, which is rare in this price bracket. The presentation is not the airiest or most spacious one, it rather offers a more romantic take on the headroom but hear me right, it does not suffer from congestion or insufficient air.

There is adequate air and space between the instruments and the layout feels accurate. I especially like M15’s guitar reproduction and I listened to Thomas Zwijsen quite intensively during my time with the unit.

The M15’s treble is smooth, controlled, and delivers a good amount of energy without sounding sharp. The lower highs are energetic and airy, but the amount of excitement slightly decreases on the way to the top octave. The M15’s top extension is not as vibrant as some of its rivals.

The MoonRiver 2 has a more energetic, and spacious treble reproduction but that is a boon and a bane at the same time. The sibilance or shrill is not an issue with the M15, no matter the pairing. However, if you pair MoonRiver 2 with a highly analytical IEM, the treble-sensitive side of you may be very unhappy. So I can understand why Questyle was slightly conservative about the tuning of the highs.

Technical Capability

From a technical standpoint, the M15 is a fine device. It offers a rich, articulate, and musical presentation with a good amount of detail and transparency for the price. It sounds clean and dynamic and it has a special midrange that cannot be found in any other dongle as of the time of this writing. The M15 offers great tonal balance too, it is a compact solution that offers more than enough power on the go.

It offers a good PRaT and handles congestion well. It does not feel claustrophobic and multi-instrumented complex passages are easy to listen to with the M15. Soundstage-wise, it does not have the widest or deep staging there is. It rather has a medium-sized stage with adequate depth. What’s more impressive is the imaging capability. The M15 offers an accurate image of the stage and it is quite easy to track individual instruments. Overall, this set of skills helps the M15 shine among the dongles with its special midrange and overall smooth and rich tonality.

vs. Shanling UA5

The Shanling UA5 is the flagship of Shanling’s UA series. It utilizes ESS Technology’s dual ES9038Q2M flagship mobile chips. It features a small screen, 4.4mm BAL, and 3.5mm UNBAL outputs. Size-wise both of the units are similar. The material quality of both of the devices is similar. They both come with good chassis and design, however, I personally prefer the M15’s see-through design.

As for the power, both of the devices are more than enough powerful for many cans on the market. The UA5’s hardware volume is better for sensitive IEMs as it is easier to adjust physically. Sound-wise the most distinct difference between the M15 and the UA5 is the presentation. The UA5 offer slightly more detail and an overall flatter presentation compared to the more musical M15. The UA5 has more energetic upper midrange and treble regions. The M15’s midrange feels more organic and natural.

Last Words

I mentioned it a couple of times already but I have to tell you that I am in love with the design of the M15 once again here in this closing section. The M15 offers one of the most sophisticated designs in the industry and it is an absolute eye candy with its stellar build and material quality.

It is a capable, great-sounding little device that can dish out a serious amount of juice into demanding cans despite its small size. Overall, I am really pleased to see Questyle implementing their CMA technology into a pocketable device and I recommend you to give it a listen if you are in the market for a dongle.

 

Page 1: Questyle, Questyle M15, Packaging, Design & Accessories, Controls & Ease of Use, Power

Page 2: Questyle M15 – Sound Quality, Technical Capability, vs. UA5, Last Words

4.4/5 - (282 votes)
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Long time Tech Enthusiast, an ambitious petrol-head, Yagiz likes his gadgets and always finds new ways into the tinkerer's world. He tries to improve anything and everything he gets his hands onto. Loves an occasional shine on the rocks.

14 Comments

  • Reply August 26, 2022

    Panel Benoît

    Purely in terms of sound and output power, which of the 2 is the best between this Questyle M15 and Violectric Chronos ?

    • Reply August 26, 2022

      Yagiz

      Hello,
      Unfortunately I do not have the Choronos.
      I think M15 has more power compared to Chronos based on specifications of both devices.

  • Reply November 4, 2022

    Max

    Thank you for your job – great website!

    Could you please tel the difference in sound, compared to Lotoo paw s3 and Cayin RU6?

  • Reply November 4, 2022

    Max

    Paw s2*

  • Reply November 20, 2022

    Richard

    Great in-depth review as usual, thank you!

    Could you please recommend a bluetooth alternative that provides similar sound quality? Budget is under $400. I’m gonna use it with Macbook M1. If impossible, I think I have to choose M15 in the end.

  • Reply November 21, 2022

    Yagiz

    Thanks for the kind words Richard!
    Go for the Topping G5. Forget everything else. It is nearly on par with desktop dac/amp stacks.

  • Reply December 1, 2022

    Zac

    In your review you talk about power of Questyle M15 with Hifiman he-r9, can you tell us more about combo of them?, sound and coupling.

  • Reply December 4, 2022

    Alex

    Hi! Why isn’t M15 in the recommendations?
    (https://www.headfonia.com/best-dac-amp-combos/)

  • Reply January 5, 2023

    Valerie Curtis

    Any opinions about how it stacks up to the Chord Mojo 2?

    • Reply January 11, 2023

      Yagiz

      Not really on the same level. Mojo 2 is a much better DAC with better technical foundation and better tonal balance compared to M15. It is not fair to compare them though, Mojo 2 is 3+ times more expensive. It is also not as compact and you need to charge it as it runs on battery.

  • Reply January 29, 2023

    Mert Akyuz

    what about Earmen Colibri/Sparrow?

  • Reply June 2, 2023

    James

    How would you compare this to the Topping G5 head to head in terms of sound quality when using both wired?

  • Reply September 28, 2023

    JBurns

    WARNING: After reading this review I ordered a Questyle M15 Dac and the Protective Leather Cover (grey) directly from the Questyle website. Last week my package arrived but was missing the Protective Leather Cover (US$25). I have since sent them several emails advising them of the missing cover and requested one to be sent. It appears all of my emails have been ignored so far as I have not had any reply from Questyle. I’m very disappointed by the lack of communication and poor customer service from Questyle

  • Reply October 9, 2023

    JBurns

    UPDATE: After no response from Questyle, I lodged a dispute case with PayPal and have received a refund of US$25 for the missing item.

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