[robfine]

My first DAP (besides an iPod) was an AK 120 (I now also have an Onkyo DP-X1). The micro SD card slots are no longer making dependable contact so it was time to replace the AK. Sound quality was importance of course but so was capacity. The Questyle has had great reviews but most of their advertisement and reviews said they could hold a 200 GB microSD card. Then something caught my eye. I was looking at the Questyle website and it said that the QP2R could hold 2 TB (yep, 2 TB) on a microSD card. The biggest microSD card I have found is 500 GB but I can live with that. I like hi-res music so it’s nice to be able to carry around a really wide choice of music. So the reviews (for the Questyle) were really good, the capacity was great as is the battery life. What I was not prepared for was the sound quality

When I opened the Questyle box the unit was a real beaut. What also caught my attention was a card that said to get to the best sound the unit needs 200 hrs of burn-in. Now I’ve seen stuff like that with full-size equipment but never a portable. Right now I have about 25 hours on it.

I have not yet tried full-size headphones with the Questyle. I started out with my Shure se 535 Ltd. The first 5 hours was a bit rocky. By 10 hours it was sounding just lovely. At 20 hours, the Nobles arrived. After the first 30 minutes (with the Nobles) I could hear the sound changing over the course of an album. I’ve never seen (er, heard) anything like it. Today was my first full day with the Nobles. I don’t know what kind of breaking in will get them to be singing their best but right now, with 6 or 7 hours on them and 25 (out of the recommended 200) the sound is just... Let me say this— when I was in college I used to leave class at least twice a month and go over to Peter McGrath’s store and listen to music. Even with that, the two best listening experiences I can remember are one, way too short, afternoon at Ivan’s Parkland house listening to his TAD and Accuphase system and today. It’s been really that good. First, black is black. When there is silence they are dead silent. At the high end there is no sibilance unless it is already in the recording, none. The base is extended extremely deep but not emphasized, just beautiful. And all this several weeks short of being broken in.

Serge (PHC1): if you are into and about “all things headphones” I think you might need to be trying these Nobles. Because of my circumstances I chose not to get them custom. The customs are supposed to have better sound isolation (which is actually the problem for me) resulting in a bit better sound. But these universals leave me almost without words (notwithstanding how long this entry is). I expect that the newest top of the line A&Ks would do the Nobles justice as would all that Schiit you have been stocking up on.

I haven’t tried the Utopias or the LCD-4 but I have the Elear and LCD-XC, both of which are no slouches. I am not yet prepared to settle in and try and compare them (I’ll do that after a couple more weeks of breaking in time). But I’ll tell you this, the Jotunheim (which is also far from being broken in to be fair) has some stiff competition. I plan on getting some 2.5 mm TRRS balanced cables for the Elear and LCD-XC and when I do I will try them on the Questyle (which is fully balanced and Class A— hey sounds a lot like my Schiit (and yours)). That’s all from now, the Sirens, er, Nobles, are calling for me. So for now, good night.[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH]