Questyle M15i Portable Balanced DAC and Amp Review

mmorpg.com:

One of our absolute favorite portable DAC/amps just got an update. The Questyle M15i brings the same great sound with improved specs, higher resolution audio, and Apple MFi certification for compatibility with Mac and iOS devices. It’s a refresh rather than a whole new release but that doesn’t stop it from offering superior sound for its $249 cost of entry.

Specifications

Current Price: $249 (Amazon) 

Questyle M15i — Design and Highlights

By outside appearances, the Questyle M15i looks nearly identical to its predecessor. That’s fitting since the M15i is really an incremental upgrade rather than a full-fledged successor. The design language is part of what defined the M15 and seeing it carry through here is welcome. Measuring only 2.4 x 1.1 x 0.5 inches, it features the same easily pocketable design with an aluminum chassis and glass side window revealing its internals. 

This “inside peek” is genuinely neat and demonstrates that there’s actually quite a bit going on inside this device. You get a top down view of everything and Questyle even provides a detailed breakdown of exactly what each component is (see the Specifications image above). There are also two pairs of LEDs to indicate your current gain mode, low or high, and the quality of the audio you’re currently listening to. One LED on this set indicates that you’re listening below 48kHz and both for anything above.

The chassis is made of frosted aluminum and feels sturdy in the hand. There’s a gain mode switch on the right but no dedicated volume control, which is a bit of a shame but not unusual for a dongle-style device like this. The top features two outputs, 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced. On the opposite end is a single USB Type-C port to connect to your source device. 

The M15i also comes with a short USB Type-C to Type-C cable to connect to your phone as well as a Type-C to Type-A adapter for use with a computer. Interesting, there’s no USB-to-Lightning adapter included in the box, which really