It’s small. It’s cute. And it has Bluetooth. It’s the xDuoo XQ-50 Pro3, a DAC/amp combo which you can use both wired, using a USB-C cable, or wireless, taking advantage of the high-quality codecs available. It’s meant mostly for desktop usage, but you can employ it as part of a larger living room setup.
Disclaimer: I received this unit free of charge from Shenzhen Audio. They sell it for $109.
TL;DR: recap
| Pros |
Cons |
| + All-metal build
+ Large Bluetooth codec selection + Good power output + Neutral sound signature + Affordable |
– Imprecise volume wheel |
Rating: 8.5/10
Packaging & Accessories
The cardboard box contains the XQ-50 Pro3 itself, a USB to USB-C cable, a 6.3 mm to 3.5 mm jack adapter and a manual. This is a fairly spartan set of accessories which, however, gives you everything you need to use the device.
Design & Build
The xDuoo XS-50 Pro3 uses the same distinctive design as most other recent xDuoo products: a gunmetal chassis with a bright red volume knob, with the device’s name in white on top. The front has vertical grooves which add movement, while the rest of the chassis is plain.
The front hosts a button (more on its functionality later), a 6.3 mm unbalanced jack output, a 1.3″ colour LCD screen, as well as the volume wheel, which doubles as the power button. On the back we find a stereo RCA connector, as well as coaxial and optical connectors, all of which act as output; the input is provided by a USB-C port as well as the Bluetooth antenna.
At 10 x 12 x 4.2 cm, the XQ-50 Pro3 is very small and fits basically anywhere – it fits under my iMac, as an example. It is not as small as the SMSL PS200, but it’s close – and it offers headphone amplification as well. This means you can place it basically anywhere with minimal footprint.
Build quality is, as usual with xDuoo products, excellent and I can find no faults with it.
The screen shows the input being currently used, the volume level, the sampling rate as well as the equaliser profile. The brightness is enough for it to be visible even in broad daylight.
The volume wheel has good weight to it and it offers a nice bumpy tactical feedback, but it is not super-precise. Turning it fast will not lead to a volume adjustment that is as fast as the turning: 8-10 clicks will only lead to 2-3 points of change in volume. The trick is to turn it slowly, though this prevents quick large adjustments.
Features & Specs
The xDuoo XQ-50 Pro3 supports both USB-C and Bluetooth as inputs. The Bluetooth 5.1 connection offers compatibility with the SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptHD and LDAC codecs.
A peculiarity of the XQ-50 Pro3 is that it offers optical and coaxial outputs rather than inputs, so you can use it just as an adapter from Bluetooth to optical or coaxial and feed another DAC or receiver – as an example, if you have an existing system that does not have Bluetooth. It also offers a stereo RCA output through which you can feed the signal directly to an amplifier.
The XQ-50 Pro3 offers two different equalisers: “game” and “movie”. The “movie” preset emphasises the voice range, making voices a lot more forward in the mix. The “game” one, on the other hand, seems to boost bass a lot while also receding the mids.
xDuoo XA02 |
| Input | USB Bluetooth (SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX LL, LDAC) |
| Suitable headphones impedance | N/A |
| Output impedance | N/A |
| Maximum output power | 360 mW (32 Ω) |
| Frequency response | N/A |
| THD+N (@1 kHz) | < 0.008% (headphone out) < 0.00087% (optical & coaxial) < 0.002% (RCA) |
| SNR | > 115 dB (headphone out) |
| Crosstalk | 85 dB (headphone out) |
The DAC chip inside the xDuoo XQ-50 Pro3 is a Cirrus Logic CS43131, which also takes care of the amplification for the headphones output. The latter has enough power to drive most headphones comfortably, with 360 mW of power on tap.
Sound
I tested the xDuoo XQ-50 Pro3 mostly with a pair of Sennheiser HD6XX.
There is no background hiss nor any other interference; in other words, the XQ-50 Pro3 is perfectly silent.
When it comes to frequency response, the XQ-50 Pro3 sounds perfectly neutral, which means it pairs perfectly with (virtually) any and all headphones out there. It also has enough power on tap to drive even demanding headphones like the HD6XX to very high volume and without changes to the frequency response – an important point, given the HD6XX have a large spike in their impedance in the mid-bass area which, in turn, means that they require more power, so devices without enough power make them sound thin.
I found the equalisation presets not to be that effective, as they are exaggerated and lead to excessive bass or midrange; the default, neutral tuning works best in all scenarios.
Final Thoughts
The xDuoo XQ-50 Pro3 is a nifty little device which offers traditional DAC capabilities as well as Bluetooth connection and headphone output – which make it a great option both for adding Bluetooth and headphone amplification to an existing system, as well as to get an all-in-one device to use at your desk. The Bluetooth connectivity makes the XQ-50 Pro3 a great device if you use your phone to stream music, as an example.
Overall, the xDuoo XQ-50 Pro3 doesn’t really have any drawbacks: it does what it is designed to do very well, and it is quite affordable. And that is why I can recommend it!
