Questyle CMA Eighteen Master | Flagship DAC and Headphone Amplifier

Questyle's Newest, Refined Flagship Desktop DAC/Amp, the CMA Eighteen Master Edition

• Enhanced and optimized Questyle patented Current Mode Amplification technology
• Premium, military grade Rogers PCB material
• Upgraded XMOS XU316 USB platform supporting up to PCM768 / DSD512
• Upgraded Bluetooth mode supporting both aptX HD and LDAC

Crafting for Pursuit

Since the debut of the first CMA, each flagship in Questyle's series has shared the same soul: Current Mode Amplification Technology. The CMA Fifteen, released in 2020, featured the flagship ESS Current mode DAC for the first time. Coupled with Current Mode Amplification, it established the CMA series as a new era of full current processing, essentially "lossless throughout the entire chain."

The CMA Fifteen was almost perfect 3 years ago, but Questyle sought to improve it. Over the past 3 years, they have continually refined, explored and sought superior designs giving you their latest flagship: the CMA Eighteen Master.

The New Flagship: CMA Eighteen Master

The CMA Eighteen Master features the upgraded XMOS XU316 USB platform, supporting D/A conversion up to PCM768@32Bit / DSD512. It also supports both USB-B and USB-C interfaces, avoiding audio quality degradation issues associated with USB-C converters.

The CMA Eighteen Master's bluetooth mode has been upgraded to support both aptX-HD and LDAC, ensuring optimal wireless sound quality and connectivity.

Half Reverence, Half Praise

The CMA Eighteen Master embodies Questyle's pure design language, featuring a sandblasted matte CNC panel complemented by laser-engraved dark characters, mechanical toggle switches, and amber indicator lights, paying homage to the previous Gen CMA Fifteen.

Current Mode Amplification

This patented Questyle technology is a state-of-the-art audio amp design different from traditional amplification. As the "engine" of the audio system, Current Mode Amplification with fully discrete and topological structure, achieves ultra-high sound performance close to the original recording, yielding a much better listening experience with your premium headphones or speakers.

To dissipate the substantial heat generated by processing ultra-high-definition lossless audio data with the ES9039PRO, the PCB has been upgraded to Rogers material. Originally designed for military equipment, missiles, and specialized instruments, they are approximately 20 times the cost of ordinary materials.

Synchronized Performance Enhancement

The performance of the headphone amp and independent pre-amp have also been enhanced. The latest optimized Current Mode Amplifier, combined with a Rogers board with a dielectric constant only 1/10th of regular PCBs, shows a 30% improvement of performance in distortion tests compared to the previous generation. There is also a noticeable improvement in the dynamic range and background tranquility.

The headphone amplifier features a fully balanced architecture. Along with ALS quad analog potentiometers and peak current output capable of up to 3A, the CMA Eighteen Master will unleash the full potential of all high-end headphones.

Additionally, the digital power and Amp/DAC power are entirely independent, ensuring the purest signal processing. An independent NORATEL toroidal transformer and Schottky rectifier provide the cleanest power to the analog side of the DAC.

Specifications

Input/Output Interface

Digital Input

• USB
  • USB-C and USB-B
  • PCM: 44.1kHz-768kHz/32Bit
  • Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512
  • DoP DSD: DSD64, DSD128,DSD256
  • Supports UAC 2.0
  • Supports Win XP/Vista/7/8/10/11, Linux, Android, HarmonyOS, macOS and iOS
  • Note: Under Win10, will need to install Questyle's proprietary ASIO driver. Win10 system supports DOP DSD256 without driver, but supports Native DSD512 with driver installed
• Optical + COAX: Supports PCM 44.1 kHz~192kHz/24Bit
• Bluetooth: Supports BC, AAC, apt, aptx-HD, LDAC (up to 96kHz/24Bit, 990kps / 909kps)

Analog Input: RCA (std. level 2Vrms)

Headphone Amplifier Output

• 4.4mm BAL
• 4-pin BAL
• 6.3mm
• Note: High/Standard bias can be set via BIAS switch on front panel | STD/LOW Gain can be set via (x4) Gain switches on bottom of amp

Pre-Amp Output

• (x1) XLR
• (x1) RCA
• Note: output level can be set via STD/Studio switch | volume can be controlled by ADJ/FIX switch on rear

Headphone Amplifier

• Max Output Power
  • 6.3mm: 188mW@3000 | 1.5W@320
  • 4.4mm BAL / XLR 4-pin BAL: 765mW@3000 | 2W@320
• THD+N: < 0.0003%
• Frequency Response: ±0.2dB (DC-22kHz) @48kHz/24Bit
• SNR
  • 6.3mm: > 117dB
  • 4.4mm BAL / XLR 4-pin BAL: > 120dB

Pre-amplifier

• Maximum Analog Output Level
  • RCA: 2V (STD), Studio mode output increased to 14dBu
  • XLR: 4V (STD), Studio mode output increased to 20dBu
• THD+N: <0.0003%
• Frequency Response: ±0.2dB (DC-22kHz) @48kHz/24Bit
• SNR
  • RCA: >116dB
  • XLR: >119dB