Questyle Unveils MEX Portable DAC at 33,000 Yen

Questyle announced the MEX, a portable DAC and headphone amplifier, at an autumn headphone event held at Station Conference Tokyo on November 7, 2026, according to av.watch.impress.co.jp. The company plans general sales for December 2026 at a price of around 33,000 yen.

The MEX carries two ESS ES9219Q DACs and four of Questyle's patented SiP current-mode amplifier modules. It supports native playback of PCM up to 384kHz/32bit and DSD256, offers three gain settings (H/M/L) and 64-step volume adjustment, and provides 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced outputs, with the 3.5mm side supporting headsets with a microphone. The rear uses a skeleton design that shows the actual circuit board.

Two sound modes are on board: PURE for Questyle's own tuning and TUNE for preset EQ and parametric EQ customization. A 10-band PEQ lets users set frequency, gain and Q per band and choose filter types LS, P, HS, LP and HP. DRE (dynamic range extension) and two DAC digital filters — linear-phase fast roll-off and hybrid-phase fast roll-off — can be set in both modes.

The MEX holds MFi certification and has dedicated apps for iPhone/iPad and Android that configure EQ/PEQ, gain, DAC filter, DRE and left-right balance. Pre-orders are open on the crowdfunding site Mimigoto until November 29, 2026, with plans starting at 26,400 yen, a 20 percent discount.

At the presentation, an audio critic said conventional dongle DACs often cannot raise the SN ratio because they draw power from the phone, and praised the MEX for cutting noise well without a battery. A voice actress who hosted the event tried both modes and said TUNE sounded much clearer while PURE sounded mellower overall.

Hands-on impressions

A hands-on test connected the MEX to an iPhone with final S3000 earphones and found PURE mode pleasing, with PEQ low-frequency adjustment on EDM tracks producing subtle changes.