FiiO Q5S Bluetooth Decoder Amplifier,Mobile Phone Computer Portable Headphone Amplifier HIFI Balanced All-in-one DSD Hard Solution (Type-C Version) (titanium)

Product Information

Headphones – Philips Fidelio X2HR, Audeze LCD-3, Bqeyz Spring 2, Craft Ears Four, Hifiman HE400i 2020, AKG K702, Campfire Audio Vega, Audeze LCD-3 The left side has 3 buttons that will work only in wireless mode: you have your play/pause/pairing in the middle, next and previous buttons. Treble is not really like a chameleon and sends a clear message from the start. Yes, it is smooth, yes, it is easy going, yet it is also extended, very much so in the upper-region. It has sparkle, but not a lot of it. I know personally people that feel treble should be bright and sparkly and very present but I am of a different opinion. Treble has definition, texture, sounds clean and detailed, however it doesn’t scream around or attracts attention to it. It is not sharp, bright or emphasized, if you are looking for this, you search will continue shortly. Let’s cut to the chase, I wanted the FiiO K3 to be good… and it is. It’s so versatile, allowing you to plug almost anything to it on your desktop. It’s powerful enough to drive classic headphones and if you plug another amp to the line-out, it’s just brilliant. It’s a carefully designed product that had to be at least as good as its previous iteration, but the K3 is better in every way. The Q5s TC includes the standard THX amp module AM3D 3.5mm+4.4mm (the Micro USB port is changed to Type C port), while the Q5s includes the AM3E (2.5+4.4+3.5+Micro USB port).

xDuoo XD05 Plus Review - Desktop Power on the Go - Soundnews xDuoo XD05 Plus Review - Desktop Power on the Go - Soundnews

There is one more thing that makes XD05 Plus even better – possibility to connect add-on Bluetooth module XD05 BL (fits Plus and XD05) that would turn your device into Bluetooth receiver with SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX-LL, aptX-HD, LDAC codecs on board. This module would occupy Coax/optical and line 3.5mm input ports. On the top edge you’ll find a 3.5mm optical/coaxial/analogue input and 3.5mm line out, alongside a switchable gain control and an on/off bass-boost switch. Soundscape or soundstage is a bit better with the Fiio Q5s-TC. Layering is different because of the organic analoguish presentation of the Chord Mojo and the more traditional and solid-state like of the Fiio unit. I can't say one is better then the other but they are very different in this regard , the Mojo can play bidimensional at times where I did not have this feeling with the Q5s-TC but then in small ensambles of jazz and voice or classical piano solos i.e. , the feed it gives to ears is way more life-like with an higher sense of transparency - then what Q5s-TC is able to as it delivers a slight quantity more of brightness on instruments and ultimately this can detract from realism . Board is accurately populated with high-quality elements, all are well-aligned, soldering is neat, no signs of flux spills. Here you would find all declared chips of dac, amps, and processors. Single OPA1612 op-amp uses 2 slots with the adapter and can easy be swapped to other model, either single or paired. Great that the battery is not soldered to board and uses 4-pin connector instead. This is a peculiar thing: it is labeled as 3.8V (seems to be LiHV type of cells) 5000mAh but consists of 2 cells (in parallel, 4 wires connection). Usually, each cell have similar label or a set of cells has the summarizing label. In first case we would get 3.8V, 5000mAh X 2 (since in parallel) = 3.8V, 10000mAh. Or, if it means the set, we should have 3.8V, 2500mAh/cell but the label should state “2P”. Since xDuoo declares that XD05 Plus has 3.8V, 5000mAh battery – than, it is the second case but “2P” was not stated.With ERA-1 and with my eyes closed I would swear I am listening to a desktop wall-powered rig. They sounded very close to how I remember them on my big rig so that is a big compliment to the XD-05 Plus. Chord Mojo offers a slower , smoother darker more relaxed warm presentation it is more organic and less layered ( less soundstage ) , takes a little bit more to be measured by ears ; it sounds more analoguish then the Fiio Q5s-TC , it also exposes a good amount of micro detail but more hidden then the Fiio which presents them more evidently, and at times quite exceeds the Chord in this regard. The Fiio Q5s-TC is a surprising contender for world-top portable solution as a dac/amp combo . It feels solid , extremely well designed and engineered , functional , with no evident faults that I noticed on both operational use and output ; and some surprising strenghts .

Q5s_FAQ - FiiO Q5s_FAQ - FiiO

Q5s-TC mids are good ; they do not sound digital anywhere and they show that slightly mellow half inch upfront smooth behavior for upper-mids transitions to highs , which is good and pleasing . Since I am not a big fan of bass boosters, I left it Off most of the time and listened to some favorite tunes.Let’s cut to the chase, I wanted the FiiO K3 to be good… and it is. It’s so versatile, allowing you to plug almost anything to it on your desktop. It’s powerful enough to drive classic headphones and if you plug another amp to the line-out, it’s just brilliant. It’s a carefully designed product which had to be at least as good as its previous iteration, but the K3 is better in every way.” FiiO M11 Pro + FiiO K5 Pro I’ll do two paragraphs in the sound description. The first one will be standard-length, and the next will be shorter, describing the xDuoo XD-05 Plus when it works only as a DAC, enjoy! I decided not to do a separate paragraph for the Amplifier function because it sounds very similar to the XD-05 as a DAC/AMP. The metal surface looks like a sand-blasted surface, it has a matte silver look and I’m sure it will better absorb scratches or accidental drops. Size wise it is not that big; it is smaller than a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S (6” screen) on both width and length and it is closer size wise to an iPhone 8 or XS. The sound signature is fast , not warm , balanced , very dynamic ; it is leaning towards analitical and towards detail retrieval , rather then natural or organic ; but not lean or thin : politely rich instead and with an extended bass , 100% eq proof , of deep and dry quality that it is easy to appreciate , and that will not save the impact when notched up wtih eq as needed . All attached accessories are of excellent quality. Short cables look similar to those made by FiiO, but these that come with xDuoo are relatively stiffer. Rubber feet are significant, with strong glue. They can easily hold the DAC at the set position.

FiiO AM3D Amplifier Module Review | Porta-Fi™ FiiO AM3D Amplifier Module Review | Porta-Fi™

Q5 sounds like a transition from a portable to a desktop device, whereas Q5S is sounding like a grown-up desktop device. Unsurprisingly with a pair of Master&Dynamic MW65 wired to Q5S the sound was extremely powerful, quite angry, speedy and very articulated. I couldn’t pass on this opportunity to test some faster and punchier music. Everything sounded as I remember MW65 on the big rig: punchy, imposing and very engaging. They sound quality on LDAC was as good as directly from Q5S connected to my desktop PC. A simple 16-bit PCM lossless file sounded exactly the same wirelessly via LDAC and wired. With higher quality headphones like Quad ERA-1 the same story repeats itself, close to zero difference wireless vs wired. Moving upwards to some 32bit files there is a difference, not a big one but it is noticeable. Wired Q5S sounded smoother, the notes sounded like bonded to each other. Going wireless the same 32bit file sounded not as smooth and not as biting in the upper treble region, I felt a small drop in perceived detail retrieval. Nonetheless, wireless or not, Q5S sounded great from the moment I pressed play. Build quality wise there is nothing to complain about: it’s matte silver, it’s sandblasted, it doesn’t attract a lot of attention, the LCD screen helps knowing which input is engaged, what’s the battery level and it’s not that huge really.

Tech Inside

xDuoo learnt from its mistakes and updated it with the fresh out of the oven XD-05 Plus. So, in simple words say good-bye to XD-05 and welcome the newest XD-05 Plus that will be replacing it. I’m glad to report that all the issues I mentioned before were solved with this one and today I will be testing it.

FiiO Q5S Modular DAC/AMP Review - Audiophile Heaven

xDuoo XD-05 Plus vs Earmen TR-AMp (250 USD vs 250 USD) – Earmen TR-AMP is actually the one people most often want to compare to XD-05 Plus, and I honestly think that you could get either and be happy, but with the recent scandal about TR-AMP and Earmen products in general having a huge failure rate, I actually really recommend XD-05 Plus much more. In fact, XTENIK will be there for you and support you, while Earmen is flaky when it comes to honoring warranty, and at this moment I recommend high caution when purchasing their products. Finally, on the left side, you can find three buttons. The first one is a simple input. The second one, SRC, works only for digital input, and it is there for resampling, 48, 96, and the 192KHz. The third one stands there for filters. PCM1 is “Sharp Roll-off,” PCM2 is “Slow Roll-off,” PCM3 is “Short Delay Sharp,” and PCM4 works as “Short Delay Slow.” I was genuinely surprised that it can properly drive the Quad Era-1 planars even on the 3.5mm SE output at about 70% volume and upwards, now take into consideration that the balanced headphone out offers double the power so I would have an even higher headroom and better driver control. Adaptors for digital optical, digital coaxial and Lightning connection are all bundled, as is a T5 Torx screwdriver and screws in case you intend to swap out the standard AM3A amplifier for one of FiiO’s alternatives.Using it as external DAC/amp for any source over Optical/Coaxial for headphones: additional Coax/optical -> 3.5mm Coax/optical cable is needed The soundstage is presented in an effortless way with ample space and precision and with the right headphone the experience can be very lifelike.