Fiio BTR5

[Daniel Simion]

Hello everyone! Is the Chord Mojo worth the price difference from Fiio BTR5?

 

[Deleted member 12179]

I had one. Returned it since the Fiio app wasn't updated yet for BTR5 on iOS. I also found it didn't sound any better than my macbook's output at work which was where I'd hoped to use it. It does have a lot of features if you need them..

Really? A macbook output sounds terrible. I hooked up there my new hd 6xx, sounded so bad compared to my khadas tone board. Same audio file 1411Kbs, through khadas to headphones sounds like angels. Same file through the headphone jack and same headphones, sounded kind of like a 128kbs mp3...

 

[Deleted member 12179]

Does anyone knows any decent way of implementing Apple AirPlay wireless into a regular wired headphones? Many bluetooth little dongles out there, some very nice like this BTR5, but airplay streams straight 1411kbs audio, uses wifi instead of bluetooth, it's been out there for ages. You can now buy a used apple airport express, for 15-20€, it will send wirelessly audio with 1411kbs bandwidth, it also has optical digital output, the one that is a red light, for toslink. I got one for my parents house, you can hook up directly a set of active monitors via the 3.5mm output, with the right cd quality files it sounds like angels. Much better than any bluetooth thing I have ever tested.

Would be great to be able to turn say an HD6XX into a wireless AirPlay headphones. LDAC or LLAC top at 900Kbs, if you are lucky, and looses signal at short distance.

 

[Veri]

Really? A macbook output sounds terrible.

I use a 2015 15" at work and it sounds fine. Indistinguishable. The newest macbook all come with a lousy DAC chip only capable of 44/48kHz. The older implementations were quite decent. This is what mine says on the built-in output. Loopback Audio allows me to use EQ/DSP as well.

The newest macbooks, I can agree that they're probably hit or miss for many headphones except for undemanding ones..

 

[Deleted member 12179]

I use a 2015 15" at work and it sounds fine. Indistinguishable. The newest macbook all come with a lousy DAC chip only capable of 44/48kHz. The older implementations were quite decent. This is what mine says on the built-in output. Loopback Audio allows me to use EQ/DSP as well.

The newest macbooks, I can agree that they're probably hit or miss for many headphones except for undemanding ones..

That macbook you own is probably the best ever laptop yet. I own the same one but 2014 model, not sure about DAC specs, could be easily the same one, or a complete different one.

Thing that I noticed is, if you are listening to a track from the band "Low", album "double negative", track "Always trying to work it out", in 1411Kbs FLAC/ALAC, this track seems to be using every single sound "pixel" to create detail. It's also a deliberately sound imperfection, like trying to create an interference sound, a distortion in purpose, as part of the music canvas. I hear this track either directly from the Khadas, or the JDS atom, with hd6XX. Then, same headphones from the direct 3.5mm laptop output; it's like a complete different song when connected directly to the laptop. It's like all those little tiny audio "pixels" where erased, mixed, combined to create a lower resolution audio "jpg". I changed the settings in the midi setup window as you showed, makes no audible difference in my machine, and the track i have is already just 16/44.1, regular CD quality.

Same lower quality sound was already noticed when connecting my yamaha monitors directly... The DAC included in my DELL monitor already produced much better sound than the jack in this macbook.

Again, 2014 to 2015 could differ a lot. Worth mentioning, the laptop can power the hd6xx eaaasily, very easily, no lack of volume for these 300 ohms cans.

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Has anyone got hold of a BTR5 yet? I'm considering purchasing one to replace my Radsone ES100 which is starting to look a little worn after 9 months use, i'm also missing the USB-C charging and fit & finish on my Fiio BTR3.

Mine arrived yesterday. Fit & finish is very nice, so nice in fact that you want to make sure it doesn't get scratched. Tiny little thing.

 

[Berwhale]

Mine arrived yesterday. Fit & finish is very nice, so nice in fact that you want to make sure it doesn't get scratched. Tiny little thing.

I managed to put a small semicircular crack in the glass of my BTR3 soon after I bought it. Fortunately, it's not very noticeable.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

I managed to put a small semicircular crack in the glass of my BTR3 soon after I bought it. Fortunately, it's not very noticeable.

I guess we can deduce that it is not Gorilla glass, then.

 

[Berwhale]

I guess we can deduce that it is not Gorilla glass, then.

I don't know, it's pretty tough, but it has picked up a few scratches in the year I've had it. I may just have been unlucky with the crack, you can see it to the right of the Fiio logo...

 

[Asylum Seeker]

So many dings in just one year? No, it ain't Gorilla.

 

[Berwhale]

It looks a lot worse in the photo than in the flesh, but yes, it doesn't look like gorilla glass.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Fina!ly got to use mine. I used it in BT receiver mode using LDAC. Three comments. One, I had to go into Developer Options (on Samsung S4 10.5 Android 9 tablet) to set LDAC to 990kbps bit rate manually. Otherwise it defaults to 'Adaptive'. I have to do this each time I connect the thing to the tablet. I wish it just stayed on that setting permanently. Two, connection stability is not as good as my aptX BT earbuds (Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro). The Anker buds keep up with me throughout my two-storey house. The Fiio on LDAC did not. Three, it has a lot more power than the tablet's headphone out. I tried DT880 250 Ohms and it did a lot better than I expected volume-wise.

 

[Berwhale]

Setting LDAC to 990kbps will significantly lower the stability of the connection. You should leave it on Adaptive and let the phone manage the connection speed, it's better drop the bit rate now and again than loose the connection completely.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Used the Fiio BTR5 today in USB DAC more. Two questions:
^ I don't have/play DSD files. PCM only. What setting do I want, D2P, DoP or Native?
^ With UAPP the Fiio BTR5 does not recognize sampling rate changes. If I play a 44.1KHz file and then a 96kHz file, the Fiio does not recognize the change, and therefore the sound is slowed down or speeded up. The fix is to close and open UAPP. Any thoughts?

 

[Berwhale]

^ I don't have/play DSD files. PCM only. What setting do I want, D2P, DoP or Native?

If you are not playing DSD, I don't think it matters which setting you choose (i.e. those settings only apply to DSD playback).

^ With UAPP the Fiio BTR5 does not recognize sampling rate changes. If I play a 44.1KHz file and then a 96kHz file, the Fiio does not recognize the change, and therefore the sound is slowed down or speeded up. The fix is to close and open UAPP. Any thoughts?

Sounds like a bug in the BTR5, have you contacted Fiio?

*edit* There's a firmware fix for the sample rate detection on mobile phones...

The following changes and improvements have been made in the new firmware:

1. Improved the battery indication in charging status: the battery scrolling is based on current battery
2. Improved the sampling rate recognition when connecting to mobile phone as USB DAC
3. Miscellaneous bug fixes.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio-releases-the-new-firmware-fw1-0-6-for-btr5.921860/

 

[Asylum Seeker]

If you are not playing DSD, I don't think it matters which setting you choose (i.e. those settings only apply to DSD playback).



Sounds like a bug in the BTR5, have you contacted Fiio?

*edit* There's a firmware fix for the sample rate detection on mobile phones...

The following changes and improvements have been made in the new firmware:

1. Improved the battery indication in charging status: the battery scrolling is based on current battery
2. Improved the sampling rate recognition when connecting to mobile phone as USB DAC
3. Miscellaneous bug fixes.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio-releases-the-new-firmware-fw1-0-6-for-btr5.921860/

Yes, I saw that. But it came with that firm firmware (1.0.6) out of the box.

 

[Berwhale]

Yes, I saw that. But it came with that firm firmware (1.0.6) out of the box.

Fiio are obviously aware that there is an issue with sampling rate detection, so you should contact them.

You can limit the sampling rate in UAPP USB Audio settings, this would save you from unplugging and connecting the BTR5 whilst you wait for improved firmware.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Fiio are obviously aware that there is an issue with sampling rate detection, so you should contact them.

You can limit the sampling rate in UAPP USB Audio settings, this would save you from unplugging and connecting the BTR5 whilst you wait for improved firmware.

No need to unplug the BTR5. Closing and opening again UAPP does the trick. Not a huge deal because 99% of my music is all Redbook.

BTW, I tried it with the DT880 250Ohm again last night and was surprised at the sufficient volume coming out.

Took it out of its clip-on case - the BTR5 is tiny. Would have preferred a rubbery, non-slippery finish on the back and sides.

Clock Divider setting - 1/4, 1/2 or 1?

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Fina!ly got to use mine. I used it in BT receiver mode using LDAC. Three comments. One, I had to go into Developer Options (on Samsung S4 10.5 Android 9 tablet) to set LDAC to 990kbps bit rate manually. Otherwise it defaults to 'Adaptive'. I have to do this each time I connect the thing to the tablet. I wish it just stayed on that setting permanently. Two, connection stability is not as good as my aptX BT earbuds (Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro). The Anker buds keep up with me throughout my two-storey house. The Fiio on LDAC did not. Three, it has a lot more power than the tablet's headphone out. I tried DT880 250 Ohms and it did a lot better than I expected volume-wise.

On a different Andoid device (Huawei Mate 20 X) LDAC at highest audio quality is the immediate, initial default, appearing directly in the Bluetooth connection menu. No need to go into Developer Options. It appears it is down to individual device UI. Kudos to Huawei EMUI on this score.

Will have to test whether the sampling rate change recognition issue is source device dependant too.

 

[Human Bass]

No. The btr5 is much more practical, doesnt get hot, uses type c, much lighter and smaller. The mojo is only worthy if you want extra power and optical, but then i would choose the Q5S.