Nango
Major Contributor
Mine is on its way 
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Fiio A5 Portable Headphone Amp Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Degru
Active Member
Is it possible that the worse measured performance on high gain is due to the 60hz grounding issue being amplified?
OP
- Thread Starter
- #83
High gain always has worse noise performance whether it is due to mains hum or other sources.
Degru
Active Member
I guess that makes sense. The other thing I was wondering about was why you didn't test the low gain mode power past 100mW. It should be able to accept more voltage input and the 789 amp used as reference is in fact tested all the way into clipping at all gains.. Unrealistic scenario for portable use I guess?
OP
- Thread Starter
- #85
It is unrealistic in any use since it is unlikely that you have an external DAC that outputs more than 2 volts unbalanced. As it is, most phones will likely struggle to get to 1 volt.
Degru
Active Member
I actually used it with my Geekout 1000's 4V output on several occasions
but I get your point. I'm assuming it will flatten out until clipping like the high gain graph does
Nango
Major Contributor
Ist the A5 powerful enough for properly driving a Sundara Hifiman with only 35 R ??
ninetylol
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Yes
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Degru
Active Member
Ooh, exciting.
ViperScythe
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Amir, does this mean applying a ReplayGain tag to my file is bad? So currently i am using Cayin N3 (High Gain) > Topping NX5 (Low Gain) but at 100% Volume Level, and sometimes i feel like it is not loud enough.
(Cayin N3 doesn't have a true line out port)
I read somewhere (i think in this forum but i can't find it) that even if you output the same amount of voltage(hence volume), using high gain still gives you more noises.
So, remove ReplayGain tag and avoid using high gain as much as possible?
Nango
Major Contributor
@amirm: You mentioned here you heard at maximum levels severe bass distortion in high Gain mode ...... Was it with all the music you listened to or just with selective tracks? Can you remember this??
The source I am checking my A5 with delivers in SE mode only 1,5V so I need to crank up the volume on A5 to the maximum with the source's output at 90% volume. A5 here drives the Sundara (37R, 94 db/mW) only to levels I would call "moderate loud", so not really loud and no way to listen extra loud. But I noticed only one time, maybe two, clear bass distortion while listening to my 10-11 reference tracks, so to me it is dependent from the recordings.
Very decent amp by the way, in real it is much much smaller than I thought. My A5 was offered as "refurbished item" but it seems to me brand new, even the label where you can scratch a code to register the item was intact. They probably sell the last ones before they present a new amp in their upcoming meeting (see above).
The source I am checking my A5 with delivers in SE mode only 1,5V so I need to crank up the volume on A5 to the maximum with the source's output at 90% volume. A5 here drives the Sundara (37R, 94 db/mW) only to levels I would call "moderate loud", so not really loud and no way to listen extra loud. But I noticed only one time, maybe two, clear bass distortion while listening to my 10-11 reference tracks, so to me it is dependent from the recordings.
Very decent amp by the way, in real it is much much smaller than I thought. My A5 was offered as "refurbished item" but it seems to me brand new, even the label where you can scratch a code to register the item was intact. They probably sell the last ones before they present a new amp in their upcoming meeting (see above).
Last edited:
ninetylol
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You can reach 120db with 400mw with the sundara and the A5 can achieve 600mw. It should be plenty loud. Check your source input.
Nango
Major Contributor
Yes, but Amir's measurements were done with an input 2,5V while my source is only capable of 1,5V in SE mode. Will try it's balanced mode with 2,25V output but need an adapter 2,5 TRRS to 3,5 regular.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #96
This was only with my super inefficient Ether CX headphones. But yes, it was with the bass heavy tracks I use for every headphone test.
Degru
Active Member
Got mine back, man I almost forgot what I've been missing after using integrated only (and apple dongle) for a month
Much better dynamics when I'm not pushing tiny integrated dac/amps to their limits
Much better dynamics when I'm not pushing tiny integrated dac/amps to their limits
Nango
Major Contributor
I rather prefer the source doing the EQ, if any.
Eagerly waiting to get my review sample back! Also, fiio launched their new products and it was a bunch of bluetooth headphones, an affordable fh series iem and a new ak4499 based dap. They seem to be perfectly happy with the a5 as their flagship portable amp
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