• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Fiio Q5s Portable DAC & THX Headphone Amp Review

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
Meh, I'd much rather THX respond and how they granted such label..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, the HELL is that god awful filter choice?
The thing is, THX business model is not the same as it was. It used to be a certification tag for home theatre audio, now it just means FIIO paid their licence and use their amplifier circuitry in their products, I don't thing they have a say about what's being done with it. That being said, these measurments don't suggest that there is a problem with the THX Amp, it doesn't make anything worst, the problems are upstream unless I'm missing something.
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,368
Likes
234,384
Location
Seattle Area
Add: Heck, I thought linearity is supposed to correlate with harmonic distortion according to EE lecture (HD coming from non-linearity) but the gap between SINAD and linearity result here is pretty huge.
Linearity test *as we run* is a special one. It filters everything other than the generator tone so that it only captures the output voltage and almost nothing else. For this reason it is immune to distortion and noise (unless the noise lands right at the test frequency). If you don't do the filtering, then noise dominates and you get an exponentially rising graph for just about every DAC making the test useless.

In that sense, it presents a far more optimistic view of the DAC performance. My use of it is simply to show that the DAC produces correct voltages especially as we go below 16 bits where accuracy may get lost.
 

Lbstyling

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
500
Likes
461
THX certification holds no credibility or value if this device passes the bar.

What a sad affair. I wonder how many people have purchased a THX certified item and relied on it to mean a basic if not assumed high standard has been met.

Shameful. Utterly shameful. Should be illegal.

Someone is sat on an island sipping Mai Thais and laughing because they charge people for a sticker.
 

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
THX certification holds no credibility or value if this device passes the bar.

What a sad affair. I wonder how many people have purchased a THX certified item and relied on it to mean a basic if not assumed high standard has been met.

Shameful. Utterly shameful. Should be illegal.

Someone is sat on an island sipping Mai Thais and laughing because they charge people for a sticker.
See my previous comment, THX is not a certification. The HiRes Audio label is tough, looks like this one is not hard to pass
 

Lbstyling

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
500
Likes
461
THX certification holds no credibility or value if this device passes the bar.

What a sad affair. I wonder how many people have purchased a THX certified item and relied on it to mean a basic if not assumed high standard has been met.

Shameful. Utterly shameful. Should be illegal.

Someone is sat on an island sipping Mai Thais and laughing because they charge people for a sticker.
See my previous comment, THX is not a certification. The HiRes Audio label is tough, looks like this one is not hard to pass

The problem is that whatever it is, it is perceived as one, and they know it.
 

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
The problem is that whatever it is, it is perceived as one, and they know it.
If you want, but that is exactly why the right information should be pointed. THX sells populated pcb amplifier modules, like AKM sells dac chips, you buy the module you do whatever you want with it. It's not THX fault if the people's perception is based on the wrong information.
 

Veri

Master Contributor
Joined
Feb 6, 2018
Messages
9,596
Likes
12,036
See my previous comment, THX is not a certification. The HiRes Audio label is tough, looks like this one is not hard to pass
Considering the Super slow filter, yeah HiRes is a joke to pass :p
 

bobbooo

Major Contributor
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
1,479
Likes
2,079
If you have to listen on the go, use a phone and a dongle.

Or just a phone (if it has a headphone jack, which are thankfully making a comeback with quite a few manufacturers). Most modern smartphones are likely transparent within the limits of audibility anyway.
 
Last edited:

A Surfer

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 1, 2019
Messages
1,125
Likes
1,230
It is too much to ask Amir to test with Bluetooth I suspect. I wouldn't care if he kept my Q5s longer. I almost exclusively used Bluetooth as my connection type. Frankly a good set of Bluetooth headphones and any one of many smartphones with well implemented Bluetooth out is all that you need. I use my LG G7 with Onkyo HF Player and either my Sony XM3 (bass mess corrected via HF Player's eq) or the KEF Spaceone Wireless. That is great for portable use, but I will say that I did enjoy the Q5s/AM3D combination with the Edition X V2 quite a bit so despite the measurements I will still say publicly that I have been able to enjoy the Q5s. I never used the line out or it as a DAC mind you,
 

monkeyboy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2019
Messages
239
Likes
214
Dammit...I just bought an M11, I relied on Fiio's published measurements....looking the Fiio's data on the Q5, it also looks good....I like the features of the M11, but it they are misleading on the measurements, I don't want to give them my business...I'm thinking of returning the M11....
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2018
Messages
39
Likes
97
A5 was really good.

I wasn't questioning that Fiio has made some really good products.

It is about my expectation when considering something for which there are no measurements. Before my assumption was "Competently made, at least good enough", now I would wait for measurements before considering a purchase.
 

Dmitri

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 25, 2020
Messages
432
Likes
1,057
I wasn't questioning that Fiio has made some really good products.

It is about my expectation when considering something for which there are no measurements. Before my assumption was "Competently made, at least good enough", now I would wait for measurements before considering a purchase.
And that folks, is both the advantage and the frustration of this site. Now that I’ve discovered ASR, I’m even more jaded about other reviewers. If Amir hasn’t tested it, I’m afraid to buy it.
 

Asylum Seeker

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2020
Messages
414
Likes
295
Location
Guatemala
Or just a phone (if it has a headphone jack, which are thankfully making a comeback with quite a few manufacturers). Most modern smartphones are likely transparent within the limits of audibility anyway.
Headphone jacks never really went away. Today still a good three fourths of smartphones released in 2020 still have a headphone jack.
 

bobbooo

Major Contributor
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
1,479
Likes
2,079
Headphone jacks never really went away. Today still a good three fourths of smartphones released in 2020 still have a headphone jack.

Yep, I was thinking about some of the big names who dropped headphone jacks in recent years though - Samsung, Google, Sony etc. The last two have now brought them back, and I suspect Samsung will follow suit in the future, and realise that following Apple's lead will just mean they'll have nothing to differentiate themselves with.
 
Last edited:

DivineCurrent

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 13, 2019
Messages
109
Likes
135
I like how literally the day after I bought the Q5s, this was posted. Ugh, I should have just stuck with the Q1 MKII, but this looked so tempting with more power and features. If it sounds worse I may return it, but I won’t be using the line out.
 

Sinquito

Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
62
Likes
37
Location
Querétaro
I like how literally the day after I bought the Q5s, this was posted. Ugh, I should have just stuck with the Q1 MKII, but this looked so tempting with more power and features. If it sounds worse I may return it, but I won’t be using the line out.
You probably won't hear it. To me the biggest issue is the lack of power out of the single ended output. I bought a AM5 module to fix this, but since I got the BTR5, I haven't even bother with the Q5s.
 
Top Bottom