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I bought a Fiio K5 Pro on Amazon but should I be worried about its SINAD? was this a good choice?

john5220

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Amir did a test and its SINAD was very poor like 82db compared to something like the JDS Atom which is 114db

But the K5 Pro was the best Aluminum device I could afford for $150 I believe.

I hope this isn't going to be a concern for my HD58x I wonder if those poor results are even audible compared to the JDS Atom? I hate the fact that the Atom is plastic and not sold on Amazon cause I needed something that would all ship together to the caribbean so I would only pay for 1 shipping and 1 custom clearing tax and the K5 Pro did fit the bill nicely. But I keep wondering what I am missing by not going Topping D30 and JDS Atom Combo. hmmmmm
 
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john5220

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Is there a way to support Amir when I purchase the K5 Pro? does he have an Amazon affiliate link I can use so he can get some money for my purchase?

I really want to help him ever since Jude the douche bag on Head Fi tried to destroy him and NwAvGuy

I could cancel the order and re order it

"Edit" spoke too late only 1 left in stock and K5 pro is about to be sold out I think from the 1 vendor.

Still wish I could have gone the route of topping tho
 
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john5220

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I wonder if these is really an Audible difference between the K5 Pro and JDS Atom??? given the superior measured frequency of the Atom?

I also wonder the difference the K5 pro makes over the E10K while using a HD 58x. I was told I was wasting money on the K5 Pro when I should have bought the E10k as there will be no audible improvement. hmmmm
 

JJB70

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This may make me sound like a subjectivist apostle of Steve Guttenberg or Michael Fremer, but if you like the Fiio and it meets your expectations then just enjoy it. The Fiio stuff I am familiar with has worked fine and sounded good enough to my ears. Don't fall into the rabbit hole of obsessing with measurements if you are happy with what you have, I believe that path ends up as just another form of subjectivism (albeit a more logical form).
 
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john5220

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This may make me sound like a subjectivist apostle of Steve Guttenberg or Michael Fremer, but if you like the Fiio and it meets your expectations then just enjoy it. The Fiio stuff I am familiar with has worked fine and sounded good enough to my ears. Don't fall into the rabbit hole of obsessing with measurements if you are happy with what you have, I believe that path ends up as just another form of subjectivism (albeit a more logical form).

I have never heard a Fiio before but even here on audioscience people say avoid anything with under 83db SINAD and unfortunately the Fiio K5 Pro falls in that category.

This has me seriously reconsidering my purchase but I don't even know what SINAD even means. Why would Fiio build a bad product like this?

I really think I should cancel this K5 Pro order right now.... But then I will have to settle for plastic construction from JDS Atom hmmm the Fiio was perfect in every other way if not for this terrible SINAD results

I wonder how audible this even becomes in real life...

Judging from this website you would think this K5 Pro is really top notch stuff

https://www.fiio.com/k5pro

When in reality it has worse SINAD than onboard crap
 

Berwhale

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I wonder if these is really an Audible difference between the K5 Pro and JDS Atom??? given the superior measured frequency of the Atom?

I also wonder the difference the K5 pro makes over the E10K while using a HD 58x. I was told I was wasting money on the K5 Pro when I should have bought the E10k as there will be no audible improvement. hmmmm

I started my journey with a Fiio K3 (newer model of E10K), I wanted to upgrade to some more demanding headphones, so I bought the Atom when it came out. I ran the K3 as a DAC into the Atom for a while, then the D50s came out and I convinced myself I needed an upgraded DAC. I've now got to the point where I don't need change the DAC or Amp, unless they break.

I still have the K3 and i've been using it with a Raspberry Pi 4 to test Volumio on my desk before moving it to me living room setup. The K3 still sounds great although I think it struggles with my K712Pro's. My Momentum 2.0's are much easier to drive (they are designed to be driven by a phone) and sound the same as when driven by my Atom.

I'm now toying with the idea of selling the K3 and buying a D10 to go with the Pi4 in the lounge (I prefer the flexibility of an external DAC to one attached directly to the Pi and I don't need the HP amp in the K3)
 

Berwhale

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I have never heard a Fiio before but even here on audioscience people say avoid anything with under 83db SINAD and unfortunately the Fiio K5 Pro falls in that category.

This has me seriously reconsidering my purchase but I don't even know what SINAD even means. Why would Fiio build a bad product like this?

I really think I should cancel this K5 Pro order right now.... But then I will have to settle for plastic construction from JDS Atom hmmm the Fiio was perfect in every other way if not for this terrible SINAD results

I wonder how audible this even becomes in real life...

Judging from this website you would think this K5 Pro is really top notch stuff

https://www.fiio.com/k5pro

When in reality it has worse SINAD than onboard crap

You really should not be worrying about this. After all the measurements, Amir's conclusion is...

"In that regard, and in the context of a budget product that is designed reasonably well, I am going to recommend the Fiio K5 Pro."
 
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john5220

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ooh ok then this seems reasonable.... hmm

Do you think the D50 was worth the purchase? is there a big difference between it and something like the E10k?
 

dmac6419

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ooh ok then this seems reasonable.... hmm

Do you think the D50 was worth the purchase? is there a big difference between it and something like the E10k?
Put the k5pro in the bedroom,if you got powered speakers any will do hook those up and your good to go,you gotta learn to re-purpose stuff my friend,any how i have a k5 and a k5pro and they both sound good to me,I've got old ears besides the k5pro pushes these JBL 305 pro's decently.
 
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