Review and Measurements of Fiio K5 Pro

[JohnYang1997]

About the SINAD, Fiio announced the correct number should be 98db last Dec on weibo. Here's the link: https://overseas.weibo.com/user/3446862224/4452599774156787

He said they contacted the author (amirm?). Found the cause of the poor result is that the LO volume is adjustable, and out level was not set to 0dBFS in the test.

Is that true? View attachment 52690

It's basically meaningless. Surely the guy shared on coolapk has something in the mind but that's not the point. K5pro just doesn't have superior performance. It uses volume control ic to control volume the performance is limited by the internal buffer. And higher the output voltage worse the performance. Similarly Topping A50 uses similar stuff and performance is better yet not quite impressive. It's a trade off between channel balance and performance. There are other ways to improve channel balance so it doesn't necessarily need the performance trade off.

 

[Veri]

Similarly Topping A50 uses similar stuff and performance is better yet not quite impressive. It's a trade off between channel balance and performance. There are other ways to improve channel balance so it doesn't necessarily need the performance trade off.

Interesting view

 

[Tyrius]

I'm curious: Can owners of the k5 pro give their impression about the units performance at low listening levels? I understand the audible "steps" of volume adjustment, but I am more interested to hear whether the low settings are both low and clean enough (I like to listen at low levels). Thanks a lot

 

[flipflop]

I'm curious: Can owners of the k5 pro give their impression about the units performance at low listening levels? I understand the audible "steps" of volume adjustment, but I am more interested to hear whether the low settings are both low and clean enough (I like to listen at low levels). Thanks a lot

It doesn't have the channel mismatch of analogue pots at low levels, so there's really nothing to worry about.

 

[Tyrius]

It doesn't have the channel mismatch of analogue pots at low levels, so there's really nothing to worry about.

Thanks, I guess people kept telling how much power it has, and that they don't have to turn the nob far for listening levels, so I got worried there wasn't enough room to go low.

Do you by chance also know, if the dac disappears from the OS when it is turned off using the volume nob? (to allow "automatically" switching the output, since this unit itself doesn't do it).

 

[flipflop]

Do you by chance also know, if the dac disappears from the OS when it is turned off using the volume nob? (to allow "automatically" switching the output, since this unit itself doesn't do it).

Yes, when I turn off my K5 Pro, the output changes to my mobo and when I turn the K5 Pro back on, the output switches back again.

 

[Tyrius]

Yes, when I turn off my K5 Pro, the output changes to my mobo and when I turn the K5 Pro back on, the output switches back again.

Awesome thanks again. For my usecase that would work perfectly

 

[AsideOne]

Does anyone have experience using this amplifier / DAC for both headphones and monitors. What is the best way to do separate volume control? As far as I understand, for this you need to buy a monitor controller and connect to the fiio k5 pro line input? I have been creating music for many years and since 2015 I use Focusrite Scartlett 2i4 1st gen. I recently found out about this device with an excellent DAC and headphone amplifier in this budget, and I would like to switch completely to it from my old sound card. I have JBL LSR305 monitors, Audio-Techinca ATH-R70x headphones. What is the best way to do this?

 

[dmac6419]

I don't have an answer but it power my JBL 305's pretty loud,only thing i can say is power off the monitors if you want headphones and unplug the headphones if you want monitors. but i found this.
https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Aud...r/dp/B0787X4J4V/ref=psdc_172546_t2_B073GWCRP3
https://www.amazon.com/Audibox-Switcher-Stereo-Signal-Switcher/dp/B00ASVXBO8

 

[AsideOne]

I don't have an answer but it power my JBL 305's pretty loud,only thing i can say is power off the monitors if you want headphones and unplug the headphones if you want monitors. but i found this.
https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Aud...r/dp/B0787X4J4V/ref=psdc_172546_t2_B073GWCRP3
https://www.amazon.com/Audibox-Switcher-Stereo-Signal-Switcher/dp/B00ASVXBO8

Most likely this is what you need, when I get the DAC, I will need to additionally buy a monitor controller. I think that in this case it will turn out to use headphones and monitors with a separate volume control

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Any comments on using this with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990s, 600 ohm model?

Thanks.

 

[flipflop]

Any comments on using this with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990s, 600 ohm model?

Thanks.

There shouldn't be any problems.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Thank you.

 

[Tyrius]

Hey everyone.
I received my k5pro not long ago.

Something interesting I noticed: The surface of the device felt "tingly" if plugged in, but not connected to usb.
Curious what that is about I whipped out my multimeter and found 70V AC on the device: The same is measurable between the inner and outer contacts of the round power plug itself. It seems the power-brick is "leaking" AC voltage! If plugged into usb this runs through the computer through the ground of the USB.

I was not expecting that high a voltage on the touchable surface of any device really.

Now I was wondering if other owners of the device observe something similar. Maybe I received a defective power brick? Curious to hear your thoughts on this

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

A couple of questions, if I may.

To drive these phones I usually have to wind the volume up a fair bit. Not to full, but quite high.

With a track that’s a bit louder, I can get away with putting gain on Mid instead of High, but then the volume needs to come up further. Is there any advantage/disadvantage to this?

Second question, is there any disadvantage to turning the source app (Amazon Music HD, whatever) volume to 100%? I appreciate that, in an analogue world, this would be seen as a no-no. But digitally?

Cheers.

 

[companyja]

A couple of questions, if I may.

To drive these phones I usually have to wind the volume up a fair bit. Not to full, but quite high.

With a track that’s a bit louder, I can get away with putting gain on Mid instead of High, but then the volume needs to come up further. Is there any advantage/disadvantage to this?

Second question, is there any disadvantage to turning the source app (Amazon Music HD, whatever) volume to 100%? I appreciate that, in an analogue world, this would be seen as a no-no. But digitally?

Cheers.

You should keep the volume in the app at 100% and adjust the volume with the k5 pro's knob. Digitally changing the volume within windows/other device lowers the bit depth. If you're starting at 24bit it won't be audible but if you're using 16bit it might eventually start sounding staticky or bitcrushed at very low digital volume. Best to let the dac do the volume conversion, especially seeing how the k5 pro has perfect volume matching and performs best with slightly lower levels (up to 3:00 positon, rougly - a tradeoff for using the dac's volume ic). If high output lets you set the desired volume, aka it isnt too loud even on the lowest setting, you can use that all the time without a problem.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Cheers.

I’m loving the new set-up.

 

[Tyrius]

Cheers.

I’m loving the new set-up.

Can you comment on the issue I'm having? When lightly moving your finger across the surface, do you feel a difference between the device unplugged vs plugged _only_ into power?