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Review and Measurements of Fiio K5 Pro

companyja

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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?
This seems to be normal behavior. From Fiio's website:

PLVq6w8.png


And yes, I can sometimes feel a slight sensation when touching it, as well. No relation to being connected to an input device or not
 
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Tyrius

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This seems to be normal behavior. From Fiio's website: [snip]
And yes, I can sometimes feel a slight sensation when touching it, as well. No relation to being connected to an input device or not
Interesting, I did not find that, thanks! I'm still quite surprised about the high voltage. 70V is very noticeable.
 

companyja

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I don't know if it's poor engineering or cost-savings or whatever's going on, it doesn't really impact the experience for me, though. What I like about the K5 Pro is that it doesn't get hot, only warm and only sometimes - I heard that Schitt stacks can get quite hot under usage, so I'm happy not to have a hot plate on my desk!
 

blse59

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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.

Your Windows volume should be at 100%, and whatever audio software you're using should be at 100% as well. You then control the volume totally through the volume knob of the K5.

When finding volume, you should start at the lowest gain setting first since that has the lowest noise/best performance. When you adjust the volume, the knob should be between the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position. If you find yourself going past 3 o'clock, lower the volume, switch to the next highest gain setting, and repeat.
 

Yorkshire Mouth

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Your Windows volume should be at 100%, and whatever audio software you're using should be at 100% as well. You then control the volume totally through the volume knob of the K5.

When finding volume, you should start at the lowest gain setting first since that has the lowest noise/best performance. When you adjust the volume, the knob should be between the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position. If you find yourself going past 3 o'clock, lower the volume, switch to the next highest gain setting, and repeat.

Many thanks.

At 600 ohms the Beyers are tough to drive. In addition I’m 55, so I have a 20 dB hearing loss (very typical for my age), so it’s usually set to about 3.
 

CRKebschull

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Not at the moment, as I’m at work, but I’ll check it out tonight.

Very interesting. I do not notice this at all when touching the housing of my switched-on K5 Pro (which is driving HD 58X very very nicely.)
 

Tyrius

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Very interesting. I do not notice this at all when touching the housing of my switched-on K5 Pro (which is driving HD 58X very very nicely.)
Do you have any inputs connected? I have only tested USB: as soon as I plug that in, it grounds the device. It is measureable on the powerplug itself, so K5 switched on/off doesn't matter. Also I live in a country with 230V AC, maybe that is another factor. EDIT: Just saw your "location". So at least that last bit is the same for both of us.

Sadly I do not have another 15v supply handy, if I get my hands on one I will measure it's output as well. Compared to the cost of the unit, a new power-brick would be tolerable for me :)
 

CRKebschull

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Do you have any inputs connected? I have only tested USB: as soon as I plug that in, it grounds the device. It is measureable on the powerplug itself, so K5 switched on/off doesn't matter. Also I live in a country with 230V AC, maybe that is another factor. EDIT: Just saw your "location". So at least that last bit is the same for both of us.

Sadly I do not have another 15v supply handy, if I get my hands on one I will measure it's output as well. Compared to the cost of the unit, a new power-brick would be tolerable for me :)

I do have the K5 Pro connected to the PC via USB yes, unplugging the USB cable, with the unit on or off, doesn't change anything for me - but so far I'm talking about what I feel on my fingers, which maybe I just don't feel it.

Where exactly are you measuring the voltage? I have a Fluke I can get form the basement and - tell me where to put the leads and I'll see if there's anything to see (in my example.)
 

Tyrius

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I do have the K5 Pro connected to the PC via USB yes, unplugging the USB cable, with the unit on or off, doesn't change anything for me - but so far I'm talking about what I feel on my fingers, which maybe I just don't feel it.

Where exactly are you measuring the voltage? I have a Fluke I can get form the basement and - tell me where to put the leads and I'll see if there's anything to see (in my example.)
I didn't want to scratch the finish with the probe (as the unit is absolutely gorgeous), the easiest would be between the -/outside of the plug to something ground (I am using an exposed contact on the same powerstrip the brick is plugged into).

Maybe I am interpreting too much into this, it's just something I've never noticed before :p When running my finger across the device it feels "sticky" or as if it was "vibrating", it's a really strange feeling.
 

Rockfella

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Rockfella

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strange, because on another platform I encountered an owner with exactly the same "symptoms". Are you on 230V or 120V AC?
230V. Only issue I face is weird sizzling/humming sounds that are audible when nothing plays ... both on my LP6s and any IEMs I use. None of those "symptoms" mentioned above.
 

Rockfella

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Some flaws of K5 Pro (JMHO)

1) Weird sizzling/humming sounds that are audible when nothing plays ... both on my LP6s and any IEMs I use. I have not noticed anyone else stating that anywhere online/this forum so it could me my set-up. None of the noise happens in my evergreen Fiio E10.
2) The volume increase from 0 to anything audible is not gradual/smooth. After switching it on … it just starts out a little louder than ideal. Sometimes at night the "minimum volume” is too loud and there is no way to control the volume from PC.
3) Both the front and rear ports are always on. I have to turn off speakers if I want to use the headphone jack or else both play together: This can be a real big one for many.


Overall I love it. It has been compared to JDS Atom :)

Just a note: In my country iFi Zen DAC was available a bit later after I purchased. iFi Zen DAC is cheaper than K5 Pro and has balanced outs + USB3.

EDIT: Just when I was thinking "I should have bought the zen" I found this:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/ifi-zen-dac-and-headphone-amp-review.9885/

K5 Pro FTW!
 
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taudier

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Some flaws of K5 Pro (JMHO)

1) Weird sizzling/humming sounds that are audible when nothing plays ... both on my LP6s and any IEMs I use. I have not noticed anyone else stating that anywhere online/this forum so it could me my set-up.
Maybe a ground loop because of your LP6. I had the same issue when line in and usb were plugged simultaneously. Try optical line in ?
 

Rockfella

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Maybe a ground loop because of your LP6. I had the same issue when line in and usb were plugged simultaneously. Try optical line in ?
Nothing is plugged in LINE IN. No option for Optical out from PC + Optical reduces bandwidth/something/old tech.

Detailed measurements done here amirm USB triumphs over Optical so I did not bother to take that route.
 
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Rockfella

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what pisses me off with this is that volume has huge jumps at the beginning, which means its not suitable for super sensitive stuff. with my superlux hd668b, i can hear a stage of 3 volumes after turning it on before it becomes a smooth scale.
Yep I realize this now....
 

taudier

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Nothing is plugged in LINE IN. NO option for Optical out from PC + Optical reduces bandwidth.
Nevertheless you should test if you hear noise through your iem without your rca-out plugged - not just the LP6 switch off.

Some computers can connect an optical module like this (not this one specifically) : https://www.amazon.com/SPDIF-Optical-Plate-Cable-Bracket/dp/B01LWNKIKN

The Fiio K5 Pro is external powered, so i guess you can just remove the unecessary wires of the usb cable also.
 
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Kouioui

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230V. Only issue I face is weird sizzling/humming sounds that are audible when nothing plays ... both on my LP6s and any IEMs I use. None of those "symptoms" mentioned above.
Do you still get the weird sounds without USB plugged into the K5? The USB2 port (black) on my PC is quieter than USB3 (blue). I hear very faint noises if I'm moving the cursor or scrolling a window and only at high volumes.

The digital volume jumps at low volume is something every review mentions but the tradeoff is perfect channel balance vs an analog pot. I handle headphone/monitor switching with a smart powerstrip using voice control. It's nice to be able to use headphones and a subwoofer together without the monitors blasting.
 
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