Review and Measurements of Fiio K5 Pro

[Rockfella]

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.

That explains the always unused SPDIF connections available on mainboards. Thx.

 

[Rockfella]

I have the K5 Pro. Gosh I will now try a non USB3 port. I am not sure which port the K5 Pro is connected to. Thanks for explaining "The digital volume jumps at low volume is something every review mentions but the tradeoff is perfect channel balance vs an analog pot"
How have you connected a sub to the K5 pro?
Thx

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.

 

[companyja]

It's a shame you don't have Optical Out from your motherboard to test for ground loop issues. As for your concerns with bandwidth, SPDIF (and the K5 Pro) accepts 24/192 stereo PCM uncompressed signal - if you have recordings of higher quality than that, that would be incredible! The only thing you're getting is some theoretical increase in jitter due to clock matching, which you 100% won't hear and 99% won't even show up in measurements on well-implemented modern DACs.

 

[raif71]

Even though I use K5 Pro for desktop usage, I've never connected the K5 pro to the computer/laptop.... the K5 Pro is there beside the computer/laptop for music listening when I'm working but the source is from a DAP so I guess that's why I've never experienced any noise problems.

 

[hikari]

Is fiio K5 pro good enough to drive hd6xx?

 

[flipflop]

Is fiio K5 pro good enough to drive hd6xx?

Yes, it should be powerful enough even on low gain.

 

[hikari]

Yes, it should be powerful enough even on low gain.

Actually I saw on FiiO website, it stated the max impedance headphone for k5 pro is 300. If you say it can drive k5 pro on low gain, does this mean it can drive above 300 impedance headphone? Sorry, new to this stuff

 

[Jimmy]

It can, it will mainly depend on headphones sensitivity, anyway 600 ohm is not very common nowadays, only several Beyerdynamic models come to mind, fiio already has an answer to that question in their website :

https://www.fiio.com/newsinfo/294256.html

 

[companyja]

Actually I saw on FiiO website, it stated the max impedance headphone for k5 pro is 300. If you say it can drive k5 pro on low gain, does this mean it can drive above 300 impedance headphone? Sorry, new to this stuff

Don't worry about the "recommended headphone impedance" designations - some manufacturers will be conservative with the number, some will print support for 600 ohm headphones on things like that Meizu Hifi dongle which puts something like 6.9 mW into a 600 ohm load, while the K5 Pro will easily do 5-10x that amount. Some motherboards even spout 600ohm headphone support which is kind of hilarious

 

[Cevisi]

Did someone use the k5pro with the dt1990 is it a good combo?

Is the 80db sinad a big deal?

And how to drive on 1v for 90db sinad?

Does someone know the sinad of the sxfi amp dongle ?

How would the k5pro compare to the sxfi dongle is it cleaner ?

thanks for the answers !

 

[companyja]

K5 pro can drive the dt1990. If you believe in things like synergy, then I can't help you much.

82dB SINAD is probably inaduible but not at the 2020 standard for even budget DACs. To get SINAD in the high 90s, just don't listen at volumes higher than approximately 3 o'clock on any gain setting. Since it's an ADC volume control and not just digital, it will lower voltage as well.

I'm not familiar with the sxfi dongle, and dongles have gotten good these days, but a discrete desktop solution like the K5 Pro is most likely much more powerful than the dongle (so you can drive hungrier headphones through the K5 Pro), and at normal listening volumes the K5 Pro is transparent and won't show a big/audible difference compared to other well-implemented DACs. I'm not sure which would have a lower noise floor with sensitive IEMs, however

 

[Jimmy]

Sinergy can exist in the sense that certain headphones are not designed for near zero impedance outputs, for example I don't like the AKG K702 at all with the Fiio K5 Pro (the 2.5kHz peak clearly shows), but it is much less noticeable with another 10 ohm impedance solid state amp, and the result is even better with a tube OTL.

Distortion isn't that easy to hear below a certain level, just listen to these samples, you may be surprised :

Frequency response variations are probably the most noticeable difference between equipment (and obviously the most affected elements are transducers).

Edit: The K702 impedance curve is fairly linear, so output impedance shouldn't be the reason for the perceived differences in FR.

 

[companyja]

Sinergy can exist in the sense that certain headphones are not designed for near zero impedance outputs, for example I don't like the AKG K702 at all with the Fiio K5 Pro (the 2.5kHz peak clearly shows), but it is much less noticeable with another 10 ohm impedance solid state amp, and the result is even better with a tube OTL.

Distortion isn't that easy to hear below a certain level, just listen to these samples, you may be surprised :

Frequency response variations are probably the most noticeable difference between equipment (and obviously the most affected elements are transducers).

That's true. I should say it will perform as well as any low impedance solid state amp. I'd much rather get transparent sources and EQ out any harsh peaks than mess with the source to compensate for whatever's bothering me about the headphone. I did that distortion test on the forum and it was fun, got quite deep in a few tries but definitely hard to tell

 

[Cevisi]

I ordered it now thru amazon i can send i back if i dont like it

I think this will be my next one

 

[companyja]

Based on those specs man that one might be over $500 or something

 

[Cevisi]

Based on those specs man that one might be over $500 or something

It's ok i get the k5pro as a place holder for somthing good at the moment i have no avaliblity for drop monoprice and shiit and somehow topping and smsl dont appeal to me and i dont want to wait till fiio releases the k7

 

[3125b]

The K5 Pro has a decent headphone amp, though the DAC really is lacking. You probably won´t be able to hear that, but if you can, you should get maybe an Apple dongle as DAC (real 16 bit digital-analog conversion with 99dB SINAD für 9$) and a schiit Heresy or JDS Atom or Geshelli Archel2 as an amp, much better value.

 

[Cevisi]

The K5 Pro has a decent headphone amp, though the DAC really is lacking. You probably won´t be able to hear that, but if you can, you should get maybe an Apple dongle as DAC (real 16 bit digital-analog conversion with 99dB SINAD für 9$) and a schiit Heresy or JDS Atom or Geshelli Archel2 as an amp, much better value.

I have the es100 fiio q5s and the sxfi dongle can i use these as dac for the k5

I cant buy shiit or jds in germany

 

[3125b]

We´re in the same boat then
You can get a Magni Heresy in Europe, 135€ but not available at the moment.
If you just want a headphone amp, that one is better. But the K5 Pro can still be an option, I just think that 150€ is a bit steep. It does have a nice case though and reliability of FiiO products seems to be quite good for the most part, better than some other Chi-Fi options.
Amir reviewed both.
You might also consider the good old O2 amp from (Mass)Drop, 85$ with 10$ rebate for the first order, if you´ve never bought from there before means you should get it for around 100€ after tax and delivery, wich is fair but not great for what you get.
Availability of many of these budget audio electronics items is a real shame in the EU.
I don´t know a really great (value) option at the moment.

 

[companyja]

I also had to settle for a K5 Pro because of availability in my country. I'm not using it for line-out so I'm not bothered by the 2v SINAD readout, judging by everything else the DAC performs just fine when not at max or near-max voltage. I'm kind of even glad I went with it rather than a stupidly overpriced Modi 3 and Heresy purchase that would leave me with $100+ of just import fees, just because I know the amp is clean enough and the audio balance is near-perfect. I'd be much more anal about perfect audio balance than trying to hear whatever difference there is in distortion between the stacks and the k5 pro