Review and Measurements of Fiio K5 Pro

[Blorg]

Only if you disregard the channel balance measurements.

"Good performance until -40dB"

Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amp Reviews

This is a review, detailed measurements and comparison of Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amplifiers. It was kindly sent to me by the company. They both cost US $99 plus shipping from Schiit. The Magni 3+ is a discrete amplifier implementation whereas the Heresy uses integrated circuits...

www.audiosciencereview.com

K5 Pro is better as it's digital but I'm not sure this is particularly problematic on the Heresy. I don't have it though, I did have the K5 Pro (now replaced with K7). Everything else though is much better on the Heresy, like orders of magnitude lower noise and distortion. Much higher power too. Subjectively, K5 Pro was just fine with those headphones, though.

 

[popcorn]

Not sure there are measurements of the analog in. Why would you bother using a DX1 DAC rather than the one built in to the Fiio?

I do this strange amp/DAC to amp setup just for two separate headphone outputs for two listeners, each having their own volume control

Also I believe the DX1 has better measurements but less power, correct me if I’m wrong compared to K5 Pro AKM (Haven’t found any for K5 Pro ESS)

Measurements of Topping DX1 USB DAC/HPAmp - L7Audiolab

台式设备 国内卷厂拓品（Topping）的低端产品线其实一直不是很完整的，解码从599元的D10s开始，搭配上他家的L30-2已经总价过了千元。即使是最便宜的一体机PA3s也已经达到了四位数的价格，在数百元价位中一直没有相应的产品，直到这款 Topping DX1 出现

www.l7audiolab.com

 

[popcorn]

"Good performance until -40dB"

Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amp Reviews

This is a review, detailed measurements and comparison of Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amplifiers. It was kindly sent to me by the company. They both cost US $99 plus shipping from Schiit. The Magni 3+ is a discrete amplifier implementation whereas the Heresy uses integrated circuits...

www.audiosciencereview.com

K5 Pro is better as it's digital but I'm not sure this is particularly problematic on the Heresy. I don't have it though, I did have the K5 Pro (now replaced with K7). Everything else though is much better on the Heresy, like orders of magnitude lower noise and distortion. Much higher power too. Subjectively, K5 Pro was just fine with those headphones, though.

I do like the digital pot of the K5 Pro but the SINAD measurement had me a little concerned as it fell below 96 (I believe ≥96 dB of SINAD is preferable for 16 bit audio, correct me if I’m wrong)

I tend to like everything about K5 Pro more, the aesthetics, power integrated with the pot and the gain switch on the front rather than the back, however I do find the K5 Pro to be a bit large on my desk but it seems like either amp should be fine for the headphones I use

 

[Blorg]

Right that makes sense to have two outputs. I have sold the K5 Pro now, I know the SINAD numbers weren't great but subjectively it sounded fine to me. The noise floor was way below that and totally inaudible. Is THD+N of 0.008% a big problem? I don't know that it is really all that audible. But "objectively" the Heresy does have much better numbers, like orders of magnitude better.

 

[Sstorm]

I ended up buying the newer Ess version of the K5 pro. I can say that I am very satisfied with this device. The headphones I use are HD560s and that's where the K5pro excels compared to my Xonar U7 MKII, the Asus simply didn't have enough juice. Also, when I connect my Harman Kardon amp and Canton hifi speakers to the line out, it sounds obviously better and more powerful than the Asus device. I did not notice any audible noise or distortion either on the headphone output or on the line out output.

 

[blse59]

I ended up buying the newer Ess version of the K5 pro. I can say that I am very satisfied with this device. The headphones I use are HD560s and that's where the K5pro excels compared to my Xonar U7 MKII, the Asus simply didn't have enough juice. Also, when I connect my Harman Kardon amp and Canton hifi speakers to the line out, it sounds obviously better and more powerful than the Asus device. I did not notice any audible noise or distortion either on the headphone output or on the line out output.

Yeah, IMO this is still the best value one-stop desktop amp/dac solution for the everyday layperson.

 

[brydon10]

Yeah, IMO this is still the best value one-stop desktop amp/dac solution for the everyday layperson.

I'm still using mine. It sounds fantastic and is very powerful, but also works well with efficient headphones. My favourite feature is the perfect channel balance and the smooth/large volume control.