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Review and Measurements of Fiio K5 Pro

Rockfella

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raif71

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Nice, congrats! How's the sound? Share your thoughts.
Before this purchase, I already bought Fiio q5s which has the same AKM 4493 DAC as K5 Pro . I like that unit but that will be for portable usage. I kinda knew buying K5 Pro, I should be having the same sound signature and that is the case except K5 Pro has 3 levels of gain whereas q5s has just two. I like the AKM sound signature and both units have very powerful amp to drive my Senns HD660s. All I can say is that I like what I hear but that could probably be due to the headphones or a combination of both player and heaphones. Catch you later...
 

mkawa

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how do you like the q5s? thinking of it and the thx add on for portable
 

frogmeat69

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[QUOTE="raif71, post: 237706, member: 9521" All I can say is that I like what I hear but that could probably be due to the headphones or a combination of both player and heaphones. Catch you later...[/QUOTE]
If you like what you hear, that's all that really matters.
 

raif71

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how do you like the q5s? thinking of it and the thx add on for portable

Again, l like it a lot so I'm actually hoping that Amir gets a chance to review it. With the q5s, my main player is a Sony NW-A45. I used Fiio's L27 cable (wmport to micro usb) to connect the Sony player and q5s. That dac/amp has some power...I used it at low gain and low bass with volume never exceeding 12 oclock with my Senn 660s via balanced 4.4 mm jack.
 
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MrRalph

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I pulled the trigger and got the k5 pro yesterday for my desktop setup. I came by this decision after trying it out at the local shop with several headphones (liking it), review of measurements here (tq Amir) and I don't plan to spend much (also meaning no budget ;)). Next will get a relatively cheap and able desktop powered speakers that can match with k5 pro. I've never before buy an active powered speakers. All my speaker purchases had been passive ones for my AV receivers. I'm right now leaning towards 2.1 setup of Edifiers or Logitech but would welcome any other suggestions.
I just bought the Adam Audio T5V's for < 300/pair. Wonderfull desktop speakers!
 

Kosta

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and my K5 pro has arrived.

liking it .nice full sound . I dont have anything other than my portable units like the SMSL IQ. to compare it to. The k5 pro sounds richer and powers my 58x effortlessly. But its not night and day. I guess if you are chasing the last 5% in quality then you might have an issue with it.

But for me overall very happy. Exactly what I was looking for - a decent all in one unit that doesn't break the bank.

IMG_20191001_202622.jpg
 

Rockfella

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and my K5 pro has arrived.

liking it .nice full sound . I dont have anything other than my portable units like the SMSL IQ. to compare it to. The k5 pro sounds richer and powers my 58x effortlessly. But its not night and day. I guess if you are chasing the last 5% in quality then you might have an issue with it.

But for me overall very happy. Exactly what I was looking for - a decent all in one unit that doesn't break the bank.

View attachment 34912

Congrats! Almost everyone likes the K5 pro. I can't wait to experience the "upgraded" sound as I'll be upgrading from FiiO E10! :)
BTW SMSL IQ has SABRE9018Q2C, K5 Pro has AKM 4493. Just an observation.
 
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raif71

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and my K5 pro has arrived.

liking it .nice full sound . I dont have anything other than my portable units like the SMSL IQ. to compare it to. The k5 pro sounds richer and powers my 58x effortlessly. But its not night and day. I guess if you are chasing the last 5% in quality then you might have an issue with it.

But for me overall very happy. Exactly what I was looking for - a decent all in one unit that doesn't break the bank.

View attachment 34912

... and you can take that to the bank :p
 

CRKebschull

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and my K5 pro has arrived.

liking it .nice full sound . I dont have anything other than my portable units like the SMSL IQ. to compare it to. The k5 pro sounds richer and powers my 58x effortlessly. But its not night and day. I guess if you are chasing the last 5% in quality then you might have an issue with it.

But for me overall very happy. Exactly what I was looking for - a decent all in one unit that doesn't break the bank.

View attachment 34912

I have the same phones as well, and am also liking the K5Pro sound. I am going do a comparison with the iFi micro iDAC 2, as soon as I stop listening to the music... whenever that is.
 

Rockfella

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doombase

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I've had my K5 Pro for about 2 weeks now and been going through my music library. I have mostly flac files with some hi res albums. Genres range from vocals to pop to EDM and hip hop. Connected via USB from PC.

Upgraded from a FX-Audio DAC-X6 and i'm quite happy with the upgrade. Using a set of M1060's and have a set of TIN T2's coming in the mail. The sound is really much smoother and less harsh on higher frequencies. Any high quality recording sounds amazing on this config. Thinking of getting the Drop HD6XX's but some people like the M1060's more.
 

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CRKebschull

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Your current DAC is a damn good one as per specs:

https://ifi-audio.com/products/micro-idac2/

Did you find the K5 pro better than this?

Hi Rockfella,

well, you can't quite believe what the manufacturer states as to the performance of their gear, sadly. Both the K5Pro and the micro iDAC 2 have manufacturer specs that are evidently much higher than their real world performance. For the K5Pro we have direct measurments from Amir, and the micro iDAC 2 never got a full review here in ASR, but there are bits and pieces of information (also from Archimago).

I think that both DAC sections of the Fiio and the iFi are quite good. I used the micro iDAC 2 as a DAC going from my RPi 3B+ streamer to my Hypex nCore mono blocks. I switched the iDAC 2 over to headphone duty when I got my Massdrop HD58X Jubliee HPs.

And that is where a comparison the Fiio and the iFi is interesting -- not just the DAC section, but the DAC + the HP Amp driving some headphones.

The K5Pro has much more power than the iDAC 2, which is noticeable when driving the phones loudly.

What I want to do is a level-matched comparison driving both units simultaneously via Roon so that I can switch instantly, and then do AB (with the help of someone ABX).

Anything else is just my sighted subjective opinion. If that is wanted, then I can try saying something about that.
 

Kosta

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Hi Rockfella,

well, you can't quite believe what the manufacturer states as to the performance of their gear, sadly. Both the K5Pro and the micro iDAC 2 have manufacturer specs that are evidently much higher than their real world performance. For the K5Pro we have direct measurments from Amir, and the micro iDAC 2 never got a full review here in ASR, but there are bits and pieces of information (also from Archimago).

I think that both DAC sections of the Fiio and the iFi are quite good. I used the micro iDAC 2 as a DAC going from my RPi 3B+ streamer to my Hypex nCore mono blocks. I switched the iDAC 2 over to headphone duty when I got my Massdrop HD58X Jubliee HPs.

And that is where a comparison the Fiio and the iFi is interesting -- not just the DAC section, but the DAC + the HP Amp driving some headphones.

The K5Pro has much more power than the iDAC 2, which is noticeable when driving the phones loudly.

What I want to do is a level-matched comparison driving both units simultaneously via Roon so that I can switch instantly, and then do AB (with the help of someone ABX).

Anything else is just my sighted subjective opinion. If that is wanted, then I can try saying something about that.

Would be interested to hear your findings. Please report back. Unfortunately lots of people just take amir's sinad number and assume it's the be all and end all of quality. So your views comparing two devices side by side would be helpful
 
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That's correct. I wish there was a good solution to change the volume control automatically for testing.

So how does the measurement work, do you just leave the volume knob at max then change the volume digitally? Why is it so difficult to measure THD+noise using the volume knob, is the analyser not capable of tracking real time power when turning the volume knob?
Sorry if I'm bothering you guys with all these noob questions, i'm new to this forum. Is there some thread which explains your measurements and how they are obtained?
 

RSV

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Hey guys, I just received my K5 Pro and I'm having issues with the USB cable. I'm not able to get the USB B input inside the plug all the way. My laptop also doesn't recognize the unit due to this.

Did anyone face similar issues? Is it a problem with the cable or the unit itself?
 

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Rockfella

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Hey guys, I just received my K5 Pro and I'm having issues with the USB cable. I'm not able to get the USB B input inside the plug all the way. My laptop also doesn't recognize the unit due to this.

Did anyone face similar issues? Is it a problem with the cable or the unit itself?
I don't think it goes any further. Issue could be with your PC/laptop.
 
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