Review and Measurements of FiiO Q1 Mark II Portable DAC and Headphone Amp

[LuckyLuke575]

Is this the best DAC and amp you can get for under $125? Seems better on paper than the Fulla 3 and the E10K...

I used it daily in the office and I'm very happy with it.

 

[th0m_89]

Hi guys,
I am facing a difficult choice: to drive my HD650 I can buy either this FiiO Q1 Mark II and a set of balanced cable or a Topping NX4. Price wise there's no difference. I do not listen at very high levels and I tend to prefer crisper, more detailed sound. Which option should I go for ? I understand the nx4 is the better performer but do balanced cables outweighs that when paired with the Q1 ? What do you think .

 

[Veri]

Hi guys,
I am facing a difficult choice: to drive my HD650 I can buy either this FiiO Q1 Mark II and a set of balanced cable or a Topping NX4. Price wise there's no difference. I do not listen at very high levels and I tend to prefer crisper, more detailed sound.

NX4 DSD.

 

[DivineCurrent]

Hi guys,
I am facing a difficult choice: to drive my HD650 I can buy either this FiiO Q1 Mark II and a set of balanced cable or a Topping NX4. Price wise there's no difference. I do not listen at very high levels and I tend to prefer crisper, more detailed sound. Which option should I go for ? I understand the nx4 is the better performer but do balanced cables outweighs that when paired with the Q1 ? What do you think .

Yeah since you're using the 650, I'd also go with the NX4. The only advantage the Q1 has is the even channel matching, but the NX4 has much more power. I can listen to most music at moderate levels on the Q1 with the 650 (single ended), but it only just barley gets loud enough. Definitely not loud enough for classical or quieter songs. NX4 pushes 59 milliwatts into the 300 ohm Sennheisers, the Q1 outputs only 7.4 milliwatts (or around twice that much using a balanced cable).

 

[th0m_89]

NX4 DSD.

Why did you say so ?

Yeah since you're using the 650, I'd also go with the NX4. The only advantage the Q1 has is the even channel matching, but the NX4 has much more power. I can listen to most music at moderate levels on the Q1 with the 650 (single ended), but it only just barley gets loud enough. Definitely not loud enough for classical or quieter songs. NX4 pushes 59 milliwatts into the 300 ohm Sennheisers, the Q1 outputs only 7.4 milliwatts (or around twice that much using a balanced cable).

But it seems to be way more powerful on balanced cables , what about sound difference between these two ? Are there any ?

 

[Veri]

But it seems to be way more powerful on balanced cables , what about sound difference between these two ? Are there any ?

The difference is still ~60mW on the NX4 vs ~15mW on the Q1 mark II. The one with more power will drive your headphones more easily (with more 'authority') and will be easily preferred if your headphone needs power. Therefore the NX4 seems like your best bet.. imo

 

[Xii-Nyth]

A fairly respectable product, and the power output should be better if you happen to be using 2.5mm balanced.

That channel balance is actually really attractive as a feature though.

yeah should be 248 mw ahead of the topping one, not sure is the topping one also had a balanced output