audible improvement, Feiao Portable USB Decoding Ear Q1 Initial Experience

Q1 was at the 2015 Guangzhou hifi Headset and Digital Audio Exhibition in September this year. It is a portable USB decoding earpiece with ultra-high cost performance introduced by Feiao Company. Its market positioning is aimed at users who have entry-level audio players and HiFi mobile phones and have certain requirements on sound quality. It adopts the combination scheme of TI Company's PCM5102 DAC chip and MAX97220 chip earphone amplifier, moreover, the selling price is only 448 yuan, which is a sincere work created by Feiao Company for audio users.

Q1 continues the style of E17K and is relatively fashionable and generous. Its random accessories are also relatively complete. In addition to the necessary instructions and warranty cards, it also includes USB charging cable, audio cable, two silicone rings and two silicone body pads, of which the body pad can avoid friction and sliding between the body when Q1 is bound with the mobile phone or player.

, when I held Q1 in my hand, I found that it was not like a product that only sold 448 yuan. The classic portable stainless steel PU whisky shape made people fall in love at first sight. The color matching of black and silver also makes the fashionable body reveal some professional atmosphere. In addition, the all-metal shell uses an excellent sandblasting process, which not only can effectively resist electromagnetic interference, but also makes it more comfortable to grasp the delicate texture. It can be said that Feiao Company did not cut corners because Q1 is an entry-level earpiece, which also reflects Feiao Company's strict requirements for quality.

Q1 fuselage are all made of metal wire drawing technology. As shown in the figure, the top side is 3.5mm headphone jack, status indicator, power switch/volume adjustment knob and BASS selector switch in order from left to right. Among them, the damping of the knob is relatively moderate, and there is a scale on it, which is convenient for users to know the current volume.

Q1 is a decoded earpiece, which can be used as an external sound card of a computer, and the maximum supported sampling rate can reach 96 KHz/24 bit. In order to make the fuselage more simple, there is a multiplexing interface for line output/analog input on the bottom side of the fuselage. Next to the multiplexing interface are the GAIN gain selector switch, USB interface and charge selector switch. It should be noted that only when the charging selector switch is ON, Q1 will automatically charge when connected to USB. Q1 has a built-in 1400mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery. After sufficient power, it can be used for up to 30 hours under normal playback volume, which is still quite powerful.

, as an entry-level earpiece, although Q1 does not have a display screen like E17K, the body is relatively lighter and easier to use with various portable audio players or mobile phones.

Q1 adopts the combination of PCM5102 DAC chip and MAX97220 chip earphone amplifier, which is quite rational. After all, the price is there, and the manufacturer also needs to make money. Moreover, for Q1 consumers, easy use and affordable are the king's way. As for PCM5102 DAC chips, the reputation is good and it is often used by some entry-level sound cards. The performance of the MAX97220 chip earphone amplifier is also remarkable, and it is also a solution used by some HiFi mobile phones to increase the output power, such as vivo X5 series mobile phones.

Q1 drives headphones with 16~150 ohm impedance. In the subjective hearing test, the front end I chose is mainly mobile phones, including vivo X5Pro, Glory 7i and Asus Zenfone2, while the headphones chose titan T and 1 iron triangle ATH-CKM1000. Q1 can still feel the improvement of sound quality more obviously, especially when used with mobile phones, the details of sound analysis are richer, and the density of human voice has become thicker, and the high frequency has become more extended. For some front-end or earphones with weak bass performance, the gain of turning on BASS not only increases the sense of low frequency, but also the sound field becomes wider. As for the choice of high gain and low gain, it varies from person to person. Generally speaking, low gain is recommended for low-resistance and high-sensitivity headphones, while high gain is recommended for high-impedance headphones that are more difficult to push.

the use of mobile phones is still the way most people listen to songs at present. When they want to get better sound quality and don't want to spend too much money to burn audio equipment, I think Q1 earphones are a more feasible solution. It not only has obvious price advantages, but also has a well-known quality in the industry. In addition, if you are an audio enthusiast, it is also very appropriate to choose Q1 "tossing and turning.

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