Fiio Q5 And The Competition

I would like to say thank you to Fiio for lending me the new Q5, their flagship DAC/amp for ten days in exchange for my honest opinion.



Like many of us here, I like Fiio for their friendly attitude to us customers since they came out with the first version of their X3 DAP back in 2013. The device itself was slightly bulky, but had a unique and warm sound with its Wolfson DAC chip. I liked it very much back then, and owned its predecessor too, the X3 2nd gen. Since I sold that DAP a few years ago I haven’t really been following Fiio’s new products. In 2015 I purchased my first Chord Mojo and didn’t need a DAP anymore. I am aware though, how Fiio keeps contact with us here on Head-Fi, and takes our opinion and suggestions seriously in future product development.



After testing and reviewing the most popular and most interesting DAC/amps in 2017, the iFi Micro iDSD BL, iFi Nano iDSD BL and Chord Hugo2, I was more than curious to see what Fiio has to offer on this small but very competitive market of portable DAC/amps in early 2018.



As you can see from my other reviews, I really like my Chord Mojo’s natural and lifelike sound, this device has been my reference point for a while. Being very close in price (Q5: £329, Mojo: £379) it makes sense to compare them in this review.



Package, specs, build quality

Keeping things simple and to save some space, you can read the specs on the product page if you are interested.
The Q5 comes in a nice and neat box, with plenty of accessories. They even put a screwdriver in the box in case you want to swap amp modules.



Build quality is superb. The only very minor issue I could mention is the led-light on the power button. When I turn the Q5 on, I simply don’t know how long I have to press the button as the indicator light is right under my thumb. This however is obviously just nit-picking.



The Q5 is bigger than I expected, but still is a good size if you want to use it with smart phones on the go. The Oppo HA2SE is sleeker, but I am not a big fan of its sound. The Oppo’s sound is just not natural enough for my taste, especially at the treble. The iFi Micro BL is too big to call it portable, the Nano BL and the Mojo are small enough, but much shorter than a phone so it feels bulkier than a Q5 or Oppo HA2SE stack.
The Q5 is much taller and slightly wider than the Mojo or the Nano BL, but it is slightly thinner making it a more comfortable stack to carry around.



In my opinion the unique selling point of the Q5 is its Bluetooth (aptX) functionality, which is firmware upgradable for future improvements in Bluetooth technology. The future ofaudio, especially portable audio will be wireless, and aptX compatibility seems to be the first big step in minimizing the compromise we make in sound quality when ditching the wires. Having the Q5 in your bag and controlling your music on your phone without any wires is indeed very appealing. You don’t lose much in sound quality compared to usualBluetooth connection, and you don’t really notice the difference traveling on public transport. Mojo can also do this with the Poly add on, but the two together cost £860, which is out of budget for many. People who simply want to go wireless won’t pay this much for the very versatile Poly.
Going wireless for £329 (buying the Q5) though is something even a Mojo owner ‘on a budget’ might consider, as sound quality wise the Q5 is not very far from Chord’s smallestDAC.



Sound and more

Like the majority of us here, I am also the most interested in sound quality. Comparing DACs in the £200-£500 price range is not the easiest job as the differences are more subtle than they are between headphones. I am mentioning this, because when I am talking about sound differences between the Q5 and the Mojo the differences are also not huge by any means. They are present and probably audible to most of us here on Head-Fi, but I think in a blind test the average listener wouldn’t be able to pick up the differences. That is the reason why portable Hi-Fi DAC/amps are niche products.



The most obvious sound characteristics of the Q5 coming from the Mojo, is how clear, clean and precise the Q5 is. The Q5 has a very fast, accurate sound. This is true for the whole sound spectrum, but the most obvious is in the upper mids and treble. The Q5 has a very ‘brave’ treble, much brighter than the Mojo. Listening superficially it almost gives you the impression of more details. This brighter and tighter sound however occasionally can be slightly more aggressive to my treble sensitive ears than desired. The Mojo in comparison sounds more natural, softer, warmer, more rounded and relaxed. The sound is slightly richer and has a slightly bigger body. To my ears it is more pleasing. I am not saying the Q5’s treble is harsh, it is just more sparky and dynamic, which someone either likes a lot or dislikes and prefers a softer presentation.



Bass is fabulous on both devices. The Q5 has a bass switch, but I hardly ever used it. Mojo does not need a bass switch, as somehow it automatically knows the perfect amount of bass quantity you need. At 90% of the tracks the level of bass on Mojo and Q5 with bass switch off was equally satisfying. In the remaining 10%, sometimes Mojo offered slightly more bass. The bass switch on the Q5 however obviously changed this, but to my taste it was almost always too much, making the whole sound slightly boomy. Whether you need the extra bass is highly headphone dependent. Most headphones won’t need it in my opinion, however with bass shy headphones or IEMs this function can be very useful on the Q5. With my Nighthawk the bass switch just puts a boomy cloud on the sound, however with my Flare R2Pro IEMs sometimes it was a fun addition to certain electronic tracks.



The Q5 does have nice and clear mids, but the magical lifelikeness of vocals that the Mojo offers is missing. This however is only obvious when A/B comparing them. The Mojo’s very lifelike, natural vocals and true to life acoustic instruments make Chord’s least expensive DAC a clear winner here, and anywhere else in my opinion. To my ears no otherDACs are able to reproduce this lifelikeness and soundstage depth, not even the otherwise fantastic iFi Micro BL. This is not Fiio’s shortcoming but Chord’s advantage ahead of the competition.



Treble is where things start to become interesting. This is where the Q5 is at its best. Precision and clarity pays off at the higher notes, giving that treble sparkle many audioenthusiasts look for. It is always clear, always precise. For ‘treble-heads’ I would almost recommend the Q5 over the Mojo, except with live acoustic music. The Mojo does feel slightly less agile and softer in the treble; however when you pay attention to its more laid back presentation you realize all the details are still there. To my ears the Q5’s treble can only be slightly too much with music which has a lots of percussion in it.



There are a few things which I didn’t write about, simply because they are not too important for me personally. One of them is the DSD capability. I do have some DSD files, but FLAC is more than enough for me when it comes to storage space/sound quality, and I think the majority of the buyers will hardly ever listen to DSD files. This is still a must have feature though on DAPs and DACs these days. It is similar with people who like to know their car is able to reach 300 km/h, even though they might never drive it that fast.
Another thing I didn’t write about is the different amp modules you can use with the Q5, which are interchangeable with Fiio X7 DAP’s amp modules. For someone who already owns a Q5 or X7, this can be fun.



The amp module which comes with the Q5 (AM3) by default has a 2.5mm balanced output too. This is again very fashionable these days on portable devices. However I share the opinion of Chord’s designer Rob Watts, who says single output done right might be even better than balanced. I do not deny, some headphones might benefit from balanced mode, but the whole single/balanced debate is a much more complex issue than just declaring balanced output to be better than single.
Power-wise the Q5 will be able to drive any average headphones. Mojo is significantly more powerful though, I wouldn’t use the Q5 for high-impedance headphones (300Ω).



Conclusion

Overall the Q5 is a very impressive device. Top notch build quality, very impressive sound quality. It is up there with the best portable DAC/amps available today. I could be happy with a Micro BL, or I could be happy with the Q5. I personally however keep my Mojo, simply because for me the magic is there in the most lifelike sound. The Q5 and the Micro BL are very close second, although they are quite different. In the end it comes down to personal taste. There is no better or worse on this level, just different.



My subjective list of preference looks like this:
(I have tested or owned all of these DACs in the past year.)

1. Chord Hugo2 (£1799) – simply put: this is another world
2. Chord Mojo (£379) – for the most lifelike sound and greatest soundstage depth
3. iFi Micro BL (£549) – for power, versatility and a grandiose sound
4. Fiio Q5 (£329) – for clarity, dynamism and sparkle + BLUETOOTH
5. iFi Nano BL (£199) – unbeatable sound quality for the price
6. Oppo HA2SE (£289) – the only one I didn’t like much due to the least natural sound compared to the DACs on this list



The Q5 is one of the best available portable DAC/amps today with some unique selling points: clean, clear and dynamic sound plus firmware upgradable Bluetooth functionality. The competition is tough, but I am sure the Q5 will bite out a good chunk of this relatively small market of portable Hi-Fi DAC/amps. It is a good size for portable use, very good sound quality and Bluetooth aptX for less than a Mojo.