I’ve been able to check all of the available inputs, and so far they have worked flawlessly. New from IFI, the xCAN is a follow-up release to the company’s highly successful xDSD Bluetooth DAC. (We keep our fingers crossed the AMA3 is the best-sounding of the amps, because it’s the only one we have to … I’m glad to tell you that a Q5 made its way to me and I could compare both brothers in arms. I've yet to try Bluetooth. My initial impressions are that it sounds a bit clearer and nicer than the original Q5 (which has an AM3A attached) using my iPhone as a USB source.

The Fiio Q5s is the successor to the original Q5, and the more brolic sibling of the Q1 Mark II. This just arrived yesterday. FiiO Q5s vs iFi xDSD (350USD vs 400USD) iFi's take on Music and portability lands much closer to Q5s than Mojo did, and although they both have a lot of similarities, they still manage to have differences, like the fact, that to use xDSD Balanced, you have to get a pretty proprietary 3.5mm Balanced adapter. In truth, you can hook the both of these up together to create a system with the Q5s as your DAC and the xCAN as your amp.

I did try the Empyreans with it, and the sound quality was better than I had expected. Q5 vs Micro iDSD BL Ok, let’s just jump straight to the big boy – the iDSD Black Label. Disclaimer: The FiiO Q5s sent to us is a sample in exchange for our honest opinion.


Headphone(s) / earphone(s) you possess: Sony MDR-1A Trinityaudioengineering Atlas and Icarus III Custom Art FIBAE 3 (Hopefully soon!) It also has analogue connections which have an incredible 18 hours of battery life.

Please check it out for some technical ramifications on the subject.

What can I say – they make fairly priced gear and they’re always eager to send new toys for review. As I make my way past the lines of fans and personal admirers outside the MajorHiFi Review Offices, I think about the review I’ll be writing today. It retails for $349.99. At risk of seeming like a bit of an overzealous fan of iFi, I’ve got yet another product review. The FiiO Q5s is a revision of the original Q5 portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp using FiiO’s latest interchangeable AM3E amp module.

Review : FiiO Q5S – S for Super Sound performance For the purpose of this review I paired the FiiO Q5S with my good old Onkyo IEC-3, the Meze 99 Classics and my trustworthy Audeze LCD-X .
With mobile devices removing 3.5mm headphone jacks, the Bluetooth amplifier fits a current need. To learn more about FiiO reviews on Headfonics you can click here. But to answer your question I'd go with iFi Micro iDSD BL if you don't have a problem with big size.

FiiO Q5 vs iFi iDSD Nano BL - Here, the comparison is interesting to show what we meant earlier by convenience when it comes to FiiO Q5. xCAN We see the xCAN as more of a mainstream product to be used with DAPs (Digital Audio Players) where you are happy with the digital to analogue conversion, but fancy ramping up amplification. I can also try any of the stock Samsung or Apple headphones, which I got from various smartphones Any DAP(s) / … We’re iFi audio, an award-winning audio tech company with one aim – to improve your music enjoyment with high-octane products that take your breath away. We thank FiiO for this opportunity. FiiO Q5 vs iFi iDSD Nano BL - Here, the comparison is interesting to show what we meant earlier by convenience when it comes to FiiO Q5.

FiiO Q5S VS FiiO Q5.

To learn more about FiiO reviews on Headfonics you can click here. The FiiO Q5s is a revision of the original Q5 portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp using FiiO’s latest interchangeable AM3E amp module. The aluminium is thick and compared to the IFI audio xDSD, there is a big difference handling it. The FiiO Q5 is pretty well built, the amp never feels cheap in the hand nor bulky. As for my comment on the xCAN not being a DAC, sure, it does have an ESS Sabre chip, but that is for Bluetooth as is has to produce the audio somehow, but that does not make the device a "DAC", at least in the purist sense.

50% were FLAC files, 50% Spotify in high quality streaming. The Q5s features new DAC AKM4493 DAC Chips, more inputs, more BT codecs, and a different stock amp module than it's predecessor.

In any case, I’ve been both intrigued and puzzled by these two little units for the past couple months, partially why I’ve not posted much content recently. Compared to the iFi the Q5 … The xCAN is USB-C whereas the Q5s is micro-USB and can take a balanced and unbalanced line-in compared to just a line-out for the Q5s. xCan doesn't have a good DAC, xDSD is better. If you do Fiio Q5s with AM3D Amp.